FS7: How much weight can the f7s E mount take

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david dominguez

Well-known member
Was wondering how much weight the f7s mount with the wooden camera Pl adaptor could take comfortably without support? I'm shooting a short with a set of cooke mini s4s and hoping I could get some advice wether i should add support.
thanks!
 
Are you going to be using a follow focus? If so, you need some support at the mount before the E-mount. You will get major flex in the E-mount causing back focusing in your image. That is why I like the Wooden Camera support, because it really bolts into the camera doesn't need a lens support.
 
The Mini s4 aren't that heavy so I think you should be fine. I would be more concerned with full-size primes or a zoom (which would need rod support anyways)

Just make sure you have the PL mount bolted to the FS7 top plate (also made by Wooden Camera).

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But I do agree that the E-mount is the Achilles heel of the FS7...
 
I've used the FS7 as b-cam to the F55 on a few shoots already. With PL mount adapter and Zeiss CP.2's there was nothing to be concerned about, very sturdy.

I'd say maybe if you were going to do it a lot, not only the odd time, then getting something like that wooden camera support looks like a great idea.
 
+1

Wouldn't worry about it. Now if you had an old Cooke vintage zoom or the Red 18-85 or something monstrous like that, I would definitely use support.

One thing that I do avoid is transporting camera with lens attached. I do remote lens before putting in carry bag or Pelican case. My go-to lens is the 28-135 and somebody at Sony once told me to remove this lens before transporting. It's not NDA-- I just can't remember who said it.

Ned Soltz
 
Harry Lime said:
But I do agree that the E-mount is the Achilles heel of the FS7...
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I think the E Mount is a work of genius and in no way an achilles heel and the mount on the FS7 is solid and hasn't given me any concerns at all. The ability to throw on literally any lens with any adapter running the gamut of old Russian lenses to Cine Primes is a huge positive.

The damage to the lens mount from an unsupported lens comes from activities like taking off and placing onto support systems and onto the ground. If one were to calculate the force going through the mount during these moments would be surprisingly high, it's to do with the rate of change of momentum i.e the acceleration (-ve) of the bangs and clunks the camera receives while docking with the tripod. If you're walking even running around shouldering the camera there's no problem at all because the acceleration is not that high. Always support a long or heavy lens while docking/un docking and you'll be alright within reason.
 
FWIW, I use a Minolta 200mm f3.5 lens on a Sony A7s (which of course has an E-mount). This lens weighs 1.7 lbs. Add in the weight of the Minolta to E-mount adapter and you're looking at about 2 lbs. I have absolutely no problems with this much weight. The lens stays perfectly secure and square to the camera. However, I don't think I'd want to go much heavier than this. Hope that helps.
 
Nirv said:
I think the E Mount is a work of genius and in no way an achilles heel and the mount on the FS7 is solid and hasn't given me any concerns at all. The ability to throw on literally any lens with any adapter running the gamut of old Russian lenses to Cine Primes is a huge positive..
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+1n on this... it was one of the many reason's I bought the camera
 
Nirv said:
I think the E Mount is a work of genius and in no way an achilles heel and the mount on the FS7 is solid and hasn't given me any concerns at all. The ability to throw on literally any lens with any adapter running the gamut of old Russian lenses to Cine Primes is a huge positive.

The damage to the lens mount from an unsupported lens comes from activities like taking off and placing onto support systems and onto the ground. If one were to calculate the force going through the mount during these moments would be surprisingly high, it's to do with the rate of change of momentum i.e the acceleration (-ve) of the bangs and clunks the camera receives while docking with the tripod. If you're walking even running around shouldering the camera there's no problem at all because the acceleration is not that high. Always support a long or heavy lens while docking/un docking and you'll be alright within reason.
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Sony E-mount is not a professional mount. It is a consumer grade design. It is a spring lock DSLR mount that was designed to support DSLR mount lenses that are considerably lighter than cine lenses.

If you twist the lens it will twist in the mount. It is not a positive lock mount like PL or BNCR with a registration pin that prevents this.

The mount itself is relatively thin walled and not designed to support the weight of cine lenses. This is why every decent E-mount to PL mount adapter on the market has an additional mount support to help prevent the mount on the FS7 from flexing (see Wooden Camera PL mount adapter etc).

There is no comparison between a PL / Sony-FZ and a DSLR mount in terms of stability and ability to support the weight of cine lenses. Obviously a heavy zoom like the 14 lbs Cooke T3 18-100mm needs rod support with any mount. That is a given.

In terms of ability to use other lens mounts, yes E-mount is very flexible, but it not alone in that capability. SONY also offers the FZ-mount which has a very shallow flange focal distance and can be adopted to probably any mount on the market, essentially making it a universal mount. Unlike E-mount the FZ-mount is a professional, heavy duty mount that was designed to support heavy cine lenses.

