Cinematics ? (A very personnal job-situation review (aged 62 years now)
Well, Pentaxistic videomakers are so rare ... we can't really open up a discussion or "Learning DSLR" group here it seems (quoting beloved "Dave Dugdale's" Tube-Series, that really teaches so very well) This whole Pentax thing is mostly off-road (highway to hell) Lots of frustrations to come for low-low budget fools like us. You either get it - or not ...
Watching Panasonic Lumix GH5 ... or Sony's 7S ... or alpha 6500 ... Canon, even Olympus or whatever ... and then returning to what could be possible with Pentax ... leaves us almost speachless.
What about me ? I am a frustrated ENG-Cameraman who, years ago, lost all contacts to tv-production-companies. I never had my own professional equipment and almost no direct connections. I always used the company's professional equipment for all my broadcast jobs as a freelancer.
Four years ago I dropped my dead job and started working as a photographer with my Pentax K10D which did the job absolutely sufficient enough ... well, just photos of refurbished young AUDIs ... lol. Then I switched to K7 and K5 to find a way of returning to video with my own equipment and even my own storytelling. This idea failed to work out because I didn't get the knick of finding my own customers and be happy with my Pentaxes to really go for straight job-acquisition.
For years I knew it must rather be ... could only be ... a Panasonic Lumix GH 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... or 5 ... to start all over again. When money came close enough I tested the GH5 with a 12-35/2.8 and a 35 -100/2.8 in the shop. I found out AF was not my choice and manual focus was poor in the eyes of my old school skills. Yes, the focus-peaking is quite good but overlays the now viewed image. Before I only used such a focus-assistant if I had to work with company-equipment that had no sharp viewfinder for focussing their semipro cameras. Nowadays AF is needed because cheap lenses are not parfocal and can't zoom in for focussing and then zoom back and shoot.
Today I got an optional job with a DSLR or DSLM - and might get the courage together to jump in the cold water and just buy equipment. I am so tired to rent a camera - cause I have done this for years for non broadcast-jobs, but again and again technical problems happen due to those non-professional tools and their bad caretaking. Sometimes I was lucky enough: The sound was OK and usable, batteries were strong, tripod was stable enough, etc. The other problem is you mostly have different systems, quality and extras, depending on what is still available in the shop right now. A tricky game. Now I want my own stuff only !
But most of all I now need new ways to go for jobs ... New path, new camera, new positioning ...
The shop nearby sells the Panasonic GH5 but only rents a Sony A7S II ... mostly with Metabone Speedbooster to add Canon quality lenses - not my choice I think. To heavy for handheld jobs
So now the point to jump for a GH5 is closer than ever - but I also don't want to fool myself just because of this optional job ... but it could also serve me well to make the jump at all.
Pentax-Alternative could only be:
Get a connectable viewfinder for the display, so manual focussing can be controlled well enough. (For me even with additional lenses inside - done by the optician - needed for my old-age reading-glass distance) Get a Pentax K-01 or the new KP and add your favourite lenses for manual focus ... Forget about the unusable Shake Reduction (mechanical and electronic) and use some sort of shoulder-support to smoothen the hand-held shaking ... or use a tripod of course.
Thinking over GH5 and 7S II ?