Sony F35 Codex M Recorder Complete Setup

Samana76 · Dec 27, 2014

kassim · Dec 27, 2014

WOW!!!!! Thanks for posting all of these awesome pics

....Im dying to play around with...Been dying to get my hands on a Codex Recorder but the transfer unit is just far too expensive. Would love to hear more details about the workflow and even how you got your hands on the Complete Codex setup

marvinhello · Dec 27, 2014

thanks for the photos!

I bet the Codex M recorder is far more expensive than the camera itself...

jenningsp · Dec 27, 2014

what a beast!

what's the weight all up?

that shape shoulder pad is nice and low profile.

yachacha · Dec 27, 2014

The codex recorders are not as exspensive as you guys think. The one for 2k on ebay the seller has the f35 plate and 512 mag for 5k. The transfer unit is the tricky part to find. Start making phone calls and you can find this stuff sitting on shelves waiting for a deal.

i have a codex m recorder i got for $500, the plate and software were going to be 1500 more, $1000 more for mags. If anyone is interested in pursuing this, pm me for the codex, ill pass it off at cost.

Captain_Douglas · Dec 27, 2014

Does the recorder actually make the interface box obsolet (audio in/ video out)?

yachacha · Dec 28, 2014

That's a very smart and complete looking F35. It doesn't look that much larger than an F35 with hyper deck and IF box. Nice job being the first (here at least). It's good to know the speed ramping actually works, and also that the ethernet is not a viable option to download (something I was counting on). The transfer station seems to be the hardest part to find at a reasonable price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CODEX-ON-BO...gital_Camera_Memory_Cards&hash=item2589a4231b

I've gotten a few PM's about the 5k setup on eBay. Here is the seller. I messaged them and they have some of the F35 plates and also the 512gb drives. I was quoted 5k for Codex, F35 dock and 512gb drive. It's a lot more than the hyper deck but I would much rather make the jump from hyper deck to Codex and unlock the full potential of the camera, than get a 7Q setup for 3k which only offers 10-bit 444 over the hyper deck.

Codex was very nice when I emailed them a few months ago about supporting the legacy product as well. They seem like a top notch cinema company who will support the Codex M system for a while longer even though they do not sell them new anymore.

It's really satisfying to see the F35 discoveries continue. I know the codex and F35 were working together years ago, but until someone from the dvx F35 community like Igor makes the jump to test a system, it's all talk. It's nice to see results.

yachacha · Dec 28, 2014

I've gotten a few questions about the setup I bought. Honestly I bought the recorder then got involved with other projects and couldn't justify the cost of the project, I have never turned my recorder on because I don't have the F35 plate. I bought an Arriraw version of the Codex M, it is identical to the normal version except it says: Arriraw on the side. It came from Visual Products but like I said, I have never tested it. I won it on eBay for $500. I am more than willing to pass this recorder off, but I don't want to mislead anyone. The ones on eBay have F35 license already and also the remote which I am missing.

In my search for F35 parts this is what I was told from Codex, like I said, they are a great company:

Very sorry have been a bit busy the last few days. I did look up and see that the recorder you have was not licensed for HD, it was definitely ARRIRAW only but dual channel. Normally the price difference was $5000 but I could help you out with the additional license for $750. I do have some of the magnetic remotes as well. They used to be $2000 but I could sell you one of our exdemo units for $300.

If you are interested please let me know. And if you have any questions please feel free to email support we still help our legacy customers as well. I enjoy seeing that people are still using the recorders.

The I was able to find the F35 IF plate's at BandPro:

Hi Evan:
We have the Codex adapter that you need it is part number CDX-P052 your cost is $750.00 Please let me know if you would like to purchase it.

Thank you

So if anyone here is serious about F35 and Codex, you could get the licensed codex with remote on eBay for 2k, $750 for F35 plate. Then the other parts you need to track down are drives and the dock. Like I said, it is possible to find one of these kits for around the same as a used F35 body.

skatajkid · Dec 28, 2014

Just to confirm, since this seems to be the home for all things Codex... with the Codex you get:

- 12 bit 444 DPX recording at all possible frame rates and ramping?
- Communication and recording directly from the F35 (no cables, just the mount)
- LTC TC input (is it also a TC generator? can you jam sync TC or must TC be present through a source?)
- No more need for IF box

BUT - you don't get:

- F35 communication (meaning any talk back, including TC and recording using the onboard record buttons)
- Compressed codecs?
- No 2k recording correct? Or was that always a rumor and never available even to tape?

