Best "DSLR" to use as a B-Camera to match a Sony FS100??

B

Budgieboots

Well-known member
Hi everybody,

I have a Sony FS100 which has served me quite well, and now I'm looking to get a DSLR to use as a B-Camera to match with the FS100.
Namely, I'd like to put this DSLR on a Glidecam for wedding usage.


I've used the Canon 5DmII as a B before, and had trouble getting the shots to match after extensive colour correction.

I was curious about the Sony NEX5 and NEX7, do those cameras both have the same image quality as the FS100? Namely, the same "sensor" or "chip" inside?

Any advice or direct experience would be appreciated.
Thanks!
 
The sensor is not the same in the NEX5 and NEX7....that is what makes the FS100 such a great camera, the sensor is made for video and video only. The Nex cams have to shoot stills primarily so they are optimized for that, and the video is a bonus. Do you need shallow DOF on a glidecam? Maybe a SONY top of the line consumer handycam would prove to be invaluable....stable footage, great full HD quality, they now do 24P if you need it, easily able to track motion....less aliasing and motion artifacts.
 
The NEX 5n and 7 both use E mount so sharing lenses is very easy. The video is pretty good but will suffer more moire and aliasing, the compression is quite similar. Picture profiles are more limited but still a little customisable. All things being said they're not too far from the FS100, it's still sony 'colour' as opposed to Canon 'colour'

cheers
paul
 
One of my friends has the 5n and it's a great little camera, I am not sure if I would use it as a B-cam, I have a GH2 and all you have to do is make sure the WB is the same and they gel well with each other.

Are you having trouble gliding with the FS100? which lens do you have on the camera?
 
I use the nex5n as B camera.
pro-The image look and colors are very similar.
cons-rolling shuttle and moiré are present.
 
I'd like to get this question re-evaluated... It's been a while and I guess some of you might have had a chance to match up a camera or two with the FS100.

The thing is. I'm about to do a shoot and the pick-up photographer has asked which camera to use for pick-ups as he doesn't have access to an FS100. Production wants me to come up with 2 suggestions and I guess on of these would be the 5D mkII as I have that myself, but what could I suggest apart from that?

The shoot is fiction and will mostly consist of locked-down shots, a few wheel chair steadis and some "inside the car" shots.

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
Im loving the Nex5n, I reckon the GH2 has a better image but the Nex5n just drops into an FS100 package so well

A big DSLR feels like a hunk of junk now

S
 
As an FS100 shooter with EX1s and a Canon - the Canon sticks out with its lower detail, creamier skin tones and blacker blacks. For corporate video at high quality web resolution, you can 'frig' it if you can find a way of mending the blacks, but it does not sit that well if you cast a critical eye. A colleague did a shoot with a 5Dmk2 assisting a mostly-EX1 shoot, and even my octogenarian auntie can spot the odd one out. :)

GH2 maybe? From what I've seen, it's a little more detailed than Canon and hasn't got that 'Canon Skintone Magic'. I've cut GH2 and FS100 together, took a bit of work. TBH, I'm not a GH2 fan and the shooter wasn't getting the best out of it, but I know there's lots of people who can do amazing things with it. Whatever happens, it's going to require careful grading - but the Canon's black 'cliff' is a bit of a giveaway 'Mark of Cain' unless you work very hard at lighting.

And just to clarify - the 'tog is shooting video, not stills?
 
I cannot emphasise the form factor advantages of an Nex over a DSLR, you have to have it in your hands to understand the options it opens..

twocams.jpg
sticker.jpg
 
nex7 gives external mic input if you needed it. other than that, the nex5n beats it for video due to larger pixels. nex 5 wont do video well - crop duding video mode, no manual controls, interlaced, etc. you need the nex5n or upcoming nex5r. apart from the typical dslr shortfalls the nex5n will be the best option for matching color, lenses etc
 
Did I post this http://www.sammorganmoore.com/backlot/nex-5n-vs-5dmk2

BTW unless you have a really big dent in the forehead nex5n should be available from petty cash draw, unnoticed.

Or you could actually give it to the accountant for Cmas and then nick it a lot.

Get the kit.

The 16 2.8 is uber handy and the crappoZoom has better focus feel than the 18-200

S
 
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The 5N is a better bet because the 7 has issues with very wide angle lenses and colour fringing. Although the 7 is a nicer overall camera package.
The new 5R(?) seems to have limited differences in terms of quality, main thing seems to be installed apps (sigh)

There's a 6 due, a mini 7

But the new full frame alpha A99 might be of interest (clean HDMI out).

I really like my 5N, i ditched all my canon SLR gear. I can use rangefinder lenses for stills and pack small or i can use my alpha lenses and CZ lenses if i want.

However the rumours suggest that next year we might see a hybrid nex/alpha and full frame. If you look at that new weird full frame prosumer camera from sony then you can see a stills version of it.

Nirv - you sold your FS then?

cheers
paul
 
I bought a 7 as a B cam to the FS100 for the easy lens compatibility and the low light footage was too noisy for my taste, the 5n is much better in that regard and as others have siad, you get the Sony baked in look as opposed to Canons. The 5n's DR is far superior to the GH2, its a much better low/natural light camera - though its still no match for the FS, but that's to be expected. I sold the 7 and found a mint 5n body for $375, crazy cheap. My 5n is much better with overheating than the 7 was too, that camera gets really hot within minutes and shuts down. But that's another discussion. Anyway, with the two new Nex5's, the 5n upgraders will be dumping them cheap soon. Its a great time to buy. Its a great toss around camera too, I have no qualms about putting it on a car boom or on a motorcycle - something I wouldn't do with the FS. The footage cuts with FS video nicely.
 
paulcurtis said:
Nirv - you sold your FS then?

cheers
paul
Click to expand...

Yes.

A poorly researched venture into video production, I hadn't realised how little people value video. Back to freelance motion graphics for clients who do value the content.

I found it impossible to get my message into the thick skulls of clients that high end short promos skillfully produced are better for their brand than long cheap clichéd corporate crud that no one watches. So it was a pretty decision to make at the end of the day.
 
LiamR said:
One of my friends has the 5n and it's a great little camera, I am not sure if I would use it as a B-cam, I have a GH2 and all you have to do is make sure the WB is the same and they gel well with each other.

Are you having trouble gliding with the FS100? which lens do you have on the camera?
Click to expand...

+10, I think Liam is dead on. I have matched up a good amount of different cams. I think two of the most important issues are white balance and contrast. Fortunatley with todays software your able to tweak these elements in post. But as always your gonna be better off getting it as close as you can in cam. The tricky part is matching these with different brands, as you know pani 5200,kelvin may look different than sony 5200 kelvin. I think the gh2 would make a good b cam, or as others stated a sony handicam.
 
I briefly switched to a NEX-7. The picture quality was bad enough for me to sell it and get an FS700... the NEX-7 doesn't have the same codec as the FS cameras. (No surprise, it's much smaller, lighter, and cheaper, and it takes a lot of processing power to do AVCHD like the FS cams do.)
 
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