F5: F5 roadmap or will there be a new model soon?

S

Sami2

Active member
Does anyone have any news on will sony continue to update firmwares etc for f5/f55 or will they just again release a new model next year as they did with fs700 -> fs7?

Hence i am in process of getting the F5 it makes me worry that if i now invest in the camera sony will release a new model to replace f5 during next year...
 
Highly speculative on my part but the CineAlta line, ie. PL mount cameras, are probably good for 4 years. That leaves just a little over 2 years left before we might see an CineAlta F7/F77 - however that in the meantime doesn't mean we might not see a FS77 just around the corner borrowing even more from the F55 camera... but who really knows.

If I were in the market for the F5 because of PL mount, SR Codec, maybe more processing power for enhanced features in-camera, I'd maybe consider the F55 if you can swoop one up at the same price. It will do 4K live out, global shutter, and has the extended color gamut going for it.

These days I think the ROI on a camera needs to be 12 months. Which is sad.
 
I'd get a used f55 once people start unloading them in about 2 months. Because fs7 to raw will probably look 90% as good and be 1/4 the cost.
 
There will always be a place for more expensive cinema cameras, question is, do you have the clientele to pay for it. High end commercial work will use a f55 over a f7, cost doesn't matter. F5 sits in a odd place now I feel.
 
The F55 sits in a bit of an odd place too now that the F5 will get 4K officially, and already has it unofficially. The only separation between a $16k and $28k body is really global shutter and 4K live out. Yes the CFA is great to have, but depending on what's being shot it may not necessarily be leveraged.. same could probably be said for global shutter as well.

Still the FS7 caught a lot of people by surprise.. especially existing F5/F55 owners.
 
The reason i am in process of getting an f5 is the fact that i already own an fs700 with sonys 4k raw recorder. So with f5 i can just mount that recorder to the body and get rid off all the hustle with the wires.

fs7 is totally out of the question hence rigging it to shoulder set up for shooting raw is gonna be even harder than it was with fs700.
 
The reason i am in process of getting an f5 is the fact that i already own an fs700 with sonys 4k raw recorder. So with f5 i can just mount that recorder to the body and get rid off all the hustle with the wires.

fs7 is totally out of the question hence rigging it to shoulder set up for shooting raw is gonna be even harder than it was with fs700.

and ii have also started to hate the e-mount that has way too much play...
 
Even if the end of the road is near, really, I can't see dumping my F55 for whatever is next from Sony. It's damn good, especially once you sort through the color science which now is easier than it ever was with slog on the F3. I'm happy for that. :)
 
As far as I can see, the F5/55 are much better to operate and control thanks to the
extra display and buttons for LUTs and alikes.
The Fs7 may generate a similar output but will be much more complicated to operate
as you have to go into user menu often. It just ha snot enough assignable buttons and
controls for cineEI and LUT capabilities it offers.
There will be workarounds but the F5/55 will be easier to operate in the end.
 
Thanks Starcentral for sharing your love on your F55.

To my knowledge the 1000$ 4k upgrade on f5 also activates 4k outputs.

Has anyone seen any roadmaps on future firmware updates for F5/F55?
 
looks like you are right,

"4K SDI and 4K HDMI Output and Simultaneous recording (XAVC 4K or QFHD) with MPEG 50Mbps 422."

Wow, even simultaneous recording.. they really did screw over F55 owners. Oh well, that is how it goes in this game of camera-life.
 
Timing is everything. Having bought an FS700 when they were first released, I was evaluating the buying of an F5 when Sony announced the FS7. After looking at the FS7, it is very clunky to shoot and use. It's a very funky, retro looking camera trying to pass itself off as "ergonomic", but, the balance is all wrong. As timing goes, the 4K hack for the F5 convinced me to make the commitment to an F5. With the 4K hack in place, I can record 4K ProRes on my Odyssey 7Q. I doubt I'll spring for the ProRes/DNxHD upgrade for my F5, but, I will pay for the 4K upgrade, considering the other enhancements that will come with v5 for the F5/55. I'm extremely happy with the F5. It has a few quirks that I hope Sony will address, but, all things considered, this is a perfect camera for my uses. The R5 RAW recorder and CineEI is my go to shooting mode. This Sony RAW is much more useable than the rather cumbersome C-D/cinemaDNG RAW that you get with the O7Q. All in all, I don't regret my purchase; and, consider that this camera will be in my stable for a long while. There's even been talk of Sony offering a global shutter upgrade at some time in the future.
 
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I don't see how the f5 at 17k is that much better than the fs7 at around 10k with the optional raw output device.

you save about 50% - $7k or so. that's a lot of money. And how much more is the f55 worth? It was a bold move by Sony to release the fs7 - alienating the f5 and f55 owners - all to beat the c300. But they burned a lot of us in the past with the f3 - remember buying the s log upgrade for 10k or so then they release it for free? I didn't complain - that's just how it is - why get mad - this is capitalism.

Anyway I assume sales on the f55 and f5 weren't were they wanted them and they wanted to do something big. Anyway, it will boost the f55 in the rental market and the f5 because people will start getting used to the menu options and the workflow of s log 3 and s gamut.cine. I think ultimately its a good thing but I don't advise anyone at this point to buy a f5 or f55 unless you get a good deal on a used one. I really don't see that much of an advantage to justify the cost. Yes the menu options are more wonky - but come on, the f5 and f55 also have terrible menu options that are a maze and don't have that many more buttons on the outside.
 
I was one of the bitter posters on the forums when 4K all-file hack came out, as originally in 2012 when I planned to switch over to RED from the F3, Sony had announced "The New F" and then once I found out Sony was going to start offering "RAW" I sold my RED order as quickly as I bought it. I decided to wait it out for the New F's in March 2013. I went back and forth a hundred times between the F5 and F55, and finally decided that even though there was NO WAY the ROI made sense to fork over the extra $12k for the F55, that I would just go for the F55. The fact it had 4K internally meant I could shoot 4K for lower budget narrative projects and push 10-bit 422 SLOG to its limits, and not have to worry about the storage of RAW and what it meant for low budget indie projects. But it meant I would have access to RAW via R5 for the eventual projects that would call for it.

Here we are 20 months later and its quite a different landscape. I think if you are looking at FS7, F5, F55 and you know you only want to shoot RAW then you are in a good boat to get really any of these cameras that will probably deliver almost an identical image. But look at the price spread not including media, batteries: $8k, $21k, $34k

If you want compressed 4K and don't care about RAW, again, all three of these cameras will do it. Same thing as ProRes which is also coming. All three tick those boxes.

The only think the F5/F55 really has over the FS7 is the PL mount and SR codec, but the SR is only HD anyways, and arguably the ProRes 4444 (if that is planned for all three cameras) will be as good if not better than SR codec.

So what's left? The mount and some internal chip processing power? Silver ring and global shutter for the F55. Am I missing something here?
 
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Fs7 is out of the question for me due to following reasons:
E-mount, loose and looses connection with metaboneses (i have three of them and happens with all on all e-mount cameras i have tested)
front heavy, f5 is more balanced for shoulder mount
in order to shoot 4k raw you need two extra modules and the recorder, not to mention two v-lock batteries
no center scan for 2k
no side screen
no pl-mount
if shooting raw with extra modules no way to watch what was shot

Just to list a few things

By the way as I was testing the f55 and f5 i was always using the user menu where you can set the items you want in it.
 
If you can justify the extra cost for the F series, its honestly not like you're going to be disappointed either. :cool:

All in all they are all good cameras, all capable of delivering a great image.
 
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