F65: F65 - Ask me anything

JMtheDP

JMtheDP

Veteran
So, the F35 has a general thread into which all of the miscellaneous questions related to it go in. I have noticed recently increased interest in the F65 and I seem to be the only person I know of who owns one, so I thought I'd start a thread where anyone can ask me anything they want - preferably relating to the camera.

I'll dish out facts where possible but my opinions are usually based on experience of doing a job and I have now had this camera on a couple of features as well as multiple smaller projects - so I've gotten to know it quite well.

One request - please leave F35 prejudices at the door - we all know it is a fantastic camera ;)

Here are a couple of pics of my setup, don't freak out - I got the zoom lens off once I took the picture - I don't like straining the mount unnecessarily (although the lens is quite light for its size).

205860_imag0212.jpg

205860_imag0213.jpg


(Apologies for the poor quality pic, my only stills camera is packed up in a box somewhere)

I am currently waiting for some new rods and matte box rings for the full setup!
 
I'm interested in assembling a shoulder rig, and am trying to figure out handlebar/control grip setups. Best rosette position and the like.
 
David

The F65 is much more "plug and play" than the F35 in this regard. It is important to make sure you have an ARRI BP-8 or equivalent bridge plate though - the BP-5 it too long and will obscure the shoulder pad.

I use a moviecam handle with a custom made bar from Tango. It's a real work of art. The moviecam handle is by far the best handle I have ever used, it is shaped perfectly. There is also a start-stop button which will work with any camera with a 3-pin 24v in (ARRIFLEX, etc..)

Here is the best picture I can get at the minute. I will get a better one for you.

I have a couple of Moviecam handles spare, with a 19mm support too. PM me if you're interested.

The next easiest setup would be a Ronford Baker moose bar set - nice, but the handles just aren't that good.

231998_imag0216.jpg
 
stefanhuberfilms said:
i must say, that's an impressive setup - the dream of a sony fanboy i guess ;)
Click to expand...

I was reminiscing with a friend recently about "the good old days"... I remember my first "proper" Sony camera - an HDR-FX1E! At the time I thought it was a proper movie camera, I was so excited to get one.

Ten years later I'm about to get a set of Master Primes for my F65... never expected that to happen!
 
Hi Jim , I'm a director not a Dp , what I'm doing on a camera forum is another question ; ).

I've had my eye on the F65 for a while as it is the gun camera , better than Alexa & Dragon IMO. The F55 or F5 don't cut it for me.

Just wondering what is the data footprint say per half hour @ 8k Raw & also how many stops of DR ?

Thanx
 
Mmmm doesn't Sony promote it as a 8k CMOS sensor ? Also records 16bit 8k via the databack recorder, whatever it's called ( I imagine usual incomprehensible Sony product code ) shown in the above pics?
 
Last edited:
Quick screenshot says 8k raw recording:

Screenshot_2015-06-06-22-15-19.jpg

That didn't work very well, choice of recording suggests 8k raw.
 
Surf it Mike said:
Mmmm doesn't Sony promote it as a 8k CMOS sensor ? Also records 16bit 8k via the databack recorder, whatever it's called ( I imagine usual incomprehensible Sony product code ) shown in the above pics?
Click to expand...


The whole point of the sensor being 8k (20MP) is for color and luminance fidelity. The 20MP sensor gives you a true 4k image that was generated from an equal amount of R, G, B receptors, before being down sampled to 4k from 8k. At the moment no other camera does this. Resolution really is secondary to image quality for many reason.

Here is the full explanation from Sony.
https://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/assets/files/show/highend/includes/F65_Camera_CameraPDF.pdf
 
Surf it Mike said:
. The F55 or F5 don't cut it for me.

Just wondering what is the data footprint say per half hour @ 8k Raw & also how many stops of DR ?

Thanx
Click to expand...

I wouldn't dismiss the F55. It's essentially the smaller sibling of the F65 with a 4k version of the same sensor technology. Even though the F55 does not down sample from 8k to 4k it cuts seamlessly with the F65 (see Ex Machina). The data rate out of the F55 is a lot more reasonable and the camera itself is a lot more manageable on a shoot.

Oblivion was shot on the F65 @ 4k. On some days they shot 10 terabytes of data. Anything more than 4k was cost prohibitive and could not have been handled by the post houses. I saw the 4k frames and they were spectacular.

The camera gets 14 stops.
 
Edrafennas said:
Hello! can please share with the source? At least with a length of 5-10 seconds?
Click to expand...

http://www.fdtimes.com/2013/03/29/claudio-miranda-asc-on-oblivion/

At the time of Oblivion I was working at a large Los Angeles VFX house. I was on a different show, but had the opportunity to play with some of the Oblivion files in Nuke. The exposure range was pretty unbelievable, especially with the explosions. I don't think I ever saw it clip.

The F65 is a pretty amazing camera with enormous potential. It didn't win the popularity contest, but the technology that it pioneered will live on in many future Sony bodies like the F55.
 
Last edited:
F65 is very different from the sensor perspective than F55 - more pixels for a more accurate color reproduction and a different (slanted) Bayer filter. It's not 8K, which is ~ 33 MPX with the standard Bayer pattern, but it's arguably the best looking 4K camera there is.

It's getting a little long in the tooth though and, if there are F7/F57/F67 upgrades on the horizon, it'd be interesting to see if the F65 sensor can migrate down the lineup. Sony has an Full Frame/Vista Vision size 36 MPX sensor (Nikon 810/Sony A7r), which, I assume, can be tweaked sufficiently for a high end 6K-8K camera. Sony also makes a Medium Format 50 MPX sensor for Pentax 645Z and Hasselblatt, which can be legitimately called 8K and, if they want to compete with the 65mm Alexa, they don't have to go far.
 
Looks like a busy night on the thread :)

To answer the original question, a minute of raw is 17GB in SQ or 12GB in lite. It is generally accepted there is not much of a compromise choosing lite - so that's what I shoot. On a 1TB card I can fit 98 minutes of raw "lite".

The F65's sensor is totally different to the F55, and to any other camera on the market. It isn't 8K, that's Sony's marketing department being cheeky. It is more like 6K. That PDF gives a great explanation.

There is a lot of technology in the sensor, for example it uses a CMOS with aluminium in, I don't know quite how that changes things but it is one thing that lets Sony have the same DR as an Alexa with triple the photosites in the same place. It gives a much better fill rate.

Let's not forget the F55 has a global shutter CMOS, which the F65 does not. They are very different - they don't look identical either IMHO. They are pretty damn close though. The F55 has the same dyes as the F65's CFA.

The F65 does not have a selection of resolutions for raw - you get the whole sensor, or you don't. You can also shoot 1080P in several bitrates, using the HDCAM SR codec. If you check out a thread I recently posted, you can see how the data rates compare to several other popular codecs/cameras. However, outputting at 4K is optimal - that is what the sensor's been built to create. I think any higher resolution would be a waste of storage.
 
Also notable to say Oblivion (which looks spectacular) was released in 2K/1080P only to my knowledge
 
The F65 has a superior sensor to the f55. The F55 seems to be "more popular" because it is an easier workflow. Seems that easier many times wins out over better these days. :)

If James can make the F65 more appealing to more people, then more will be curious to rent the f65.
 
It hasn't been as difficult to sell the F65 to people as it was the F35 and F900. However everyone that shot with it and my earlier Sonys loved it.

The F65's workflow is not as well known as the RED's, but I think it works fine when done right. The F55 in RAW is exactly the same workflow.
 
how does that setup work on the shoulder? looks a bit front heavy to me - i could be wrong though. how much is the weight of the camera pictured in the second photo?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top