Just got a new camera - Sony F35

JMtheDP said:
I downloaded a sample frame from the new 6K DRAGON sensor that RED are touting. Sample footage that they shot with excellent lenses (Schneider Cine-Xenar IIIs) and I know they wouldn't let anything other than the best out in public at this stage.

I then grabbed a random frame from a recent short I shot on my F35, using my 30-year old Zeiss standard speeds.

I maximised them both on my PC screen which I'd like to think is fairly unbiased (it is a 30" HP professional monitor with a res of 2560x1600) and you know what, I was slightly disappointed at how little difference there was! Sure the epic was a BIT sharper, but it really was only a little bit. It isn't the night-and-day difference that the numbers would have you believe (it certainly isn't the chasm from SD to HD).

But then, the F35's sensor resolution isn't so far from the DRAGON. It makes a little more sense. Five years ago, this camera was £2,000 a day for the body. The thing is built like a god-damn tank. I had some F35 footage in a grading suite and the colourist just fell in love with it. "I can't believe this camera is older than the RED" he said.

If 4K really is absolutely essential to survival, someone better tell ARRI, because clearly they have a Turkey on their hands. I was shooting with an F900 LONG after tape went out of fashion. Better cameras may come along but the old ones don't suddenly get worse! If I was offered a ten-year-old Ferrari to replace my brand new Ford, I'd go for it in a heart beat!

I love my F35. It's big, it's heavy, but it makes some wonderful images. And it is going to be with me for quite some time.
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Very well put James, very well put indeed.

Edit: Beautiful shots Hunter!
 
Like the grading, and rest of it too :)

Did you have to shoot it at 4 in the morning so that no one was around?

Were there any sodium vapor or mercury lights in the garage to cause you problems?
 
Thanks Dennis.
We arranged to have the top floor of the multi-storey closed off for us for no charge which was great. We had 2 x 2k lights which were powered by a generator - this actually ran out on the last couple of takes. Had a track on dolly for 80 percent of the shots, I think a little movement always adds a great deal of energy to any piece. NO issues with local lights etc. I really liked the shots on top of the roof. Would have been nice to have arrived earlier to get more of these, the lights actually dropped off very quickly as it dies this time of year in the UK. Looking forward to taking the old boy out on a shoot again soon!
 
Just finished a 9 day shoot with the F35 + hyperdeck. Nothing broke!
I will post results if the film ends up being decent.

epc.jpg
 
Look forward to seeing what you've come up with next, Miguel!

I see you had the Anton Bauer batteries on that rig. I wanted to get some of those but I couldn't believe how damn expensive they were!

I have a hawkwoods block now but is anyone else here using a block, or are you all on v-locks?
 
Mac- Good call- I was wondering about that- I was going to give the hyper deck another shot for a lightweight rig I was trying to put together.
 
How are you liking those cookes?

EDIT- Im also looking for an f35 nikon mount front plate if anyone has one.
 
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Seriously Macgregor? You will post if the film looks decent? From everything I've seen shot by you, you could film paint drying and I'd be impressed.
 
Nice work Sparky! Good to see some lower light stuff, I've been really happy with how the F35 looks in lower light conditions. Not exactly a performer but it just seems to render it in a natural way.

Can't wait to see your work Mac if you end up posting it!

I have a possibly silly question; what should I do if I want to power the camera from AC? I saw an Anton Bauer solution but it seems to be priced for folks who could afford the F35 when it was new :\

Any ideas? Thanks guys!
-B
 
Okay, so I'm getting closer to joining the ranks. Renting an F35 this weekend for a volunteer job. Great rate, they had to look around to see if they still had any, and it turns out they had one...

My question is in regards to white balance. I understand that the F35 is created to live in the tungsten color space natively. But I also see that it has an electronic setting for Daylight as well. So does this mean that the camera is dramatically reducing the Blue channel level to make the daylight balance? And since noise tends to live in the blue channel, is this responsible for the great daylight footage that you all are posting.

Is anyone still using an 85 filter these days, or are you guys just simply using the electronic white balance.

From what I'm guessing, it looks like the electronic white balance is the way to go. Just wondering if anyone ever compared the electronics WB vs 85 filter?

Thanks,

Alan
Soon to be an owner.
 
Yeah, this has been discussed somewhere in this thread.
Use the daylight setting. Simple. Better. Faster.

We might need a new F35 sub forum I think.
Too many topics for a single thread now.
 
macgregor said:
Yeah, this has been discussed somewhere in this thread.
Use the daylight setting. Simple. Better. Faster.

We might need a new F35 sub forum I think.
Too many topics for a single thread now.
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Agreed. Who do we need to bribe around here to get us one? :tongue:
 
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