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They connect rich Chinese, drug cartels and North Korean hackers—without anyone meeting

This week, TLS contributors select their favourites from 2025; plus an interview with CD Rose, winner of this year’s Goldsmiths Prize.

‘We Live Here Now’, by CD Rose

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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ARRI which still builds cameras in Germany is to close two factories as the ongoing retraction in filmmaking continues to bite.

The closure of the two facilities which produce ARRI lighting equipment (which by the way, is the best in the industry) will result in 150 job losses in Germany.

This is a real chance for Canon or Sony to save ARRI and in return be the dominant player in cinema.

If the company continues without a buyer, the future doesn’t look particularly bright – despite having the best sensor technology of any cinema camera company, and THE industry standard cinema camera with the Alexa 35.

What an amazing foothold in the market they have.

And yet, says ARRI this week:

“Like many companies in the film industry, Arri is undergoing a significant transformation to address lasting shifts in market demand while reinforcing its core strengths”

Source: Bloomberg: https://archive.ph/cOwK1

The problem is that high-end cinema is almost dead thanks to endless sequels, shitty multiplexes and a shift to streaming, the quality of filmmaking just hasn’t been there and the urge to leave the house has never been less.

The other problem is that the massive boom in streaming has also faltered and there’s now a glut of content, a total over supply of crap and the work has dried up at such an extent that it has rippled throughout the entire ecosystem – even going so far as to tanking the value of vintage glass on eBay!

Where once you couldn’t let a day pass without seeing 30 silly commercials on Sky TV shot with old anamorphic lenses, the bubbles and cinematic fashions have all seem to have gone away leaving just a general uninteresting slop in its place.

With the threat of Ai, it’s obvious that a further dramatic transformation of the commercial videography world will happen.

But as Nikon has shown with their purchase of RED, a company like ARRI would be an ideal target for Sony and can be an ongoing success story if only the 90 year old folk that run our favourite Japanese companies grew an imagination.

The post ARRI closes factories, contemplates company sale appeared first on EOSHD.com - Filmmaking Gear and Camera Reviews.

No episódio de hoje, Mano Brown e Semayat Oliveira recebem IZA para um papo leve, divertido e cheio de inspiração. Entre risadas e confidências, ela fala sobre o início da carreira antes de se descobrir na música, as transformações que vieram com a maternidade e os sonhos que ainda quer realizar. Uma conversa sincera sobre recomeços, fé, arte e futuro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this post, I reflect on the concept of an application menu for WordPress, aiming to streamline user interactions and enhance confidence in content manag

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Part two of David’s conversation with historian Chris Clark asks whether the best historical insights into Trump-like leadership come from comparison with kings or commoners, democrats or dictators. Does Trump’s leadership style share much if anything with an epoch-making politician like Bismarck? Should Trump’s public persona be understood as standing outside the norm of presidential politics or as quintessentially American? And what can we learn from a close reading of his magnum opus, The Art of the Deal?

Next time: The Rise and Fall of Homo sapiens

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Donald Trump has no desire to play global cop. That is tough on Denmark, a loyal sheriff’s deputy

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Today’s episode is the first of a two-part conversation with historian Chris Clark exploring how German history might help us understand Trump-like leadership, but not through looking at the Nazi period. Instead, David and Chris explore the character and leadership style of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a monarch with many Trumpian qualities. Was Wilhelm a populist or an elitist? Did he know what he was doing and what he was saying? Or was he out of his depth? Plus, how did his maverick and mercurial behaviour impact on those around him trying to run the country - and how did it help lead his country to ruin?

Next time on Trump-like leadership in German History: Chancellor, Tyrant, Emperor?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The Panasonic GH7 I believe to be the final model, but the second hand value of some Micro Four Thirds cameras has been on the increase. Could the system still find it’s way to co-exist with a legion of cheap and small full frame cameras, or is it game over?

One of the most underrated cameras of today is the final Olympus MFT model, the OM-1. This was in development by Olympus before they withdrew from the business and sold out to the Japanese investment company behind the new OM System branding. So it’s an Olympus flagship through-and-through, and what a tragedy we never got to see a full frame Olympus camera!

But the OM-1 is competitive with the Sony a1 in many ways, and actually in some ways better and more feature-rich. The in-body stabilisation on this camera has never been bettered by anything else (although the Nikon Z f comes close).

The OM-1 can be picked up cheap these days, but actually some of the Micro Four Thirds cameras have been steadily on the rise. The Panasonic GX9, GX8 and GX80 to name but a few – the rangefinder style small-as-possible mirrorless cameras are in fashion. Interestingly the more video-orientated models like the GH5 and GH6 have seen the opposite trend – a complete collapse in value, as so much of the pro video market has since moved on to full frame.

OM-System has been recycling the guts of the OM-1 and E-M5 Mark III for a few years now, but they haven’t done new silicon or significant performance upgrades. Panasonic on the other-hand has brought new sensors and processors to the table, and the GH7 feels like a great swan-song.

But the future of Micro Four Thirds isn’t in video.

If it rises again, it’ll be because of the demand for smaller and smaller cameras and fast lenses. Something the Canon RF system for example really fails to deliver on.

I really enjoy my Panasonic GX80 with Kern Switar 26mm F1.1 c-mount lens, the look and form factor is unique and it feels like such a well put together piece of kit. The OM-1 feels like such a nice ergonomic all-rounder, with incredible performance – even though the video quality isn’t up to the same standard as the Panasonic GH7 or G9 Mark II.

The latter has seen some pretty dramatic price cuts, as Panasonic struggles to shift them. Putting a Micro Four Thirds sensor in the body of an S5 Mark II was always going to be a strange choice, as what gives Micro Four Thirds its unique selling point is that it isn’t just trying to be a cheaper full frame system camera, it’s a different kind of tool. They particularly excel at telephoto photography and video, wildlife, sports, and lightweight small zoom lenses compared to their massive full frame equivalents.

Typically for Panasonic the G9 II which has now been cut to 1399 euros, is a really nice spec – especially for filmmakers as it’s basically a GH7 in many ways, with 4K 120fps and a great codec. But if Panasonic had put the guts of this camera in a GX9 style rangefinder-esq. body it would have FLOWN off the shelves. It really puzzles me why they didn’t. Equally, had the GH7 dropped the SLR-style form factor for a slimmer Sony FX3 style more modular square design, it would have helped it capture some of the zeitgeist in video land.

There’s only really one deciding factor now in the future of the format, and that’s Panasonic.

Do they continue it, find a new direction, capitalise on the demand that older models show is still there, or call it quits and throw ALL their weight behind L-mount?

If Panasonic updated the little GM5, with a better EVF and latest sensor, perhaps refreshed the GX9 to make it higher-end and more current, with the latest G9 II tech and video features, then also get innovative with a third model that we’ve never seen before – perhaps a miniature Leica M-clone with rangefinder window, or a tiny Nikon S rangefinder style body full of metal with retro appeal, or even a little Hasselblad medium format camera replica with the G9 II sensor, Micro Four Thirds would capture the imagination again.

Photographers would be all over it, and documentary filmmakers would love a Super 16mm format camera with a pistol grip, Digital Bolex style and RAW codec.

Come on Pana…

Show some imagination and keep the Micro Four Thirds show on the road!

The post What next for Micro Four Thirds? appeared first on EOSHD.com - Filmmaking Gear and Camera Reviews.

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