Sony FS5 Initial Thoughts (pre-production model)

llirik

llirik

Well-known member
Hey Everyone,

A couple weeks ago, when I met with some representatives from Sony Middle East regarding doing a workshop about their a7R and a7s Mark 2 cameras, I was informed that they have a pre-production model of the FS5 and I’d be able to try it out. Because a simple camera test isn’t enough, I decided to enter this year’s Dubai 48hour Film Project and shoot the film on it. I did some testing and ended up shooting about 80% of the 48hour film on, and have posted my thoughts over on my blog . Unfortunately I had the camera for only about 36 hours, so wasn’t able to film the entirety of the film with it.

You can see some more info on my blog, as well as some more photos: http://www.llirik.com/2015/11/sony-fs5-initial-thoughts-pre-production-model/

DSC02781.jpg
PROs
  • The hand-grip is the greatest
  • Surprisingly light, especially when compared to FS7
  • Well balanced. No more awkwardness like on the FS700
  • Battery life is quite good – whole shoot brought me down to about 20% on a single charge!
  • Supplied lens (G series 18-105 f/4) is quite acceptable for run and gun.
  • Stabilization on this lens is impressive
  • Has integrated mic with is great for reference audio
  • Built-in EVF was very useful in sunlight
  • Variable ND was very useful
  • Did I mention the hand-grip is the greatest thing ever?
  • slog2 and slog3 inclusion, as well as SGamut3 calibrated for different light temperatures
CONs
  • Mic hotshoe should be further back… using my e-mount 10-18mm I would always get it in frame.
  • LCD screen is incredibly lacking in image quality and features
  • LCD isn’t touchscreen even though menus are identical to my fs700, so took some getting used to.
  • Button layout is a bit confusing and doesn’t follow much reasoning
  • No volume adjustment for headphones without going into menus
  • Would have been nice to get a few more stops on the Variable ND filter
  • Although quite sharp, the kit/supplied lens still has pincushion and poor fly-by-wire focus
For the moment, I can’t post any footage as the film needs to be approved by Dubai Film Commission and screened at the 48hour film screenings first, but I will update this page in the future, as well as some more in-depth findings.


If you have any questions about the camera, feel free to ask.
 
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I read somewhere that the correction for the lens is off by default and needs to be turned on. Maybe why you still saw pin cushioning? I can see that being an easy thing to miss when only having camera for so little time.
 
starcentral said:
here's some paper differences summarized on a thread I started comparing FS5 / FS7 / F5 & F55

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?341008-paper-differences-summarized-between-F55-F5-FS7-FS5
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Thats good info.

Dennis do you think the FS7 is to heavy or hard to manage? I shoot a C300 a lot and it's fine but the FS7 is heavier in ready to shoot mode. I hear this from some people but I haven't had my hands on one yet. The FS5 in a lot of ways is pretty dang good. HD 10bit 422 internal is impressive in a camera at this price plus the HFR options even with burst only.
 
I've shot with both the C300 and FS7 and the FS7 "feels" lighter, I'd put that down to its much better design over the C300 which is awkward and top heavy.
 
Hi Erik,

I've shot with the C300 before and FS7 on a few occasions. I definitely feel like the C300 is more suited to "handheld" shooting than the FS7.

If you see the FS7 in person it's quite big but the good thing is its really designed with shoulder shooting in mind (if you don't snap the handle off that is)


The FS5 is unbelievably small, I saw it at a local open house and it's definitely compact enough to use in a variety of situations and that variable ND filter built in sounds great.
 
I have also compared the weight, form and fit of the c100mkii, c300, and FS7. The Canon's were minimal, but with a Canon cine prime lens. I shouldered the FS7 with the Sony 28-135mm and V-mount battery. The FS7 even with this package seemed fairly light, but it is still heavy. I am hoping that the FS5 will be able to fit my requirements as a run-n-gun (doco) with the capability (build up) for studio usage as well.
 
llirik,

Thanks for posting. I am looking forward to seeing your footage. I have some simple but blunt questions:

1 - Do you like / love the color?

2 - Do you wish this camera was made by Canon or Panasonic?

I have primarily been a Panasonic shooter over the years but have owned some Sony and Canon cameras. I have never liked the look of Sony cameras in anything below their top tier. They have always left me cold with a sterile sort of look. In recent years, I see this improving. So I wonder for myself, is the Fs5 my move back to a Sony camera? The features are nice but it is all about the color science for me (and not the LOG create it in post approach). This is what so many wanted in an AF-200, but Panasonic is not setting the world in fire with their DVX200 release either!

Thanks for your input.
 
2 cents here... i've been waiting for what would replace my c100, and the more i look at the FS5, it looks like by far my best choice.

Always keep in mind what you shoot/your clients, i have yet to have a client request 4k(though im sure it's coming), nor do any care about bits and colorspace (i do a lot of events, corporate, fitness, etc..) So for my particular uses, it really checks many boxes, most importantly, the: won't break my back, box. it's also small enough i might not mind bringing it on vacation. The C100 is pretty terrible in that regard: it's an inch too big in any direction to fit into smaller photog bags even with the top handle off.
 
Erik Naso said:
The Long GOP codec in 10bit 422 is a bummer.
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Nonsense. I shot some test footage with the FS5 at a local open house. The results are spectacular. Sony's implementation of long GOP in X-AVC is perhaps the best in the industry. Keep an open mind.
 
Ralph B said:
Nonsense. I shot some test footage with the FS5 at a local open house. The results are spectacular. Sony's implementation of long GOP in X-AVC is perhaps the best in the industry. Keep an open mind.
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My mind is very open Ralph. Did you get to take that footage home and edit it? Stress it out with color correction and grading? Try to break it? Yeah it seems it's pretty good. All the modern iterations of AVCHD are getting better.

I've had plenty of experience with these type of codecs and it's not the quality of them it's the way it edits. AVCHD, MP4 are hard on computers especially in UHD and if you have a large project with multiple video tracks it slows down a lot. Then you have to transcode all the footage for a better editing experience without constant rendering.
 
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Alister Chapman said in his FS5 intro/talk on the machine he used, he could edit 3 (might have been 4... going off memory here) streams of 4K XAVC-I from the FS7 no problem.
He couldn't even do 2 streams of XAVC-L from the FS5 on the same machine.
Certainly takes a lot of juice!
 
Darren Levine said:
2 cents here... i've been waiting for what would replace my c100, and the more i look at the FS5, it looks like by far my best choice.

Always keep in mind what you shoot/your clients, i have yet to have a client request 4k(though im sure it's coming), nor do any care about bits and colorspace (i do a lot of events, corporate, fitness, etc..) So for my particular uses, it really checks many boxes, most importantly, the: won't break my back, box. it's also small enough i might not mind bringing it on vacation. The C100 is pretty terrible in that regard: it's an inch too big in any direction to fit into smaller photog bags even with the top handle off.
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I can see me using the FS5 a lot at work for quick stuff that I currently use the a7s II for and yeah your point on bringing it with you when you travel is a good one.
 
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