F3: Sony F35 - still a relevant camera?

N

nate852

Member
It seems that the F35 Body price has dropped to around the same price as a F3.
What happened to the camera? It has S-log,4:4:4 and can be plugged to new affordable SSD recorders.

Redtails from 2012, was still being shot on the F35. But it seems the camera has totally died off.

Without the SR1 recorder, the body seems reasonably sized.

Anyone have experience on this matter?
 
...calling on macgregor

The F35 was/is a stellar camera. Global shutter and a very nice HD image using a unique RGB striped sensor just like Genesis, as opposed to a bayer pattern sensor. It has rich color, high dynamic range... lovely footage.

And now available for the low price of $8500 on ebay.
 
This camera still produces my favorite digital image outside of the Alexa and BMC, and considering I don't even like the "sony" look, that's saying something. To my eyes at least, these 3 cameras are producing the most cinematic video among all the competition. For whatever reason, I'm liking the look of the F35 still more than any current Sony. I don't know what it is, but this camera still has something magical that the F5/55 don't quite have. I even like the image from the F35 more than any of the RED's as well.

When F35 price hits even further rock bottom, I'm seriously considering picking one up to team with the BMC.
 
I like the look of the f35 a lot too but if you had a body, what all else would you need to use it? Could you mount a Zeiss ZF lens on it somehow? What recorder would you use? Could you get one going for a couple of grand?
 
They're still shooting a lot of reality/docs on the original tapebased varicam at a whopping 960/720 pixels. The F35 is VERY relevant. I for one would love one.
 
This is a weird question. It's a bit like asking if a 2012 Ford Taurus is still relevant because the 2013 model is out. No, it is not. The 2012 model will stop working and implode!:laugh:

The F35 not only is still relevant, but it's still getting more work than the F3/FS100/FS700/AF100/C300/C500/5D/GH2 combined in drama and narrative with real budgets. Oh, and it still kicks all these cameras arses too. ;)


L1N3ARX said:
This camera still produces my favorite digital image outside of the Alexa and BMC, and considering I don't even like the "sony" look, that's saying something. To my eyes at least, these 3 cameras are producing the most cinematic video among all the competition. For whatever reason, I'm liking the look of the F35 still more than any current Sony. I don't know what it is, but this camera still has something magical that the F5/55 don't quite have. I even like the image from the F35 more than any of the RED's as well.
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That's an easy one! At least for me. From all the higher end cameras, RED is the last one I would pick. I would rather shoot F35, F65, Genesis, D21 or Alexa over any RED. Just my opinion.

L1N3ARX said:
When F35 price hits even further rock bottom, I'm seriously considering picking one up to team with the BMC.
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Honestly, I don't think it will drop more. This is rock bottom. I would be really surprised if it drops more. Because there aren't that many of them around to have so much more suply than demand. Once this wave is gone they will be hard to come by. Because all the rental houses, who are pretty much the only ones who bought them new are getting rid of them now and will soon have sold them all. The people who bought a $200k camera for so cheap will probably not sell it till they have milked all it's got to offer. They know it wont be worth it to sell it. If you want one get one now while you can.
 
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hscully said:
I like the look of the f35 a lot too but if you had a body, what all else would you need to use it? Could you mount a Zeiss ZF lens on it somehow? What recorder would you use? Could you get one going for a couple of grand?
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The F35 is PL only! You need PL glass. There are no adapters. The only way is to replace the whole mount with a custom made mount, which is not a job for the fain of heart.
It will also need V-mount or AB batteries and an EVF sharp enough to focus with 35mm DOF.

Depending on what you already have a couple grand would get you up and running. If all you have is small camera gear, then you will spend a good chunk to get it running properly. Honestly, I would say if you can afford a C300 with PL glass, the F35 is for you. If you can't, then you better served by something simpler. Don't be fulled by the price of the body. It is still a high end camera. It's only selling for so cheap because or market perception.
 
Is 1080p footage still relevant?

Given the VAST majority of films are being projected in 1080p and 2K these days, and quite a bit of TV content too - I think you'll find you can still get an F35 to be somewhat useful.

The wonderful thing is, that with the boom in external recorders, you can now rig up an F35 package in a form factor basically the same weight as an Alexa. (Back in the bad old SR tape days - the camera was gargantuan).
 
Grug said:
Is 1080p footage still relevant?

Given the VAST majority of films are being projected in 1080p and 2K these days, and quite a bit of TV content too - I think you'll find you can still get an F35 to be somewhat useful.
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Somewhat? :huh:
 
Adamsenoj said:
The F35 is PL only! You need PL glass. There are no adapters. The only way is to replace the whole mount with a custom made mount, which is not a job for the fain of heart.
It will also need V-mount or AB batteries and an EVF sharp enough to focus with 35mm DOF.

