F35: I scratch your back ...

M

Mitch Gross

Veteran
I'm hoping the thriving F35 community here on DVXUSER can help us out. Convergent Design went to bat for you and we now support 12-bit DPX recording from the F35 onto the Odyssey7Q and Odyssey7Q+. Happy to provide it.

We wanted to showcase this in our booth at NAB in a few weeks, but a few hours ago I received word that the camera we were to show had to be pulled for a job. Hey, a paying gig is a paying gig and this was a DVXUSER member who has been extremely helpful to us, so no hard feelings. But I am left with a hole where an F35 once stood.

So I put it out to you all here on the forum, in particular the US residents. Would anyone be willing to lend us your camera for the show? We'd like it with an IF box so that we could show the 12-bit connectivity. I can arrange an AC power supply if you don't have one (assuming you use either Anton Bauer or V-mount bricks, but we can figure it out). We will supply a PL mount lens as well as the Odyssey.

Please feel free to contact me directly. We can't compensate you other than provide shipping both ways, insurance protection for your gear, and an "F35 camera courtesy of" sign next to the camera. Of course you will also have our gratitude.

Show off how great your camera still is in 2015. Help us out!
 
And if it needs a secure ride from LA, I'll be attending NAB and staying within walking distance to the show. I'm already carrying other gear for a shoot afterwards but have tons of room in an SUV.
 
so if they don't want to shoot on my f35s for the shoot - then yes I will definitely supply mine!

Yes Mitch - 60FPS into the odyssey 7q is working!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Mitch,

From those who have already responded, looks like you may have this covered. If not, send me a PM. I have an F35 kit available in Tennessee, and I have a flight case, so it would be secure in transit.

And it may be more effort than CD can justify, but the one important element the O7Q is now missing for the F35 is support for the offspeed recording and ramping. Given that this data is imbedded in the HANC, I'm confident it would be within the capabilities of the O7Q hardware, but again, not necessarily a time and resource commitment CD can justify.
 
to me the priority is pro res 4444 12 bit recording over customizing the 07q to handle offspeed and ramping. You can ramp in post and it does 50p. This is a camera owned by like 14 people - for C-D to enable 12 bit dpx on it was already a major gesture of kindness to us all - also Viddovation - aren't you selling your F35 on ebay and also your SRR1 recorder which can do this? Why make your SRR1 any more obsolete?
 
eddavid said:
to me the priority is pro res 4444 12 bit recording over customizing the 07q to handle offspeed and ramping. You can ramp in post and it does 50p. This is a camera owned by like 14 people - for C-D to enable 12 bit dpx on it was already a major gesture of kindness to us all - also Viddovation - aren't you selling your F35 on ebay and also your SRR1 recorder which can do this? Why make your SRR1 any more obsolete?
Click to expand...

My F35 isn't for sale. And yes, my SR-R1 is for sale. But how would I be able to justify owning both an Oddessy and the SR-R1?

And isn't the point of this thread that CD has already finished 12bit recording?


As my post said, I recognize it probably isn't a time investment CD is willing to make, but that's the feature now missing.

EDIT: Noting the difference between 12bit ProRes and DPX. I hear you. Personally, as we now have one 12bit mode, I'd rather they put time in ramping/varispeed. If they put more time in at all. As for the SR-R1 - it doesn't support varispeed or ramping on the F35. That's really only supported on Codex and SRW1.
 
Ramping? Sorry but I find very little use for that and the same goes for just about every other production I know of. The prores option is much more desireable.
 
eddavid said:
to me the priority is pro res 4444 12 bit recording over customizing the 07q to handle offspeed and ramping. You can ramp in post and it does 50p. This is a camera owned by like 14 people - for C-D to enable 12 bit dpx on it was already a major gesture of kindness to us all - also Viddovation - aren't you selling your F35 on ebay and also your SRR1 recorder which can do this? Why make your SRR1 any more obsolete?
Click to expand...

I will have to disagree with you here Ed.

The new features in the 7Q do not make the SR-R1 obsolete. The SR-R1 has other features and it uses probably the most reliable media on the market, and security also counts. Not that the 7Q media is unreliable. But SRMEMORY is top notch.

The very feature you are requesting for the 7Q is basically built-in in the SR-R1 in the form of SR-SQ. I know you asked for ProRes but although ProRes is more popular, SR is technically superior but definitely at least as good and just as easy to use. I have seen SR being mentioned as more complicated than ProRes, but in Resolve for example there is no difference.

