Sony F3 Firmware v1.5

Richard Allen Crook

Richard Allen Crook

Well-known member
This was teased on twitter before the New F Bomb was dropped. Then nsoltz posted:

"F3 firmware 1.5 is coming. I asked Sony about it. No comment other than it is coming. "
Click to expand...

The latest tweet from Peter is:

@CineAltaNews: #PMWF3, #F3 owners, new firmware update is coming. Engineering resources determine timing, features, sorry for delay letting you know
Click to expand...

so what are wee looking at here? I really enjoy my f3, and with the neato new F's I'm STILL pretty happy with it.

BUT....

Framerates, Mbps, menu structure, ability to make a sandwich...all things that would make this great camera THAT MUCH BETTER.

Will the update go along with the seemingly "new" Sony that seems to be more interested in brand loyalty and retention? Or just be something un-newsworthy? Perhaps they are able to engineer the new XAVC codec onto the F3, making it able to shoot 1080p at higher framerates? (Omg omg that would rock) Or ability to record raw to the new recorder?

Speculate away...I for one am likely to hold onto my F3 a little while longer since I just bought it in April.
 
I don't believe I'd expect too many more feature additions to the F3, if any. Especially not any codec options, as I've seen a black diagram of the F3 and encoding is done with a hardware codec chip, not a more general purpose chip.
 
95% of what I shoot is shot between 22-30fps, so I'm hurting less for the new cameras than I feared I might, but the big thing the new cameras have me jonesing for is an Element Technica replacement top plate for my F3 to clear up all the clutter. I love how clean and simple the layout of the new cameras is.

XAVC is mpg4, so there's no hope that the F3's mpg2 encoder will be able to process it, but if they could somehow squeeze 50Mbps 4:2:2 on to the camera (even at just 25p/23.98p) it'd certainly give the camera a new life up against the C300.
 
Grug said:
95% of what I shoot is shot between 22-30fps, so I'm hurting less for the new cameras than I feared I might, but the big thing the new cameras have me jonesing for is an Element Technica replacement top plate for my F3 to clear up all the clutter. I love how clean and simple the layout of the new cameras is.

XAVC is mpg4, so there's no hope that the F3's mpg2 encoder will be able to process it, but if they could somehow squeeze 50Mbps 4:2:2 on to the camera (even at just 25p/23.98p) it'd certainly give the camera a new life up against the C300.
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine has the F3 Armor and it's pretty cool. Looks like a tank. Diff a cool add on, if you can afford it you will love it. Also you can still get headphones out via the 2 RCA outs. (when handle is removed)
 
Grug said:
XAVC is mpg4, so there's no hope that the F3's mpg2 encoder will be able to process it.
Click to expand...

Is this something Sony has said in the past? I'm asking because I'm reading this as stated fact not speculation. If that's the case then bummer! How about better framerates?
 
Richard Allen Crook said:
Is this something Sony has said in the past? I'm asking because I'm reading this as stated fact not speculation. If that's the case then bummer! How about better framerates?
Click to expand...

It's just the design and capabilities of the encoder. A few years back at NAB when I was editing 16:9 Magazine (I think it was 2008? Has it been that long?!) I had a nice long chat with Mike Schell (the founder of Convergent Design) about a remarkable little product he was trying to bring to the market called the Flash XDR (the predecessor to the NanoFlash).

Mike gave me a very detailed rundown on what the recorder was doing, and all of the capabilities (and limits) he was able to squeeze out of the encoder he'd managed to get Sony to licence to him. And I remember him stating pretty clearly that the encoders are designed for pretty specific means (in this case Sony's MPEG-2 implementation) so they wouldn't be capable of processing an entirely different type of encoding (i.e. MPEG-4).
 
Last edited:
Richard Allen Crook said:
Is this something Sony has said in the past? I'm asking because I'm reading this as stated fact not speculation. If that's the case then bummer! How about better framerates?
Click to expand...

The notion of firmware updates changing the F3 codec has been brought up many times, and while to my knowledge Sony has not officially commented on it, the general consensus from those with engineering experience is that significant changes are not possible.

The key point here is that the F3 using a single mpg2 encoder chip to generate the XDCAM-EX 4:2:0 8bit 35Mbps stream. This is the same chip used in the Sony EX1 and EX3 to do the exact same job. The Convergent Designs NanoFlash is known to use two of these same mpg2 encoder chips to record 4:2:2 8bit high bit rate files (up to 220Mbps I beleive...).


While XAVC is certainly a different codec, there's little reason to beleive this is within the capabilities of the hardware in the sony F3.
 
Maybe the new firmware will allow use of the new SxS Pro+ cards for backward compatibility.
Along the same lines, will update the lens data file to recognize the new PL lenses.
 
I can only guess but here are the things that could be improved:

Internal recording - 50mb/s would be a good start and if 4:2:2 is possible even better. XAVC might not be possible but 10-bit 4:2:2 internal recording would be the best thing. I have a small hope for 50mb/s to be included but the rest is less likely.

Gamma - SLOG2. Might be possible to squeeze a bit more DR out of the sensor.

FPS - 1080p 60fps might not be possible but maybe 120fps in 720p?

Dual recording - If the hardware can keep up it would be nice to at least have that feature to shoot dual SxS cards.

Menu structure - The new F5/F55 has a similar menu structure so I doubt they do anything to improve the GUI.

General functions - I find the F3 to be very flexible. There's even more buttons to customize than on the new F5/55.

Higher resolution/raw output - It can become a reality if the camera has a path to output the sensordata. But I doubt it.

What else can be improved within the limits of the design?
 
I still have no idea of what's in the 1.5 firmware update as Sony isn't commenting on or off record. But we should know that the F3 processor is pretty much pushed to the limit. I would love to see high frame rates but I have my doubts. Still, surprises are always possible. Meanwhile, we just wait...

Ned
 
Ned -- do you think there is any chance that color temp could be adjusted on the S-Log coming from the "A" port? The free S-Log allows this from the monitor port and records to SxS cards and external reader, it would be nice to be able to adjust color temp on for the paid upgrade people as an option and record this externally, while using a LUT on the normal output to view in a monitor which would record to the internal cards. This type of functionality seems to be there for the 5/55 and it would be nice if possible for the 3.
 
It would be nice. But I honestly hav as much an insight into that as I do when my power will be restored

Ned
 
Could also be that v1.5 ends up giving the total functionality of the RGB 444 paid SLOG as well...just speculating...
 
Speaking of the S-log/RGB upgrade. I did it on my F3 yesterday and it was the quickest installation I've ever done. Took like less a second when I selected install...
 
Sorry to split hairs but sitting in the dark without power for another week i have lots of time my hands. Very important to know that cbk rgb101 is just an unlock. It installs nothing. Just like turning a key.

The few restaurants withggenerators let people recharge mobile devices

Ned
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top