C100: Notice DPs Going From Canon to Sony?

nedcam

nedcam

Well-known member
Yesterday the Chicago Abel Cine office had their grand opening open house and it was a great event. I got there for the Happy Hour for networking and free booze and food, maybe win the raffle! Must have been over 100 shooters milling about, they had all the latest models on display like a mini B&H. What I really wanted to do there was see some of my friendly competitors. It's about the only time I see them unless I work with them on multi cam shoots or bump into them at rental houses.

So...several have recently left the Canon fold and moved over to Sony for the FS7 and told me of others who are planning on doing the same. Not sure if it's just price, some can afford anything. I just think they noticed the horse that is pulling ahead in the race? Even Erik Naso went to the Sony A7s Mark II.

I picked up the literature and started to read up on the FS7 and it seems like I'd need a degree in computer science. Have you seen folks going over to Sony?
 
No serious "DP's that I know are going to Blackmagic. Any that can afford "anything" are buying Arri Amira, Red cameras, or the Canon C300 II. Even though I believe the Sony FS7 is a good value, there are many compromises in day to day operation. The Sony A7s Mark II is not a serious production tool except for limited specialized needs.
 
All depends on one's market. Me, I'm freelance, so I have to go with what I think will be the winning horse in the race, in terms of clients requesting certain models. I sense a shift in the air.
 
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A lot of C300 Mark I users switched to the Sony FS7 because the Sony FS7 is a better camera in a lot of ways, offers many features the C300 Mark I doesn't, and ultimately was the best relatively light weight run n gun camera available. Now that the C300 Mark II is out, it's the new best run n' gun camera, and I'd think the primary reason people who switched from the C300 Mark I to the Sony FS7 would not switch to the C300 Mark II is because of price, but considering how popular the C300 Mark I became among freelancers, which was the same price as the C300 Mark II, I'd think a lot of freelancers will switch to the C300 Mark II.

People who own their own companies doing their own projects on small and medium size budgets will be interested in Blackmagic cameras, but a freelancer would be crazy to buy one as their A-camera considering the negative appeal those cameras have to most producers.
 
If one wants to shoot Raw with manual lenses, it's hard to beat FS7 (+ XDCA + Q7+, for ~ $13,000) for the value. For run&gun, auto focus and the internal recording, C300 MKII seems to top everything and everyone. For the low-light, with the internal 4K and still decent AF, A7 SII is the king. A7RII is the best stills (42 MPX) and video hybrid.

And, when money is no object, you rent Alexa65 ... if you signed up for it early enough.

Red Weapon, whenever available en masse, has some killer specs for an about $70,000 shooting package (lens not included).
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Doesn't the Alexa 65 not have as much color depth as the Sony F65?
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They're both using the same type of a 17.6M pixel count for a true 4:2:2 (8.8 + 4.4 + 4.4) but Alexa65 has a much larger sensor. And it's not even available for sale (the rent is like $13,000/week, IIRC, but every unit that has been made - and, at the last count, there were 28 of them - is basically spoken for far ahead).

I assume Sony will come out with its own high end MF camera sooner rather than later. Canon is more likely to come out with a full frame 4:2:2 or even 444 (27.6 MPX) piece for its C500 MKII that is supposed to be announced at the NAB'16. Red Weapon is FF/Vista Vision and purportedly 8K (35.2 MPX). Newsshooter posted some early tests from Phil Holland that have some amazing DR claims (for real this time), even exceeding 20 stops with gain and post processing.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
A lot of C300 Mark I users switched to the Sony FS7 because the Sony FS7 is a better camera in a lot of ways, offers many features the C300 Mark I doesn't, and ultimately was the best relatively light weight run n gun camera available. Now that the C300 Mark II is out, it's the new best run n' gun camera, and I'd think the primary reason people who switched from the C300 Mark I to the Sony FS7 would not switch to the C300 Mark II is because of price, but considering how popular the C300 Mark I became among freelancers, which was the same price as the C300 Mark II, I'd think a lot of freelancers will switch to the C300 Mark II.

People who own their own companies doing their own projects on small and medium size budgets will be interested in Blackmagic cameras, but a freelancer would be crazy to buy one as their A-camera considering the negative appeal those cameras have to most producers.
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I moved from using the C300 as my main camera to the FS7 a year ago. If I was going to invest I needed a camera that can cover my companies needs for the next couple of years and the FS7 was a godsend at the price it is. It was a very smart business decision but of course at the time the C300II wasn't out. I personally find the cameras similar enough that I wouldn't pony up the extra cash for a C300MkII. I don't use AF so that is a major one for many and no question Canon has supperior AF. Many clients that used to request C300 here in Toronto have moved to the FS7 on many productions. Of course I sometimes find myself shooting on other companies C300MKI because for them it still meets all of their needs and its just gravy after all these years.

I think the FS7/C300II/F5 is a great level of quality and cost that should meet client needs for years. I really can't see a feature that would make me think of upgrading for a few years at least. 4K60p and 1080p180 covers my companies needs for doc, corporate, commercial etc. Swiss army knife do it all. If the budgets are there to take a step up for a specific project then I can rent. Its such a small part of the bigger costs. Unfortunately my clients are coming with budgets that wouldn't call for something the Fs7 can't provide. The cost savings goes to all the other costs of business like insurance, and office space etc. With ever shrinking margins and budgets I'm willing to work around some quirks.
 
DLD said:
RED Weapon tests...from Phil Holland that have some amazing DR claims (for real this time), even exceeding 20 stops with gain and post processing.
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If this is true, that bodes well for the entire market. We need this MUCH more than crazy high resolution.
 
As an FS7 owner I have no urge to get another camera in the foreseeable future. To me the FS7 is good enough for everything except the very highest quality like what you can get from an Alexa or similar camera. And these high end cameras you rent the few times you need them. I can't see the C300 mkII becoming as popular as the mkI version because there are so many other options out there.
 
I think the C300 and FS7 are pretty much equal when you equate the features that one has over the other. The biggest being HFR with the FS7 and better dynamic range with the C300.

I get the feeling that FS7's are going to be like the 5D was in the sense that everyone can afford them and it will over-saturate the market.

The reason I bought a MK II is because I can't afford an Alexa, and RED is too limiting outside of shooting commercial/studio work.
 
mraaron895 said:
I think the C300 and FS7 are pretty much equal when you equate the features that one has over the other. The biggest being HFR with the FS7 and better dynamic range with the C300.

I get the feeling that FS7's are going to be like the 5D was in the sense that everyone can afford them and it will over-saturate the market.

The reason I bought a MK II is because I can't afford an Alexa, and RED is too limiting outside of shooting commercial/studio work.
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Except the 5D was $3000 and bought by hobbyists. A kitted FS7 is $10K and this is not even close to the same ball park of price, or ease of use.

If you are in a big doc/reality market then C300ii is obvious choice though. I do that kind of work myself, but not often enough to justify the cost this time around.
 
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