Surveying the battlefield

So what is my camera decision?

A decision has been rendered. At last?

The Lumix S5 feels right overall, but it hurts to see no clear telephoto zoom option today. Its benefits (noted in the past, summarized below) win the day - but not by a huge margin. The Z6 is a worthy camera but planned for a seasoned Nikon user I believe.

The order of my table looks odd, but it reflects my order of importance for each. I may adjust the z6 order and repost at some point.. or perhaps not - I really like Silence! 

Some things may betray my ignorance (e.g. Lumix Club using the cloud may serve as well as the Nx app). And the bottom items are nice, but not Massively Big Deals.

It's those first 3 or 4 on the list that bring me the feeling that I am more likely to enjoy the S5 more than the Z6. 

I shall feel some regret the day that a Z-mount 20-xx lens arrives - and I shall rejoice when i pull a 'Silence' LUT from Lumix Lab!

This has been an exhausting experience. OK not exactly: having surgery to remove my prostate plus correcting a post-op complication while doing this - that made it hard. Timing is important in photography, and in real life.

For now I'll go forward with the following kit until a telezoom arrives that's a good fit for me. None currently qualify, and the announced Samyang 60-180mm f/2.8 is merely words. I see that the Nikkor-Z /Tamron 70-180/2.8 has 1:2 closeup ability and is 'only' 795g, so it weighs the same as the 70-300S.

weight includes L adapter

Several of the primes I would call optional, given the two zooms I've listed. If I carry the 70-150/3.8 the 135/3.5 really isn't as valuable, and the 20-60 can do .43x so a true macro isn't as vital - and I have a lighter Pentax 50/2 if low light is involved. 

For most of my imaging, the two zooms are sufficient* - unless 300mm is needed, of course! Beyond that range, the GX7 can take over to 600mm/e.

In the meantime?

I must find that missing pentax-m 85mm f/2!!!

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Bonus! Just scored an $80 MC-21 adapter, which brings the SA-mount 28-300 and 70-300 into play!

The AF will not function, but EXIF and therefore i-Stab will perform as expected. 

That means fewer manual focal lengths to deal with, which was an S5 drawback. Whew.

* with the 1.5x TC, the 70-150 can become a 105-225mm f/5.3.

No kidding?

No matter how much you read about a prospective camera purchase, you're bound to miss things that presumably "aren't worth mentioning". That might be true for 98% of those reading - but someone (like me!) will learn things the hard way. 

My z6 kit has not been completed sold off, and the screen issue has dropped my price quite a bit. And now I find two hassles that it covers and the S5 drops the ball:

1. Focus ring reversal. The Z6 (and S5ii) allow the user to reverse the focus ring direction. The S5 does not: infinity is at the counter clockwise end of rotation, like it or not. Since all my Pentax manual primes are opposite, that's unpleasant. Especially unpleasant with telephoto zooms, where a single lens might need three or four presets to work the imgStab properly! The Tamron 70-300 solves that specific problem nicely, but the L-mount telephoto zooms are massive and spendy.
2. Focal length input for 'alien' (non-native) lenses. The S5 allows three presets plus the dialed-in setting, the z6 has Twenty presets. Ouch!!

In other words, Nikon's history of accommodating older lens mounts extends to their mirrorless models, while Lumix-S bodies are born expecting L-mount lenses to be attached.

So what do I do about this?

Winding up\down

The S5 is here, with 3 batteries and the 20-60mm lens. And hey here's the tripod plate for it - how nice! Adapters for pk, nf and Minolta AF are here also, so I have several adapted telephoto options. It might be easier to just turn iStab off rather than adjusting it constantly for adapted zooms though..

All the operational S1 features are here, with a few bonuses and less mass. With those things the S1 comparisons from before are apt but the convenience of lighter weight is gone. The dual tilt screen and superb EVF were nice but the payload price was too steep. This battle is nearing its end!

First of course is yet another plow through menus to reset then set my preferences. Where is that option for front-dial exposure compensation.. ah yes, my old S5 menu listing is on the table! Hm, maybe I'm thinking of the Z6 method not the Lumix? Is this why people don't do such battles often?

For so many small reasons, the Lumix is winning. Coming from Pentax and µ43 Lumix-G, the S-series controls and menus are familiar. Nikon does things that are familiar to F-mount people, so things like the lens mount in 'reverse' fashion was an easy choice for that group. The 24-50mm Z lens is not for me, given the 20-60mm Lumix' ideal range and stronger construction; that's a weight price I gladly pay!

