FS7: First Long Walkabout with the Sony FS7

I often find that truly great masters are the ones who never need to state anything about their ability. The ones who do....are almost always aspiring to be masters one day. Two clearly distinct differences.

I find it best to not let on about your depth of knowledge but let others discover it in time...and present it when its appropriate, and without ego.

Thats my zen for the day.

Yep, that's my experience too! Same with any piece of equipment whose manufacturer has the word "Pro" in their name - generally that's a sure sign that it ain't!!!
Steve
 
Personally unless I am shooting charts in a careful and controlled manor I never post tests. All of my tests are usually very unscientific personal video projects involving my kids (they work for candy). I would hate for someone to draw conclusions based on my creative choices which usually involve using the item of choice in less than ideal circumstances to see how it performs so I know its limits when I get into the field. This doesn't always make the best images. As this is a business first and foremost I always ask myself 'Will this help or hurt my business' before i ever post anything publicly. I'm not so sure this video helps BassPigs business but that is his worry not mine. I do find it frustrating when videos like this get around as examples of the FS7 footage to be judged. Its more about the operator in this case not the cameras capabilities which is again why people have questioned its purpose.

I understand the backlash here as BassPig has been confrontational in other threads about image quality but now It makes sense as he is a technical image person where many of us creatives are about the entire package aesthetics beyond technical specs. There is room for each in this market for both those who view scopes and those who view image. Personally I would rather have a few soft or imperfect but interesting well composed shots then something technically sharp and exposed but lacking composition/movement.

If anyone wants to see a test of the Nikon 17-55 & 3 mins to spare (made a fun music video with my kids) PM me and I can send you a password protected link. Its not professional and was mostly a fun way to do a test but I designed the concept around the desire to test the lens wide open and under heavy back light. Not technically perfect at all but its interesting and includes all the shots I wanted to test. Backlit, wide open, bokeh and general use handheld without IS. I cheated and used at lot of SlowMo but thats exactly what I would do in these situations where I couldn't use a Movi/Ronin but needed to get the shot and make it interesting.
 
Last edited:
Ben, the video was a practice run with a brand new camera. It's not intended as an Academy Award prospect. I was a) testing some lenses to see if 16mm prime was wide enough for city street shoots, I wanted to see if the 28-135 was wide enough for some street shooting, b) I wanted to see how the ergonomics worked out as a shoulder cam. c) I wanted to see if I could survive walking a few miles around town with it without having my back go out on me. I obtained a lot of useful data from that test. I share the video online for the benefit of my community, which likes to see video of their downtown area.

I point out the audio issue I had with the HVR-V1U because it's relevant: I identified a gross deficiency, and everyone denied it, some told me I was crazy and one DP who is known for jumping out of airplanes, asserted that I 'knew little about video and even less about audio.' The point is, people impugn my credibility when I point out facts that are inconvenient to them. Nobody wants to hear that the Emperor has no clothes! I was persistent in 2008 with asking folks to test the EX1's audio, as I didn't want to make that mistake again. Unlike a lot of folks with huge crew resources, I'm a one man band. I shoot, capture audio and edit. Even build the hardware that I edit on. My 2007 workstation served me will for SD and HD work, but now it's time for something cutting edge for 4K work.


Nirv, "goes to 11".. as an amp repair tech, I hear that a lot about the Marshall amplifiers. But yes, it's one of the loudest systems in the world, reaching SPLs in a 1,000 sq ft place that normally are only achieved by IASCA car audio competition cars in a confined space of an auto cockpit. My CEL 201 SPL meter's top range is 140dB and the system easily pegs that meter without breaking a sweat. When the 'signal present' lights start to flicker on the big QSC amps, meaning there's a detectable but small input signal, the SPL measured is already 129dB in the front row of the auditorium. Most people find that unbearable, some have told me they couldn't breathe, others complain of chest pains. It's very effective for pyrotechnics though. We had an audiophile meet here a couple of years ago, and one of the attendees told me he had to literally hold onto his baseball cap, as the louder explosions were blowing it off his head. My large subwoofer arrays have a measured sensitivity of 112dB/1 watt @ 4 feet on axis. There are two 6,000 industrial sound reinforcement amplifiers driving those ten woofers. Lots of headroom and lots of bass extension.

I never once stated anything about my ability, when posting videos on Youtube. Here's some footage or around town, here's this lens, here's that lens. Period.

Speaking of lenses, I meant the 28-135. I did briefly own the 18-105. Hideous image quality, smudgy, lots of CA. Ergonomics were bad too. Just pulling back on the zoom and the focus goes out briefly and then back in. Focus is not repeatable due to no stops on the ring, and too little rotation at the far end of the focal range to achieve critical focus. The only lens I tested that was worse was a Canon lens that my friend brought over to try out. Made me really appreciate what Sony did with the 28-135, despite the slow zooming and slow F4 aperture.

Perhaps you might enjoy my EX1 camera test better.. I used a tripod. ;)
 
This thread is pretty silly. Really.

On a side note...this is not directed at any specific person or field. If it be music, cinema...pottery....anything...I often find that truly great masters are the ones who never need to state anything about their ability. The ones who do....are almost always aspiring to be masters one day. Two clearly distinct differences.

I find it best to not let on about your depth of knowledge but let others discover it in time...and present it when its appropriate, and without ego.

Thats my zen for the day.

Awesome.

Let's make that the final word in this thread. Agreed? Don't answer that:-)
 
Back
Top