And i'm also interested in *how* power hungry it is. I know that it seems to be, but how much in reality. Igor, with that one battery powering camera and Codex, what's your run times like?

It's a pretty interesting option, and I do like your setup Igor. I'd almost be interested in trying to make a very streamlined version of it. It seems like it's weight and possible power limitations may not be ideal, but it does seem very cool and very attainable as another recording solution, and slightly more elegant than the odyssey in some ways (but like I said, limited in others!)

dangtienanh · Dec 28, 2014

Though I've never used one before I'm pretty certain that the Record button on the F35 would work with the Codex.

skatajkid · Dec 28, 2014

dangtienanh said:
Though I've never used one before I'm pretty certain that the Record button on the F35 would work with the Codex.

Yeah - I very well may be mistaken... for some reason I thought I read that it didn't work, but would be exciting to me if it did! Basically meaning using the buttons and VF on the F35 would be much more useful/re-assuring!

Samana76 · Dec 28, 2014

Hello Everyone,

I am at the airport awaiting to board (flight is delayed), so I will try to answer the questions I know the answer to for now. Again I still have to do some testing, so there are a few things I don't know yet.

- 12 bit 444 DPX uncompressed recording is possible up to 30fps. From 31fps to 50 fps 10 bit 444 DPX uncompressed is possible. Ramping a low frame rates are possible and correctly recognized by the Codex (for instance 1fps is recorded as 1fps and will play at the correct speed when reviewing the material off the Codex or when converting to MOV or AVI through the Codex UI OSX program).

- Yes the F35 sees the Codex as if it were the VTR, which means it communicates with it directly through the mount. Now there are 4 very short SDI cables, a GPIO connector and a power connector that go from the mount to the Codex, but are of no nuisance and are always connected.

- There is no need for the IF box. The Codex receives all communication from the camera through the multipin interface directly. Also it has 2 audio inputs. I have not tested the audio yet as I do not have any audio equipment.

- The Codex receives Timecode from the camera, that is why, I believe, all frame rates and ramping are supported. I do not know, however, if it can generate TC or if it can jam sync TC.

- Recording can be initiated directly from the F35 recorder button or the Codex itself. Either button you use the camera will know that it is recording and it will have the tally light working (if you set that up) and lower the fan accordingly - it does not matter if you use the F35 record button or the Codex record button.

- The Codex Onboard M Recorder I have has all the license activated, which means that I can record in compressed formats. I have not tested this yet, but from what I can see, it will not give you the option of recording in 12bit when selecting a compressed format, only 10bit 444 or below is available when a compressed format is selected.

- No, there is no 2K recording. I sincerely believe this was never implemented by Sony. The codex itself can record 4k at 120fps (4096 x 1080) or 4K at 60fps (4096 x 2160) in the Canon Raw format, or any variation of ARRI Raw format. So the recorder is more than capable of recording 2K.

- The weight of the setup in the photos in the original post is about 35lbs, roughly. I did not weight it, however that's roughly what it felt. Of course I could, and will remove components when I need a lighter setup. I will build one in February when I return and post picks here.

- Regarding power, I am not able to test amperage draw, but really in the testing and filming I did in the few days I've had it, and during Christmas day, where I recorded about 35 minutes of footage (you can record 38 minutes 12-bit 444 uncompressed DPX on a 512GB data pack), I did not feel it was a power hog in any way. With everything on - camera, Codex, and iKan screen - it will last a good 90 minutes with my Lamparte 150wH battery, no problem.

I will be boarding soon, so that's it for now. I will post links to DPX sequences to download in a few days.

Cheers everyone.
Igor

skatajkid · Dec 29, 2014

So awesome! Thanks Igor!

I hate being this guy.... but I'd love to see some of the wavelet compressed stuff from the Codex! I'm reading more about it now and it says you can do "visually lossless" compression from 3:1 to 8:1 - wavelet, much like REDCODE. That sounds pretty interesting to me too! Especially would save on runtimes!

