chappelldigital
Well-known member
Its been a strange Q4 actually....
Start of 2015 I had a Canon DSLR and Canon C100... The 5D wasn't holding up, and I got tempted by the A7s, so I replaced it with that (Note -> this is strictly video-speaking. I don't do stills at all).
I initially bought the metabones adaptor (for around $500) and had a lot of issues with it. I returned it immediately and bought 2 e-mount lenses, Rokinon 14 and Rokinon 85, as the A7s was going to be my B-Cam, so for slider stuff the 14mm, and side-angle interviews the 85mm. Initially thinking "okay forget adaptors, different camera, different lenses". I had very little issues matching the A7s to the C100.
Note -> Sony lenses with 'fly-by-wire' focus are awful. Forget them immediately for video. Also if you want to do stills, forget about doing it with an adaptor. Autofocus just doesn't work well enough.
Eventually I wanted more options from it, so got a Canon FD 50 w/ Emount adaptor. And then I got more annoyed with having to bring so many lenses around with me. I knew several people who had used adaptors, so I purchased a cheap $80 one from China w/electronic communication. Has worked nearly flawlessly since I've had it.
I've sold everything I had in e-mount, and have EF Zeiss 28, Zeiss 50, Zeiss 85, Sigma 70-200, Tokina 11-16, Tamron 24-70. These will still be my lenses next year.
The sony replacement for the dslr is head and shoulders better. Better image, APS-C/Full Frame selectable (ridiculously useful!), Clear Image Zoom (ridiculously useful in some situations). Yes its missing the toys of a proper camera (like a C100), but as a b-cam to replace a canon dslr, zero regrets at all. Its better in almost every way for me. As for the 'Sony Look' -> I've been able to get as good or better images with it, all the time (compared to the C100). It has extensive white balance options, which will let you dial-it-in to where you need it. And the post work to match it is very simple if needed. Yeah theres a learning curve, but at this point I can navigate the A7s menus as fast as I can the C100 menus.
Now for a main camera, I had some more thinking to do.
I was asked to shoot in 4K 5-6 times this year, and had to rent an FS-7 to do it. The first few times I really disliked the camera. Reallly disliked it. What a pain...
By the 4th or 5th time I rented it, I was getting extremely comfortable with it, and actually really liked what I was getting. Obviously 10 bit 422 etc, but the ability to get 180 fps (and obviously the C100 has garbage frame rate options), was a huge bonus, and something I started to miss when I was shooting on the C100 again.
I started shooting with another shooter fairly regularly who owns an FS-7, so I had a lot more 'hands-on' time with the camera to learn the 'ins-and-outs' as well. What a difference.
Yes the menus are a pain, but 1) you get used to them (you really do), and 2) there are tricks.. for ex: set an "All File" preset for what you need... say 180fps HD in your chosen picture profile. And then set another "All File" for 4K @ 23.98fps in another picture profile. Instead of going through all the menus and swapping settings 1-by-1, just load the setting file you want, and everything changes to what you've saved.
The strange part I mentioned to Q4 of this year, has been my C100 has sat in the car (or at home), and I've used the A7s a lot more than the C100. Client asked for at least 60fps, or someone else I was shooting with had a Sony cam so they wanted to keep it 'all sony', or it was my choice and it was already packed in the case, so I said sure I'll use that. Knowing I've done 5-6 shoots in a row, with the C100 not being touched, was telling me it was time for a change. I've even asked people who contracted me to shoot-only if they wanted me on the C100 or the A7s, and the A7s has been picked more often these days. I've even chosen the A7s myself for some weddings when I had the choice....I knew I had to go back-and-forth from a glidecam to monopod etc. and the A7s was quicker because of its size (and easier on my arm/back for the glidecam, heh)
Tough decision, but I sold my C100 and its being picked up later today actually. I currently own only an A7s, which is a bit nerve wracking, as I know I need 2 cameras sometimes with very little notice.... and I don't feel the A7s is a 'proper A camera' for some of the work I'm doing.. (and the lack of its ND, etc etc)
I'll be purchasing either an FS-5 or an FS-7 before the end of the year. I will still use all my Canon glass and use adaptors (the metabones speedbooster is really good with the FS-7 for the record). Canon just hasn't kept up, and with more and more people offering high frame rates, 10bit, etc etc - I'll be losing business in 2016 only offering 24-30fps in 24mbps avchd (or spending way more renting cameras). I'd go with the FS-5 based on budget.... certainly checks a lot of boxes.. and certainly would be a good cam for weddings (I've shot 81 in the last two years).
If the 8-bit xavc-s A7s can be made to match the "canon colours" very easily, it'll be easier with the 10-bit FS5 or FS7 (especially with s-gamut3.cine)
The C300ii is way too expensive expensive for my budget, and I think even regardless of budget, I'd still go for the FS-7 over it.
That's it in a nutshell... bring on the darkside!!
Start of 2015 I had a Canon DSLR and Canon C100... The 5D wasn't holding up, and I got tempted by the A7s, so I replaced it with that (Note -> this is strictly video-speaking. I don't do stills at all).
I initially bought the metabones adaptor (for around $500) and had a lot of issues with it. I returned it immediately and bought 2 e-mount lenses, Rokinon 14 and Rokinon 85, as the A7s was going to be my B-Cam, so for slider stuff the 14mm, and side-angle interviews the 85mm. Initially thinking "okay forget adaptors, different camera, different lenses". I had very little issues matching the A7s to the C100.