With the SR-R1 you get all three levels in a single unit. You have SR-Lite for cases where ProRes 10-bit 422 would suffice, with SR-SQ and SR-HQ for the cases where you would see ProRes 444 or uncompressed as the better option. I know SR-HQ at 12-bit 444 is not fully uncompressed. But it's only 2:1 compression. For all intents and purposes indistinguishable. Many people who start with the notion that they need fully uncompressed or raw end up using it much less than they had anticipated. Probably for the same reasons you are requesting ProRes besides the already implemented uncompressed.

The 7Q is a great product. No doubt. And Convergent Design is a very progressive company and the fact they have gone out of their way to implement this for the few F35 users out there really says a lot about the type of company they are. It would be great if Sony had the same mentality, even if I know it's not realistic to expect that from them.

But apart from the Codex Onboard M I think the SR-R1 is the best digital recorder for the F35 at the moment. Not only for the reasons above but also because I have a deep dislike for all things 2-in-1.

If Convergent Design had a stand alone version of the 7Q which was just a recorder box I would have to revise my position. But I like not being tethered to an on board monitor for recording. When shooting from the shoulder I just don't need a monitor hanging from my camera as I don't in a few other configurations. It is just one more thing to get bumped around.

Furthermore, the F35 really benefits from added weight to the back when using it on the shoulder. While the SRW-1 was way too large and heavy, the Codex or SR-R1 are perfectly sized and the experience is not that different from handling an ARRICAM LT on your shoulder. Only lighter. But without a recorder on the back the F35 is incredibly unbalanced, not unlike an ARRI without a film mag. Most likely because it was designed that way. Extra peripherals, even if light weight just add to the unbalance but at a minimum are of no help.

I just like to have a dedicated recorder and separated monitor. You can have the F35 with recorder and lens in a case and just pick it up and shoot (yeah, sorry for borrowing it ARRI). If I'm on sticks I can then add a monitor, if I need it. It's very different from having to have one because it's also my recorder. Having separated units adds a level of freedom and flexibility which is probably the reason the Alexa, F65, D21, Genesis or any other full blown production camera doesn't use a monitor-recorder combo unit. Modularity is good.

It also helps that I dislike working with 1ACs that pull from a monitor. So I don't miss a monitor at all. On board monitor that is.

Since I have no worries about weight either, as if you are using cameras like the F35, F65 or Alexa you would have the supporting gear to go around it, I can totally bypass using 2-in-1 recorders. I just like a self contained package.

Although I know I'm probably in the minority here. To each his own.

But the SR-R1 is not obsolete because the 7Q can now record 12-Bit 444. They are just different products for different markets.

I have to say though and this is not directed at you, but the word obsolete gets thrown around an awful lot in these forums for no good reason.

Cheers!
 
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I would note that you can always choose not to use the monitoring functions of the Odyssey7Q+. In fact you can even set it to black out the screen. It is still the least expensive, lowest weight, thinnest and lowest power draw option.
 
If anything, it would be handy to have the record trigger working and really use the o7q as solely a recorder.

Otherwise im excited for 12bit pro res 4444!
 
jo kami said:
If anything, it would be handy to have the record trigger working and really use the o7q as solely a recorder.

Otherwise im excited for 12bit pro res 4444!
Click to expand...

If this comment is directed at the F35 specifically, it's really not something Convergent Designs can address. The F35 only outputs the monitor port record trigger when it has a recorder docked like the SRW-1 or Codex with wet dock. Without this or another dock emulator, the monitor port will not output an SDI record trigger flag. The F35 monitor port record trigger was not designed for solo use. It's something that theortically could be fixed by a firmware update from Sony, but that's never going to happen.

There's simply no trigger data for the O7Q to catch - there's no way to detect a "Start/Stop" button push without modding the F35 or docking a compatible recorder (SRW-1, Codex).
 
With the recent firmware update we have activated remote wired trigger into our RMT port on the Odyssey recorders. At this time it only works in HD ProRes recording mode, but we will eventually have it active for all recording formats. We sell a trigger cable and can make custom lengths, and there is connector and pin-out info in the manual.
 
Mitch are you all taken care of for this? If not I could possibly help out!

Also - very excited to get my hands on a remote trigger cable! Do you know any places that sell it yet?
 
Looks like I'm covered, thanks.

You can buy a Trigger cable through any of our worldwide dealers. Don't know who has stock but they can just order from us. We have inventory on the shelf ready to ship.
 
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