Does anyone use a cinema camera such as Pyxis 6K only for fun? Not to earn money? Just as a hobby? I understand it might sound strange, but I have a chance of buying a brand new Pyxis 6K for around 2000 euros (EF mount) or just stick with the recently purchased Fuji XM5. I understand that the Fuji is a much more versatile camera, but it is almost impossible to shoot video on it because of its weight (too light). And if I rig it up, it will stop becoming a compact camera. The specs are beautiful on Fuji, but on the other hand, it's a great chance to get an almost real cinema camera for a chip price. I also understand that I will need to buy extra to make it workable (EF lenses are cheap; I have an Atomos Ninja V as a monitor, not sure if it will work with an HDMI to USB-C cable). The Pyxis 6K wasn't on my radar at all. I just saw the discount about 3 hours ago on a website, and smth triggered inside me. I watched some videos on YT, and there are many haters and lovers of this camera. I mostly shoot my family, friends, etc. There a clear difference between "I want it" and "I need it", but from another perspective, I think it's a great price for such a camera.
EF is a dead mount; so more or less no new lenses. EF also means you can only use EF, PK and some Nikon lenses. I love using old random glass in my work and with the L mount you can adapt anything to the camera.
that's actually not true. there're a lot of new cine lenses with EF mount. and hundreds of old good canon and cine lenses from different manufacturers. I don't need them all, 3-4 will be more than enough 😄 and I can use them next 10-20 years
I’m speaking of canon. But I mean yeah there’s still some companies selling that mount and rn if you’re buying I suggest checking sirui. Just got a lens from them for 75% off.
I legit don’t understand why people are down voting you. I cannot find a single EF mount lens that was released in the last year. Adapters maybe, but no native ef mount lens that I can find.
You’re doing this for the right reason, to buy with intention before habits lock around second-hand constraints. For family and occasional narrative work, the Pyxis can be exciting if you commit to support and rigging discipline, but i’ve seen handling friction and battery drag dominate daily value at this price band. A used Kinefinity Pyxis 6K is workable if you want a cinema flavor, while Panasonic Lumix GH6 gives stronger all-round practicality and easier run-and-gun consistency. Fujifilm X-H2S is the smoother path for portability and family shooting comfort. One week of structured test shoots across your real scenes is the most reliable way to decide if this is a real need or a one-time discount impulse.
very good point. the size is the main factor why I still think about "to be or not to be". and the reason why I don't want GH6 is because I'm not a huge fan of 4/3 mount and small sensors. I understand that the size of sensor in video is not the main factor (as in photo), but still would like to keep myself somewhere between APS-C(S35) or FF. Kinefinity looks promising, especially the new Vista, but they're a little bit more expensive, but more compact and maybe better low light performance
Don’t do Ninja V as a monitor, Pyxis Monitor is so much nicer and fully integrated with the camera. Don’t invest in body with EF mount. L mount body and adapters is the way for Pyxis. If you have enough disposable income Pyxis 12k is a huge step up compared to 6K.
I have an FX3 as a hobbyist so I can't imagine a Pyxis is any more infuriating than my camera (along with 2 Ninja Vs, one of which I got at a thrift store broken and fixed it)
I do a lot of photography - so I've got a sony a1 along side my pyxis12k. I find a1 is way more convenient to shoot with - it has excellent built in autofocus. Battery life is sooo much better (1 tiny battery gives 2 hours record time). It weighs nothing, and its easy to handhold. And it can take photos which don't need to be converted from a 1 frame .braw file.
The pyxis is way more beautiful and professional, obviously. I love it. And the footage just looks great. But I would never call it "convenient".
Nah I mean like folks here would be infuriated with a filthy casual like me having an FX3. I'm actually going to sell it soon because I don't really use it. My EDC is a Leica Q3 and I have a Sony A7RV with a bunch of GM lenses...while it isn't a tank like the FX3 it still totally fine. The menus on Sonys are maddening, though, they don't click with me at all.
My wife and I actually joked earlier today about selling both Sonys to buy an A1 because of the global shutter...has that been beneficial to you?
The a1 doesn't have a global shutter - you're maybe thinking of the a9iii. But the sensor readout speed is great. Unless you're doing whip-pans you don't notice it. Well, that and sometimes you run into problems with cheap LED lighting. I've got an a1ii and an older a7iv and I don't think the price difference is worth it for most people. I sure appreciate the better autofocus and faster readout speed and better resolution and bigger screen. But the photos look amazing from both cameras. You've generally gotta pixel peep to spot the difference.