Note -> Sony lenses with 'fly-by-wire' focus are awful. Forget them immediately for video. Also if you want to do stills, forget about doing it with an adaptor. Autofocus just doesn't work well enough.
Eventually I wanted more options from it, so got a Canon FD 50 w/ Emount adaptor. And then I got more annoyed with having to bring so many lenses around with me. I knew several people who had used adaptors, so I purchased a cheap $80 one from China w/electronic communication. Has worked nearly flawlessly since I've had it.
I've sold everything I had in e-mount, and have EF Zeiss 28, Zeiss 50, Zeiss 85, Sigma 70-200, Tokina 11-16, Tamron 24-70. These will still be my lenses next year.
The sony replacement for the dslr is head and shoulders better. Better image, APS-C/Full Frame selectable (ridiculously useful!), Clear Image Zoom (ridiculously useful in some situations). Yes its missing the toys of a proper camera (like a C100), but as a b-cam to replace a canon dslr, zero regrets at all. Its better in almost every way for me. As for the 'Sony Look' -> I've been able to get as good or better images with it, all the time (compared to the C100). It has extensive white balance options, which will let you dial-it-in to where you need it. And the post work to match it is very simple if needed. Yeah theres a learning curve, but at this point I can navigate the A7s menus as fast as I can the C100 menus.
Now for a main camera, I had some more thinking to do.
I was asked to shoot in 4K 5-6 times this year, and had to rent an FS-7 to do it. The first few times I really disliked the camera. Reallly disliked it. What a pain...
By the 4th or 5th time I rented it, I was getting extremely comfortable with it, and actually really liked what I was getting. Obviously 10 bit 422 etc, but the ability to get 180 fps (and obviously the C100 has garbage frame rate options), was a huge bonus, and something I started to miss when I was shooting on the C100 again.
I started shooting with another shooter fairly regularly who owns an FS-7, so I had a lot more 'hands-on' time with the camera to learn the 'ins-and-outs' as well. What a difference.
Yes the menus are a pain, but 1) you get used to them (you really do), and 2) there are tricks.. for ex: set an "All File" preset for what you need... say 180fps HD in your chosen picture profile. And then set another "All File" for 4K @ 23.98fps in another picture profile. Instead of going through all the menus and swapping settings 1-by-1, just load the setting file you want, and everything changes to what you've saved.
The strange part I mentioned to Q4 of this year, has been my C100 has sat in the car (or at home), and I've used the A7s a lot more than the C100. Client asked for at least 60fps, or someone else I was shooting with had a Sony cam so they wanted to keep it 'all sony', or it was my choice and it was already packed in the case, so I said sure I'll use that. Knowing I've done 5-6 shoots in a row, with the C100 not being touched, was telling me it was time for a change. I've even asked people who contracted me to shoot-only if they wanted me on the C100 or the A7s, and the A7s has been picked more often these days. I've even chosen the A7s myself for some weddings when I had the choice....I knew I had to go back-and-forth from a glidecam to monopod etc. and the A7s was quicker because of its size (and easier on my arm/back for the glidecam, heh)
Tough decision, but I sold my C100 and its being picked up later today actually. I currently own only an A7s, which is a bit nerve wracking, as I know I need 2 cameras sometimes with very little notice.... and I don't feel the A7s is a 'proper A camera' for some of the work I'm doing.. (and the lack of its ND, etc etc)
I'll be purchasing either an FS-5 or an FS-7 before the end of the year. I will still use all my Canon glass and use adaptors (the metabones speedbooster is really good with the FS-7 for the record). Canon just hasn't kept up, and with more and more people offering high frame rates, 10bit, etc etc - I'll be losing business in 2016 only offering 24-30fps in 24mbps avchd (or spending way more renting cameras). I'd go with the FS-5 based on budget.... certainly checks a lot of boxes.. and certainly would be a good cam for weddings (I've shot 81 in the last two years).
If the 8-bit xavc-s A7s can be made to match the "canon colours" very easily, it'll be easier with the 10-bit FS5 or FS7 (especially with s-gamut3.cine)
The C300ii is way too expensive expensive for my budget, and I think even regardless of budget, I'd still go for the FS-7 over it.
That's it in a nutshell... bring on the darkside!!
Quite the change in attitude from some of the Ops who just a year ago were praising the C100, too. It'd be ludicrous to count Canon out, though. I admittedly wouldn't buy a new Canon right now if I were in the market, but then again, I wouldn't buy new right now at all. You can get an awesome deal on a used C100 Mk1 (still a great cam) for far cheaper than the closest Sony, and it'd probably satisfy 95% of your client's needs. The 4k bandwagon is getting full, but I'm still not ready to hop on, simply because I get no demand for 4K. Man, I tell ya, I've seen this game play out for years now. It's a horse race, and one is always pulling ahead or falling behind the other. If you want to throw money at something, throw it at something with legs, like solid glass or a good pair of sticks. There's always gonna be a better camera body to salivate over. You're falling right into the hands of the people who are trying to market these new "must-have" devices to you. You're their bread and butter. If you absolutely need 4K, rent the 4K cam you need for that occasional odd job (and charge the client for said rental). When 4k starts becoming the majority of your client demand, then buy one. If it's a slim minority of your customer demand, then why deal with the hassle? Get the most $$$ out of your trusted rig that you fell in love with just a short 18 to 24 months ago. 
