I watched this, plus the one he linked to where he waxes lyrical about the S9. Neither video convinced me that I need or want either of these cameras. It seems he likes the S9 because:
- He likes the in-camera processing (LUTs etc). I hate in-camera processing.
- He takes a lot of shots on outings and wants to push them to social media quickly via his phone, perhaps with a little editing. I try to keep the shot count down and I’m in no hurry to publish anywhere. I also hate trying to do any image manipulation on a phone.
- He can cope without an EVF. I can’t.
- He does a lot of vidoe. I struggle to spell it.
- He finds taking an S5-sized camera with him is sometimes an encumbrance. I can see where he’s going here, but for times when a “proper” camera is inappropriate, the slightly smaller size of the S9 really won’t make a difference, esp if it’s got the 28-200 mounted on it (which he thinks is a good combo). For me, if I were desperate for a truly compact half decent camera for social use (something better than an iPhone), then I’d get an LX100, or maybe one of the 1” cameras like the RX100. Or maybe the GR3. All are way smaller then an S9 with any lens mounted.
As to the BF, he says that it’s flawed (missing near-essential features), but that its positioning as the Rolex of the camera world makes up for it. I’m sure it’s a delightful camera to hold etc, but at the end of the day, those missing features are important for me (IBIS, EVF, swivel screen). His analogy of the BF being like a friend whilst the S5/S1 etc are like work colleagues doesn’t work for me since I view all my camera gear as tools, not as living things that I form relationships with!
But of course, all this is just my opinion and it’s clear that not everyone has the same opinions! So, vive le sport!
I'll say right off the bat, not sure I would have bought a BF if I hadn't just happened upon a used one, with a spare battery, that I felt I could try for a while with little financial impact, and I do like a "play" with something new now and then, brightens my often boring life!!!
To answer your points.
No, I'm no fan on in-camera processing, I have no clue about LUT's etc, probably because I don't do (understand) video. But the fact that you can plug the BF into your phone and download and edit the photo's is quicker than hoping for wifi to stay connected through an app. I love the whole usb-c cable thing for charging and downloading the photo's, I copy them over onto an external hard drive, so speedy, much less bother than cards, and I like the way the BF handles the file storage, saved by date into the internal memory.
I prefer an EVF of course, but in use I haven't had an issue with the BF, even in bright daylight it's been fine, mostly I leave the screen set to brightness level 3 - up to 5 when necessary, and there is an outdoor brightness assist beyond that. I've not missed IBIS yet, but I use other camera's with no IBIS it's not an absolute need for my use.
There is no size benefit in the BF, it's still a largish camera, and there's still have the lens size issue, L mount not being blessed with many small (good) options, however, the 45 and 90 contemporary Sigma's are great on the BF, and I'm sure adding the 24mm 3.5 would make a lovely kit. I'm more likely to chuck the aps-c 18TL on the F for a light small option and take the hit on pixels, that is when I'm not using manual lenses, I have good options for small and light there. I find it comfortable in my hands, I can see why some would want a grip but I haven't felt the need yet and I've been out with it for hours on end. Battery life is perfectly acceptable, I've only swapped to the second battery once, and I just charge them in camera.
So I knew what was missing from the camera, but what I didn't know was how much I would like the menu and controls, so intuitive and quick, every camera should have buttons and dials that feel like the BF, how well the autofocus worked, and it's pretty good, how well it handles manual lenses, tap the screen on where you want focus magnification, add lens details to the exif, there seems more detail in the images than other 24 megapixel cameras I have used, (I can't explain that), so for me it's an enjoyable
tool. I'll share a few happy early days snaps.
- Sigma - Sigma BF
- 50mm F1.4
- 50.0 mm
- ƒ/1
- 1/800 sec
- Pattern
- Manual exposure
- ISO 100
- Sigma - Sigma BF
- ƒ/4
- 1/640 sec
- Pattern
- Manual exposure
- ISO 400
- Sigma - Sigma BF
- 90mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary 021
- 90.0 mm
- ƒ/2.8
- 1/640 sec
- Pattern
- Manual exposure
- ISO 100
- Sigma - Sigma BF
- 90mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary 021
- 90.0 mm
- ƒ/2.8
- 1/250 sec
- Pattern
- Manual exposure
- ISO 200
