FS7: RAW questions

[1027Films]

Hey!

Quick question - If one plans to shoot RAW and/or 4K RAW with the Sony FS7 do they really need the extension unit for the camera? Or will going straight from the FS7 to the Atomos Shogun work?

Also, does anyone have some sample RAW footage from the FS7? I would love to see how it compares/competes to grading with RED footage.

Thanks!

 

[olof]

You need the Extension unit.

 

[1027Films]

ah, that's lame.. thanks though!

 

[ChristopherA]

Hi 1027Films!

I posted this a few days ago, but if you want the highest quality footage out of the FS7 that would be the 4K HDMI out. This would not require the extension back, just an external recorder that can take 4K HDMI in. The RAW has problems and can't even be remotely compared to shooting REDCODE. Also not sure if the Shogun can record RAW from the FS7, I use an Odyssey 7Q+.

You can find that thread and my findings here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...-Tests&p=1986611141&viewfull=1#post1986611141

Here are some still frames from a test of the RAW. The slate that reads 0 has reflective white set at 61%. -2 and +2 are two stops up and down from that exposure. Be aware that this is in a linear color space, so the frames look darker than they are.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sv0bjpbzvgmrhwc/AADi0tWriM5NUz5H2fcZgrT2a?dl=1

 

[1027Films]

Thanks, Christopher! This is super helpful

 

[Mitch Gross]

You must have the XDCA-FS7 Extension Unit in order to get RAW out of the FS7. Only the Odyssey7Q+ or the Sony recorder capture in RAW.

 

[Ben Scott]

The RAW has problems and can't even be remotely compared to shooting REDCODE.

Absolutely. They are a million miles apart in terms of usability. Stick to internal XVAC-I or external to pro res with the FS7 for a much higher quality file.

 

[David Kudell]

Are there any issues with the XDCA-FS7 and internal ProRes recording to the XQD cards?

 

[Clermond]

Are there any issues with the XDCA-FS7 and internal ProRes recording to the XQD cards?

Yes. it's HD only.

 

[starcentral]

Didn't sony address RAW on FS7 issue recently? I thought I read it somewhere recently.. ?

 

[ChristopherA]

Didn't sony address RAW on FS7 issue recently? I thought I read it somewhere recently.. ?

It's possible that they've changed the RAW and Convergent needs to update the Odyssey Firmware to be able to properly capture it. Mitch Gross said that he'd bring it up with their engineers, but I haven't heard back. Sony did mention changes in their last firmware update.

As it stands now, the RAW is completely unusable, and far inferior to internal XAVC-I and 4K HDMI to ProRes.

 

[starcentral]

Completely unusable?

That's maybe overstated slightly.

 

[jshbckr]

Completely unusable?

That's maybe overstated slightly.

For anything higher than the native base record settings (4K up to 60), I would say it's pretty much unusable. High speed is pretty much garbage compared to the FS700's 240 RAW out.

 

[ChristopherA]

For anything higher than the native base record settings (4K up to 60), I would say it's pretty much unusable. High speed is pretty much garbage compared to the FS700's 240 RAW out.

In order to make the RAW's shadows reasonably noise, I've had to rate the camera at ISO 500; the ISO 2000 stuff looks pretty terrible. Plus the RAW isn't giving me any extra latitude in the highlights. The RAW noise is very different from the noise in XAVC-I and ProRes. It's highly apparent and very ugly.