FS7: paper differences summarized between F55 F5 FS7 FS5

Electronic aperture response is similar between E-Mount, & the current series of EF Metabones adapters, both Smart, & SpeedBooster Ultra. Both require multiple turns of either of the FS7's wheels to adjust, & the response is sluggish, making it a bit slow to meter, &/or set the desired aperture.
 
You have the FS7 weight listed as 12 pounds for body and LCD - which I thought sounded heavy. B&H has it listed as...


"4.4 lb / 2.0 kg: Body Only


9.9 lb / 4.4 kg: Body, Viewfinder, Eyepiece, Grip Remote Control, BP-U30 Battery, SELP28135G Lens, an XQD Memory"
 
Sorry I took the "package" weight, will correct it. Thought it sounded heavy as well.

Also listed the FS5 in lbs instead of ounces to be consistent.
 
Some views from me are:

The F5/55 has the LCD/OLED viewfinder which is worth every penny. The OLED gets a lot of bad press but I think it's beautiful, but far from perfect. It still needs false colour for S-log 3 and to be able to move the magnification to a desired point.

The F5/55 side panel LCD is a great feature and will be even better with V7.

The Sony V-Lock batteries are amazing and run for ever. You can re-charge them at any time and they don't have to be empty. They Sony V-Locks take about an hour to charge from empty which is great.

So the viewfinder, SR Codec and the ability to record 16bit RAW in the future was the main reason I went for a F5 over a FS7. I also like the fact the F5/55 cameras have a CineAlta logo on them.

G series XQD cards with QDAEX1 adapter are painless to use, far cheaper than SxS and Sony even include a card reader with each XQD card.

The only downside to the F5 is really the price of RAW, but the way it is integrated in to the camera is far more convenient than some external recorder method. I just purchased a FS700R and I like it as a fun on location B camera, but I kind of wished I'd put that money towards the R5. The F5 kills the FS700 in every way. The only thing I prefer on the FS700 is the position of the XLR ports, the end trigger method of S&Q and it weighs nothing.

Sony have sort of shot them self in the foot with the F5/55. What else can they really add for me to upgrade to an F6 or whatever comes next? What they should do is upgrade the internals of what we have, now that is the future and I'm sure that is what most people would want. The F5 is a great camera and I'll be using it for years to come.
 
I'm starting to think it might be best to stick with Sony factory specs rather than 3rd party add-ons like optical adapter mounts. For one reason there is a lot they can do or not do well, so it would be outside the camera itself to start getting into the details of various 3rd party adapters.

For example when the metabones adapter support for FS7 was mentioned I had quickly read up on it and found that the support of iris control wasn't exactly perfect and there were problems with earlier firmware versions.

Same with the FZ mount version linked by Anatusa - the F5/F55 will read back the iris values but control of the iris isn't done by the actual camera from what I understand. It's done with tiny buttons on the side.
 
I think it's best to stick with manual glass full stop. Once you go PL mount it's hard to look back. FZ mount is great, but how about a nice new Sony power-zoom lens like the FE 28-135 f4 at the same price.

I do like the NEX mount and the wealth of glass that can be put on. But with no manual aperture Sony NEX lenses feel like a bad investment. Unlike most users I like the 18-105 G lens as it has a soft organic look. The 10-20 f4 looks interesting too.

I don't understand the obsession with Speed Boosters. The beauty of S35 is we use the best part of the glass and cut out the horrible edges. Why not just put that money towards faster glass?

Not to change the focus of this thread but the only lenses I'm interested in at the moment is the new Anamorphic lenses from SLR magic. I'd kill to get that John Carpenter look for real and in PL mount.

http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/09/...magic-2x-and-1-33x-anamorphic-cine-lens-sets/
 
speed boosters are fabulous
1- sometimes that extra stop is the difference from being able to shoot in low light or not at all. Very valuable with zooms.
2 - Occasionally I need super low DOF for interviews in small rooms.
3 - I have a 24 -70 zoom and 24 - 105. To be able to shift them to a 17-50 and a 17-70 is invaluable for docs .
As far as I'm concerned they are "Christmas in July" and the softness in corners is not a serious issue in my experience. Actually they are sharper in the center.

I loved getting E mount for speed booster and IS . Steppy iris sucks bad though, but doesn't offset IS for me - I'm much steadier that I used to be.
 
Thanks for your thoughts. I have purchased an Alpha to NEX Speed Booster but I've not used it yet. perhaps I'll give it a go soon.
 
In a pinch I've used it with 1.4 primes in small rooms and really softened that background. I just watched a doc I shot interviews for and there was one interview we shot practically in a closet and it looked great due to the speedbooster.
 
I don't think I ever decided what lens I wanted to buy for the Speed Booster. Perhaps the Sigma 24-105 f4 ART or one of the ART primes. Using a f1.4 lens with a Speed Booster, wouldn't this make it faster than the lens Kubrick used in Barry Lyndon? Or very close? That was a Zeiss f0.7 50mm.

I stick with Alpha mount because I can use it with the LA-EA adapter if needed or I have a Alpha to FZ adapter.

