Sony 18-105 f4 G "Officially" NOT recommended for FS100 / FS700

I think that FS 100 owners need to protest that Sony has not upgraded their firmware. I will certainly be writing Sony Canada. If the camera is obsoleted it seems to me to be unethical to continue to sell it. I find this interesting because I was going to buy this lens and if not for a review on BH's website I would have. It also seems to me that Sony should do the right thing and provide dealers with the needed information to prevent people from buying something the dealers may have to return. It's this continued lack of after purchase customer care that annoys me about Sony. I shot with Panasonic for years and made the decision to go to Sony reluctantly, Panasonic always had excellent customer service when I owned their gear and participated in this and many other user groups. Sony is rarely if ever heard from which is a big mistake.
 
I do feel sorry for the FS100 users as it is still a fantastic camcorder. If I had no use for Super Slo Mo & Built in ND's I would of stayed with my FS100 all day long.

I think there is a slim chance of a firmware update. The FS100 is simply too old now. I am confident this was the FINAL firmware release for the FS700 also. There will be a better newer successor to the FS700 offering 240fps 4K slo mo next year, or the year after that I can guarantee it.
 
The FS100 is a great camera and still more than fills my client's needs in most cases. The lack of super slo-mo and ND's has not been an issue and with the FOTODIOX Pro Viselex ND Throttle the latter is a non issue for me. If the camera is not to be supported then stop selling it. Simple. I have written Richard Bourbenniere the person who runs Sony Pro in Canada asking for an official response. Not sure I will get one but will post if I do. I continue to watch the folks at BlackMagic, the URSA and hope their next camera or version of URSA answers all the issues recently being brought up in forums. Many I know have sold their FS700's some to buy F5's and they are kicking themselves for not waiting like the others recently to buy F7's and better glass. I will continue to use my FS100 and watch for a while and see what NAB 2015 brings for next year at this time when most of it finally gets shipped or actually put on the market.
 
BrianMurphy said:
If the camera is not to be supported then stop selling it. Simple.
Click to expand...
So you think Sony should not make certain lenses just because they won't work on the FS100? Or take it off the market just because they make said lenses? That is nonsense.
To be able to perform the lens correction the camera needs an excess of pixels. Something the FS100 doesn't have. Maybe it doesn't have the processor horsepower to do it either.
 
dmitrizigany said:
So you think Sony should not make certain lenses just because they won't work on the FS100? Or take it off the market just because they make said lenses? That is nonsense.
To be able to perform the lens correction the camera needs an excess of pixels. Something the FS100 doesn't have. Maybe it doesn't have the processor horsepower to do it either.
Click to expand...

You are entitled to your opinion. You have no facts to support your supposition. Do you know for a fact that the FS 100 can't support the lens? I doubt you do, and I have no reason to believe you would be in any position to know.
It is not nonsense that at the very least Sony should be providing the retailers and owners of FS100 cameras that the lens won't work..or they are not going to support a firmware update.
But thanks for your opinion.
 
The 18-105G power zoom is a ridiculous lens that falls in the "what were they thinking" category. It's clearly targeted for video with the power zoom, because no stills photographer has ever said "wow, I really need a power zoom". But as a "software" lens, Sony closed the door on quite a few sales to FS100 and FS700 owners. Also, and no point, and no where in any marketing materials does Sony clearly and publicly state that the lens is a software lens. Last December I ended up with one that promptly went back to B&H because no one had mentioned it not working with the FS700 at that time.

Even on the new FS7, which DOES have in body lens correction, the camera can only correct it up to 60 FPS, and only up to 1080p. In slow motion, or in 4K, the lens is uncorrected, and of course displays all it's ugly distortion.

It's really incomprehensible why they didn't make it a normal lens that does not require in body correction so that every e-mount camera could use it under any circumstance... sure it would have cost a little more, and been a little bigger, but they would have sold a bundle of them to FS100, FS700 and FS7 owners.
 
