FS7: New Sony F7 XDCAM 4K Super 35mm Camcorder

morgan_moore said:
Edit/Addition.

I think/feel that Sony dont really appreciate the professional solo op (which is maybe why the C300 was such a hit)

S
Click to expand...

The ergonomics of the FS7 seem light years ahead of the C300 for the solo operator. I never understood why everyone raved about the C300 form factor as they're pretty terrible actually. Where the EVF is, it cannot go onto the shoulder and where the LCD is on the top handle, it sits really high and requires two large-ish cables to connect the LCD and the sound which has another box on top of the handle. The C300, un-rigged and hand held, has to be shot like a bolex, in front of you. Not ideal IMO but Canon had great marketing and convinced everyone it was a great rig-less camera.

The FS7 seems like a dream compared to the C300 for shooting solo - you can cradle it or put it on the shoulder and the EVF is in the right place.

To me the FS7 seems like a great camera for $8K. I mean, my FS700 is pretty flimsy and plasticy, but I've never really had a problem with it so the FS7 will be a step up in that department. I guess you gotta look at it like it's $8K, which is pretty cheap for all that they're packing in. For that price, it's a huge step forward.
 
gene_can_sing said:
The ergonomics of the FS7 seem light years ahead of the C300 for the solo operator. I never understood why everyone raved about the C300 form factor as they're pretty terrible actually. Where the EVF is, it cannot go onto the shoulder and where the LCD is on the top handle, it sits really high and requires two large-ish cables to connect the LCD and the sound which has another box on top of the handle. The C300, un-rigged and hand held, has to be shot like a bolex, in front of you. Not ideal IMO but Canon had great marketing and convinced everyone it was a great rig-less camera.

The FS7 seems like a dream compared to the C300 for shooting solo - you can cradle it or put it on the shoulder and the EVF is in the right place.

To me the FS7 seems like a great camera for $8K. I mean, my FS700 is pretty flimsy and plasticy, but I've never really had a problem with it so the FS7 will be a step up in that department. I guess you gotta look at it like it's $8K, which is pretty cheap for all that they're packing in. For that price, it's a huge step forward.
Click to expand...

I think you're dead on here... the C300 and FS700 form factor are challenging to work with. The pictures are great though. This looks like a step in the right direction. The images look great. The lens selection is attractive too! Great feature set and the price is very nice for what you're getting too!
 
sunnyjimfilms said:
Showing it with that crappy consumer lens, which frankly is an insult to professionals everywhere, didn't help. It totally devalued the camera. Other than that I liked the build quality. Body certainly seemed more robust than 700. Viewfinder was so so. Use the body as a base and build up with decent glass and third party rig and it'll be just fine. Worth an upgrade - for me, perhaps not.
Click to expand...
I might add I'm not referring to the 28-135 which wasn't available at the Sony event but to what I assume is the FS700 kit lens. A really plasticky, nasty thing that looked and worked like a toy!
 
I never 'got' the C300 - but one cannot deny it is a hit with many production companies often doing broadcast 'reality' - My last months with the F3 Im now sort of seeing why.

Using the F3 with recorder and Vlock it is just too big and heavy for solo opping long days - again the 700 is too clumsy with an Ody (and way late to market)

This FS7 'should' be better than the C300 and will be as long as the EVF/Lanc ports dont get a rep for packing up.
 
morgan_moore said:
I think they will sort out the handle wobble (or we remove it and put it on a third party rig)
... Id like to have paid more and just had those little extra touches - the market may not agree with me and that is fair enough.
Click to expand...

Having tested a few cameras that were in a 'hand built prototype' stage, I'm willing to cut some slack for now.

Den Lennie shot some lovely footage on the FS7 - I really want to see the rushes or at least the 4:2:2 10 bit visually lossless stuff at 4K. At MP4 4:2:0 in HD on a big monitor, we shouldn't make lasting impressions about image quality. But hey - we were a bunch of geeks in Pinewood, pixel peeping.

I did note how each person strived to find their own 'perfect grip' and there were a few grunts and flapping of wrists with longer lenses. I'd really want to try it with the 'back' and a V-lock to get the front to rear balance sorted.

However, I also note that there's going to be some 'disassembly' to fit the wee beastie into Airline Carry-on specifications.
 
