F5: F5 What is missing?

Interesting chat about that lack of simple 4k on the 5, food for thought.

I certainly heard rumours that it would get - maybe it was that typo.

Sony is certainly pushing 4k

Watching that London footage spread across both my monitors was certainly very pretty

The thing about 4k IMO is it is versatile for grabbing print quality stills and the like .. if you are into multimedia.web experiences and the like

(eg pulling a fashion model upright out of a landscape image)

S
 
Dennis, I have to respectfully disagree with you. Yes 4K is coming and corps like Sony are pushing it hard, but.. for myself and probably a LOT of shooters out there, I have 99% no need for 4K nor do my clients want it. If someone demands it from me a R5 package with media can be rented here in NY for $285 by my client and I'll transcode it down to ProRes for them if I have to. I would of loved a F55 but I can honestly say after owning a F5 since March and a F3 for the year prior, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy a F5 right now, it's image quality, feature set and flexibility is unmatched in it's price bracket and even higher ones, without even counting it's 4K capabilities.

When 4K becomes the new standard for my clients I'll deal with it then.
 
starcentral said:
The problem I've seen all along is the F trying to be everything to too many market segments, and then failing at that easily leaving different groups with something easy to complain about. Why did people shooting ENG, broadcast, live events, etc.. decide to jump from 1/2" or 2/3" to 35mm and then complain about expensive 35mm zoom lenses, ergonomics, and other missing features?

Hopefully Sony comes out with a 4k 2/3" camera that has more "video" features people are asking for. For a "cinema" camera I never had issues with the F3 and now the F55.
Click to expand...

As one of those very people who shoots ENG, broadcast, live events etc.... who decided to jump to
S35, I have to disagree. I am so very glad that Sony is trying to have their S35 cams appeal to us, not
just 'narrative cinema' types and stills shooters. I have a FS700 and have nothing but good things to say
about it. No complaints at all, best money I've spent on a camera. And I personally like the new 18-105 F4
paired with the FS700 zoom rocker...yeah now it can act like a ENG/doc cam. But that doesn't take away
from it's ability to act like a 'cinema' cam paired with a fast lens and an Odessey 7Q. Yeah it's not perfect,
but it sure is versatile and I for one like that.
 
morgan_moore said:
Interesting chat about that lack of simple 4k on the 5, food for thought.

I certainly heard rumours that it would get - maybe it was that typo.

Sony is certainly pushing 4k

Watching that London footage spread across both my monitors was certainly very pretty

The thing about 4k IMO is it is versatile for grabbing print quality stills and the like .. if you are into multimedia.web experiences and the like

(eg pulling a fashion model upright out of a landscape image)

S
Click to expand...


We thought we could do this on a recent shot with the Epic, but the 48th sec shutter made nearly every shot unusable as a still. There's just to much softness and blur. If you are shooting static or very slow subjects it's doable.
 
Fotojorno said:
Dennis, I have to respectfully disagree with you. Yes 4K is coming and corps like Sony are pushing it hard, but.. for myself and probably a LOT of shooters out there, I have 99% no need for 4K nor do my clients want it. If someone demands it from me a R5 package with media can be rented here in NY for $285 by my client and I'll transcode it down to ProRes for them if I have to. I would of loved a F55 but I can honestly say after owning a F5 since March and a F3 for the year prior, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy a F5 right now, it's image quality, feature set and flexibility is unmatched in it's price bracket and even higher ones, without even counting it's 4K capabilities.

When 4K becomes the new standard for my clients I'll deal with it then.
Click to expand...

I agree with your disagreement with what I said. Its definitely true that most people shoot HD and don't need 4k. I just think the next 12 months will be kind of a scary time to spend $20k on a professional CineAlta camera that doesn't shoot 4k with some lossy codec since 4k does sort of seem around the corner as cheaper 4k cameras seem to be coming out. But if anyone has enough of a business case to make it worth the investment then it doesn't matter.

I just wonder for around the same investment do you buy an F5 - or - an F3 with some PL glass for example? Heck the F3 has a lot of hidden features that the F5/F55 don't offer now, and probably never will even with firmware updates.

Will be interesting to watch what unfolds.
 
alaskacameradude said:
As one of those very people who shoots ENG, broadcast, live events etc.... who decided to jump to
S35, I have to disagree. I am so very glad that Sony is trying to have their S35 cams appeal to us, not
just 'narrative cinema' types and stills shooters. I have a FS700 and have nothing but good things to say
about it. No complaints at all, best money I've spent on a camera. And I personally like the new 18-105 F4
paired with the FS700 zoom rocker...yeah now it can act like a ENG/doc cam. But that doesn't take away
from it's ability to act like a 'cinema' cam paired with a fast lens and an Odessey 7Q. Yeah it's not perfect,
but it sure is versatile and I for one like that.
Click to expand...

Glad you find the camera(s) versatile. No one camera can be everything to anyone. More people should realize that, but I remember Sony when discussing the development of the F5/F55 said "they listened to their customers". Did they really? Just who were they and what groups were they made up of? Head over to the Sony Forums to catch a taste of what people now claim to be missing. Like Morgan says there might still be a lot to be desired from these cameras, and sounds like the verdict is still out.
 
starcentral said:
. No one camera can be everything to everyone .
Click to expand...

i just don't really agree. Or I certainly don't agree with needing multiple cameras - apart from the obvious specialist cams for pov extreme frame rates etc a camera in the class needs to be a versatile business tool to work for rental houses or owner ops."

in this day and age the menus buttons etc should easily be completely reconfigure able.

i mean I am typing this post on a device that can be used as a GPS or a kids toy
 
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morgan_moore said:
i just don't really agree. Or I certainly don't agree with needing multiple cameras - apart from the obvious specialist cams for pov extreme frame rates etc a camera in the class needs to be a versatile business to work for rental houses or owner ops."
Click to expand...


I don't think there is a one-fix camera. There is a reason why we still run a Varicam and 970 Digi Beta. They can do things our cinema cameras can't easily do. Where would I begin? Concerts, news, sport, multicam OB's, etc. The S35 cameras can do these things but it's a whole lot harder in many cases, and risky. A friend just shot Pink in concert over two nights with twenty-nine Hitachi EFP cameras. Could he have done it with twenty-nine F3/F5/F55's? Maybe. To me, the F-series camera are designed for TVC's, drama, decent-budget corporate and music clips. Other uses like I described earlier aren't it's primary strengths. When decent fast servo 35mm zooms finally come down in price, then these cameras will take over from 2/3" technology and there will be true convergence.
 
There is some great stuff here.

Now I just hope they get the menus and GUI right.

For example the S16 mode - i would want it as a crash zoom - to give a lens like a 17-55 some extra reach,

Again audio needs to be got at fast..

S
 
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