Pxw-fs7

The FS700, the FS7, the F5 all fit nicely in the Sony line-up with each one gaining more features as you go up the price. Like everything else, you see the features and decide if they're worth it for you.

FS700:
4K raw at 60p and 2K raw at 240p
S35 2000ISO sensor
S-Log
E mount
240p internal

FS7:
Exact same plus the better 4K internal codec and shoulder design but loses 240p internal.

F5:
Exact same same plus more rugged FZ mount, better EVf, stronger build of the body, 16bit output vs. 12bit, much better integration with R5 recorder, ProRes support, along with few other things like design suitable for 3D applications, more professional outputs/connections,

They are all excellent cameras and they have the exact same image. Don't need the internal codec and shoulder-ergo design? Go with the FS700, don't need the FZ mount, evf, 16bit, etc, pay more and go with the FS7, need them? Pay more and go with the F5. Need global shutter and extended colour gamut? Pay even more and go with the F55.

All excellent cameras and only you can decide what you need, and what you don't need.
 
JackCarter said:
HDCAM SR is a proven codec that has shot feature films like Star Wars. It's in 444 colour space, unlike 422 XAVC. ProRes is coming out for the F5 in December. NEX mount is horrid, it feels brittle and all the Sony NEX lenses I've used are poor. All my glass is in PL mount, so another reason the F5 is a winner with me. As Dennis pointed out to me, the F5/55 has 16bit RAW, this FS7 has 12bit only. I would be happy with either, but the F5 is more for my tastes.
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F5 has more features and codecs but it's also a camera that cost way more and is heavier and takes up more space when on the road. The great thing with the FS7 is you do get high quality images, just as the F5, but without the cost and bulk. As a F3 owner today I see how the FS7 could really make me carry less stuff and still provide for both excellent 4k pictures and super slow motion.

I love the images from my F3 and it's a very easy camera to operate. But it's also heavy and I have to use things like an external recorder and monitor/EVF plus a rig to make it work hand held. Looking at the FS7 I see a camera that would make my shooting easier and that's worth a lot. Going to the F5 from the F3 would make the camera heavier and not easier to use.

Sure the FS7 sits below the F5 but in many respects it's a big step forward from the PMW-F line of cameras. I'm seriously considering to sell my F3 minus batteries and get rid of all my rigging stuff in favour of getting the FS7. Something I could never do with the F5.
 
I mostly shoot on the monopod and hope that smartgrip can be relocated closer to the center of gravity of the camera similar to the C100.
 
ectobuilder said:
I mostly shoot on the monopod and hope that smartgrip can be relocated closer to the center of gravity of the camera similar to the C100.
Click to expand...
That's what I've been thinking too. It'd be awkward to control a monopod with the grip at the back or far in front of the camera. I guess you could use the monopod pan handle, but since using DSLRs and the C100 I've removed the pan handle and always controlled the monopod from the camera grip, which has been nice. Even the Red has a centered grip making it usable on a monopod.
 
Ebrahim Saadawi said:
The FS700, the FS7, the F5 all fit nicely in the Sony line-up with each one gaining more features as you go up the price. Like everything else, you see the features and decide if they're worth it for you.

FS700:
4K raw at 60p and 2K raw at 240p
S35 2000ISO sensor
S-Log
E mount
240p internal

FS7:
Exact same plus the better 4K internal codec and shoulder design but loses 240p internal.

F5:
Exact same same plus more rugged FZ mount, better EVf, stronger build of the body, 16bit output vs. 12bit, much better integration with R5 recorder, ProRes support, along with few other things like design suitable for 3D applications, more professional outputs/connections,

They are all excellent cameras and they have the exact same image. Don't need the internal codec and shoulder-ergo design? Go with the FS700, don't need the FZ mount, evf, 16bit, etc, pay more and go with the FS7, need them? Pay more and go with the F5. Need global shutter and extended colour gamut? Pay even more and go with the F55.

All excellent cameras and only you can decide what you need, and what you don't need.
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This is qn excellent summation of the choices and very coherent schema of Sony's thinking.
 
This really shows that Sony has been listening.

I think Panasonic has made a huge mistake by not releasing an AF100 followup.
 
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David W. Jones said:
This really shows that Sony has been listening.

I think Panasonic has made a huge mistake by not releasing an AF100 followup.
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This has always mystified me. Panasonic could have run with the AF100 and added P2 broadcast codecs and all, and ruled the broadcast market. Okay, maybe with an improved sensor.
But they chose to do nothing and watch as the other manufacturers quickly surpassed the AF100. Now, they're an afterthought to Sony and Canon. Even JVC has gotten into the game by soon offering an S35 4K camera with, ironically, a micro 4/3 mount. The JVC camera is what the AF100 should have evolved into.
I don't see the new 4K Varicam taking much business away from Sony and Arri. I suppose they can battle against Sony for the 2/3" camera market.
 
I had been holding out for an AF200 type camera and to think of how easy it would have been given the GH4 can output 4K 10bit. Just a repackage of the YAGH & GH4 in new package. I've been renting C300's and finally Sony came along at the right time in my upgrade cycle (had a good year also) to make a jump to the FS7. I still plan on using my GH4 for timelapse and 4K b-cam angles or small rigging duty but even then I might move to a Sony E mount DSLR and ditch my M4/3 lenses (I only have a few) to make my cameras and lenses part of a single system. Panasonic not having mid level pro offerings will hurt those looking to grow into the M4/3 system.
 
Haven't been able to figure out if the fs7 uses the same sensor as the fs700.
Same image quality, DR and ISO sensitivity?
Very curious to see a side by side...
 
RatLabProductions said:
I had been holding out for an AF200 type camera and to think of how easy it would have been given the GH4 can output 4K 10bit. Just a repackage of the YAGH & GH4 in new package. I've been renting C300's and finally Sony came along at the right time in my upgrade cycle (had a good year also) to make a jump to the FS7. I still plan on using my GH4 for timelapse and 4K b-cam angles or small rigging duty but even then I might move to a Sony E mount DSLR and ditch my M4/3 lenses (I only have a few) to make my cameras and lenses part of a single system. Panasonic not having mid level pro offerings will hurt those looking to grow into the M4/3 system.
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Sounds like a good strategy!:thumbup:
 
RatLabProductions said:
I had been holding out for an AF200 type camera and to think of how easy it would have been given the GH4 can output 4K 10bit. Just a repackage of the YAGH & GH4 in new package. I've been renting C300's and finally Sony came along at the right time in my upgrade cycle (had a good year also) to make a jump to the FS7. I still plan on using my GH4 for timelapse and 4K b-cam angles or small rigging duty but even then I might move to a Sony E mount DSLR and ditch my M4/3 lenses (I only have a few) to make my cameras and lenses part of a single system. Panasonic not having mid level pro offerings will hurt those looking to grow into the M4/3 system.
Click to expand...

I had been holding out for something to follow the AF100 but I will upgrade this year too. I think they are doing well with the GH4. Your last sentence is undoubtedly true... it will hurt the m4/3 market that they didn't have something further up the line for pro shooters looking to use those lenses.
 
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