These are great scopes for the money! I purchased the angled mm4 77 scope with the sdlv3 eyepiece and am very pleased with it's performance. The optical quality is on par with our alpha glass binoculars, Swaro and Zeiss). My wife and I use this scope primarily for birding. It fills our long distance needs perfectly. We mount it on a Sirui ST-24 tripod with the VA-5 fluid head, which has proved to be stable and lightweight. We also purchased some accessories. These include, Opticron's green canvas case, which is high quality, but almost too tight. It's difficult to operate both the swivel mechanism and the sun shade while the case is on. The phone adapter leaves much to be desired, especially for the high cost. It's not very stable and not as well designed as the competition. To make it even more convenient for hikes, I picked up a scope backpackthat attaches to the tripod legs, (made by LensCoat). This allows me to go hands free and use my binos while hiking. That said the scope is the best bang for your buck for those looking for a lightweight, near-alpha glass experience without the sticker shock. Well done Opticron!
I have bided my time and continued to use my mini 2 but I am now looking to upgrade to the mini 4 pro. I have three years experience of flying and have flown in some fairly strong winds. I was surprised when you mentioned that the mini 4 could be used in winds up to 23mph! I have flown my mini 2 in 30mph winds, albeit under 50 metres, without a single high wind warning so is this DJI deciding to err on the side of caution. Have you flown the mini 4 in stronger winds and if so have you made a video to demonstrate it's strong wind ability?
Hi, thank you for your question! I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there, that DJI are likely being extra cautious about wind speeds. Which I completely understand, as drones can be so dangerous especially when there are external factors that might affect its controllability, such as wind. I’ve heard first hand horror stories that have definitely made me even more cautious! Possibly the likelihood of strong gusts occurring increases at high winds. And as gusts are unpredictable, it would increase the difficulty of controlling the drone even more in those scenarios. So maybe another reasoning for DJI’s low threshold. Apologies that I don’t have a video testing how the mini 4 handles in high winds. I’m a very conservative drone pilot, so I hope you understand😊 Beth
To me the "only" feature that may be interesting is their predictive AI tracking (for soccer, volleyball, and basketball) if it actually works as promised when compared to an R3. Whether that is worth the upgrade remains to be seen (assuming you are shooting team sports).
0:55 😂 when you have 1:1 lens, the longer the MFD is the better. MFD is only relevant for non 1:1 lenses. The ideal would be to have a 1:1 with 1 m MFD, but optically, unfortunately is not possible.
I often wonder why people feel the need to post unhelpful negative comments, usually based on nothing but prejudice. What’s missing from all of them is how the photographer feels about using the camera. Some are well-specified but clinical and uninviting. Others are fine in some situations but not others. This looks to me like a useful lightweight travel camera, and even though it’s based on the Panasonic LX100, Leica has moved it in its own direction, both ergonomically and in terms of developed image. And Panasonic aren’t selling the LX100 anymore. Comparisons with phone cameras and full-frame ILCs just miss the point, and so do those who use them to snipe.
Ilm only gonna say three things.. 1) nice video man. very thorough ! 2) the LUMIX LAB APP is a GAME CHANGER and a WORKFLOW CHANGER, and every major camera brand will copy it and bring their own version of it, to set - transfer - share looks / luts / simulations to camera. Panasonic is ahead of the game. 3) The S9 is just FUN to shoot with. The Lumix Lab app and the LUTS provides a lot of the excitement, versatility, for sure... But it's just been fun. Pick a lut, send it to the cam, and go OUTSIDE to see what it does. That's the process I love and miss w/ a lot of other cameras. My Fuji's do it to an extent but, it's not as quick to set those looks, its just not the same. If you know you know. Cheers !
