A few questions for FS100 users

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ibhhvc

Active member
I'm looking at the FS100 and the C100 right now and I have some little specific questions that I can't seem to find answers for. Any help at all will be really appreciated:

1. Audio: How is it to ride the gain during, say, an interview? Does adjusting it while filming tend to shake the camera? Also, can you turn on phantom power to each XLR separately or is it just on or off?

2. Is the LCD (with modifications to the loupe) really useable or am I going to have to factor in the cost of a monitor or 3rd party EVF? I'm not against getting one, but that just means more setup time.

3. Controls: I keep reading that the controls are counterintuitive, or that buttons seem to be in all the wrong places. Are there any in particular I should be aware of ahead of time? Are basic settings like WB and ISO hard to get to when you need them?

4. Post: How much time are folks devoting in post to getting the image right? Is filmconvert a necessity? I keep hearing that the C100 delivers a better image right out of the camera but the FS100 can catch up with some post work. I'm just wondering how much exactly (since time is money

Many thanks in advance!


[In case anyone cares, this is my pros and cons list right now:

FS100 Pros (vs C100):
Slow motion
Better expanded focus
Speedbooster
Price

FS100 Cons (vs C100):
Smaller DR
No dual card slots
No NDs (although this is NOT a big minus because the C100 NDs look insufficient for most situations)
Possibly longer post workflow]
 
1. The audio is pretty easy to handle. The two gain pots aren't in the bet position, but they are smooth and don't shake the camera if it is firmly locked off and you use a light touch - just tried it at 105mm and cludn't see shake. Each input's phantom power can be switched individually. Also I love how one mic input can be mapped to two channels, each with a different gain - so you have a lower level to save the recording if it suddenly gets too loud.


2. The LCD is alright; not as fine as a dedicated EVF, but quite adequate if going handycam-style. The eyepiece tube looks daft at its normal length, but it can be shortened quite easily by unscrewing the middle section and either glueing or velcro-fixing the two remaining parts together. Much better!
The lack of waveform is very annoying! Sony, please make a firmware v3 and add it!
If you want to go proper shoulder-mounted with either the FS100 or C100, you'll need to get an EVF anyway, so neither wins there.


3. The side buttons are quite recessed (FS700 buttons protrude a little more,) but you get a feel for where they are eventually. Overall not wonderful but not a deal-breaker by any means. The extra record button at the front is nice to have, if a bit buried (like most of the other controls!)
The ones that give me some trouble are:
- Expanded Focus is hidden round the corner when operating from rear, doesn't always feel like it's there.
- Zebra & Peaking buttons sometimes get mistaken for each other.
- Cluster of four oblong buttons at back corner too close together.

White Balance has two push-presets and one dialled-in preset on its lever switch.
Button 5, which is more or less above the auto white balance button, is quite handy to assign to "WB PRESET", which can be used to quickly toggle between Kelvin, Outdoor & Indoor presets. The Kelvin WB can be set with the WB SET button and the adjacent dial.

ISO / gain has three presets on the other lever switch, which have to be adjusted in the menu. It's best to estimate what levels you'll need before a hectic shoot starts. For quick change of settings, you can assign three different levels on ISO mode, and another three on GAIN, and just switch between the modes if you need a different set (for instance, ISO 500 / 1000 / 3200, then 15dB /18dB / 24dB).


I too considered the C100, but for me, the FS100 was much cheaper and more versatile.
- EF mount? But I want to use any lens I want! OK if you have an investment in EF glass, but otherwise no.
- 1080 30p max? Nope, 50p/60p much better.
- Mediocre little viewfinder? Don't want to pay for something I won't use.

The FS100 sensor is brilliant., but the picture profiles are still a pain. Even after experimenting with loads of knee & slope settings, I still can't get high DR scenes to hold onto as much highlight detail as I'd like while still being properly exposed in the mids. That's my major problem, and it worries me from time to time.


4. Providing you get the image right enough in-camera, which you should try to do all the time with 8-bit cameras,
If you fluff a shot with a C100 you could spend just as much time trying to correct it in post as another camera. There's no way of us predicting how much post you'll need on your shots from any camera.
Filmconvert won't bring back lost highlights, but it is fascinating. Though I tried using the plugin for Premiere Pro, and apart from the awsomely fast GPU-accelerated film grain, the camera presets were terrible. Maybe better if you feed it FS700 clips (which they were really made for,) but it just doesn't seem FS100-friendly. And are they going to fix the drop-down list for the camera presets? The Sony ones are right at the bottom and it takes tedious time to scroll down them all. Bad interface fail there.


Hope this was useful.
Your choice ultimately - both are good cameras. C100 is a bit more convenient but somewhat more limited, FS100 is more versatile but a bit more quirky.
 
Jeff's observations are spot on. I would also suggest that run and gun is a challenge and you will need to rig for it. ND has been discussed at length here and you can follow that up, I use a combo of VND at times and my mattebox with full and grad nd. I might also suggest that you consider a Ninja 2, which is also discussed at length in other threads. Sony is moving forward with a large selection of E-mount lenses and there are adapters for anything you might want to throw on the front end. Good luck.
 
Thanks, Geoff, for such a detailed and helpful response. I think you hit the nail on the head with your final sentence, at least from what I've been able to gather so far.

FS100 used can be found for at least $1000 less than C100.

There's this interesting add-on: http://www.holymanta.com/products/eos-nex-vd ($315 USD)

Plus a Ninja 2 (~$500 used)

Plus the speedbooster (~$300 used)

Now you've got a FF, low light camera with an external recorder (and backup card) plus NDs, plus 60fps for about the same price as the C100. Only problem is you need to put all that together instead of being able to grab a single unit right out of the case.

Interesting about the picture profiles. Of course I expect to devote time to rescuing shots no matter the camera, my main concern is working with a camera where each shot demands attention in post. Again, not that I don't like doing grading, I just don't get paid enough to justify the time.

Thanks again for the very helpful post. I will keep thinking this over.
 
You mentioned slow motion as a plus for FS-100. That would best be stated as "slight slow motion." There was at least one person on these forums that thought the FS-100 had slow motion like the FS-700. Incidentally, is that camera outside your price range?
 
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Yes, slight slow motion is the right term for it but, compared to basically no slow motion (or deinterlaced from 60i with lower-than-1080p-resolution slow motion) from the C100, the FS100 has the edge. Thanks for clarifying for the sake of accuracy, though.

The FS700 plus add-ons is, unfortunately, beyond what I can afford right now which is too bad because I really love what it can do.

The announcement of the GH4 has now confounded my search. Not that I think it'll be the perfect camera, but it offers so much more (96fps at 1080p, 4k obviously) for what will most likely be below $2k that it makes me frustrated by the C100 and FS100 prices and specs. But I should bite my tongue before this becomes another GH4 thread.
 
The slow motion on the FS100 is actually really nice. It's not 10x slow motion like the FS700, but is instead 2.5x slow motion.
It looks very nice. I shot this entire spot with it.

https://vimeo.com/51583807

I would certainly buy the FS700 instead of the FS100 if you have the choice. But if you can't swing the extra money, the FS100 is
pretty good. I actually find the 2.5x slow motion to kind of be the 'sweet spot' as it adds a touch of drama without being overly slow.
However, when you need it, it's nice to have that 240FPS slow motion, I just don't need it a ton. I shoot it more just for fun and to
look at it then in any real paying projects.
 
That's a nice spot and the slow motion serves it very nicely. As you said, it's not something to use every time but it's nice to have access to when something like that comes along. Frustrating that there are still cameras (mostly made by Canon) that can't offer it. Even the c300 can only do 60fps at 720p.
 
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