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

harddrive said:
Yes to all of that, it's XDCAM422, so effectively same as a C300. I'd say a big reason to use it would be to fit in with a clients workflow? XDCAM422 is extensively used in broadcast TV, and a broadcaster may ask you to shoot in such for compatibility. May not be as good as some other formats for such as post grading, but a lot of quick turn round production doesn't have much time for that anyway.
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I can "confirm" this as it's the world I run in - broadcast/news magazine TV. In fact, it's one of the things that appeals to me about the FS7 - it fits right in with my F800 and F5 when it comes to XDCAM422/50 - the format preferred by CBS News and ABC News, among others. With the F5, we frequently burn the footage to XDCAM discs via XDCAM Transfer/Content Browser (and soon to be Catalyst) and a U1 or U2 drive. CBS prefers this as shows like 60 Minutes and 48 Hours refer back to the library for updates - sometimes years down the road - and want the original media instead of relying on a hard drive that may or may not spin up....
 
harddrive said:
You get what you pay for. Yes, Intra frame is probably going to be most satisfactory - but is also certain to mean higher data rates and bigger file sizes. Which translates into more storage, higher performance memory etc.

Dependent on bitrate, XAVC-L has the potential to give equivalent quality at lower bitrates/smaller file sizes - but may be more difficult to handle in editing, may require a transcode to Intra for that, but may be better as the acquisition format.

One very important fact is that with Intra frame, the file size/bitrate will scale with framerate, and I believe for 4k XAVC it's 240 Mbs for 24fps, but 600 Mbs for 60fps. That doesn't happen with long-GOP, whose bitrate won't change much with framerate. Reason is that the I frames are kept the same time interval apart (say 1/2 second) and the bulk of the bits go to making up the I frames. You'll still have 2 a second whether it's 24 or 60 fps.

Put simply, the higher the framerate, the more efficient a long-GOP system will become. So it may not be seen as a worthwhile saving at 24fps - but would be at 60fps.

Yes to all of that, it's XDCAM422, so effectively same as a C300. I'd say a big reason to use it would be to fit in with a clients workflow? XDCAM422 is extensively used in broadcast TV, and a broadcaster may ask you to shoot in such for compatibility. May not be as good as some other formats for such as post grading, but a lot of quick turn round production doesn't have much time for that anyway.
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But which codec is the most 'cinematic'? Sorry... Couldn't resist...
 
Lenilenapi said:
Are there any downsides if the image has lots of movement throughout the frame?
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A lot depends on detail of the codec implementation - there is far, far more to it than just I frame or long-GOP.

As example, HDV and XDCAM EX are both Mpeg-2 at 25Mbs and 35Mbs respectively. But the improvement in XDCAM EX is far more than would be expected simply on the basis of bitrate alone. I understand that one major factor is not just the bitrate, it's the way it gets allocated between I frames and difference frames. A simple Mpeg2 coder may always allocate the same percentages to I frames and difference frames - but it becomes far more efficient if the allocation is dynamic - a high percentage to I frames in static scenes, but a higher percentage to difference frames when there's a lot of movement. Which is a big reason why I believe XDCAM EX is so much better than HDV.

I've heard a lot of generalisations that are frankly incorrect, and often based on low bitrate long-GOP. The only generalisation that is definitely always true would be to say that for the same basic codec, at the same bitrate, long-GOP will always be far superior to quality than I-frame only.

Practically, long-GOP is normally used to get lower bitrates and smaller file sizes (hopefully at equivalent quality for most scenes) so it's more difficult to draw generalised conclusions.
 
Has anyone seen any information on how long the VF cable is? With the FS7 on a Ronin, I'm wondering if the cable would be long enough to allow for the VF to be repositioned to the Ronin handle. This would eliminate the need for an additional monitor, saving weight and powering issues.
 
Has anyone heard from Abel Cine about shipping on the camera. Got my reservation in on the day after the announcement so should be pretty soon.
 
I as well have ordered from Abel and placed my order the day Sony announced. I ordered the kit lens and back, so won't ship until December. While I haven't heard from Abel, a Sony manager told me that shipping is "on time". Very possible that cameras will show up next week or the week after.

Ned
 
I believe that is when the camera records in a loop buffer until you hit the record button. You then get what was recorded during ghe buffer and everything after it.

It is a way to not miss an important moment that may only happen once.
 
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