F55: Feature Tour Of The F55

N

nsoltz

Veteran
This was shot with Timur's iPad and includes my narration along with Timur's comments.

I made one error we didn't get edited out-- the port next to the viewfinder connection is NOT a maintenance port-- it is the connector for the wireless adapter. If there are other errors, I am certain that others will call them to my attention. I have also learned more about the camera from shooting it since we did the feature tour first and then shot. And remember-- I only had this camera a matter of hours. OK-- apologies are out of the way.

Starting a new thread because the other thread is getting bogged down.

So, forgive cinematography, audio, etc... just a simple iPad video but with the iPad in the hands of a talented cinematorgrapher (not me-- Timur).


Ned
 
The "remote" is an RS422 serial port for controlling the camera - it has been on just about every pro Sony camera for about 15 years or so. The RCP, MSU, and RM-B controllers will all work in theory, the F55 I had was not working though. White balance, black levels, menus, start/stop, playback, etc.....
 
Quick note, the EVF connector is going to be a right angle pointing backward in the production units. Should give it better survivability.
 
I'm a tad confused now Ned, is XAVC a compressed raw codec, or a conventional 10-bit video codec?
 
XAVC is a compressed video codec-- 10 bit 4:2:2 I-Frame. Think a kissing-cousin to Panasonic's AVC-Intra. Raw is just that (to quote Mitch at the Abel presentation: "uncooked"). Sony Raw is putting aprox a 3.6 to 1 compression on that Raw footage so it is not Raw uncompressed, but it has nothing else done to it in camera. It is the efficiency of the XAVC codec (all AVC/H.264 codecs are more efficient than MPEG-2 codecs) that allows such things as 60p in camera and high frame rates in conjunction with camera processing capabilities.

And Carlos and Mitch-- thanks for these corrections. I had been to innumerable briefings, read Jon Fauer's piece before it was released, but still missed some things with first time with camera.

Carlos-- very interested in your audio solution.

I only found out from Peter about the angled viewfinder connection when I returned the camera to him.

My assessment so far-- Both F5 and F55 are evolutionary steps in the large sensor digital cinema camera universe. If there is any way that a potential F5 buyer could squeeze that extra $13K or so for the F55, do it. Nothing against the F5. I would be pleased to own and shoot one. The prime advantages for the F55 as I see them are in this order: 1) Global shutter 2) Color Gamut 3) Internal 4K XAVC recording 4) Real time 4K out 5) Higher frame rates. While I'm very good at spending other people's money, I do see the F55 as the aspirational camera.

Ned
 
I'd like to know more about the MLUTs when shooting raw. There's 3 of them.

Are they individual LUTs for various ISOs? Like one LUT for 1250, another 2500?

Or are they simply different looks?

Since Sony is calling them MLUTs, I'm assuming they're simple 1D LUTs like we use with S-Log now. Slight bummer, but not end of world.
 
Thats great guys, good hands on info. One note and I hope it's correct, last night I went to the Sony event at Abel and asked a Sony rep about controlling audio levels, could you only do it from the menu? He went and checked with another rep and came back with the answer that audio can also be assigned to a user button and then levels controlled by the jog wheel. Not sure if this was implemented on the demo model as it seems it might be the same one you guys had where you couldn't do that. Hope it's correct.

Another quick thing I learned was that in addition to Mpeg 50mbs, 1080 XAVC (not over cranked) as well as a version of the SR codec will be recordable to existing SxS Pro cards. I saw the slide up for just a second but it caught the eye of someone I was standing next to also, we both looked at each other making sure we read the same thing. Good news for people who already have some. Im sure I missed a bunch of other new specs as I got there late but would love if Sony released these new specs asap (if they havent already) -Thanks to Abel for hosting a great event!
 
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Assignable audio was not implemented on the pre production camera. I am glad to know this will be possible.

Yes, the Abel event was terrific. Andy and Mitch were their usual knowledgeable selves.
 
Thanks for the in depth first look Ned and Timur. Did I miss it, or is there no histogram or waveform at all? At least the F3 has the histogram.
 
No histogram or waveform yet. Peter told me they are working on waveform. I and many others said we preferred wfm over histogram.

I think folks are well aware dealing with pre-production units. Things will be in flux pretty much up to shipment date when they will, I suppose, just flash all the cameras and box them.

Ned
 
Seems to me, if Sony are working on a WFM they should include it with the existing histogram. One would think, the amount of effort it would take to implement the histogram is small given the code exists. Sony focused operators are familiar with the histogram and use it. They should be expanding the number of scopes in my view.
 
Interesting video nsoltz, thanks. I'm just left a little confused...

You've mentioned in a couple of places that these camera's can't do interlaced, but all the Sony spec sheets list it as available using MPEG2 at 50i and 59.94i Anyone working in live TV might be put off if they thought it wasn't possible at all.

Also, if XAVC is 4:2:2 10bit, how can you call it RAW? Surely, the only way of recording 4K RAW is using the R5 recorder? (albeit compressed).
 
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If the F55 can get to look close to the Sony F65 - I think the F55 will start to take a lot of business from the Alexa and the Red Epic. Just watched Evil Dead trailer, shot on the F65 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHDJm1D2ELw

It looks damn good.

I want to see it projected. But I think as Ned and Timur have said, once the right hands are on the F55 camera, we are going to see some pretty remarkable imagery. It's going to look better than the Alexa for half the price. But let's see. F55 vs F65 - that's a camera test I'd love to see.
 
We were looking and comparing the F65 to the F55 which were side by side at Abel the other side and it appeared that the F65 was softer, more cinematic and a bit more flattering. Now was it that the settings were off, the F65 had a better/different monitor, because it was a prototype, or something else I dunno. But I SURE wish Abel did some sort of demonstration/side by side the other day. That could have sold us. And I still have issues that the F5 had NO monitor at all and the F3(right next to it) did.

I do LOVE these Sonys so I sit patiently wait hoping that this all comes together.
 
and that Evil Dead trailer looked GREAT! This is what the DP said about the camera and sensor. What sensor does the F55 and F5 have and is it a bayer pattern? http://www.digitalmediaworld.net/Cameras/sony-f65-digital-cinema-dit-evil-dead

"I had seen some demonstration footage from the Sony F65 and the thing that struck me straight away was that it didn't have a sterile digital feeling to it," Morton said in a statement released by Sony. "It had all the resolution and other features that the numbers promised, but it did not have all of those high specs at the expense of a good looking picture."Morton said the quality of the image produced by the Sony F65 started with its newly-developed CMOS sensor which, unlike a conventional Bayer pattern sensor, uses a unique offset pattern of photosites to pack 8K capture into a Super 35mm size frame."There was something about fine detail that felt really natural and more like a film's random grain, rather than a grid of horizontal lines and vertical lines," he says. "Because of the massive over-sampling the level of detail is amazing and it looks sharp and rich, without looking over-sharpened."
 
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