Too much gear is being released, it's hard to keep up :smile:
 
morgan_moore said:
The idea of shooting to a card via an adapter while taking the shilling (being paid) freaks me out.

BTW do any of these cameras shoot to both media slots at the same time or generate lutted proxies to the second card? These features should be on the 5/55 and would differentiate it significantly from FS7 at a professional level IMO

When considering the purchase of the F5 I compared it to my stills nikon d3 which I consider to be a benchmark of good design..
lutted proxies and raw? - yep to one or both cards
shoot instant back up to second slot? yep
The D3 is designed for taking the shilling - the F5 less so!

S
Click to expand...

When shooting 4k/2k raw on the F5(5) with the R5, you can record LUTted (or unLUTted) proxies in 2k XAVC up to 150/180fps to internal SXS cards. This is a brilliant feature, and can hugely simplify and speed up post with a raw workflow (while also giving you a backup recording). The only downsides are that the 80mbps or so of 2k XAVC is a little hefty for a proxy file, and beyond the cameras internal HFR limits (181-240fps) you lose proxy recording.

If Sony really want to encourage the use of Sony Raw (and they should, because it's awesome), they should really add a dedicated XAVC Proxy codec, half the data rate of current 2k XAVC and capable of supporting the full framerate options from the cameras.
 
I think F1, not quite f0.7.
But it might still give you a good look with a bank of candles as your key - especially as the cameras are so much faster now. Maybe just 1 candle - a true foot-candle.

Better be in focus though that's the beauty of f2.8
 
JackCarter said:
I don't think I ever decided what lens I wanted to buy for the Speed Booster. Perhaps the Sigma 24-105 f4 ART or one of the ART primes. Using a f1.4 lens with a Speed Booster, wouldn't this make it faster than the lens Kubrick used in Barry Lyndon? Or very close? That was a Zeiss f0.7 50mm.

I stick with Alpha mount because I can use it with the LA-EA adapter if needed or I have a Alpha to FZ adapter.

Too much gear is being released, it's hard to keep up :smile:
Click to expand...

f/0.7 is two stops(!) faster than f/1.4, the Speedbooster brings you to f/0.95, one stop slower than Kubrick's NASA lens... but he had 100 ISO filmstock, you have rather a little more sensitivity with your camera :p
 
JackCarter said:
Very interesting, f0.95 is good enough for me. I must test this out soon. Thanks guys I learn something new here every day.

With this lens you could get down to f0.7 but it costs $$$$.

http://www.slrmagic.co.uk/slr-magic-50mm-t095-hyperprime-cine-lens.html

Edit: Perhaps not with no Leica M - NEX booster
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Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure Metabones have said that you can't actually get more than f/0.95 from a Speedbooster, so an f/0.95 on the Speedbooster won't necessarily gain you an extra stop. Optical physics coming into play I imagine.
 
Grug said:
Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure Metabones have said that you can't actually get more than f/0.95 from a Speedbooster, so an f/0.95 on the Speedbooster won't necessarily gain you an extra stop. Optical physics coming into play I imagine.
Click to expand...

For the common models this holds true but they have made adapters for the bm pocket that can go to about f0.6 i believe. This was possible due to that models small sensor and open housing in front of sensor I think.
 
JackCarter said:
I don't understand the obsession with Speed Boosters. The beauty of S35 is we use the best part of the glass and cut out the horrible edges. Why not just put that money towards faster glass?
Click to expand...

To be able to do everything with one Nikkor 24-70, a novoflex and a metabones is great IMHO and when the FS7 gets the centre crop it'll be even as I'll probably be able to get away with just the metabones and 24-70.

I don't share your love of the horrid and slow 18-105 G or the 28-135 G. F4 is just too slow for dingy UK workplaces especially in the winter so an f2.8 lens with a SB can be a desirable asset.
 
Grug said:
Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure Metabones have said that you can't actually get more than f/0.95 from a Speedbooster, so an f/0.95 on the Speedbooster won't necessarily gain you an extra stop. Optical physics coming into play I imagine.
Click to expand...

I'm sure your right, f1.8 is plenty for me but the thought of being able to go to f0.95 is pretty amazing really.

Nirv said:
I don't share your love of the horrid and slow 18-105 G or the 28-135 G. F4 is just too slow for dingy UK workplaces especially in the winter so an f2.8 lens with a SB can be a desirable asset.
Click to expand...

Does it really look so bad? At 18mm and f4 on the FS700 AVCHD codec.

18105Glens_zpsoglessaq.png


I agree f4 is way too slow for a lot of shots that I do. Well the 18-105 does have mixed reviews and I did buy it for the A6000 but I kind of like it's soft organic look. It's a handy daylight lens for some projects but mount it on the FS700 at 240fps in some woods and it's useless in daylight. I really need to buy a PL mount for the FS700 so I can use my G.L Optics 18-35 f1.8, but that will add on an extra 2kg and defeats the purpose of buying that camera. I'm still undecided about a walk around lens for the FS700.

I have noticed with Sony NEX lenses that some copies are better than others. My 16mm f2.8 Pancake is really sharp, but my friends copy has a nasty smear that covers half the lens like it's coated with Vaseline. Not sure what's wrong with it but it's been like that since he bought it.
 
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