FS7: Pros and Cons of the Sony FS7?

JoeJITSU

JoeJITSU

Veteran
I have been watching reviews and so on with the FS7. I think the main con for me is shooting in 4k on a 128gb XQD card and only getting 20 minutes.

Any other Pros and Cons would be a great help. Thanks guys
 
JoeJITSU said:
Do you have the rates for 4k 24p? I'm guessing 45-50 minutes?
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You should get 33 minutes of 4K XAVC-I @ 23.98 on a 64GB card. Obviously double that for a 128GB card.

Or you can drop down to 4K XAVC-L @23.98 and get 79 minutes on a 64GB card.
 
With sincerity I would say read through the multitude of threads here on dvxuser regarding the FS7 and you should get a good idea of it's strengths and weaknesses. If that's too difficult or time consuming, by all accounts Doug Jensen's FS7 course is an excellent condensed run down, and the first hour is free.

Shouldn't a Phillip Bloom Certified Cinematographer be the one educating us instead of asking the questions?
 
Oddly the official stats on record time are extremely conservative . I guess variable bit recording means there is no exact # , but I think people are getting as much as 30 % more ( I'm not sure about that # , but I know it's more .)
 
i only shoot XAVC-I 60fps and get about 25 min on a 128gb card (the camera actually says 27min)....honestly i think that is pretty amazing, especially considering how great the files are....if you need more run time shoot XAVC L...if you are looking for an even more compressed workflow and file, why shoot with the FS7 in the first place?
 
I am loving my so far, especially the colour from burn in type A lut. Here are my thoughts.

Pros:
Versatile build
Better ergonomically than most camera in the market.
Light weight
Internal 10bits 422
slow mo


Cons: (compare to F3)
The camera body build feel plastic and not inspiring, quality is not as good as F3.
The menu is not as responsive.
There should be more user assign keys.
Worrying Viewfinder Cable build.
The viewfinder fog easily and sometimes have reflection
Expensive media
Can bit a bit too tall/wide for camera bags
Limited clearance space for XLR cable at Channel 1.
Slow motion a bit soft
 
Viddovation said:
With sincerity I would say read through the multitude of threads here on dvxuser regarding the FS7 and you should get a good idea of it's strengths and weaknesses. If that's too difficult or time consuming, by all accounts Doug Jensen's FS7 course is an excellent condensed run down, and the first hour is free.

Shouldn't a Phillip Bloom Certified Cinematographer be the one educating us instead of asking the questions?
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FS7 is a new camera, Just an FYI.. It doesn't matter what experience you have in Cinematography, Photography, Martial Arts, Etc.. You learn something new all the time. I have shot Film and Video since the 80's but I still learn from everyone here about so much things everytime I'm on here, Yes even the FS7.
 
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jasonbrooks said:
Juan Martinez posted a thread over on the community forum to that exact effect. Sony's recording times are super-conservative, and basically expect a user to only fill their cards to 70% capacity (which given the prices they're charging for media, ain't too surprising!). Here's his post FYI: http://community.sony.com/t5/FS7/Recording-Time-Specifications/m-p/493975#U493975
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That was in direct response to a conversation I had with Juan over the weekend. The charts that Sony has pubslished are wayyyyyyy off in many cases. Sometimes the charts are conservative, but not always. Sometimes they overestimate the actual recording time, so how do you explain that? Lots of mistakes in Sony's manuals, Powerpoints, and PDFs.
 
I know Dan Keaton of Convergent Design has been making the rounds with the Odyssey 7 touting it as a perfect 4k companion for both the FS7 and the A7s. I'm looking more closely at Atmos Shogun because of its ability to do DNxHD. You need a good monitor anyway so for a couple of grand you get a great monitor that records.
 
I think the FS7 LCD is a pro. I moved from the AF100 to the FS700 to the FS7. The LCD on the FS7 is the first I would consider adequate for nailing focus. Combined with the loupe outdoors and focus mag, it works very well. Probably not as well as a 7Q, but does the job.
 
For the first time I have a camera in the FS7 that can take on pretty much any task.

Pros=It does most things one could ask for.
Cons=A few issues and high frame rate shooting is not perfect.

It's easily the best camera I've had and in three months time I'm at break even on my investment. I don't think there's any other camera that can beat the features at that price.
 
Don't know when my review of Shogun will be published. Bottom line -- you're better off with Odyssey. Shogun isn't one of the more impressive products that I've tested.

Ned Soltz
 
nsoltz said:
Don't know when my review of Shogun will be published. Bottom line -- you're better off with Odyssey. Shogun isn't one of the more impressive products that I've tested.

Ned Soltz
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Yes,
It sure sounds like the 7Q is best for the FS7 and A7s, Will fork out the couple hundred more so I can be more than satisfied, Thank you
 
Pros: Bang for the buck, light weight, internal 4K, HFR, dynamic range, feature set, covers a lot of jobs.

Cons, if you adjust your expectations that you are not buying a high end tool and it won’t be an Alexa, F65, F35, F55 or Dragon, the cons left are: build quality, plastic feel, E mount, LCD monitor, LCD bracket, soft HFR, menus, the well known quirks.
 
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