FS7: Doug Jensen's Sony PXW-FS7 Master Class

Doug Jensen

Doug Jensen

Carbonite Member
I am happy to announce that my Master Class for the FS7 is now online and ready to roll.

6 hours total
26 chapters
$85 for on-demand streaming only (no downloads)
Rental term is for 6 months.

http://vimeo.com/ondemand/fs7

The first chapter (42 minutes) is online for free so you can watch it before you decide whether or not to order the other 5 hours of content. http://vimeo.com/118816281

BTW, I’m still not sure if I’ll do a DVD version or not, but if I do, it is at least several weeks away from shipping.

I hope you like it. I'm just glad to be done.
 
Nice!
I do wish you'd consider a hard copy like you've done in the past. As you know, Sony's manual tells you what but not why. You tell why.
 
Thank you Doug,

Great that it is streaming I much prefer that over any hard copy. And it is a lot easier for you protect all of your hard work.
 
Diving into the first class right now! :) Looking forward to this. I just got my FS7 today and this came out just in time!
 
Great job Doug,

Your videos and field guides are a great compliment to the manuals and I would say a must have with new cameras like the FS7. I have owned dozens of cameras over the decades and these days cameras like the FS7 are very complex, so coming up to speed using them takes a lot of time. These videos makes it a pleasure, rather than a struggle.

I have watched about half of the vids so far and I have picked up quite a few things I did not get from playing around with the camera and reading the manuals.

Congratulations on the project, I know how much it takes to do something like this. You do a great job helping shooters get familiar with the camera. It saves me lots of time and frustration trying to decode what the manual is saying.

I like the on demand format, it is definitely the future of a lot of video and it is super convenient, you can even use your iPhone to go back and check something you don't quite remember when away from the studio.

Thanks.
 
Thank you very much everyone for the nice comments. It's very much appreciated and I'm glad to hear that the information is helping others.
It's funny when I read other threads, such as the current one about exposing with zebras, because all the information someone needs to get perfect results is covered in the video -- if someone cares enough to bother to watch it. :)
 
I am at work and got impatient :( BUT I just said ahhh, I will just take 15 mins and watch it. I was up late watching all the parts on exposure and CINE EI but stopped on MLUT. Looking at it now and when I really think about it - if you had a MLUT applied you can't even accurately judge for SLOG3 Zebras because the MLUT changes exposure and contrast. So it was a big "ah ha" moment all at once.
 
Mlut doesnt work..

-not in HFR
-Loss of WFM
-no button to switch it on/off (as per F3)
-Title of Lut not displayed
-not in playback
-not in CustomSlog (ok maybe reasons for that)
-are they written to metadata so your post people 'know - what you saw' (and exposed for)
-what NLEs support that metadata, if it exists?

OK they 'work' in a studio environment, maybe.

My conclusion on Mlut
MLut is just too dangerous and confusing for the operator/director/post to be used at all.
If you want luts get an EVF/Monitor that supports them and or harass Sony for proper implementation.

Are these harsh realities made clear in the video?
 
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Yes, those harsh realities are made clear.

I cover all that except for lack of title being displayed. That doesn't bother me. But with that said, you have overlooked some problems and your list is not complete.
However, MLUTs are usable if you are aware of the shortcomings. I'm not necessarily against their use, but you can't use them without knowing some key things about them -- such as the stuff on your list and other things.
 
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I'm enjoying them. I like the fact that they are mostly in small chunks so I don't have to sit down for two hours at a time.
 
Doug,

Really enjoying the free 45 minutes, you are an excellent presenter and I'm sure I will want to invest in the full package. One question: You mentioned the mini USB port, but advised to use it for emergency situations only. Just wondered why,as I have no card reader yet and use it often.
 
You're the second person to ask for more details about my advice for the USB port so I guess I should have made myself more clear.

The USB port on the camera is only USB 2.0 so it is much slower than a stand-alone reader. But even if you don't care about having faster USB, I think it is crazy to use the camera as an $8000 card reader when you can buy a card reader for $35. But it's not just the inconvenience of hooking up the camera, powering the camera, etc. in post -- it also adds hours to the hours meter. And every hour on that meter brings down the camera's resale value. For $35 it's well worth it to have a dedicated reader and use the camera for shooting only.
 
Doug Jensen said:
You're the second person to ask for more details about my advice for the USB port so I guess I should have made myself more clear.

The USB port on the camera is only USB 2.0 so it is much slower than a stand-alone reader. But even if you don't care about having faster USB, I think it is crazy to use the camera as an $8000 card reader when you can buy a card reader for $35. But it's not just the inconvenience of hooking up the camera, powering the camera, etc. in post -- it also adds hours to the hours meter. And every hour on that meter brings down the camera's resale value. For $35 it's well worth it to have a dedicated reader and use the camera for shooting only.
Click to expand...

Wow- wasn't even considering the hours I was adding to the meter- good advice. I was putitng off getting a card reader because i have Lexar cards and read that some Sony readers may not recognize them.
 
Doug,

I just finished the Sony PXW-FS7 Master Class. I've only had the FS7 for a few days and this was exactly what I needed to get up to speed on this awesome camera!

Thanks,

Chance Norris
 
Doug - thanks bought.

Some handy tips on working through the Sony menu - just amplifying how utterly horrid the menu design is.

That has saved some time.

Some missing warnings like cache record is lost on disengagement of S+Q

The philosophical approach is interesting - and that is hard to gauge from user to user - I find Im often interpreting it backwards..
Eg the chapter on exposure..
14mins about auto before we hear about manual - not wrong just backwards to me :)
eg
My assesment of the shutter button is.. be warned 'if you dont change your angle (or time) you can accidentally engage auto'
You tell how it works but im only interested in how it can f_ck up my shots :)

---
One note on shutter angle.. I use it all the time .. why - becuase its less button honking when going in and out of S+Q

S
 
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