Sony FS5m1 with RAW vs. Z Cam e2-m4?

G

Greg_E

Veteran
If you were shopping for a camera that was not destined for making one's living, which of the following would you consider:

Sony FS5m1 hopefully with the raw upgrade already installed.

Z Cam E2-M4.

Yes I know the Z Cam needs expensive drives, but all the good resolutions need a USB C SSD anyway so I don't consider C Flash part of the package.

My lenses are all FD converted to passive EF, so the mount doesn't matter too much. I do have EF to m43 adapters and a focal reducer already being used on GH2 cameras. Just looking for an upgrade that will be easier to work with, that stupid AC3 audio makes me convert everything before I can bring it into Media Composer or Resolve and I'm tired of the extra step.

No I do not currently have a recorder to handle the RAW out of either camera, but I do have a 3G Video Assist SDI/HDMI monitor for use with the Z Cam.

I'm mostly thinking out loud and watching auctions to try and grab something cheap, and I keep going back and forth on these two cameras. I might consider an E2 with the permanent m43 mount, but the -M4 would be better so I can change the mount if needed/desired. They are also rumored to be making an EF mount with focal reducer built in, and since they use locking EF mounts, this would be a big advantage for me being much more robust.

The FS5 with a speed booster would give me some very wide angles to use, widest lens in my kit is a 15mm and I go up to 200mm (including two parfocal zooms) all f2.8 or faster (except the zooms at f3.5).

Right now I have no needs beyond 1080, but having more/better and better noise at higher ISO would be great once in a while.
 
You picked two really particular choices so there must be something you like about the images because there's not much else to say about any special features that either offers (besides RAW).

If it really came down to these then the Z CAM because it's made by a company that isn't limiting its IQ and features and truly giving you everything that's possible for the hardware/software. If you do go Z CAM, maybe also check out a used S35 E2-S6 (EF) for a bit more. Nice camera.
 
The z can s6 is more than I can justify or it would be on the list. Price is one of the factors, can't really justify going much more. Also thinking about Sigma FP, but still not sure it is ready and not seeing any good deals on it anywhere.

I was looking at fs700 but the pricing is just about the same as fs5 right now.

The images are what they are, I can tweak a lot of stuff in the Sony to make it what I want, the z cam would probably need to be all lut based, but I can do that too. I really like the idea of the viewfinders on the fs5, much closer to the traditional ENG cameras that I've grown up using. That kind of makes me pause for the Z cam and FP. Been kind of a pain for some things on my GH2.
 
Just wondering, why aren't the Pockets on your list?

Also consider the Z Cams are really HEVC or ProRes cameras. H.264 has the weakest options in them but perhaps it doesn't matter.

If you go with the Sony, might as well check out their older mirrorless' too as the image quality is pretty much the same as the FS5 and a few have have nicer EVFs.
 
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