FS5: A7Rii vs FS5

JMtheDP said:
There is something very wrong if you are considering getting an easyrig to handhold an FS5/7.... probably more to do with the camera's form factor than your strength. Over a certain weight you really need to be putting the weight on your shoulder - this is why "smaller" cameras are fundamentally flawed for "cine" work, IMHO. Your own personal mileage can and will vary.
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But you don't always want to shoot at exactly shoulder height with an FS7/FS5, sometimes you want to go a little higher or much lower. And that is when an easyrig makes heaps of sense.
 
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I think it all depends on the lens.. the F55 is also very light body only.. Stills lenses or Samyang also fine.. but any large cine prime it will get heavy.. let alone a CN7 or Cabrio.. then you need an easy rig if your doing HH all day.. I haven't used an Fs7.. but i imagine its about the same as the F5/55 with the back and a V mount battery.. agree as above .. for waist height shots HH.. the easy rig is a good way to go.. any camera..
 
If someone is going to have a camera on their shoulder all day I would have thought a shoulder-mount camera would make more sense... there is a reason broadcast cameras were the shape they were.

If you are on your own then an Easyrig isn't very easy to get on and off (in my experience) which can make life difficult. But I'm approaching stuff from a cine background. I've used an Easyrig once and did not like it.
 
James, what I said on page 4 was that I'd need an easy rig for my F55 fully decked out if the director wants a "handheld" look/feel. But I would rather spend that money on a 2nd camera like FS5 which is better suited for handheld work. Hopefully that's clearer now. cheers,
 
"If you are on your own then an Easyrig isn't very easy to get on and off (in my experience) which can make life difficult. But I'm approaching stuff from a cine background. I've used an Easyrig once and did not like it."

You might have been using an old model..? its very easy to put on /take off by yourself .. just have to watch the arm swinging around.. ! I dont think anyone really likes to have to wear an easy rig .. if magically the rig could be supported by an invisible antigravity force field.. :).. using it once /first time is a pain.. but you can get used to it .. and for some shoots its really the only way to get through the day.. the reason they are not shot with a broadcast camera is because production want to shoot s35.. and often 4K.. they dont care about the DP,s comfort or even doesnt cross their minds .. that argument is sort of a non starter.. why did they use all those cars that broke down and made noise when they could have just used the horse that was fine before.. :)
 
There's also Atlas Camera Support. I think, they use the fiberglass rods (and a small vest).
 
nsoltz said:
Chinese knock-off of Easyrig, if anybody dares... ;)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Easyrig-3-1...252206?hash=item3f569fca2e:g:0qcAAOSwHjNV-9YR
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orpheus_c is an eBay seller who has a good reputation for sourcing good but affordable cinema gear. He has listed at the moment an easyrig and a serene knock off:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kovacam-Vib...imbal-Ronin-/111821295394?hash=item1a09118f22
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kovacam-Flo...der-easyrig-/121769867430?hash=item1c5a0cb8a6

If I was in the market for one of these and had this budget, this would be the first I'd turn to getting. (but I can't really afford it right now... plus I'd rather go with a system than can support 15kg+, not 8kg absolute max)
 
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starcentral said:
James, what I said on page 4 was that I'd need an easy rig for my F55 fully decked out if the director wants a "handheld" look/feel. But I would rather spend that money on a 2nd camera like FS5 which is better suited for handheld work. Hopefully that's clearer now. cheers,
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I've been doing handheld with larger cameras than that for five years now and not used the Easyrig beyond the one time production got it for me, on an M-X. I found the clip which held the camera handle was awkward to attach/detach for my ACs. That and the model I was using did not have variable counter-weighting, it was a gamble whether you'd get one which worked with the rig or not. I imagine they have improved.

I find the F55s can become front heavy though, that is a bigger problem than the overall weight of these things. I wonder if the broadcast adapter might help it even in a cine configuration? I don't know if you can use the raw adapter at the same time though...
 
This is a pretty good write-up on A7sii vs A7rii. The A7sii is cleaner but I certainly won't be shooting at 25,600 anytime soon so I still think the A7rii is the one for me.

https://www.cinema5d.com/sony-a7s-ii-vs-a7r-ii-test-which-one/

a7s-II-vs-a7r-II-lowlight.jpg
 
I just posted this on Instagram (Anticipate Media) with a few pictures:

(Pictured) The Sony A7R2 with lens next to the new Sony PXW-FS5. Incredibly well designed body with some nice ergonomics. Bought to complement my FS7.

So... Why did I pull eject and send it back after testing it for a few hours? Because the camera's internal recording in 4K is fundamentally flawed at ISO 3200 on in a way that even the lowly RX100M4 never mind the A7R2 are not with the exact same codec, color space, and bitrate in 4K. Never mind the FS7 which is much cleaner due to its much higher bitrate and 10 but 422 internally. Folks, it's real bad. Horribly smeary Atari 2600esque blocky artifacts on contrast junctions. Bad blocky noise even at native ISO. More to come on the next NeedCreative Brief podcast. I have a lot going on this weekend with a death in the family and Xmas plans so I won't be able to write, but I'll show some stills from the test video and the video itself soon. It's nothing fancy, just a look at my iPhone on a white surface in low light at ISO 3200,6400,and 12800 in slog2 and cine 2 using 4K 420 XAVC at the 100 Mbit on the FS5, A7RII, and RX100M4. My FS7 was out but I know it is better than the little cameras anyway. I'll try to add that as a test with a similar scene but due to the lack of time it may be a while. I'll tell you this though at this is point: I've never just dismissed a camera I was so interested in so quickly. The flaw is that bad. For a little documentary camera designed to be used for run n gun and handheld you shouldn't have to strap a recorder to it to get a usable 4k image in late 2015. Especially when cheaper prosumer cameras from Sony with the same CODEC look better with no flaws in compression like the FS5. Sony is ripping off its customers putting out garbage like this. I was shocked. The FS7 in comparison has a lot of odd little quirks that have been mostly solved at this point. Even with the oddness it still can put out an incredible image out of the box. Same goes for the much more limited A7x2 cameras. The FS5? No way I'd rely on it for 4K. It's an HD camera. And a noisy one at that. More to come when I get time including the brief tests I ran in video. #fs5 #plentyoflmits
 
I'll be testing the FS5 in the next week or two, if anyone wants any specific tests or feedback on it let me know.

I'm interested to see the 420 4K, I suspect the big difference will be between baked gamma and slog. As for the blocky artifacts I'm curious to see it for myself.

cheers,
 
I saw ithe FS5 on a big screen in low-ish light

2 Kino celbss and a Dedo but dimmed to rather low levels, and it looked horrific even at 3200iso. Completely broken up image and noise the size of my fist. Utterly unusable.

Would love to see if it was just a setup issue on the day.
 
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