NAB is over, so are you selling your FS700?

G

Gene Sung

Veteran
So now that NAB is over, anything you guys liked more than the FS700 + 7Q?

As for me, nothing within my price range. The AJA CION looks awesome and so beautiful looking, but not sure if my Canon lenses will work and no NDs. But that's the only camera that really caught my eye.

The Sony A7S seems like a perfect compliment to the FS700. I'm glad Sony is doing that one as it would be nice to have a solid, video-centric DSLR.

Overall, I'm happy that I don't need to buy a new camera this year and it looks like I will be able to milk at least another few years from my FS700 + 7Q.
 
Yeah the O7Q just gave our FS700`s 2-3 more years on their back.

I dont really see the extreme upgrade in quality for quite some time now...

And its not just the IQ, but

Speedbooster

L optics

Facial autofocus with Sony lenses

ND filters

Slow motion

4K2HD

Lightweight

Expandable

Reliable
 
+1 to what Martin said. There's something essential missing from all the cameras. The only reason I'd want to get a new camera would be if it had all the above + compressed RED like raw codec and a global shutter. But I think it will be 1-2 years before we get there at the price range of a FS700+O7Q.

One thing I am sure of though, I'm never buying another camera without internal ND filters! That's a feature that has saved me so much hassle since moving away from DSLR's.
 
Yeah, the reliable part is so crucial, especially after I tested the new BMC 4K. It really make you appreciate the big company like Sony, Canon, Panasonic, etc... Even though people hate on them, at least you know the camera will work right most of the time.

But damn, that CION is so lovely to look at. She's like the Brigitte Bardot of cameras.

As for built in NDs, I agree 100%. A must have. I used to use Variable ND filters but they ALL have issues even the best ones like Heliopan.
 
AFAIK, it's all about the sensor and the optics that go with it. You R&G guys love those internal ND's. I, more often, use a variable ND because it gives me an effective increase in DR by mitigating hot spots and spectral reflections. Internal ND's also wreak havoc with backfocus that have to be compensated with camera software.

The FS700 has a pretty sweet sensor; and the E-mount + Metabones lets me use the range of lenses I've got. So, any new camera offering better make use of my EOS mount lenses, have a global shutter, and produce a full 4k. I'm not concerned with internal recording capability because, the way I see it, the O7Q is my future-proof monitor/recorder. Whatever comes down the road, C-D can add to the firmware if the demand and performance is good enough.

The only missing feature, AFAIK, that a camera body can add is better ergonomics. That AJA Cion looks pretty nice in that regard. Unfortunately, the lens mount isn't compatible with my optics collection. So, yeah, looks like my FS700 + O7Q will be around for a while. This is good because it looks like the next round of hardware upgrades needs to go into storage and 4k display technology.
 
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cuervo said:
AFAIK, it's all about the sensor and the optics that go with it. You R&G guys love those internal ND's. I, more often, use a variable ND because it gives me an effective increase in DR by mitigating hot spots and spectral reflections. Internal ND's also wreak havoc with backfocus that have to be compensated with camera software.

The FS700 has a pretty sweet sensor; and the E-mount + Metabones lets me use the range of lenses I've got. So, any new camera offering better make use of my EOS mount lenses, have a global shutter, and produce a full 4k. I'm not concerned with internal recording capability because, the way I see it, the O7Q is my future-proof monitor/recorder. Whatever comes down the road, C-D can add to the firmware if the demand and performance is good enough.

The only missing feature, AFAIK, that a camera body can add is better ergonomics. That AJA Cion looks pretty nice in that regard. Unfortunately, the lens mount isn't compatible with my optics collection. So, yeah, looks like my FS700 + O7Q will be around for a while. This is good because it looks like the next round of hardware upgrades needs to go into storage and 4k display technology.
Click to expand...

So internal NDs don't mitigate hotspots? I'd think you get less reflections from an internal ND
because it isn't in front of the lens. Also interested how a variable ND gives you an increase in DR
over internal ND. I've done tests with my FS700 with a Heliopan and a Genus Eclipse variable
ND vs the internal ND and did not see this. I was mainly looking for the color differences and loss
in sharpening the variable NDs introduce as well as the polarizing effects. These are generally
cited as drawbacks of variable NDs (to be fair I didn't notice any huge drawbacks in these ways
with the variable NDs either).

But as to the OP, I still think the FS700 is the most versatile, mid priced camera around.
 
Don't mean to hijack this thread....so short answer:
hotspots/spectral reflections are almost always polarized, by virtue of the reflective nature of light. Variable ND's are filters for polarized light. yes, there is the possibility of incident light reflections...it's a tradeoff. Internal ND's throttle every photon of light coming thru them. Polarizers throttle only the polarized light that hits them, giving you an image with lower DR. So, it's not really a way to increase the DR of the camera, just a way to lower the DR of an image with spectral reflections or skylight.
 