Reflections on the Battle

 Reading the comparison websites is frustrating. As mentioned before, very few update their pages with firmware improvements. Both bodies have been updated a few times but the reviews are comparing five year old cameras with 1.0 firmware.

Worse yet are the features not mentioned! The z6 beats the s6 for landscape use on one site, but no mention is made of the s5's hi-res capability (48/96 Mpix). That's pretty valuable for many folks!

Also: internal stabilization is checked off for both bodies, but I've seen the Lumix give very impressive results and comments on most reviews rave specifically about Lumix' stabilizing prowess. And the aspect ratios are much more versatile on Lumix than.. well, Everyone, including Nikon. 

Another vague area is lenses. Total lens count is pretty useless between mounts, especially since my preferences are for 20-xx and lightweight telephoto zooms (availability for L and Z is 0-1 and 1-0, respectively). Aarrrgh.

The other issue is resale value. I'm getting a nearly straight trade of s1 and s5 * - but the z6 has some scratches and marks on the big screen. I don't see the marks when the screen is illuminated, but prospective buyers practically demand an unmarked screen. This swings the value factor toward the z6. But can I tolerate the flimsy feeling of the z24-50, videos locked to 16:9 aspect ratio, and stills also with fewer ratio options?

Once the S5 is in hand, that question will presumably be answered. Sure hope so!

* Mostly due to s1 grip and spare batteries!

is this cheating?

I found a dealer who will swap my S1 for an S5. Maybe not a precise match financially, but close enough to persuade me. So now the battle becomes a tag-team match!

Oh and my game my rules - so there!

So - what changes?

1. back to a swivel screen.. but
2. the other S1 positives* are here, plus better battery life
3. the high-res S1 viewfinder departs (which explains #3)
4. oops, this table doesn't show the Big One (PD vs CD autofocus) !!
5. the lens problems remain (L tele, Z wide)
6. the weight advantage is gone (well, almost)
7. I regain live-composite capabilities (never used.. but I have plans!!)
8. (theoretically) better low-light AF

I am forced to admit to myself that #1 and #4 were not major factors in the S1/Z6 battle. Also the Z6 (with en-el15b) battery life was a concern, and the S5 opens that gap a bit more. Really though, a 15c battery makes the gap far smaller! And just to show how reviewers think, the 'vastly superior' PDAF of Nikon and others comes with its reputation for 'some banding with pushed shadows' - the No Free Lunch principle in full display.

So - we'll do the swap and run a few more tests before calling this over. The primary driver of the next tests will be the viewfinder with manual-focus lenses. I'm using different ones now with the one-touch zooms in play, and that might be less of a hassle with the S5 than my previous time with it.

I was disappointed that I'm like everyone else who handled the S1 and called it Too Big. After the K-1 you'd presume I can learn from past experience; we'll have none of that, now!

* aspect ratios of all sorts, stronger IS within, 4k/6k, dual memory cards .. and the 20-60mm lens that I apparently cannot quit

Other skirmishes

 By holding both cameras I'm essentially renting, as I'll lose perhaps $100 or more in the transactions. Thing is, it's a rental with no fixed time limit, which is good. As I mentioned it's a hard decision. I will be making larger payments to someone, so I'd prefer to end this before two payments are called for!

I tested an all-manual 35-200mm zoom on both bodies, and tested both stills and video. Both are set to 4k30, but the S1 is stabilizing the  zoom better than the Z6. I was shooting the cloudy sunset at 35mm f/5.6, and the Z6 wasn't solid. Checking the Tamron 70-300z shows much smoother video, so it looks like native lenses use the full 5-axis capabilities as advertised. 

So was it the camera, or me missing a setting?

A menu dive confirmed the Z6' internal stabilizer focal length was indeed mis-set to 200mm - correct when using the lens at telephoto, but awful at the wide end! Tests in our pantry showed much better video with both cameras, and equally lousy results on the S1 when set to 200mm. 

However - it shows me that the Lumix asking my focal length at power up is beneficial to me! I wonder if the z6 can do that? I guess another menu dive is coming up.

On the other hand, the S1 video button placement is truly miserable for me to access. The beginning and end of each video will record my curses and a brief jitter before my right hand resumes its proper position. Better still, I need that function mapped to a different button!!

Practical considerations join the battle

 

Upper left: S1 +70-150mm +1.5x converter + nF-Z adapter. That's 690g of tube on a 1kg body.

Lower-right: Tamron's 70-300 f/4.5-6.3 (590g) attached to the 680g Z6. More range for 450g (and several cubic inches) less - plus the Z6 pair has autofocus and weather seals! Something tells me I'm trying too hard to justify the S1 beast...

