Lots bought lately, so how did I do and did I miss any steps?
The G9II, the original need addresser. A hard choice with S5II and S5IIx’s even cheaper, but it was the right choice. It did however sit at odds with my subsequent lens choices and last years purchase.
Of all the purchases I have made recently, this is the most easily overlooked, fitting seamlessly into a pretty well serviced landscape, but it is likely the most important long term giver, upgrading my M43 stills and my video overall.
Everything else below is really surplus to requirements, the G9II is a necessary enabler.
The handle is not the one I use now, but still a good fit, but the cage is the best I have bought so far.
Black Mamba cage and Arri top handle for the G9II. Both wins. Best fitting cage I have bought and neatest handle option. I have since added a second side handle also, making this a full cage.
The Lumix 35 and 85mm S-Primes completed my working S5 kit.
Now covering 35, 50 and 85 in the engine room for that camera in stills and video, the IRIX and kit zoom adding more range.
The Sigma equivalents have a reputation for being sharper, but the matched Lumix-S primes are beautiful, consistent and video friendly.
The 35 and 50mm 7Artisans cine lenses for under $500 and the IRIX 150 at near half price were awesome bargains. I doubt I would have dabbled if it were not for the price of these, but I am glad I have.
The IRIX 150 cine-macro was probably an odd choice, but has somehow meshed the cine and non-cine full frame kits together and I will admit up front, it is the most fun I have had in a while. My only regret is it was not available at the same price on an M43 mount so I could access the 300 fps slo-mo on the G9II with a 300mm 2:1 macro!
I would have doubted I could find a lens to match my 75 (150 equiv) Olympus, but maybe this IRIX beast is it.
The 7Artisans 12mm for M43 as a wide angle filler and M43 cine option was a miss on the whole.
Not sure what I was thinking there, but it seemed to make sense at the time and the lens itself broke my run of good lenses, being mechanically a bit “iffy”*.
Matt box filters are a revelation, Neewer ones more so, but the gong goes to the sub $40 Nisi clear filters. Instant peace of mind when using matt boxes.
Cineflare filters were a poor idea if I go into an anamorphic lens, but they make a lot of sense if not. I like the look in moderation and the flexibility of the filters, but I still have an itch for an anamorphic lens and that will come with flares always.
If I do go the 24mm, the M43 12mm and the filters above would have nearly paid for it in an M43 mount. Sometimes I avoid the thing I actually want with compensatory options that end up costing as much or more, but in this case, the Sirui was not a strong choice early on. In hindsight, it would have been the ideal M43-as-a-wide option for my cinema kit over a regular wide angle and a great all-in-one M43 cine choice. I have also bought a Sirui 24 spherical, which again would have been redundant with the anamorphic.
5.11 Range Ready bag, a huge win.
This could easily be called the “Cinematographers Ready bag”. The shape, pocket size (and their shape), comfort, build quality, price and accessories make for a one-bag utility option or multi bag expedition set. It even has 8 camera battery sized “mag” holders. Seriously well put together, it has that magic layout that so many other camera bags lack.
It is boxy, but sometimes cameras are boxy.
That’s a 480 LED panel inside. The pouch inside is removable and the insides tall enough to take a top handle mounted.
Getting a boxy video shaped bag is usually an expensive choice, but this does the same with bells-on for a quarter of the price. Want to put a camera in with cage and handle, maybe a set of matt box filters or a couple of bulky cine lenses? All good.
*A “wiggly” M43 mount (very rare) and one that catches on removal and an overly loose focus ring made the whole thing feel a bit sub-premium, something the Spectrum lenses do not feel and it actually cost the same as both of those together. A bad move after several good ones.