FS7: May need another FS7 - Mkii worth it?

bengiles

Well-known member
For those who've made the switch. I can get a MkI for £5800. Mkii an extra £1500.

Anyone done the miles on a MkII yet and can comment on the value of the upgrades?

Ta.
 
I would not upgrade aka sell and buy a new MKII. But for just buying one I would not hesitate and go for the MKII. I shot some stage presentations recently and I would have paid the 1500£ just for the variable ND. But it depends on your work and your wallet.
 
Its the little things... my work has mk I... I have mk II.

- The square rod to the viewfinder.
- The var ND
- Better stronger lens mount
- Toolfree extension of the arm
- Better card reader xD ( the one that came with the old cards doesnt have sd slot ;P)
 
I just did a shoot in Macedonia with my MkI and a rental mkII. First time I played with a mkII and I wondered if I would start lusting after one. Thankfully, I didn't! Which must say something...
 
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I just bought a second, well used, Mark I for $5,000 and put $500 into it to get a couple of things fixed. I'm very happy.

It depends what your needs are. Personally, I don't use internal NDs and I have lens support and like the speed of a regular photo mount.
 
I haven't used the MkII yet, but I would have thought the Variable ND and Locking Lens Mount alone would be worth the upgrade - they're incredible features.
 
The locking lens mount can actually be a hinderance for speed-swapping lenses, if you are not exclusively using lenses that use a mount adapter and use the same type of mount adapter.

The variable ND is life-changing. Who likes having the depth of field you desire regardless of the circumstances and being able to maintain the DoF even when the light conditions change, show of hands?

Price aside, were it me, I'd probably go with the Mk2.

The improved VF rod isn't a factor in my choice because I'd just replace it with a NATO rail VF mount anyway. And I've never really had much difficulty removing the cards on the Mk1, so that update would not sway me either way.
 
The electronic variable ND and locking lever e mount are each worth the $1500 price difference alone. Don’t sell the original, you sometimes need two cameras and nothing cuts better with FS7 than another FS7.
 
Thanks Piotr.

As I've just PMd, I can get a new unit with full warranty for £5800, so a used unit would have to be less than £4k to be attractive to me.

Cheers,

Ben.
 
Its the little things... my work has mk I... I have mk II.

- The square rod to the viewfinder.
- The var ND
- Better stronger lens mount
- Toolfree extension of the arm
- Better card reader xD ( the one that came with the old cards doesnt have sd slot ;P)


The cam comes with a card reader? We just got 3 mkii’s for work and none had a card reader in it.
 
Sony stopped including card readers with the "new" G series the other year. I still have a bunch of spares from the first batch of cards I bought for my 55.
 
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