FS7: NO Sony Fs7!!

scorsesefan said:
I don't think I've ever used AF on a professional shoot. I still don't trust it 100%. For my own personal work, yes...
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Well of course we have all learned to work without AF. Shooting people walking through the plane of focus. Setting up interviews jammed into chairs. Shooting at F8. But anyone who reckons they can nail a 70-200 walk towards shot is lying or works for deakins, or did six takes.

Have you spent 30 seconds with the FX6. It is a different game with that AF and will move the posts on what is acceptable on a production.
 
^ I own an A7SIII which is on par or better AF than the FX6. It is great, but just as a personal preference I generally don't use AF on pro shoots. Not that it wouldn't work in most cases, but MF is just a preference for me most of the time. As for the FS7 I've never had any focus issues and I much prefer the shoulder form factor to that of the FS5/FX6 where my back looks like a pretzel after a few hours ;) If someone wanted to swap me their FX6 for my FS7 I would definitely do it -- not for the AF so much as the FF, 120FPS, VND and improved color...
 
One of my buddies that has been in the business probably 10+ years more than me(and helped usher me in, as a matter of fact) just picked up a used C300 mkII recently. We were on a shoot together and he said, “You know what I really like about this camera that I never thought about and sounds silly?” I threw out some guess about the detachable cables. He replied that it was the autofocus.
 
rob norton said:
I really like the B&H site. Even the filters when using a phone are so easy. It would be embarrassing if I had to publicly announce the time spent there.

Not so much fantasizing about equipment (anymore) but just checking for all sorts of useful information. Today I had a pelican storm case next to me and tape measure on the desk and still checked the case dimensions on B&H. Or even if buying locally I'll check specs on their site before making the purchase on another one.
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You should double-check the crucially important specs though...no one's perfect and they do make mistakes with such an enormous catalog.
 
I was worried some of you jinxed me.

But B&H now reports “order shipped” and I am getting texts from FedEx saying it is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Not in hand yet, but closer.

You had to raise doubt about my seller of choice and scare me with talk of how their shipping-speed has declined, did ya’ now? Thanks “friends”. :smile:
 
morgan_moore said:
I dont get it. The FS7 has no functional auto focus and a tiny screen, the punch in focus check is artifact ridden gunge. This is a combination that guarentees that your footage is out of focus.
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Maybe that is your experience, but is is certainly not mine. I've been using the FS7 since the month it was released. 100% manual focus since the day I got it using nothing more than the regular stock viewfinder/loupe and properly configured peaking. My F-stop always between f/4 to f/2.0 99% of the time and never smaller than f/5.6 under any circumstance. No focus mag needed. No AF. No crappy DSLR lenses. Just manual focus with manual focus lenses that are desgined for manual focusing. I haven't noticed any out of focus footage, nor have my clients.
 
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Your ability with long glass and birds has always impressed me.

I think the long evf is satans bad brother on the shoulder.. but again on sticks not so much.

Us 'more experienced' operators will have built was to conquer focus.

I the one skill I have with focus is knowing when to panic.

The scene I have in my head is a few youngsters with thier rental fs7 at an ext circus for a broadcast show. I could see it all looking very painful and that one experinced op with a 2/3 cam would have eaten them breakfast. Doubtelss someone thought that 3 fs7 and kiddos would be cheap and cinematic.. I fear they were badly mistaken.
 
morgan_moore said:
Have you spent 30 seconds with the FX6. It is a different game with that AF and will move the posts on what is acceptable on a production.
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Yes, AF works great when you're shooting human faces with lenses that are desgined to prioritize AF performance. The problem is, those lenses are boring lenses that ensure less than dazzling footage. A really good lens is not cheap, and a really good lens isn't going to have AF. AF on the FX6 is a compromise.
 
“tiny screen” suggests he isn’t using the eyepiece / loupe.

Faulting the camera for poor technique on part of the Operator.


The only time the eyepiece comes off my FS7 is when storing the camera in its case.
 
Well IMO the evf wont work with shoulder - it is just too long and the cable too short.

Yes I spent another $1000 on a different monitor.. that was not my plan when spending $7k on the camera. (cheap for the Beta boys I know)

The screen res is 720 and the cam shoots '4k' so clerly you are able to invent good focus.. because physics says you cant see it at 720/4000

The focus punch was artifacted to hell.
 
“ the long evf ”


Not a thing with proper mod. For myself, the Wooden Camera mount that makes it possible to position the VF further forward than the stock mount.

I often shoot with the camera cradled under my arm and there the long VF is beneficial.
 
I did add a Zacuto universal base plate to my FS7 for the better shoulder pad, lens support, and VCT compatibiity. That is the only modification I have made to my FS7. For me the loupe is just right. The FS7 (and mark2) continue to be the most bang for the buck of any camera ever built.

When I'm shooting a sitdown interview I've always got a 17" monitor on a stand so I'd never add a monitor to the top of any camera. Between the loupe and the field monitor, I'm covered.

The grip was the most useless part of the FS7 and mine has never been used.
 
What was the screen rez of all those betacams, how large was the screen, and how artifacted was the focus-zoom?

Maybe you are over-relying on your vision in pulling focus? And under-utilizing predictive intuitiveness, muscle-memory, and focus zen.
 
Well I assert that one cannot balance the camera on the shoulder and get the loupe to the eye unless adding significant length and countemass. Its once again calculable with simple seesaw maths.
 
JPNola said:
What was the screen rez of all those betacams, how large was the screen, and how artifacted was the focus-zoom?

Maybe you are over-relying on your vision in pulling focus? And under-utilizing predictive intuitiveness, muscle-memory, and focus zen.
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I
Maybe. Mut my minimal exaperience of 2/3 involves crash zoom in on the eye, focus chack and parfocal crash out before rolling. I would suggest that to be far more accurate than a low res compressed mush focus bash button. (not to mention twice the DOF and 1/4 the resolution kind of giving the 2/3 operator a help) My mates 2/3 cam seems to have a similar screen to the fs7.
 
Why are you ragging on the Fs7 in a thread about moving on from the Fs7?

At least rag on the camera I am moving to, and not the one I am leaving behind, eh?
 
morgan_moore said:
I
Maybe. Mut my minimal exaperience of 2/3 involves crash zoom in on the eye, focus chack and parfocal crash out before rolling. I would suggest that to be far more accurate than a low res compressed mush focus bash button. (not to mention twice the DOF and 1/4 the resolution kind of giving the 2/3 operator a help) My mates 2/3 cam seems to have a similar screen to the fs7.
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These kinds of comments show a total ignorance of 2/3" cameras. Regardless of the camera, sensor size, lens, f-stop, or whatever -- a shot is either in focus or it is not. Period. Granted, there will be a difference in depth of field, but a shot is either in focus or it is not. There is no gray area. You nailed it or you missed it. And if you think 2/3" camera with a f/1.9 24x8mm zoom is somehow more forgiving or sloppier than a 28-135mm f/4 Sony DSLR lens on a S35 or FF camera, you might want to give the 2/3" camera a test drive and see how you do.
 
JPNola said:
“ the long evf ”


Not a thing with proper mod. For myself, the Wooden Camera mount that makes it possible to position the VF further forward than the stock mount.

I often shoot with the camera cradled under my arm and there the long VF is beneficial.
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I swapped out the short stock rod on my FS7 for an 8 inch carbon and my cam balances perfectly on my shoulder...
 
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