FS7: 5 reasons the URSA Mini is better than the Sony FS7

Paul schefz said:
i agree about the varicam.....everything i have seen looks pretty amazing....
i left the red world mostly because of dragon and i don't see anything in the scarlet that would bring me back....
the reason i keep coming back to sony is that i am buying more and more sony stuff.....the A7RII is (while not perfect) a pretty insane camera....that little 6300 looks really promising....and the e mount lets me use anything from old russian lenses to leica to nikon to canon....but there i keep getting more and more sony lenses as well....i love the 28-135...the 16-35/f4 is the best all around option in that range IMO, the 28, 35 and 55 are incredible, the new 85 G 1.4 might just be the last 85 i will ever buy (haha)....and they keep coming out with more lenses every couple of months....nobody can compete with that....
i even bought a little sony mic for the a7rII and it rocks....super easy to use and it is better then all the rode/sennheiser/...dslr mics....and it was cheaper....
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I left Red because of the weight of the setup and the rental market dying on its arse.
 
Ben Scott said:
I vowed I wouldn't buy Red again and jumped to Sony and now I'm vowing I wouldn't buy Sony again and am looking at alternatives!
Scarlet and Varicam LT looking most interesting so far.
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I'm waiting to see RAW from the Varicam, but that's quite high on my list.

There seems to be quite a few interesting choices coming up though, i wonder if NAB will bring anything new. Even if it doesn't there's good stuff coming out.

I like the Sony stuff, but only when it's RAW. I'm still tempted by an F55 for example.

But there's part of me that looks at how we shoot, i don't rent out, and have complete control over post that says. I could get a handful of Ursa Minis...

Funnily enough it's the lens mount that puts me off the most - i love the emount and all the lenses i can put onto it. I wish there was a more pro version of it.

Then again, i love the potential of the A7sII, if i could get RAW out and better rolling shutter i'd be a very happy camper!

cheers
Paul
 
Paul, I will do my darnest to get you some really good quality RAW from the F55. It will have to be just some random personal stuff. I'm actually shooting a several commercials next week but they won't go for Sony RAW and for one segment I'm actually using the BMPCC believe it or not. It's funny what can dictate a decision on camera, etc.. in this case size.

I would love to just shoot RAW on the project anyway and simultaneous XAVC to SXS cards but even if I did, because it's commercial gig I wouldn't be able to post or share those frames at all. Plus it's mostly food and hands so no face & skin tones which is where I like to objectify the most.

If you, or anyone for that matter, can snag a deal on the F55 you really wouldn't regret it. It's quite damn future-proofed as much as that realistically means in this day and age. I'm thinking they will come out with a LITE version of RAW sooner or later because 3:1 compression is beautiful but some additional compression options would be nice. The newer R7 recorder coming out later this year will allow full sensor 4K in 120fps which is nice to know is coming - almost everyone else is windowing instead. When R7 is released, the R5 RAW units may drop and that is a perfect time to snag one up.

Also not to start any rumours, but CP has recently said in the forums that for an upcoming series 4K is the mandate so it's plausible he will be looking at the F5/F55 and now there is someone who can really show the camera's potential unlike me who shoots up actors noses, frames poorly, and doesn't use a fill reflector. :happy:

cheers mate,
 
FWIW, Geoff Boyle was being interviewed by Dan Chung of the Newsshooter a few weeks ago at the (well, whatever that UK pro video gear show is called) about mostly C300 MKII and Geoff rather casually remarked that ARRI is in trouble because it doesn't have a pro 4K camera (technically, they obviously do with Alexa65 ... except it's basically a feature type product with a humongous price tag) at the time when the global TV production, especially in the US, is quickly shifting towards it.
 
DLD said:
FWIW, Geoff Boyle was being interviewed by Dan Chung of the Newsshooter a few weeks ago at the (well, whatever that UK pro video gear show is called) about mostly C300 MKII and Geoff rather casually remarked that ARRI is in trouble because it doesn't have a pro 4K camera (technically, they obviously do with Alexa65 ... except it's basically a feature type product with a humongous price tag) at the time when the global TV production, especially in the US, is quickly shifting towards it.
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Arri aren't in trouble, I think Netflix and Amazon are the only crowds mandating 4k acquisition at the moment, and that's only for the narrative shows they produce (Making a Murderer certainly wasn't 4k, and they're plenty happy with that), not the content they acquire. Global Film and TV production is still firmly entrenched in HD acquisition (and still largely SD distribution). And until the post and delivery pipelines get upgraded significantly, that isn't going to change.
 
Grug, I see from your posts your in Oz. Agreed SD/HD will be here in Oz on Free to air for ever....yet free to air here is in turmoil because of the global names you already mentioned (which mandate 4K deliverables ).

Our countries population is tiny, I wouldn't confuse that with a global audience and global distribution, 4k is a mandated deliverable for global media platforms ( though not for cinema release...yet) HD may become UHD. But sure as night follow day deliverable resolution will increase....not stall.

