Sony Airpeak

That happened a few years ago...I haven't been following their businesses but I don't think Hasselblad has the same power anymore, especially with what's available and how powerful other cameras are for the price.

DJI needs to stick to drones or [non-gimbal] cinema cameras because it would be silly trying to go against Canon and Sony at this point (photography). Fujifilm also has a pretty nice $6K medium-format camera.
 
NorBro said:
DJI needs to stick to drones or [non-gimbal] cinema cameras because it would be silly trying to go against Canon and Sony at this point (photography). Fujifilm also has a pretty nice $6K medium-format camera.
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Agreed. The market has been dramatically impacted by Sony's ascension with its mirrorless cameras, but Canon has made a great comeback. Love Fujifilm's color science.
 
Canon is still #1 for photography but I think Sony has the upper hand with video starting with their loaded sub-$1000 options all the way to Hollywood's Venice.
 
NorBro said:
Canon is still #1 for photography but I think Sony has the upper hand with video starting with their loaded sub-$1000 options all the way to Hollywood's Venice.
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10-bit 4:2:2 high data rate codec in cam by Sony with the A7S3 was enough for use to move to mirrorless cameras. Just wish there was an easier audio solution.
 
32-bit float internally is on my short wish list for cameras.

(And not because I want to use a cheap microphone 20' away from someone but because I don't want to worry about clipping, and I'd like to have the option of keyframing it down in post.)
 
I love my Mavic 3 Cine that I recently got. It's an absolute joy to use. But there are definitely times during certain commercial shoots where having the ability to change focal lengths would be huge which is obviously something the Mavic 3 Cine cannot do. As such I'm still interested in maybe in the next year or so adding a larger drone to go with my M3C that can take interchangeable lenses.

The Sony Airpeak S1 had my interest until the 12 minute flight time was announced which is just insane in 2021. By the time you take off, get to your location and then calculate the same amount of time for the return home and landing, you really aren't getting much time to shoot.

The problem is there's not a lot of other options out there without getting to the $15-20K mark. Even the Inspire 2 with a Zenmuse X7 gets up there in price by the time you add batteries, lenses, and accessories, especially if you want to get the ProRes & raw licenses. It also wouldn't feel good to drop that kind of money on 5 year old tech.

Freefly has the new Astro line, but it's gone up significantly since the announcement. I built a cart out the other day for one and it gets in the $17-20K range depending on what you get for it. But right now that's the biggest competitor to the Airpeak S1 in terms of new drones that are relatively small and can carry a mirrorless camera. Outside of that, what other options are really out there?

Sony's Airpeak S1 with a gimbal comes in at $11,199. After adding extra batteries and accessories you actually could step into one at around the $12-13K range. That's really not too bad considering the competition's price and that you get to fly cameras and lenses you already own (if you're a Sony shooter that is which I am). The only thing holding it back is the battery life. If Sony could just fix that somehow, they could actually have a place in the market. But until they do, it's just not worth it.

As for me, I am now tossing around the idea of buying a used Freefly Alta 6 which with extra batteries and a case can be found for around $6K today. You need a gimbal for it, but I happen to still have my MōVI M5 which is perfect for the Alta 6 and can be mounted either underneath or on top depending on the shot you're after. It doesn't have the best battery life, but for the price it's a whole lot cheaper than any of the other options, especially for people like me who already own MōVI gimbals. And it may be older tech, but it's still a solid offering and for the money I think it's probably the route to go right now.
 
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