The AJA camera had a very "video" look to it. Not sure why. It needs tested some more. And I am hoping that the screen on the Black Magic URSA doesn't break! It's massive. I mean silly massive haha.

Not selling my FS700. They have upgrades coming for it.
 
Not selling my FS700 and 7Q. I use it with the BMPC, which actually is a nice camera. I am looking at the GH4 and especially the A7s for effects and use in a Movi M5. The CION looks lovely, but does not like my lens collection.
 
I laughed when I read the title. I imagine a lot of us were on the edge of our seats. The answer for me is a big fat NO. At this point (odyssey included) any camera I get now the fs700 will be with me for a while. We're seeing new camera announcenmts with 3 year old off the shelf sensors. The camera industry seems to be on par with the computer industry. We're about a year away until a new breed of sensors hit the market (same with computers) and give us something revolutionary. The A7s seems like a good indication where the market is heading, but until they provide better internal recording options I'm happy with the fs700/CD combo. Once this next firmware cycle is complete I'm buying the odyssey 7q and won't look back.
 
Well actually I pre-ordered a BMD URSA to replace my PMW-350 and go along side my 700 and O7Q. Not sure if it'll ever turn up in the next year so I may well end up changing my mind!

oh, but the cost of CFast 2 cards and the fact it doesn't have ND is the biggest down side.
 
definitely not, especially with the 7Q now. i'm on par with others mention the A7S as a complementary camera, but someone mentioned it has terrible rolling shutter. Worried about that, but don't necessarily care that the 4K isn't internal. Most work is still 1080 so If it's a better image than the A7R, i'm happy.

just had a thought.... long shot... but is the 7Q in any way made so that it can accept simultaneous streams from 2 cameras via the SDI A & B? Even if not in 4k, maybe 2k? Ie, for a simple interview setup, shooting 2 camera onto 1 recorder like this could be helpful.
 
llirik said:
just had a thought.... long shot... but is the 7Q in any way made so that it can accept simultaneous streams from 2 cameras via the SDI A & B? Even if not in 4k, maybe 2k? Ie, for a simple interview setup, shooting 2 camera onto 1 recorder like this could be helpful.
Click to expand...

It will be in the future, but it will be a paid upgrade. Not sure if you will be able to rent it by the day.
 
Short answer NO.

But the AJA CION and above all the Kinefinity KINEMAX 6K definitely caught my eyes.

I wish there was an upgrade path to put the F55 sensor on the FS700 to have global shutter and wide gamut and thus turn this camera close to perfection (for it's price range) except for it's form factor and ergonomics.
 
slipstrea808 said:
The AJA camera had a very "video" look to it. Not sure why.
Click to expand...

For some reason the live Cion I played with at the show was set to 60i instead of 24p, and at the moment it can only output REC709 (that may be the same thing with the frame rate) since they weren't production models. Knowing that, it would have been a lot smarter in my opinion to have avoided the high-contrast downlighting on the film-noir style set with the models since the highlights were blowing out on their clothes as one might expect with a straight 709 LUT. Between that and the 60i, I agree it looked quite "video".

As far as the camera being pretty--it's not going to look quite as nice once you start plugging cables into it that stick straight out from the side. Major fail on the part of the designers putting all of the connection ports flat on the right side rather than angled towards the back as is the case with better designed cameras (even Blackmagic got that part right).
 
CharlesPapert said:
For some reason the live Cion I played with at the show was set to 60i instead of 24p, and at the moment it can only output REC709 (that may be the same thing with the frame rate) since they weren't production models. Knowing that, it would have been a lot smarter in my opinion to have avoided the high-contrast downlighting on the film-noir style set with the models since the highlights were blowing out on their clothes as one might expect with a straight 709 LUT. Between that and the 60i, I agree it looked quite "video".

As far as the camera being pretty--it's not going to look quite as nice once you start plugging cables into it that stick straight out from the side. Major fail on the part of the designers putting all of the connection ports flat on the right side rather than angled towards the back as is the case with better designed cameras (even Blackmagic got that part right).
Click to expand...

So what you guys are saying is that the AJA CION has the body of Pamela Anderson (the Baywatch era), but also…. the brain of Pamela Anderson.
 
llirik said:
definitely not, especially with the 7Q now. i'm on par with others mention the A7S as a complementary camera, but someone mentioned it has terrible rolling shutter. Worried about that, but don't necessarily care that the 4K isn't internal. Most work is still 1080 so If it's a better image than the A7R, i'm happy.

just had a thought.... long shot... but is the 7Q in any way made so that it can accept simultaneous streams from 2 cameras via the SDI A & B? Even if not in 4k, maybe 2k? Ie, for a simple interview setup, shooting 2 camera onto 1 recorder like this could be helpful.
Click to expand...
That would be Multi-Stream. Currently Multi-Stream is for monitoring only. Multi-Stream recording will be available sometime this summer. It is a paid option but will be available as a daily rental. It is also only for standard HD video feeds up to 30p. It cannot be used for a RAW signal.
 
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