Yup. Gapless capture would be killer. Doing it on-sensor (since stacked sensors often have a frame’s worth of memory that could be used as an accumulator) would save a lot of effort in post, especially since doing it on-sensor means not consuming off-sensor bandwidth and storage.
As to doing summing instead of averaging - since I output float16s, there’s little to no benefit of summing vs. just pushing a few EVs in post. Especially because some RAW converters might do Weird Things if there are values above the whitepoint in the DNG.
The whole “gapless” phenomenon is actually why I use a partial ND filter when doing long-exposure stacks - I want to get the exposure time long enough that the inter-exposure gap is insignificant compared to the capture, and also get it slower than my SD card. CFExpress Type A is still obscenely expensive - despite MicroSD Express having the same interface and being far cheaper…
I see someone else mentioned the A7V - 30 FPS raw bursts is very tempting for this average stacking application, but not $2900 worth of tempting for this A7IV owner. It would be a killer upgrade for III owners though!
The older model was “on sale” for $1299, while the Mk II was at the regular price of $1599 (both USD). Both were with the same kit lens. And the older model was specifically labeled as a “Cyber Monday Deal”.
Oof, that’s not a great deal and I can see why you passed on it. To be fair though, my $600 estimate was more in line with used prices, so maybe not a good benchmark for brand new. I just checked on Amazon Canada, and there’s one going for CAD$1000, which is about US$715, but it’s refurbished.
I watched that video over lunch. I’ve never seen this guy before so I don’t know what he specializes in or what his philosophy is. He talks a fair amount about ND filters, so I wonder why he needs them so much.
I like the fact he has a weight restriction for his lenses. Interesting that it’s 300g because I’d probably agree that you start to really notice weight above this. It obviously restricts you quite a bit with regard to lenses, and he’s basically restricting himself to primes. There are very few full-frame zooms under this weight, but I did count 12 for M43 in the list I keep.
As for the A7C mk2, it’s a camera I’ve been interested in for a while. If you stick to primes, I think this is a really nice compact full-frame camera, although when I see him put the lenses on it, it doesn’t look all that compact to me now that I’ve got used to M43 kits.
I’m constantly asking myself whether I really would get the benefit from the larger sensor. Right now, I think the answer is no, but I won’t rule it out for the future. If the really high resolution bodies (like the A7CR) come down in price eventually, I quite like the idea of using shorter focal lengths in crop mode rather than buying big glass for the reach.
As for the Osmo Nano, it looks like a really cool action cam. I kind of want one but I don’t shoot much video so it would be a silly GAS purchase really. Does anyone here use one regularly, and if so, what for?
I think he basically shoots only 35mm focal length. So a tiny bit wider than normal eyesight. His shots are quite architectural, scenery so I guess that works for that kind of undistorted view. But yes, it’s a limited range of options and he can only find one lens that meets his needs in terms of size, focal length and depth of field.
Yes, it is amazing how cheap third party lenses are these days.
But given that I already have an Olympus 50mm f/1.8, which has AF and is one of the best micro 4/3 primes, with amazing bokeh quality, I am unlikely to buy this one.
I made a new discovery about the Ricoh GR IV: in P mode, tapping the mode-dial-lock-switch resets it to Auto.
This is now my favorite way of using the camera. Just keep it in P, but if a certain shutter speed or aperture is needed, roll the dial. Then tap the mode-lock to return to Auto. Brilliant!
I bet people wouldn’t complain about a hotshoe-mounted optional EVF. I wouldn’t use it personally, but many people seem to be asking for it.
With regards to weather sealing, I find it a non-issue for the GR. Even in rain, I can just put it in my pocket between shots, or cradle it in my hand and keep the hand in my sleeve.
An affordable underwater housing, though…
But in general, I admire the refinement of the GR series as a whole. It’s so rare to see such a finely honed tool.
No EVF and a non-flipping display is a bad combo, for me.
It’s all about the compromises. My aging GR1v (sitting in a drawer) is full frame, has a flash and a viewfinder. Weather sealing would be a very strange prio. But considering that the Ricoh engineers are so size conscious, I can question prioritizing IBIS now that so much of value has been ripped out.
I thought the same that’s why I had an X-T20 and an X-T3 as an everyday carry before the GR. But I don’t really miss the EVF or floppy screen on the GR.
I tried using my X-T5 without the viewfinder for a couple of days to see if I could live without it. It was very hard not to put the camera to my eye because of deeply ingrained habits. Walking around city streets with the 27mm pancake, I could do a lot more of the one-handed, rough-framing type shooting, so in those situations I could just use the LCD screen, and even preferred it at times. But there were always some times when I just couldn’t see properly, either because of the sun or because of the subject, and I desperately wanted to use the EVF.
And with anything larger than the 27mm pancake, I couldn’t use the camera one-handed as easily and so I just preferred to use the EVF and shoot two-handed in the traditional way.
Basically, I can see how an EVF would be less necessary with the GR because it suits that one-handed, rough-framing style. But for me personally, I still prefer to have an EVF (or OVF for that matter). If they could have squeezed even a small OVF onto the X-M5, that would be a nice option. I would be less enthused by an external hot-shoe mounted one because I think they look a bit daft and make it hard to slip in and out of pockets/bags easily.
I learned to shoot blind in these situations. But to be honest, the GR is never my A cam. Still, if the situation is inappropriate for my A cam, the GR invariably does the job. It can only do that because it’s so small. Anything that would detract from that would make it a better A cam, but a worse GR, and that would defeat its purpose.