JuanDiaz said:
It's really incomprehensible why they didn't make it a normal lens that does not require in body correction so that every e-mount camera could use it under any circumstance... sure it would have cost a little more, and been a little bigger, but they would have sold a bundle of them to FS100, FS700 and FS7 owners.
Click to expand...

Do we know how much bigger heavier and more expensive? I mean check out the Cabrio and Canon lenses - the price of a BMW.

this 18-105 is a fantastic lens/pricepoint for simple work/cheaper cams.

Would I be interested in a $3k 18-100/4 that was proper manual - sure - but how many of me are there compared with people with $700 for a lens?

S
 
Hit the nail on the head morgan.

I'm just glad they released a firmware update addressing the issue. I'm very pleased with this lens as my walk around lens now and certainly wouldn't cough up more than what they're currently selling for.
 
So, just curious, will the 18-105 lens (with the new firmware) be only corrected in HD, but not with a 4K output to the 7Q?
 
BrianMurphy said:
You are entitled to your opinion. You have no facts to support your supposition. Do you know for a fact that the FS 100 can't support the lens? I doubt you do, and I have no reason to believe you would be in any position to know.
It is not nonsense that at the very least Sony should be providing the retailers and owners of FS100 cameras that the lens won't work..or they are not going to support a firmware update.
But thanks for your opinion.
Click to expand...

I actually preordered this lens for my FS700, before the 'pillow distortion' issue was known.
It seemed like such a good option for faster paced stuff. Great autofocus and image stabilization,
internal zoom (the lens doesn't extend), good range (6x zoom), constant F4 aperture, works with
the zoom rocker, good image quality......all for $598. Then I got it and OMG it was horrible on my FS700.
But on my VG20 it looked just great. Which is how I found out about the 'pillow distortion issue'. I heard rumors
that there would be a firmware fix that would allow the FS700 to work with the lens so I almost kept it. But then
I called Sony Professional division and they told me emphatically that no, that lens was for still cameras and
not meant for the FS cinema series. They told me that the high megapixel count on the still cameras is what
allowed for the error correction. So I sent it back to B&H who issued my a refund minus shipping costs, which
was extremely fair I thought.

The reason I'm telling this story, is that after talking with the Sony engineers, I am almost 100% certain, that
the reason there can be a firmware update on the FS700, is that it has 11.6 million pixels as opposed to the
3.5 million pixels of the FS700. Basically, the fact that the FS700 has a 4K chip in it, saves this lens for us
FS700 users....but only for HD use. The oversampling is needed to 'correct' for the lens distortion. Because
you see, the lens will only work in HD resolution (no using it in 4k) and only up to 60fps (no extreme slow motion),
even on the FS700 and FS7. The FS100 does not have this extreme pixel count needed to correct for the lenses distortion.
I would bet money that this is the case. I get that it totally sucks for FS100 users. And I agree that they should be making
it clearer which cameras it will and won't work on. If I was a FS100 user and saw this lens, I'd probably jump all over it, if
I hadn't heard through this forum about the issues it has.

The good thing, is that Sony engineers have made it clear that they are going to continue to make new E-mount
'cinema power zoom' lenses (like the upcoming 28-135). The bad thing, is that I have heard the 28-135 also needs
this distortion correction. Which makes me think that it is similar to the 18-105 and would distort similarly on the FS100.
However, at some point, as people begin to use the FS700 and FS7 more and more for 4k acquisition, Sony may be forced
to make some E-mount 'cinema power zoom' lenses that do NOT distort and use the extra pixels to correct for the distortion.....
because users would want to use the lenses for 4k and/or high speed shooting. This is only speculation, but if it happened,
these new lenses would then work with the FS100 without distortion. However, they would almost certainly be more expensive
than the 18-105. I bet the cost is kept down, due to the fact that the camera is doing much of the work, correcting for the flaws
in the lens. All that said, for $598, that is a pretty good deal to get a lens that can do everything the 18-105 can do on the
FS700 or FS7.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top