F5: NEW Sony F5 Bundle Includes a7SII Body, Viewfinder, Shoulder Pad, & More

F5 and FS7 is almost identical only on paper. It's meant to be used mostly with PL lenses while FS7 takes e-mount AF lenses natively. This plus lack of a grip and v-lock batteries means is far less run and gun than FS7. For me, dream combo: a-cam F5+R5, b-cam FS7, c-cam A7RII (superior AF then S). With this you could tackle literally ANY project.
 
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I posted on the Sony forums some speculation that a replacement camera was coming and Sony replies within 2 minutes saying it does not mean any replacement is coming soon, and also advised that more news and updates are coming for the F5/55 soon.

As for FS7 vs F5 I think they'll produce nearly the same results to most users and so it will boil down to ergonomic more than anything.

RGB444 is great but it's not real 444 anyway and so the real benefit then us a more lossless codec - still great to have but I don't see that as a deal breaker.
 
starcentral said:
As for FS7 vs F5 I think they'll produce nearly the same results to most users and so it will boil down to ergonomic more than anything.
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Exactly! But together they make perfect combo. I wouldn't like owning two FS7 nor two F5. The only fault is lack of genlock directly on FS7 body.
 
starcentral said:
I posted on the Sony forums some speculation that a replacement camera was coming and Sony replies within 2 minutes saying it does not mean any replacement is coming soon, and also advised that more news and updates are coming for the F5/55 soon.
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Haha, of course they'd say this! They don't want to screw over their dealers who are trying to move F5s. They are technically correct, this bundle could just be a nice promotion and not be an indicator of a new model coming out, but history has shown that price drops + accessory bundles = end of life.
 
To anatusa: I'm not sure if the promo exists in Europe. I'm only given the information for the Sony USA promos. You can see a screen shot of the official promo announcement from Sony attached in this post.

(REMOVED)

A couple of other odds and ends involving the F5 and F55: This promo with the a7SII is combinable with other promos. Sony is also running a promo on the F5 and F55 where, when you buy the camera and the CBK-55BK ENG-build up kit (great for any kind of news/ENG/sports/Docu shooting) you get an instant $3000 savings. This effectively brings the build up kit down from $8,000 to a more manageable $5,000. You could get the full F5+a7SII combo kit and the ENG build up kit for under $21K. ALSO, on the F55 only, Sony has several new bundles that include the ProRes codec board at no additional charge. Normally the ProRes board is $2000. With firmware ver6.0 this will enable 444 ProRes recording with an F55 with that board. While thats not as exciting as the F5 package, its nice to see Sony, once again, continuing to push what the F55 can do and not shying away from much-user requested features like 444 ProRes.

Let me know if you have any questions on these bundles, specifically the F5+a7SII combo. The Sony financing is applicable on all of these kits. The F5 and F55 both qualify for $0 down 0% 24 month financing, or 36 and 48 month options are available as well.

I know my opinion can't be seen as unbiased based on my relationship with Sony, thats understandable. But i would find it very shocking if there was any kind of replacement announced in under 6 months, pre-NAB. At this price this is a great camera that is still extremely competitive feature and performance wise. With the way Sony has continued to push the capabilities of these cameras they're not following the same typical product cycle that we often see in this industry, these cameras have been developed uniquely. Its not a perfect camera for everyone, but then again, what is.

Eric Petrie
epetrie@provideoandtape.com
503-598-9142
Finance the NEW Sony F5+a7SII bundle for $492/36 mo. $0 down
Finance the NEW Canon C300mkII for $459/36 mo. $0 down
Apply Now
 
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Wow, definitly interested. Currently shooting with DSLR (Canon 70D). Wonder what the learning curve and lens rental prices are.
 
Bill,
At the time of shooting that picture, we were shooting on freshly updated FS700 that just came in from Sony. The rental house just received the interface unit and I was the first one to rent it for a production. It was the only option for RAW and I needed it for this particular shoot. The files were definitely nice but the rig is quite unmanageable.

At the time, the 7Q FS700 RAW option wasn't even available. CD was still working on it.

I only post that to show people how nice the Sony F5/F55 are with the RAW recorder compared to the FS7/FS700 option.
 
zeke said:
Wow, definitly interested. Currently shooting with DSLR (Canon 70D). Wonder what the learning curve and lens rental prices are.
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Learning curve would be upside down or negative… It's 1,000 times easier to shoot with an F5/55 than a DSLR.
 
eric@provideo said:
Metabones is also starting to ship a new EF mount for the F5 and F55. http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/10/...t-adapter-reviewed-by-paul-ream-of-extrashot/

Supposedly it starts shipping in about a month and will be about $1,000

View attachment 105926

Eric Petrie
epetrie@provideoandtape.com
503-598-9142
Finance the NEW Sony F5+a7SII bundle for $492/36 mo. $0 down
Finance the NEW Canon C300mkII for $459/36 mo. $0 down
Apply Now
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VERY interested in this adapter. My Optitek v3 has never worked fully(doesn't display aperture info from my Canon Cine primes, but oddly enough displays aperture and focus info from my Canon still lenses) and changing your iris with buttons is a pain. Even though the metabones is 'fly-by-wire' for iris change, doing it with a ring to mimic a real lens is much more intuitive and natural. If it works like it's supposed to, my Opti is going back to Abel since it has never worked fully or eBay.
 
anatusa said:
what do u mean by that? sony does not have true 444?
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A "real" 444 in 4K would mean 8.8 x 3 mega pixels (26.4), with no need to interpolate the color information. With 8.9 MPX native, it's at best a 4:2:2 and really a 4:2:0.
 