As Geoff Boyle pointed out "Upscaling" has been rejected by both Amazon & Netflix. Given the increasing importance of TV/Screen production I doubt a company as successful as Arri is ignoring those stats and compliance rejections. They can't afford too..........which will present an interesting predicament for Amira owners when Arri ( despite all there historic rhetoric ) go 4K .

( So agreed Arri isnt in trouble............. yet............. if they are listening )
 
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It's funny that (my) corporate, testimonial and "product information" clients ask for shooting in 4K since quite a time even if they are not able to watch it in 4K. Mostly these videos end up embedded on their homepage in 720/4mbps or on their YT channel in 1080. 1080 is way enough but as they heard about 4K they want their footage "future proof" What can you do? You can discuss with them and give them the impression you are condescending them or do what they ask for. I do shoot in 4K and charge them for 4K -> Win/Win
 
DLD said:
FWIW, Geoff Boyle was being interviewed by Dan Chung of the Newsshooter a few weeks ago at the (well, whatever that UK pro video gear show is called) about mostly C300 MKII and Geoff rather casually remarked that ARRI is in trouble because it doesn't have a pro 4K camera (technically, they obviously do with Alexa65 ... except it's basically a feature type product with a humongous price tag) at the time when the global TV production, especially in the US, is quickly shifting towards it.
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Geoff Boyle talking bollocks, who'd have thought it?
 
DLD said:
FWIW, Geoff Boyle was being interviewed by Dan Chung of the Newsshooter a few weeks ago at the (well, whatever that UK pro video gear show is called) about mostly C300 MKII and Geoff rather casually remarked that ARRI is in trouble because it doesn't have a pro 4K camera (technically, they obviously do with Alexa65 ... except it's basically a feature type product with a humongous price tag) at the time when the global TV production, especially in the US, is quickly shifting towards it.
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It was at BVE:

http://www.newsshooter.com/2016/03/...kes-varicam-lt-image-uses-c300mkii-autofocus/
 
If only there was a nice backlight on the chappy in the car port.

So Sam, what do you literally "feel" about the footage?

It's quite nice. Thick, bendy, luscious, organic.
 
I 'feel' my computer cannot handle it so grading is a bit painful.

Simply it kind of 'does what it says on the tin' .. add 709 lut and it looks good, everything works, the BMW shots are very sharp. As one would expect for linear what is gone is gone.

Weirdly (as Ive had explained to me by the BM team) the big space of resolve it doesnt really matter if you make changes in the raw tab or the other tabs.. (unlike capture one-> photoshop where you must do the sliders then export for the secondaries - very clunky) so Im not to bothered with the raw tab. Missing is the click WB which I use all the time in Capture One/Stills

Im enjoying the FS7 footage at the moment probably just because Im getting feel for it..

Tests with the FS7, the only struggle is the bike shot where I try to bring focus to the girl who is in shadow..


S
 
I also note that the BMC raw tab allows ISO change in the software.

Im guessing that the camera is basically native 200/400 depending on your interpretation.. shooting high ISO is just a meta data and onboard lut boost (like EI)?

ie the camera is like Red (or at least older red) where ISO boosts are not done in camera just stored as meta (unlike DSLR or Panny and probably Canon and Sony in some modes)

That tech is pretty old now.

The camera will get panned for FPN when the muppet brigade go out with the thing set on 1600 and fail to fill the WFM/Histo!

I dont know if it the linearDNG thing but BMC cameras feel simple and honest to me.. (an in pro res too)

"here you go, 400ISO, no wierd compression algorythms, vingette correction or any other in camera funk.. just a file.. take it or leave it."

I know people some people dont agree with my concept of actual ISO change in camera doing anything.. Im happy to disagree. With a nikon NEF or Canon CR2 the file clearly is boosted in a destructive manner.

S
 
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Fixed pattern noise certainly seems better than the BM cameras that have preceded it. But the missing OLPF is my biggest concern - the BM cameras CONSTANTLY give me grief with seemingly any fabric that isn't a cotton t-shirt or fur coat.
 
Grug said:
the BM cameras CONSTANTLY give me grief with seemingly any fabric that isn't a cotton t-shirt or fur coat.
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Its 400 ISO sensor in a box man. You gotta sort out your own diffusion, IR filtration or whatever. Thats why its half the price of the competition (until you spend serious $ on the right filtration tools!)

Of course thats what we all wanted when the only affordable options burned in putrid 709 looks a super high rates of compression.

S
 
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So the thread was " 5 reasons the URSA Mini is better than the Sony FS7"

Well clearly (to me) the FS7 custom mode will whack this thing in low light situations.

S
 
Mosaic engineering will probably make OLPF for those die hard OLPF fans. They already do for other BMD cams from what I understand.
 
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