6 fs700's in the field

thekeygun

thekeygun

Well-known member
6 fs700's shooting run + gun in the field.

Casualties:

2 - shotgun mic holders (handheld cameras)

1- fs700 lcd/eyepiece cover


Overall I loved shooting with this camera, more so than many other cameras I have used for handheld shoots. I only have 2 major complaints and a few minor...

Minor- The microphone holders are unbelievably cheap and shoddy in construction. I've bumped around my hpx for years with the shotgun mic and the mic holder is still there. One day out in the field with the fs700 and the mic holder is completely broken!?! Not one but two!

The eyepiece cover got knocked off and we couldn't find the black clips that held the whole thing together. Which made the entire thing useless for the day. If a third party wants to make one that holds together and isn't so damn long I will buy it from them. I will support anyone interested in making a better eyepiece for this.


MAJOR - Why is the auto iris button directly under the manual iris control? Its so easy to accidentally hit the auto button when you are manually searching for the iris control. Sony can you create a firmware update so we can render this button neutral? Even when auto iris was used all I saw was serious flicker in a neutral and non-changing lighting situation. I'll never use this and sony has dedicated three buttons to this function. ( or is there something I am missing in the menu where I can change this, can't find it)

I knew this going into the purchase, however I want to still say that the lcd being on the top really sucks for run and gun work. I'll get an external monitor, but having the lcd on the side like the hvx made shooting like this so much easier and more efficient. Being able to quickly adjust the lcd on the fly depending on where you want to place the camera is essential for the work I do.


I really enjoyed shooting with this camera, ergonomics aside it wasn't that painful to shoot with. Way less painful than a rigged out dslr. At first hold it seems like an ergonomic disaster, however if you use it for a while you'll see its not so bad. I'm happy to have this in my toolbox and am looking forward to playing with this some more.
 
The LCD placement has also been my biggest gripe/concern with this camera. In my job I have a good percentage of run & gun as well and the top mounted LCD seems like just a horrible idea. Everything about this camera is so damn appealing except this one issue for me. It's enough for me to wonder how long it might take for Panasonic to release a competitive model (no, not the AF100) to wait and see what's next.
 
No camera has a monitor that you can focus with (shooting with a large chip in HD) .. IMO which means any camera needs a new monitor

From that perspective the fact that the FS100/700 folds away and is not a stupid excursion like the C300 means the monitor kind of scores well

Its also very nice for a director reporter to have a peek over your shoulder..

S
 
Yes, good points. Though no one will be looking over my shoulder when I'm running around through 1000 people at some fundraising walk.:)
 
morgan_moore said:
No camera has a monitor that you can focus with (shooting with a large chip in HD) .. IMO which means any camera needs a new monitor

From that perspective the fact that the FS100/700 folds away and is not a stupid excursion like the C300 means the monitor kind of scores well

Its also very nice for a director reporter to have a peek over your shoulder..

S
Click to expand...

It's interesting because people always say how good the ergonomics are on the C300, but the LCD is such a horrible implementation. Makes the FS700 LCD seem like it was invented by Jesus himself. I would take the FS700 lcd implementation over the C300s any day.

Edit: I was only joking about the Baby Jesus Comment :) But in all seriousness, I got my FS700 yesterday and I messed with it a bit last night. While the LCD isn't ideal, it's really not as bad as people make it out to be IMO. It's certainly much better than a 5D where the screen in locked off. I can see how if you are using a shoulder mount it's useless, but otherwise, it's fine for many situations. At least it doesn't require additional cables and control console like the C300 LCD.
 
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MisterCat said:
Yes, good points. Though no one will be looking over my shoulder when I'm running around through 1000 people at some fundraising walk.:)
Click to expand...

Exactly, I'm in the same boat as you. Most of the time i'm my own producer. Its about just getting the damn shot! I use peaking and my focus is fine. Easier to focus with a screen than without one.
 
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morgan_moore said:
No camera has a monitor that you can focus with (shooting with a large chip in HD) .. IMO which means any camera needs a new monitor
Click to expand...

I understand what you mean, but I focus off my FS100 screen all the time, especially considering I have expanded focus to check my work. I know plenty of people who focus off 5D/7D builtin lcds using clip on evf tubes/diopters. It is not as good as a 720p 5.6" monitor but then that isnt as good as a 1080p monitor, but you CAN focus off any of them, you just get less precision and have to know what to look for to be more sure things will be in focus at 1080p even though you aren't seeing all 1080p. In the field we rarely have a real 1080p monitor to focus from, even TVlogic 5.6" is only 720p and pretty small so you have to be close to it to see all that detail, and the ubiquitous panasonic 17" monitors are all 720p only as well. We learn to focus using other information like how out of focus things are in front and behind, distance, marks, aliases from sharp detail, peaking, expanded focus, etc.

That said, of course I can focus better on my TVlogic 5.6" or my DP4 with sharpening than I could on my built in LCD, but that doesnt make it impossible to do.
 
I totally agree with you Nyvz. About 4 years ago, I shot several projects on my Eclair ACL 16mm camera. To get focus, it was either tape measure or if you were out in the field, eyeball it or if using a zoom, you had to zoom all the way in, get focus, then go the desire focal length. I was able to focus pretty good. After that project, went to a 7D with a Z-Finder and it was so, so EASY to nail the focus compared to the Eclair. After using the Eclair (circa 1970's), a modern camera LCD with peaking, loupe and punch-in assists makes it a breeze to get focus, even when it's just the tiny screen on the back of a 7D.
 
@ Gene - a fellow Eclair user! Boy that dates us. :beer:

But the bigger the sensor, the more critical the focus. The golden olden days of 16mm when we had tape measures... Fer crying out loud, there's still a little spigot for your tape measure on the FS700, and sorry to rant, but when was the last time we saw somebody actually take the trouble to whip out a tape measure and then try to dial that on their photo lens? I'm sure it's there for pure 'hey this is a real cinema camera' marketing purposes only. Grumble, bah, humbug.

But the nurse says I must rest now, and :beer: to Mr Morgan Moore - I concur; it's sad news but the flip-up viewfinder is a great 'info panel' and so long as the camera is at a comfortable height (or lack thereof), focus aid. But as a 'finder of views' viewfinder with that chimney attached, it's spectacularly dreadful. I've not used mine in 7 months (since getting the EVF) and now I have two, I MAY... (MAY..) snap one in two (at the hinge) to make a nice screen shade, which would make the flip up screen better outdoors.
 
It not really relevant to this thread but I could waffle on no end about focus, I come from various stills cams, I have both struggled with the 5k hasselblad which I concluded was unfocussable with a GG viewer rendering the resolution basically pointless in most situations, again I find autofocus critical even on a 'low res' stills camera like my 11mp Nikon D3, not because I cant manually focus, but because I cant resolve the final gap between eyeball and eye lashes

To me I like to push it, low light, open lenses (less lighting budget faster set ups) whatever, I have the 720 smallHD which is kind of best in class at the moment, but IMO not really good enough for aquiring focus with 1080 video

I look forward to future generations of focus technology both AF and better monitoring..

Sure most people can get a sharp shot with their 11-16 at 5.6 using a crappy monitor but for really precise work it is IMO bascially still a guessing game, how the 4k gang think they will deal with this I have no clue..

S
 
i cant understand ..... so many negotive coments about c300 lcd...., i dont own it , but was lucky to hold it in my hands and its was kind of easy to focus with it, much easier then lets say with my AF100..... c300 had a better peaking and looked like it was larger in size as well...
 
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