Thanks again! Always exciting for new (for us, though old to some) F35 developments!

macgregor · Jan 1, 2015

Pretty awesome!

SJX · Jan 1, 2015

Awesome!

Viddovation · Jan 4, 2015

Samana76 said:
- The Codex receives Timecode from the camera, that is why, I believe, all frame rates and ramping are supported. I do not know, however, if it can generate TC or if it can jam sync TC.

From my significant experimentation with the F35 and SRW1 I can pretty confidently assert that the camera does not generate timecode - your Codex is generating timecode. This is why when we use the F35 without a proper VTR docked the TC always reads 00:00:00:00.

The camera generates frames of video data, but that's distinctly different from timecode.

Viddovation · Jan 4, 2015

Samana76 said:
- 12 bit 444 DPX uncompressed recording is possible up to 30fps. From 31fps to 50 fps 10 bit 444 DPX uncompressed is possible. Ramping a low frame rates are possible and correctly recognized by the Codex (for instance 1fps is recorded as 1fps and will play at the correct speed when reviewing the material off the Codex or when converting to MOV or AVI through the Codex UI OSX program).

Can you confirm that you recorded to the docked Codex with the camera set to 12bit RGB 444? Did the camera not generate an "unsupported format" warning? In my testing with the SRW1 and SRR1 the dock seemed intended only for 10bit communication and the camera threw a warning when i force set it to output 12bit to a docked recorder.

yachacha · Jan 4, 2015

Viddovation said:
Can you confirm that you recorded to the docked Codex with the camera set to 12bit RGB 444? Did the camera not generate an "unsupported format" warning? In my testing with the SRW1 and SRR1 the dock seemed intended only for 10bit communication and the camera threw a warning when i force set it to output 12bit to a docked recorder.

Viddo,

Have a look at the photos posted, The camera and Codex recorder show 12-bit depth for recording format. I'm a little confused by your statement about the dock being limited to 10-bit, isn't the IF box also using the dock and that is able to pass 12-bit to the two SDI lines?

Viddovation · Jan 4, 2015

yachacha said:
Viddo,

Have a look at the photos posted, The camera and Codex recorder show 12-bit depth for recording format. I'm a little confused by your statement about the dock being limited to 10-bit, isn't the IF box also using the dock and that is able to pass 12-bit to the two SDI lines?

That essentially answers my question.

But to answer yours and for other readers:

The physical dock actually supports two entirely separate communications protocols, one being I2C based for the IF (Interface) system, and the other being RS485(or RS422) based for the VTR. The dock has 17 data and power pins, six SDI ports, and a large ground pin. The two systems actually use different data pins (they share the power pins though). So, the IF system mounts the same way physically, but behaves differently electronically.

My question was because in my experiments emulating a VTR I couldn't find a way to get the camera to approve the 12bit output as acceptable to the recorder. To explain it better would be complicated, but essentially this means I missed something, and if I had a Codex I could fix it.

yachacha · Jan 4, 2015

Thanks for the info! I know you've spent a lot of hours finding this information and it's greatly appreciated. Are you still doing any work on your F35 or have you moved onto bigger things? You've gone the furthest reverse engineering the F35 dock, it's fascinating how much horsepower and upgradeability Sony built this camera with, and then abandoned the upgrades. What is the purpose of the 6 SDI ports? Does any piece of hardware fully use all 6 when communicating with the camera?

Has anyone looked into the S. Two OB-1 recorder? They seem to be cheaper than the Codex (not quite as sexy as the Codex) for a package with the mags. I have looked into it briefly, and it seems the OB-1 should be able to record 12-bit 444 DPX also. The F35/F23 dock for the S. Two seems impossibly hard to find. Also you will have the same problem of needing to find the very expensive transfer station. It would be a gamble to experiment with, now that we know the Codex is capable, but I still wonder if the S. Two package could be found for less than a Codex system and still perform all the same functions.

Sony F35 Codex M Recorder Complete Setup

Active member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

New member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Active member

Active member

Active member

Active member

Veteran

Veteran

Veteran

Veteran

Well-known member

Veteran

Well-known member