FS 700 hands-on review with footage

This is AWESOME! Really shows off the strength of this camera. And learned something new about the E mount / A mount auto focus capabilities. Corrected an ordering error I made and will return the AE1 for the AE2 A mount.

So excited about this one. Thanks for posting it

Dillon
 
Great review. The FS700 really comes out good. I have the feeling the DR is higher. Maybe because the highlights holding better. IQ/style looks more like the F3 and less like the EX1 IMO, wich is a great thing.
Hope I can sell my FS100 for a decent price so I don't have to save to hard on this camera.

Marketwise I think I will have to start shooting 4k in end 2012-2013, when my client's slowly get ready for it. Ideal I can step up to that in a while.

Also got the Scarlet and BM camera on my mind but this point's make me go to the 700:
-Small file sizes
-Internal ND filters
-Owning FS100 lenses adapters and rigging stuff
-And trusted with the FS100
-Mostly producing for the web
 
That is with a doubt the most appealing footage I have seen from the FS700. Just lovely and honest frames. And what noble concept it is to use slow motion for character development in your story. (Yes, I am being facetious) Imagine that as oppose of all that frivolous and gratuitous none sense I have seem coming out of the FS700 demo reels and others. Mr. Leitner is more than a great DP; he is a pure storyteller.
 
I am so excited for this camera, even more so after seeing this video. The footage looked so NICE, not necessarily artistically, but just so clean with great highlights and nice colors. Looks ready for me to grade the hell out of :) since I am a major post tweaker.

Probably overall, the best camera for the buck soon to be out.
 
I am looking at both the BMC and the FS700. For me they will be about the same price because I will need to buy many things to make the BMC and post workflow more functional. for Example:

BMC Camera
ND filter
step up rings for lenses
At least two SSD
External Monitor
Cables/adapters to run it
External/portable Battery
rails/ cage to hold it all
upgrade video card in computer to run resolve
Add storage to computer

Some people will already have most of the things to make the BMC functional so their start up cost will be lower, but for me its about $8000- 9,000 or the same as the FS700. I like the look of the BMC but I am leaning toward the Sony at this point, but well see. I would also like to see where the F3 replacement is going to land compared to upgrading to 4K with the FS700.
 
I think for myself at least, when compared to the Black Magic, Sony has a long track record. Even though the Black Magic might be great, but I'm usually hesitant about buying the first generation of anything, much less from a completely brand new manufacturer. That kind of freaks me out.

Plus, I don't see how the BMCC could possibly be as cinematic as the FS700 because it's a 2.3x crop, while the FS700 is Super 35mm, which is the cinema standard. So yeah, I would say that the FS700 has the cinema look on lock, while the BMCC has the super 16mm on lock (or maybe more like super 24mm???).

Also, I like the robustness and many features of the FS700. It does cost 2x as much, but for me, I have the money saved and that's what I was originally going to spend on a Canon, but there Cinema division and general video offerings are such a joke now, that is unless you have tons of money to burn to get something really under-spec'd.
 
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I hope, the raw update for the FS700 doesn´t cost more than the BMCC - then we could eat the cake and still have it.
 
I think I'm going to shoot myself in the next couple of months due to hard decisions. Right now I have BMC on preorder, but the more I see FS700 footage, the more I seem to be questioning everything. Most of it has to do that I haven't seen much video wise yet from BMC. With my 10k budget either I can pick up a FS700 and a couple of accessories, or a BMC, build a shoulder rig, and pick up a lot of EF glass. What I'm worried about is that BMC is going to cause a technological jump and everything will change in the next year or so. Bah. It's most likely going to come down to the wire for me.
 
Scarytown said:
I think I'm going to shoot myself in the next couple of months due to hard decisions. Right now I have BMC on preorder, but the more I see FS700 footage, the more I seem to be questioning everything. Most of it has to do that I haven't seen much video wise yet from BMC. With my 10k budget either I can pick up a FS700 and a couple of accessories, or a BMC, build a shoulder rig, and pick up a lot of EF glass. What I'm worried about is that BMC is going to cause a technological jump and everything will change in the next year or so. Bah. It's most likely going to come down to the wire for me.
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I don't think either are orders of magnitude better than we have today, they're both incremental improvements and frankly i don't think you can judge either of the new cameras as no one has seen any full res source from the BMC or the FS700.

The video shown here is a good review, but the exposures shown outside on the FS700 video aren't unobtainable with most prosumer cameras now. From vimeo there's no magic pixie dust in the footage. It looks great, it's a solid upgrade but not *leaps* ahead of where we are.

It really depends what you intend doing with the cameras, they seem like very different beasts. Not knowing your requirements it's impossible to say but cameras are pretty much disposable whereas lights, lenses and gear can have a longer life.

cheers
Paul
 
Yeah, I think with Black Magic, you definitely have to wait a bit longer to see what is going on with the camera and what issues BM might have since it's their first camera. Look at RED. Their cameras are so un-reliable and they've been at it for a while now, but are still a very new manufacturer when compared to Sony and Canon, who have the manufacturing side down to a science. You know it's probably going to work right, even if you are getting ripped off in the case of Canon.
 
Scarytown said:
I think I'm going to shoot myself in the next couple of months due to hard decisions.
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No need to shoot yourself. Take a step back and - don't buy anything. Not until you need it.

And when you NEED it, then buy the best that's available that suits your needs. It doesn't matter what's coming later, because that's later, and you need it now, so -- get the best that's available now.

And if you don't need it now, why spend the dough? Something "better" will always, always come along. So don't buy until you need it. And when you need it, get the best that's available for your situation and STOP SHOPPING. :)
 
Thanks for the replies :) I'm starting to get into corporate production gigs and have a couple planned out this summer (along with a wedding or 2). Right now I'm just getting by with my DSLR, but I want to jump up to something more robust mid-summer. At the same time I'm still doing youtube and cinematic stuff with a local improv/actor groups. So I need something versatile as I'm kind of everywhere in filming. I have the sound equipment and the computers, I just need a camera that doesn't have the limitation of my DSLR (matching footage will be a whole different can of worms). Glass is another factor as I only have a couple EF lenses. Anyways, thanks for the advice again!
 
Constant comparison to the BMD seems strange to me

The BMD shoots DNG - thats wonderful - but will eat computer and edit times
-it needs a $2k battery system
-it needs an XLR preamp
-may need some expensive wide lenses
-will need ND matte box

The reality of the BMD is IMO it will be expensive to build up and expensive to shoot on and slow and expensive to edit and deliver

Which is all fine if you have the money and the time

The FS can go from the simplicity of the EX1 for corporate shooting and sate the desires of the weekend cinematographer in one package..

S
 
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