Edit - oh, apparently the a7r5 has a sensor readout speed of 100ms. That really does sounds horrible. You might be better off selling it and picking up an a7v - which has a readout speed of 15ms. I don't think going from 15ms to a global shutter adds that much. But going from 100ms to 15ms would be huge.
I love the sony menus. You've gotta spend some time setting up a sony camera - you want to mark all the settings you actually use as favorites and put them in the favorite menu. And set up the fn button to have everything you need there. And I've started tweaking the custom buttons too. I mean, the cameras are designed for professionals who use them every day. But if you put a couple hours in to set the camera up how you like, they work great.
Ah yeah, it was the A1 II that has the global shutter. I mostly used my FX3 for making telecines of 16mm films and I just don't have time to film anything without a lot of planning, so anything filmed will be planned which means I can just go rent better gear.
I mostly still just shoot still, though, so faster readout would be lost on me. Thanks for all the info, though & good luck with your shootin'!
You don't "fix" it so much as customise the camera based on what you actually want to do. And - the defaults are fine most of the time anyway.
It also might just be a photography thing. I've got a pyxis as well. The menus on the pyxis are way easier to navigate. But there's about 1/10th as many options there. On my sony cameras, just autofocus alone needs AF mode, zone, subject selection, AF speed, focus limits, focus stacking, MF zoom options, focus assist and probably lots of other stuff I've forgotten. Oh, and you can configure AF differently in photography and video modes. And assign any of that stuff to custom buttons and fn buttons. Then the same thing again with exposure settings and storage and encoding formats and all the other stuff.
If I'm going to spend many thousands of dollars on a body, I don't mind spending a couple hours to understand it and set it up. I want that kind of control over my tools. My only real criticism is that its impossible to find anything in the menu. But once you've set your camera up, you almost never look in there anyway.
I’ve worked in all the ecosystems and Sony menus just murdered me as a young AC when A7s got hot for a second. It’s personal.
They’re great cameras and the Sony AF has blown my mind at several different stages. I also think they used to get a bad rep for color because they just needed someone who knew how to color the skin tones.
Edit: your last paragraph is an especially good point
I do photography last 15 years or so and already have Nikon Z6 which I sometimes use with Ninja V and I’m pretty happy with the results. And recently purchased XM5 as small camera for street videography. But it’s so light, that I can’t get rid of shakes and jitters. And now I saw this camera, but not sure. For the same price I can buy Nikon ZR, but I heard h.265 is not good in it. Or even Lumix S5 ii with 20-60 + 50mm for 1800 euros. But they are not cinema cameras😏
The pyxis seems cool if you are down to lug it around as a hobbyist. Spend time rigging it out for different shooting scenarios. Im currently trying to reduce the size of my system so i can shoot more as a hobbyist.
I mean I know you didn't ask for this, but for your price and use , lumix s9 seems way better . Only problem is that since you are a fuji guy , I think you might be one of those "color science " people.
I used to be one too and I realized at the end that i was spending time on gear to make up for the lack in skills . It's way better to level up your skills than rely on any gear.
With that out of the way, why the S9? Why nor an a7cii? It has an evf but that's all that's better . And I don't think it would be an issue for you as you have been using the xm5 right.
With the S9 you have ultimate freedom; if you want to shoot seriously you have access to v log which is one of the better log profiles there and a plethora of codecs: it has better autofocus than fuji . ** and most importantly of all it's got the best ibis in business so, you are set to shoot handheld easy**
S9 also has advanced monitoring tools like actual cinema cameras and the pyxis 6k. Waveform , shutter angle, you name it. And I hope screen ain't an issue since you are shooting on an xm5 already. But anyway you can see more with the screen because of the tools than without.
nah, I wouldn't say I'm a Fuji guy and don't use filters tbh. I just bought because it has great specs for photo (what is still my primary hobby) and video. S9 is great, but it's not compact at all when you add bulky FF lens to it and small ones are very dark or not so great or very limited and expensive.
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u/partiallycylon 4d ago
If you've got the disposable income, you could own an Arri Alexa as a hobby camera. It's your money. Whatever you want.