How Fares the Battle?

Well, a few wrinkles have tossed themselves into the fray. As usually happens! 

A great feature for Nikon: Z bodies can upload 2Mpx images to the cloud. Does Lumix club do that as well? Hmm.. 

A quirk of the S1: note in the image that the LCD screen on top is active when power is off. That small drain (and perhaps others) can kill the camera battery in about three weeks of inactivity. Or so I've heard. Removing the battery will drain the small battery that keeps the clock and other settings working - and that battery requires an awful process to replace! Bummer..

One L-mount bummer is the lack of a sub-600-gram telephoto zoom. But since I now have primes at 200/4, 300/5.6, 400/6.3 & 500/8, how badly do I really need a zoom? 

And a Z-mount bummer is the lack of a 20-anything lens. They have Tamron's 70-300 (575g), sorta bulky but sufficient to fill the long end. 

Update! In searching for specs on the Vivitar (Kino) 2x converter, I found a Kiron 1.5x multiplier that would yield a 105-225mm f/5.2 - that would be nice! Since Kiron made the lens, it could prove to be a very good match.. and the 35-200 can move on. 

I find it curious that MY proposed kits each fail for lack of a zoom at one end or the other. Canon is just now adding its slower SLR-era 70-300 but Sony hasn't - so it isn't just one mirrorless mount that lacks a lighter slower long zoom. Ya'd think that tiny A7c, Z5 and S9 bodies would make smaller zooms a priority! Well clearly not, or at least ..not yet? 

So the full range S1 kit would be 20-60 + 70-150 + either a multiplier, or an appropriate prime or two. The 2x matched adapter makes for a slow 140-300/7.6 lens¹ - I feel less troubled by the 1.5x that stops at 225mm f/5.2ish. And we cannot forget that in either case the Nik-L adapter must be included! 

The Z6 would be the bulky [ftz plus 24-85G/vr] plus 70-300, and an 18-20mm prime placeholder. Sounds nice, and a prime or two.

So who wins this skirmish?

Z6, 24-300 + ftz = 1,860g

S1, 20-150, no 2x = 1,870g

A Draw. 

Variations: One could use the 70-150 on both to open the weight gap, but then it's 80g vs 20-24mm. Or add the 2x adapter (weight unclear) and the S1 becomes 1/2 stop slower at 300mm (and manual focus vs Z native) for the added weight of the converter. 

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Round 3: video quick check

This was simply checking 4k30 rolling shutter, and settings were really different. I had to reshoot the Z6 after capping the iso at 8000, for unclear reasons its iso max was 16000! In the end it shot at 640, but the S1 chose 2500? I wasn't checking sharpness and color anyway - and for rolling shutter effect I preferred the S1. I believe the readout speed on the two sensors is pretty close .. (checking) .. they match. Another draw. But my tests suggest a slight advantage to the Lumix. Maybe Venus vs Expeed co-processing tricks?

A Battle for the Ages!

 Yes, again. No wonder you look bored..

A Lumix ß1 (S1 for those who avoided German im hochscule) has come to contend with the Z6. The fate of the GX7 could also hang on the results!

I recently expanded my s5 v z6 table (below) to see what I really think about the recent choices I've made. Other than bulk, the S1 nearly won out at the beginning - but I wasn't fully aware of the firmware update it received with 2.0. That's a danger of buying old cameras based on their just-out camera reviews: seldom are text reviews updated after firmware 1.0, and video updates are out there but rare.

I could have had an ß1 for $120 less when I grabbed the ß5. And it turned out that the specs were valuable: 2-way tilt and ultra high vf resolution outdid the S5. But I panicked and chose the lower-mass option - and it wasn't a good fit.

With the Z6 I 'cured' many of the S5 issues, and also rediscovered the joys of using a decent 1-touch zoom (Vivitar's 70-150/3.8 Kino). That xx-200mm space has been abandoned by mirrorless models of every brand - and that lens adapts just as easily to any mirrorless body. Good evf resolution is really helpful with manual focus - and that's where the ß1 shines.

And so it comes down to this. Z6  vs ß1!

Comparable lenses will be tested at matching apertures for AF speed, AFc refocus, panning skew in video at 4k30, image qualities of many sorts. 

Winner gets stuck with me - the chronic complainer and perpetual gear switcher.

And on the third hand - or foot - if neither clearly blows me away, both could go! - and the μ43 kit reinforced with higher-end lenses with the proceeds (+ a higher spec body to replace the GX7)..

Stay tuned! Or not!