Osslund. Sure on can handhold it. One option I have instead of buying the FS7 is to re-evaluate my build of the F3 - maybe the ninja star (tiny) and EVF instead of DP6 and Blackmagic Shuttle but really that is a n uphill fight compared to the onboard 400mbs of the new cam.

S
 
Last edited:
Dens footage - the faces look like waxwork - typical Slog badly graded - didnt even start to go down the track of the actual images - Im sure they will be good enough.
 
morgan_moore said:
Osslund. Sure on can handhold it. One option I have instead of buying the FS7 is to re-evaluate my build of the F3 - maybe the ninja star (tiny) and EVF instead of DP6 and Blackmagic Shuttle but really that is a n uphill fight compared to the onboard 400mbs of the new cam.

S
Click to expand...

Just got off a two day shoot with an F3 and Sam. Blade. Worked perfectly. With the 1tb drive it had 16 hours record time left on the meter! Nice monitor and I was backing up files to xdcam internally as a bonus. Producer loved that piece of info. I cant imagine using a shuttle... dump that brick.
 
Blade does look quite nice. Not sure about their maths on power consumption though - on their site it says 6 watts which is 5 times less power draw than the nearest competitor - which includes the Odyssey 7Q at 9 watts!
Steve
 
I dont know the wattage numbers but I do know when I use the Samurai(original model) with my F3, two or three of those little "Sony" batteries it comes with will last all day. Shocking actually.
 
morgan_moore said:
So sony and VI gave a 'presentation' of the (preproduction) camera today in Pinewood UK.

I came away scratching my head.

Clunky firmware, wobbly handle, and lack of clarity of how the firmware will be did not contribute to 'love at first feel'

Firstly - this is a camera that will work for the solo operator.

The combo of well placed EVF, focus and roll at the finger and low mass make it the best solo op (s35) camera on the planet - certainly for those of too old and weak to lug an amera.

The focus check and OK Evf give one confidence of focus that one will not be able to move away from - any other camera without a control laden handgrip will feel very 2004 very quickly.

So it is kind of a world beater for solo S35 operation.

But some of the connectors feel a little cheap - its built to a price clearly and im not sure it wont fall apart after six months (connectors to EVF and grip). Clearly the EVF and Grip need to be secured by kit from a 3rd party (who makes an EVF which can be mounted with the horizon off - schoolboy error!)

This seems to lack the design finesse to make it truly brilliant and feels like a camera you will want to swap in for the FS8 or F6 or C400 in 2015/16.

Now here is a thing - 180fps - with the iphone6 having 240FPS - that is going to date fast! I think we must have slomo twice as fast as our directors phone, not slower but that is only a sort of philosophical winge again I assume the wifi App is rubbish too - but really have no idea as no-one did from sony either - Id want more wifi functions than the gopro app on a £5k camera!

Overall I feel that they took onboard moans of the F5 - mended them, put them in a FS100 plastic box.

This leaves one in a sticky situation - the F5 is so short of intelligent design for the solo op that it is un-purchasable - the FS7 is potentially so flimsy that it wont be trustable.

In conclusion Sony should have added £2k to the price and got it really right rather than building a 'wedding shooter/weekendshooter' toy camera that is better than the pro brother.. until it breaks.

Id pay £2k more for true design that favours the operator, not the corporate upgrade path (cache record?, 1080 digital zoom, solid connectors off centre focus check)

Sony seem in a hole, mainly due to the paucity of the F5 as a solo op cam - could they make a handgrip for that with focus check? (and audio ramping etc) - that would light my fire.

Edit/Addition.

I think/feel that Sony dont really appreciate the professional solo op (which is maybe why the C300 was such a hit) - Sony are compartmentalising their market - F5 'funded crew camera' - FS7 'solo op penny-less shooter camera' - and that fails to respect some market realities and operators who make a living in those markets - there is nothing wrong with shooting solo - it can be intimate, cool, creative and profitable. Solo should not be considered as a 'low status' activity.

S
Click to expand...

So other words you get what you pay for.
 
What does "Funky Firmware " mean?

I thought the menu structure was the same as the F55.

When I hear firmware I just think of the internal operating system not the interface or more typically what I have to deal with when I upgrade something. What makes it it Funky?

I'm a little surprised as that is exactly the kind of thing I would have expected Adam Wilt ( geek extraordinaire) to have picked up on in his reviews.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top