Depending on what you already have a couple grand would get you up and running. If all you have is small camera gear, then you will spend a good chunk to get it running properly. Honestly, I would say if you can afford a C300 with PL glass, the F35 is for you. If you can't, then you better served by something simpler. Don't be fulled by the price of the body. It is still a high end camera. It's only selling for so cheap because or market perception.
Click to expand...

Yeah only PL glass. Makes sense, thanks. I had a feeling that it would be a lot of camera and that accessories might make it expensive.
 
hscully said:
Yeah only PL glass. Makes sense, thanks. I had a feeling that it would be a lot of camera and that accessories might make it expensive.
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Yeah. It's much like getting a Scarlet brain for $8k and thinking this is your real price. What is selling so inexpensively is basically the F35 brain.
 
hscully said:
I like the look of the f35 a lot too but if you had a body, what all else would you need to use it? Could you mount a Zeiss ZF lens on it somehow? What recorder would you use? Could you get one going for a couple of grand?
Click to expand...

I would love to know the answer to this as well not ever having used one. I have PL mount lenses, V-lock batteries and a Color Sony C30W viewfinder, what else would I need to start using one? Does it record to cards at all? Thanks in advance, Sparky
 
Sparky874 said:
I would love to know the answer to this as well not ever having used one. I have PL mount lenses, V-lock batteries and a Color Sony C30W viewfinder, what else would I need to start using one? Does it record to cards at all? Thanks in advance, Sparky
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You would need an external recorder. The camera is only a head, no recording means attached. It could be a Hyperdeck for example which is pretty inexpensive. Then all your grip gear, like tripods, tripod heads, steadycam, jib head etc would need to be able to hold the camera and all accessories. If you have a small camera such as the FS100 or F3 your gear may not be up to it.

But there are other strings attached too. Keep in mind that the camera was designed and intended to be used as a Panavision or Arricam 35mm film camera, not a camcorder. It expects you to have a full crew and all the gear normally involved in a full blown production. It was aimed at Hollywood. For example, it has no built-in ND filters because it expects you to use a mattabox and have an 1AC to put all the camera pieces together in the beginning of every shoot. Not really a run and gun tool for day externals. It's not a broadcast camera.
It expects you to record double system instead of in-camera sound. So I'm not even sure it has a headphone jack. There's one on the SRW1 HDCAM SR recorder which normally attaches to the back, along with the XLRs and other connections. But as far as I know there isn't one in the camera. Just a couple of examples of small things we have come to take for granted that higher end camera made to be part of a system don't have. It's a production "film" camera, not a camcorder if you know what I mean. Can you use it as a camcorder? Yes. But it will probably bark back at you sometimes for it.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I think even though the price has dropped to so low, getting everything needed for the camera to start functiong ...is probably going to stray in the Epic Price regions.

But judging from some demo clips of the F35, i think it really does produce a natural image in comparison to the RED...

I recently bought a Varicam 27H, and paired it with the Atomos Samurai, and the total price is less than an EX3.
i find the images to be so much better than an EX3!

There seems to be an abundance of seemingly outdated cameras that still out perform recent cameras!
 
nate852 said:
Thanks for all the replies. I think even though the price has dropped to so low, getting everything needed for the camera to start functiong ...is probably going to stray in the Epic Price regions.

But judging from some demo clips of the F35, i think it really does produce a natural image in comparison to the RED...

I recently bought a Varicam 27H, and paired it with the Atomos Samurai, and the total price is less than an EX3.
i find the images to be so much better than an EX3!

There seems to be an abundance of seemingly outdated cameras that still out perform recent cameras!
Click to expand...

What makes the older cameras so appealing these days is the possibility of a external recorder. It really shows that the limitation of cameras from the past were much more the recording format than the camera itself. Case in point the Varicam. Not much point in recording DVCPRO 100 to tape these days unless this is how your post-prod pipeline is still set. But since it has a HD-SDI you can record to a better and higher data rate codec, injecting some new life into the camera.

Although, apart from sensitivity and colormetry taste, I'm not sure I would go with a Varicam+Samurai over an EX1/EX3+Samurai. But this is obviously a matter of taste.
 
I totally agree with you Adam, its the sudden surge of affordable external recorders that are starting to revive these older beasts!

I couldn't help it, but to upload a clip I shot with the Varicam 27h from atomos. See for yourself, the footage looks organic and has a certain filmic element to it.

raw file from Varicam into Samurai

https://vimeo.com/58041380
 
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