I like the Zoom features on cameras. Very useful. So the Sony ZV Cameras have a switch to do that. But still have to go into the menus to set up for the extra features but if using the extra zoom the image is not clear. I have the S5II & S5IIX and the menu system with all of the settings give you a lot of features that I haven't even tried to do. I have had a lot of cameras and recorded video time limits aren't a problem for me. Stabilization work arounds if the camera has none with higher shutter speed. No Low Light capability use software for noise or just stay in bed and go to sleep. LOL! I love all of my camera systems but I love tinkering with them and find out its strengths and faults. I hope the S9 features with the Phone App and Luts will be in a firmware update for my Panasonic S5II's. Great Video! Enjoy your technique and imformative description of the S9. Best Buy has it in Black but I want either the Red or Blue Color. I believe it also comes in Green. Best Buy sells the Black camera without a lens. The Red and Blue comes with the Kit lens. My Camera Store doesn't sell Panasonic except for used equipment. That's how I picked up my S5IIx with lenses. Love the Sigma's compact series lenses should go well with the S9. I need a portable camera, that is stabilized and takes great pics with a little video. Cheers!
even on video we can see quality of photo, it is garbage :((, smartphones can get better results... and lumix s9 just destroying this overpriced leica... micro 4/3 is dead
I'm using Xiaomi 14 ultra and must confess that at many situation, the phone beats the M43 compact camera. But camera gets better at Portrait due to the sensor size and aperture lens.
I cannot wait to get my hands on this camera! I've been in the market for a "truly pocketable" camera that's not a cell phone for along time, and none of the ones released in the last 3-4 years appealed to me. The D-Lux 7, Sony RX1R II, and Sony RX100 VIII were my finalists until Leica announced this one. Did more research, and I hard-landed on getting this. I'm definitely excited for this one!
I'm preparing to go on an African Safari this summer and am intrigued about this camera, but wondering if it's overkill over the p950 given how unsharp the images are in the end of the zoom range.
Hi there, I own the exact same kit and strongly suggest putting a wrist strap on that lens and holding it always by the lens foot as the weight of that lens will warp your Z8 or 180-600mm mounting flange or both and will get a loosie twist feel when handing in the long run. With BIF I always use the Focusing box "wide L". In my "I" button, I setup to quickly change the focusing box for different scenarios like if the bird is behind heavy bush, I can switch it to spot focus. I set up CAF and MF override so If I need to, I can fine tune with manual focusing with focus peaking turned on. The other thing I can suggest is set up a Shoot A and Shoot B with settings for auto ISO (Shoot A) and ISO you can control with exposure compensation to the right 1-2 stops (Shoot B) for birds in flight that are consistently coming from one direction or static birds. If that Kite would consistently fly into the wind, I would Shoot in B mode that way I have proper exposure on the kite and then you can bring back that sky in post. If the Kite would be erratic and flying in all directions then Auto ISO, Shoot A mode, get it Sharp and deal with exposure and shadows in post later. By the way I never waste memory space shooting in Jpeg and Raw because remember you only got on CF card slot in that Z8, and I'm always shooting in FX, High Burst 20fps. I like CF Type B cards of 512GB. Do your research and you can get excellent brands at an excellent price. My SD card slot on my Nikon Z8 is always empty. For wildlife photography you want speed of capture, so CF always. BTW I considered the Z9 because of it having 2 CF card slots, but the weight and size between both camera bodies was a big factor in my decision. If I got a static bird, on approach I always try to move around considering its background and that all important Bokeh. Like you said, unfortunately having alota patience in order to get that killer shot is what is most important for this genre of photography. Other than that, that kit will definitely make your better at wildlife photography and like you say practice, practice. My 2cts and tips for anybody out there considering this excellent kit.
Disappointed by the dial for film sims. Seems a gimmick to me. How do I select multiple shots - a function I use a lot for wildlife photography? Thanks.
Hi, multi-shots are still easily accessible - you can get to that whole menu by pressing the delete button right under the film sim dial and then using the joystick to select your choice
Thanks a lot Derrick. The first section was filmed at Avalon marshes in Somerset. The 2nd at Slimbridge wetlands centre and the 3rd (Red Kite shots) up on Cleeve hill in the Cotswolds.
I am thinking to get one. I shoot on a x100f (Fuji) jpeg and road but jpeg on across and I have to admit, I do not touch the Raw and clean up the jpeg. But I feel limited in the law lights situations. It is likely me and not the camera but, I feel I can use all the help I can get from a full size sensor, monochromatic and 1.7 aperture. Be kind but let me know what you think