DLD said:
A "real" 444 in 4K would mean 8.8 x 3 mega pixels (26.4), with no need to interpolate the color information. With 8.9 MPX native, it's at best a 4:2:2 and really a 4:2:0.
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The F5(5) don't offer 4k 4:4:4, they offer 1080p 4:4:4 in the SR444 codec. Which is very much 'true' 4:4:4, downsampled from the 4k sensors. It's a brilliant codec, I shot a feature back in January with it. Just a damn shame they never offered any off-speed recording options with it.
 
Run&Gun said:
VERY interested in this adapter. My Optitek v3 has never worked fully(doesn't display aperture info from my Canon Cine primes, but oddly enough displays aperture and focus info from my Canon still lenses) and changing your iris with buttons is a pain. Even though the metabones is 'fly-by-wire' for iris change, doing it with a ring to mimic a real lens is much more intuitive and natural. If it works like it's supposed to, my Opti is going back to Abel since it has never worked fully or eBay.
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Sorry I have never heard about this issue before. I know you emailed me but I have seen the display with CN/Es on Sony F5. It should work.
All Canon lenses use the same protocols so it doesn't make complete sense.
You can always send me the lens that does not work and we'll investigate.
Anyway:
The iris control on the mount is not the primary iris control for the system.
Our adapter is designed and made for both IRIS and FOCUS control by wire.
The proper way to control the iris is with the Optitron slider. It works very well. Actually, using the OptiTek adapter on its own without OptiTron controller is kind of waste. You are only using small fraction of its potential. It (the OptiTek ProLock adapter) has always been intended as a component of our complete lens control system. An essential component, none the less a component. It works just fine on it's own but works great combined in the system.
Sony spent quite a bit of time testing it before they approved. The PMW camera were very important line for Sony's "come back"- Mount and Prolock web.jpg probably the most important throughout 2013-2014 " renaissance"
I hope this clarifies things a little and I repeat my offer to solve your lens display issue again.
Since my previous post is gone (???) here are the links to the relevant videos in case you are interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_9e0tZZfOc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIXUfo52N1k
 
eric@provideo said:
Metabones is also starting to ship a new EF mount for the F5 and F55. http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/10/...t-adapter-reviewed-by-paul-ream-of-extrashot/

Supposedly it starts shipping in about a month and will be about $1,000

View attachment 105926

Eric Petrie
epetrie@provideoandtape.com
503-598-9142
Finance the NEW Sony F5+a7SII bundle for $492/36 mo. $0 down
Finance the NEW Canon C300mkII for $459/36 mo. $0 down
Apply Now
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Why can't they offer a focal reducer option for the Sony FZ mount!
 
Grug said:
The F5(5) don't offer 4k 4:4:4, they offer 1080p 4:4:4 in the SR444 codec. Which is very much 'true' 4:4:4, downsampled from the 4k sensors. It's a brilliant codec, I shot a feature back in January with it. Just a damn shame they never offered any off-speed recording options with it.
Click to expand...
And I think the F5 replacement will offer something closer to a legit 4:2:2 in 4K, probably by tweaking the A7RII sensor, which right now has a 15-to-8.8 MPX oversample in an s35 crop. With the full frame coverage, it ought to get to at least 17.6 but the goal will probably be 26.4.
 
DLD said:
And I think the F5 replacement will offer something closer to a legit 4:2:2 in 4K, probably by tweaking the A7RII sensor, which right now has a 15-to-8.8 MPX oversample in an s35 crop. With the full frame coverage, it ought to get to at least 17.6 but the goal will probably be 26.4.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by 'legit 4:2:2'? Isn't a bayer pattern inherently 4:2:2 at it's full resolution (i.e. half the chroma information compared to it's luminance information)?
 
Grug said:
What do you mean by 'legit 4:2:2'? Isn't a bayer pattern inherently 4:2:2 at it's full resolution (i.e. half the chroma information compared to it's luminance information)?
Click to expand...
Well, "legit" would be 17.6 = 8.8 + 4.4 + 4.4. Their first problem is to eliminate the rolling shutter that is heavily present on A7RII. I don't know if it can be solved by the additional buffer or interpolation or both or what not. But, given that they have had experience with 4:4:4, they might also think of going up to 26.4 MPX. That would face the same problems as 17.6, except more of them.
 
optitek said:
Sorry I have never heard about this issue before. I know you emailed me but I have seen the display with CN/Es on Sony F5. It should work.
All Canon lenses use the same protocols so it doesn't make complete sense.
You can always send me the lens that does not work and we'll investigate.
Anyway:
The iris control on the mount is not the primary iris control for the system.
Our adapter is designed and made for both IRIS and FOCUS control by wire.
The proper way to control the iris is with the Optitron slider. It works very well. Actually, using the OptiTek adapter on its own without OptiTron controller is kind of waste. You are only using small fraction of its potential. It (the OptiTek ProLock adapter) has always been intended as a component of our complete lens control system. An essential component, none the less a component. It works just fine on it's own but works great combined in the system.
Sony spent quite a bit of time testing it before they approved. The PMW camera were very important line for Sony's "come back"- View attachment 105936 probably the most important throughout 2013-2014 " renaissance"
I hope this clarifies things a little and I repeat my offer to solve your lens display issue again.
Since my previous post is gone (???) here are the links to the relevant videos in case you are interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_9e0tZZfOc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIXUfo52N1k
Click to expand...


Thanks for for the reply and info. As soon as Abel is able(lol) to supply me with a loaner adapter I will be able to send mine to you. My rep has been waiting for theirs to come back from a loan-out for months, now.

It's really weird, all of my Canon still lenses show iris info on my F55, but none of my five CN-E primes do. I doubt that it's a lens issue(but who knows), because the CN-E's communicate properly with my C300 showing iris data.

It doesn't stop the cine primes from physically working on my 55, but it would be very nice, especially in certain situations, to have iris info in the VF and/or monitor.
 
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