u/Mugunini

I have a chance to buy one of these cameras for almost the same price. The Lumix S5iiX with 2 lenses (20-60 kit and 50mm 1.8) for 2000 euros brand new and Canon R5 C with 50mm 1.8 RF for 2100, but demo version with 1 year of warranty. The last couple of days, I read a lot about both of these cameras and know almost everything about their specs, but I don't have any idea how they perform in real life.
In Lumix, positive points are:

• external recording
• a lot of video formats
• L-mount seems more appealing (more affordable lens options and the ability to attach EF lenses). Also, it seems to be fairly easy to switch to a real cinema camera in the future with this mount and lenses, but not sure
• a lot of video-dedicated tools
• full-size HDMI (with a huge signal lag, unfortunately)
• custom luts
• V-Log
• Open gate
• real 24/30/60 fps mode
• almost perfect IBIS

Negative:

• 4k60 in crop mode
• high rolling shutter (not a huge issue for me personally)
• screen is a little bit smaller

Canon R5 Cs positive sides:

• 8K in h265 mode (with proper framing can work as Open gate for horizontal and vertical framing)
• 8K/4K 60 fps with no crop
• 8K Raw internal (not a huge deal to me, but maybe in the future)
• 45mp for still (good amount of crop)
• dedicated menu for stills and video
• photo/video switch (but slow)
• person-only focus mode
• future-proof for video (if I decide to switch to a cinema camera)
• s35/s16 mode (s35 mode gives more variations with the same attached lens, like 35mm can be used as 50mm without losing video quality)

Negatives:

• lens mount (the prices on R lenses are crazy, but EF lenses might help, but they may affect AF performance and be much noisier while focusing)
• battery (poop)
• the body is bigger, but a little bit lighter than S5ii X
• no external recording
• micro-hdmi? lol
• no IBIS (not a huge issue for me)

Just to be clear, currently I have Nikon Z6(which I use with Atomos Ninja, but would like to have smth lite while traveling or doing random videos of my family) and 5 lenses (40mm f2, 24-70 F/4, Viltrox 85mm 1.8 Z mount, Sigma 105mm F, 50mm 1.8 G) and I can buy Z6 iii or even ZR, but the reason why I don't do it (but still considering) is a variable bitrate in h265 and extremely soft h265 in ZR. R3D is extremely good, but let's be honest, I don't have enough money to invest in storage. Yes, I can convert the files to h265 after color correction, but that's one extra step every time. Yes, Nikon said they're gonna give us a firmware update, but when it will happen (if it will happen at all) - nobody knows. That's the reason why I'm thinking about system switching. Maybe I missed smth specs wise, but what I listed above are the most what bothers me among others. Would like to hear your opinion, and sorry for the long text.

Hey, I'm about to buy a Lumix S5 II or X version, but just curious about the quality of the cropped mode of 4k60? I couldn't find any good footage to test, and even on YouTube, there are a very limited number of videos talking about that. Actually, I don't need that mode very often, but I will need it, so I would like to be sure to get decent quality. I know it will not be the same as the full sensor readout, but still. I don't care about focus crop factor tbh, but mostly about the quality of the footage.

Is it wise to invest in to Fuji X mount or Nikon Z mount? I know that the L mount is quite safe from the cinema perspective (blackmagic more and more moving their cameras to L-mount), but what about Fuji and Nikon? Currently I have Fuji XM5 and Nikon Z6. Fuji is a beast in a tiny body, you can take it anywhere with you, but for run&gun videos not very suitable because of lack of ibis. Nikon Z6 is great with Atomos Ninja, but lack of internal log and 10 bit makes me crazy. For log video always have to take recorder with me. That’s why I started thinking about a new camera. It’s only for hobby, I don’t earn money doing videography or smth like that(for now at least), but would like to invest in good lenses and mount not switch again in 5-10 years. So, I have next options:

1. Sell Fuji and Nikon and replace with Nikon ZR (I already have 4 Z lenses. Nothing fancy, but still)
2. Sell Nikon, keep Fuji and buy some cool lenses (including a couple of cinema lenses just for fun)
3. Switch to Lumix (Lumix S5ii or X version). But not sure how bad is the quality of cropped 4k60fps.

Nikon ZR has full sensor 4k60 and great screen, but h.265 is 💩, but I can record in NRaw Normal and later convert to h.265 for backup on my NAS.
Fuji has tiny crop for 4k60, so not a big deal, but completely lacking build quality, lens mount kinda meh and too light for handheld shooting when you don’t want to rig it up (should be fine with rig).
In Lumix the only cons for me is the cropped 4k60.

Does anyone use a cinema camera such as Pyxis 6K only for fun? Not to earn money? Just as a hobby? I understand it might sound strange, but I have a chance of buying a brand new Pyxis 6K for around 2000 euros (EF mount) or just stick with the recently purchased Fuji XM5. I understand that the Fuji is a much more versatile camera, but it is almost impossible to shoot video on it because of its weight (too light). And if I rig it up, it will stop becoming a compact camera. The specs are beautiful on Fuji, but on the other hand, it's a great chance to get an almost real cinema camera for a chip price. I also understand that I will need to buy extra to make it workable (EF lenses are cheap; I have an Atomos Ninja V as a monitor, not sure if it will work with an HDMI to USB-C cable). The Pyxis 6K wasn't on my radar at all. I just saw the discount about 3 hours ago on a website, and smth triggered inside me. I watched some videos on YT, and there are many haters and lovers of this camera. I mostly shoot my family, friends, etc. There a clear difference between "I want it" and "I need it", but from another perspective, I think it's a great price for such a camera.

Need some advice between these 2 cameras. Currently I use my old and trusty Nikon Z6, and 90% for photography. And decided to try some “proper” videography. But without spending too much. I have an option to buy a used 6k with EF mount for about €750 and new 4k for €950. I read some post about pros and cons, that 4k is lighter, better battery performance, less fan noise, possibility to use speed booster or PL adapter. But 6k has advantages in sensor size (maybe better light performance, not sure) and of course 6k resolution, which gives me more room for crop at post production or stabilization. But file sizes should be huge and considering prices for storage nowadays, not sure it’s wise to buy 6k. But still, what would you advise? Maybe some hidden pros and cons from real users of any of these 2 beasts?

Recently decided to play with my Nikon Z6 + Atomos Ninja and recorded some footage of my son. The recording was without proper lighting, just for fun and a pure test. When I dropped the recorded video to the DaVinci and applied CST, I noticed that the shadows are gone. Even when I drag the Shadow primary a little bit up, I can't fully recover them. But when I apply N-Log LUT or RED FilmBias (or any RED LUT for N-Log), I can easily recover all shadows. In the first picture, you can see the CST IN params, for CST OUT, the params are DaVinci Wide Gamut -> DaVinci Intermediate -> Rec. 709 -> Gamma 2.4. On the second screenshot, I increased the shadows a little bit just to show that the shadows are gone. On the third screenshot, I applied RED FilmBias LUT and turned off CST. Any idea why it happens?

BTW, in the settings of the project, I changed the Timeline color space to DaVinci WG/Intermediate and Output color space to Rec.709/Gamma 2.4

P.S. DaVinci Resolve Studio 20, MacOS 26.5.1
Footage: Apple ProRes 422 HQ, 30 fps

CST w/o any changes

CST with shadows up (couldn't recover them)

Just a node with RED FilmBias LUT applied (same effect with pure N-Log LUT)