F5: F5 Help

A

anthony derose

New member
Some questions on the Sony F5. I haven not worked with it and testing it the next few weeks.

I was wondering what most people recommend to place setting without an external recorder?

Can S-Log be recorded to SxS Pro, if so can you only monitor it through the viewfinder in S-Log or like a Red or Alexa can you monitor it in Rec 709 (from the camera) and switch back to check the S-Log image?

Base ISO is 2000. What do most shoot at while outdoors? 2000 and a lot of ND?

How is the 4K XVAC codec?

Thanks
 
Yes, you can apply a LUT to the viewfinder and/or external monitors while still recording the pure S-LOG to the internal SxS card.

In CINE EI mode, the camera always records at ISO 2000 (unless you bake-in a LUT which is not recommended) so you have no choice in the matter -- you will be recording @ 2000 EI. Any EI changes do affect the LUT if you are viewing one, but otherwise they are just metadata changes and do not affect the image that is recorded.

The camera has three built-in ND filters that are typically enough to handle all but the most extreme outdoor shooting situations.

The 4K XAVC codec is fantastic. Looks great, easy to edit, and much smaller file sizes than other codecs.
 
Without opening a large can of worms I would suggest it might be better to rate at 1000 and pull down a bit in post to keep the footage clean. if you can do a few tests before you shoot you might gain a bit of knowledge of the exposure choices you can make.

S
 
That's not bad advice to rate the camera lower or simply over expose by about a stop in some shooting situations. Just don't go too far.
 
Actually the camera only had S-LOG3 on it when it first shipped last November and S-LOG2 was added a few months later at the request of customers (such as myself) who already had S-LOG2 on the F55 and F5 and very much wanted that choice on the FS7. So technically S-LOG2 is the newer of the two. The two versions of S-LOG are different -- not necessarily better or worse than the other. So don't make the mistake of assuming that S-LOG3 is superior to S-L0G2 just because the number is greater. I am not going to open a can of worms and explain the differences between them or suggest one over the other. Some people absolutely hate it on DVX when I take a position one way or another on any subject, and will be personally offended if I express my personal preference. My advice is to do your own testing and decide for yourself which works better for your style of shooting and workflow in post.
 
My simple summary.. Slog3 is more linear than Slog2.. leading to greater ability to bend the file in post simply, while probably not making the best use of the 1024 available levels.. so slog2 is better if you exposure is completely nailed. Maybe.

S
 
Doug Jensen said:
Actually the camera only had S-LOG3 on it when it first shipped last November and S-LOG2 was added a few months later at the request of customers (such as myself) who already had S-LOG2 on the F55 and F5 and very much wanted that choice on the FS7. So technically S-LOG2 is the newer of the two. The two versions of S-LOG are different -- not necessarily better or worse than the other. So don't make the mistake of assuming that S-LOG3 is superior to S-L0G2 just because the number is greater. I am not going to open a can of worms and explain the differences between them or suggest one over the other. Some people absolutely hate it on DVX when I take a position one way or another on any subject, and will be personally offended if I express my personal preference. My advice is to do your own testing and decide for yourself which works better for your style of shooting and workflow in post.
Click to expand...

The OP was asking about the F5. It did not ship with slog3 did it?

Thanks,
Robert
 
infohou said:
The OP was asking about the F5. It did not ship with slog3 did it?
Click to expand...

My dumb mistake! Thanks for pointing it out. I swear we were talking about the FS7. Too many cameras.
Yes, you are correct, the F5/55 shipped with S-LOG2 and S-LOG3 was added later. Just the opposite of the FS7.
 
anthony derose said:
Some questions on the Sony F5. I haven not worked with it and testing it the next few weeks.

I was wondering what most people recommend to place setting without an external recorder?

Can S-Log be recorded to SxS Pro, if so can you only monitor it through the viewfinder in S-Log or like a Red or Alexa can you monitor it in Rec 709 (from the camera) and switch back to check the S-Log image?

Base ISO is 2000. What do most shoot at while outdoors? 2000 and a lot of ND?

How is the 4K XVAC codec?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Anthony,

I've been an F55 shooter since day one, as well as had the pleasure to work with the F5 and FS7 on multi-cam shoots.

Forget the antics within this article I wrote but if you read it, it might help you understand the history of slog2/3 and more importantly the various color sciences available in the camera (there are 3).

http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acqui...ng-cineei-mode-in-custom-mode-on-the-f55.html

If you don't want to read it, the short and skinny is that in custom mode you can only access the old Sony color science called "S-Gamut". Sony then released S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3.cine which can only be accessed in the CineEI mode - not the Custom mode (but this might change one day with a future firmware update).

Bottom line is that "most" people prefer the look of S-Gamut3/S-Gamut3.cine. The colours are more "real" looking and to some, more filmic, or just natural. Art Adams has a video out there showing the difference, it's subtle but it exists. http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acquisition/sonyxdcam/sony_sgamut_vs_sgamut3.html

In the end slog2 vs slog3 is an endless debate but what I'd say is MORE important over gamma curve is the color science. Unfortunately at this present time the ONLY way to shoot in slog2 with the S-Gamut3/S-Gamut3.cine color space is to shoot RAW with the external R5 and select this combination in post using Sony RAW Viewer.

As for as using CineEI to rate the ISO of your camera differently (higher or lower) then it is at its native setting (2000 ISO on the F5 and 1250 on the F55) I would say that you have to evaluate when its necessary or optimal to do this, be sure to ask yourself this for each shoot or even scene.

As Doug put it, shoot some tests and judge for yourself. That's the best way for you to decide and know what you're getting yourself into far in advance.

Cheers,
 
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