Apples and oranges:

30 10 20121351616372SONY_PMW-55_LENS_MOUNTS.jpg

sony_fs7-1.jpg
 
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Ralph B said:
FWIW, I use a Minolta 200mm f3.5 lens on a Sony A7s (which of course has an E-mount). This lens weighs 1.7 lbs. Add in the weight of the Minolta to E-mount adapter and you're looking at about 2 lbs. I have absolutely no problems with this much weight. The lens stays perfectly secure and square to the camera. However, I don't think I'd want to go much heavier than this. Hope that helps.
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Try mounting a 14lbs 2 ft long Cooke T3 18-100mm on an e-mount camera with a PL adapter. Even with the necessary rod support it's pretty obvious that you are pushing the limits.
 
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Harry Lime said:
Try mounting a 14lbs 2 ft long Cooke T3 18-100mm on an e-mount camera with a PL adapter. Even with the necessary rod support it's pretty obvious that you are pushing the limits.
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*facepalm*

Who is going to do that? Who is going to put that lens on an FS7? Absolutely no one. If you can afford to rent or own that lens or others like it you're going to own/rent the next tier up in camera at the very least.

In your efforts to prove how pro you are you've gone beyond the bounds of the believable to show how unprofessional the E mount is. Well done.
 
Nirv said:
*facepalm*

Who is going to do that? Who is going to put that lens on an FS7? Absolutely no one. If you can afford to rent or own that lens or others like it you're going to own/rent the next tier up in camera at the very least.
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So, if you get a PL mount adapter for your FS7 you are supposed to restrict yourself to only certain PL lenses?

If that is the case then isn't that right there the proof that there is a problem and you are asking the E-mount to do something it was not designed to do in the first place? If anything the need for an additional support for the PL adapter should have told you that from the get go.

You know, there is a very good reason why Sony put the E-mount of the FS7. Otherwise it would be too close to the F5.


In your efforts to prove how pro you are you've gone beyond the bounds of the believable to show how unprofessional the E mount is. Well done.
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That's cute. It's an engineering problem, nothing more. You are getting far too emotional about this.
 
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Harry Lime said:
So, if you get a PL mount adapter for your FS7 you are supposed to restrict yourself to only certain PL lenses?

If that is the case then isn't that right there the proof that there is a problem and you are asking the E-mount to do something it was not designed to do in the first place? If anything the need for an additional support for the PL adapter should have told you that from the get go.

You know, there is a very good reason why Sony put the E-mount of the FS7. Otherwise it would be too close to the F5.




That's cute. It's an engineering problem, nothing more. You are getting far too emotional about this.
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Your whole argument is based on setting up a straw man.
 
Nirv said:
Your whole argument is based on setting up a straw man.
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Seriously? A straw man argument? Seems to me like you are taking an observation made of an inanimate object far too personal.

I am not the only one who has encountered this issue. Art Adams has mentioned it in his column on DV Info and it's been a topic of discussion on CML and other sites.

http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acquisition/sonyxdcam/my-love-hate-relationship-with-the-sony-fs7.html

The e-mount is a consumer grade mount that was never designed to support the weight of heavy cine lenses. That's what the FZ-mount is for. Ask Sony if you are not convinced. There really isn't anything to add to that and if you can't differentiate between the very obvious structural integrity of the two mounts then that is a personal issue with you and no one else.
 
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I was excited to obtain a Red 50-150mm PL zoom but I immediately ran into an issue in that the PL to e-mount adapter does not fit tightly in the e-mount. When you turn the focus ring the lens shifts in the e-mount. Because there is no means of tightening the e-mount connection I am forced to use a support bracket for the PL mount in order to stop the play in the e-mount end of things. The e-mount is the weakest link and a less than ideal mounting system. Having to use the PL support to stop the play in the e-mount makes it more laborious to hot-swap between my PL mount glass and my e-mount glass. Were I to be using PL mount glass exclusively it wouldn't be an issue.

Wooden camera has teased that they are working on a version of their PL support that will also work with a EF to e-mount adapter. But no word on that from them as of yet beyond the tease.

I am using the Hot Rod PL to e-mount adapter and it wasn't cheap. Is anyone using a PL to e-mount adapter that is without play when mounted and does not require a support bracket to negate the play?

After encountering the issue with the PL adapter having play I noticed that the metabones EF to e-mount adapter and even straight e-mount glass have various degrees of play in the mount. But when the movement of the focus ring on a lens is loose it isn't a problem. The Red zoom has a stiff focus ring that requires more effort to turn than most lenses and that is what results in the e-mount shifting back and forth on its seating. I wish there was a mount that had a ring that could be threaded back against the e-mount so as to eliminate play in the connection. Something similar to the screw-ring that allows a hot shoe mount to be firmly secured.

The e-mount was not designed for or ever intended for manual focusing that places rotational torque on the lens. It is essentially an auto-focus / electronic zoom lens mount. It wasn't designed for the man-handling of lenses that professional video shooting requires. ( I say "professional video shooting" because the e-mount is perfectly fine for amateur video shooting where manual focus and manual zooming are atypical. )
 
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