https://www.43rumors.com/cinema5d-sees-massively-improved-autofocus-performance-for-gh5s-gh5-and-g9-with-new-firmware/
https://www.43rumors.com/new-gh5-gh5-g9-gx9-firmware-update-available/
Panasonic have just released new firmware updates for several of their cameras. The GH series and G9 in particular. There has been lots of chatter about how the AF 'doesn't work' over the past year or so and now apparently it's 'fixed'. So exactly what has been 'fixed'? Well, believe it or not what everybody (mainly those pesky 'vloggers' actually) have had their knickers in a twist about is the seeming inability of cameras like the GH5 to perform continuous autofocus on people in front of the camera moving about in a video. So all those professional video features being largely ignored and the only concern that these people have is that these cameras wouldn't focus on their ugly mugs when they are walking about making their annoying videos. So nothing to do with the GH5's ability to create a feature film or broadcast quality television programme, which is perfectly possible, but everything to do with a function that would be better served with a small sensor camcorder or a smartphone.
And they have gone on and on about this, when in actual fact it's pretty pointless. Ah I hear you say what about all those people who want to photograph their kids, their pets, their family? Well of course people who want to do that don't go out and buy GH5's, they use their phones. As should these 'you tube stars' 'gear gurus' 'reviewers, 'vloggers' or whatever else they want to be called. (I can think of a few names!!) I'm amazed that camera companies send them cameras to review, since they almost always rubbish them. So much for the influence of the 'influencers', And have you noticed that they all say the same thing? Now to most m4/3 users, especially those few (and it is a few) people who actually shoot video professionally with one, this lack of 'vlogger friendly' AF is a minor issue. If you are a serious videographer shooting serious video this really isn't important. I've seen TV documentaries shot with small sensor camcorders when differential focus jumping simply isn't an issue. These days a smartphone and a gimbal would do the job. If an iPhone is good enough for Steven Soderbergh to shoot a movie on, it's more than enough for The Northrups, Kaiman Wong, The Canadian Mutt and Jeff et al to shoot their amateurish videos on.
And the point is they are amateurish. I watched a video by Gordon 'Why doesn't he ever take that bloody hat off' Laing and the focus jumping was appalling. When are these parasites going to realise that just having their faces large in the frame droning on about the same 'issues' that all their colleagues are doing doesn't constitute photographic journalism or anything like it. But then let's not pretend that is their goal. Their purpose is simple, get you clicking on the ads and follow the sponsored links. So that they can make money. So it ends up that most of them are actually begging for money or busking or doing whatever it takes to get us to throw our money in the hat. (So that's what it's for!!)
But. BUT, I now see a backlash starting. I'm seeing and reading a lot more videos and articles where people say, enough is enough. This kind of personality based (if only they had one!) self centred, unashamed pleading for cash narcissism simply doesn't cut it any more. OK they may have lots of 'followers' but the people who watch this stuff on a regular basis deserve what they get. After all they are really only a small minority of people who buy and use cameras. Most customers / consumers look at camera gear (and whether to part with their cash for it) in an entirely different way. First and foremost they base their purchasing decisions on price. The evidence for this is that Amazons best selling cameras are always 'last years model' being sold at discount prices. These days most of the large photographic retailers have their own 'review' videos and of course they aren't going to focus on the negatives are they? I bought my EOS R from John Lewis, which is a British department store. They have a 'never knowingly undersold' motto and always offer an extended guarantee. Then there are the big tech. sites like Engadget and Tech Radar that offer short, snappy and usually pretty non-critical reviews, something like 'consumer magazines' used to do. All of these alternatives have a much larger audience than the 'vloggers' anyway.
And to be realistic, they are all probably on borrowed time anyway. The photographic gear market is shrinking year by year and consequently so is the market for YouTube reviewing. So everybody is either 'vlogging' etc. to try and keep a share of a diminishing pot of money or else doing it solely as a vanity project. This probably explains why the content is getting more and more critical and why small issues such the m4/3 AF and whether or not a camera has cropped video or two card slots are blown up out of all proportion. Ken Rockwell has had the 'be controversial' and get people to the site way of working covered for years. At least he does some serious work with his 'gear lexicons'. Because all this gear 'reviewing' by these YouTubers is all too easy. A long detailed review article takes work, I know that for a fact because even my pathetic attempts at it have taken ages. So long in fact that I can't spare the time away from my 'proper job.' So what we get is a camera pointed at somebody (hopefully in focus, though not always) pontificating about something or other and pretty much saying the same things as everybody else.
Take all these endless videos and articles about the 'L Mount Alliance' and in particular the Panasonic Lumix 'Full frame' camera. What they are banging on about doesn't exist yet apart from non working prototypes. Panasonic are far from finishing it and probably even deciding what the final specs. will be. Sigma aren't bringing out anything for it until the middle of next year and Leica, the only ones to have 'skin in the game' are just finishing off already promised lenses. And yet we see endless speculative visuals and articles that say nothing and are nothing more than 'click bait.' And that phrase sums up this entire phenomenon in two words.
Finally, can any of these criticisms be levelled at me? Well on a financial basis no. I now run only one ad, a link to Smallrig, a company whose products I actually use. To date in 2018 I've made less than the money it costs to pay my website hosting, so I'm actually doing this at a loss. And certainly no one could ever accuse me of 'following the herd'. And of course apart from the self portrait below with my face covered by something far more aesthetic than me, a Leica M10, you will never see me in front of the camera. I wouldn't do it as nobody deserves that!!
