FS7: Sony May Lose My Business Over $15

In actual fact the "sophistication and capability" is probably what you should expect in the cheaper equipment, it's the other stuff like reliability and ergonomics that have always put a premium on pro gear. It's the same with stills cameras - a press photographer could také great quality pics with a £250 Nikon D5300 or whatever, but not many use them - they go for D3 or D4 at 10 times the costs - even though on paper the images won't be much difference.
"Professional" has always been a diffult term to quantify, and I think it's an over-simplification to say that anything you use to make money with is "professional".
FS7 is ludicrously cheap for the spec - there should be no surprise if that low price tag comes with "caveats". I'd be under no illusions if I bought one - I'd assume that I'd have to work around various issues to realise that high spec image. If I didn't want to do that or couldn't accept it in a professional capacity I'd get an Alexa, F65, Dragon or other top end camera.
Steve
 
steve phillipps said:
In actual fact the "sophistication and capability" is probably what you should expect in the cheaper equipment, it's the other stuff like reliability and ergonomics that have always put a premium on pro gear. It's the same with stills cameras - a press photographer could také great quality pics with a £250 Nikon D5300 or whatever, but not many use them - they go for D3 or D4 at 10 times the costs - even though on paper the images won't be much difference.
"Professional" has always been a diffult term to quantify, and I think it's an over-simplification to say that anything you use to make money with is "professional".
FS7 is ludicrously cheap for the spec - there should be no surprise if that low price tag comes with "caveats". I'd be under no illusions if I bought one - I'd assume that I'd have to work around various issues to realise that high spec image. If I didn't want to do that or couldn't accept it in a professional capacity I'd get an Alexa, F65, Dragon or other top end camera.
Steve
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Steve,

Basic camera functions like gain, shutter, and audio floors should operate in a consistent and reliable manner regardless of pricepoint. I take your point when it comes to the scopes and LUTs, to an extent. But on the former points we're talking about camera operation basics that have been managed correctly on vast quantities of sub 10k cameras. Let's be clear - Sony has not dedicated enough quality control to this product.

Funny thing - if Sony released an SDK tomorrow that let users write their own firmware to hook into the camera's hardware capabilities, there would be a better than the official firmware available to users within say a month or two, I'd bet money on it. Mind you, Sony would never do that - but the user base would put the time, energy, and quality control into the firmware that Sony apparently can't be bothered to.
 
The odd thing is all the lines have blurred now. IMO the FS7 is better (for me) than the F5, smaller lighter, better XLR profile, audio pots, speed booster, AF, focus mag button at the finger. But probably the build is not the same. Ergo. two flawed cameras! The manufacs think that 'professional' means crew, soundie, a/c to lug it about et. al. and that is often I guess no longer the case.

S

(happy D3 owner - mainly use my lighter D600)
 
It just seems to me manufacturers are always moving to the "next thing" before they get the current thing right. And true customer "service" is very hard to come by. But then again, so is loyalty.
I still have hope in the FS7. I don't like to switch cameras frequently..But things will only change if Stoney starts listening to legitimate feedback. It certainly doesn't hurt that the mk II and other competitors come slogging after them... but 20K isn't really gonna make em sit up and pay attention... unless of course, they start flying off the shelves.
 
Just hearing about the fiasco of the F55 viewfinder cable put me off Sony for life! Releasing a product with a piece that was universally acknowledged as atrocious, then not even admitting it and actually having the nerve to charge their loyal early adopters $400 for a replacement and calling it "even better than the original" - that was it for me.
Steve
 
Update:

I've been on the Sony Community board as well now, and it seems that the fault is likely with the URX-P03 receiver, in that it needs an updated (read: newer) circuit board than it shipped with to be compatible with the GPS module and not make noise. Sony, all who I've spoken with so far, still give me the company line that it's my responsibility to pay shipping.

So, Sony sells a product to me on the merits of the cableless/powered by camera features, but either knowingly permitted units with the incompatible circuit board to be sold, or allowed them to be sold unaware of a conflict, and regardless, has since designed an upgraded circuit board to fix the issue - but beleives it is reasonable to charge me shipping fees to enable the advertised functionality that should have been available day one.

Honestly, at this point, I think there are consumer protection laws that technically apply. If nothing else, there may be a violation of Tennessee Code 47-18-104: Unfair or deceptive acts prohibited.
 
Viddovation said:
Honestly, at this point, I think there are consumer protection laws that technically apply. If nothing else, there may be a violation of Tennessee Code 47-18-104: Unfair or deceptive acts prohibited.
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Won't pursuing this cost you more time/money than just paying shipping? Or would you be doing it on principle to prevent this done again (although I doubt Sony will bat an eyelash to change anything)
 
It's got bigger fish to fry at the moment if Philip Bloom being chief advocate for the FS7 is done in any official way...
 
FrameFarmMedia said:
Won't pursuing this cost you more time/money than just paying shipping? Or would you be doing it on principle to prevent this done again (although I doubt Sony will bat an eyelash to change anything)
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It's absolutely costing me more time and therefore money to quibble over this. Absolutely. I have the short term fix: shut off the GPS module. It's not critical to what I do. But I'm deeply offended by Sony's adherence to policy regardless of circumstance.
 
Update:

Reached a human being at Teaneck. He was excellent, and it looks like a satisfactory resolution is in progress. He's gone a long way towards restoring my faith, but the whole experience getting this far has left a bad feeling in my gut.

Some pointers for those reading:
- If you have problems with audio using shoe accessories, try turning off the GPS, just in case
- Given that the GPS module is only beneficial to certain shooters, consider turning it off generally.
- If you need to reach someone with actual decision making power at Sony, the phone trees are virtually useless. Be creative.
-
 
VinceinLA said:
An $8000 camera is not a "professional" piece of gear. "Prosumer" comes to mind but nothing more than that by any stretch.
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Vince, that's an unnecessary level of elitism. Definition of the word professional: "engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime." I would dare say that the FS7 is primarily used by professionals, not hobbyists, that is, used in the course of a paid occupation rather than for an unpaid hobby.

Funny fact - my "prosumer" Sony PXW-FS7 earns me far more money than my "professional" Sony F35.


Now, mind you, we can have a debate about what degree of "service" comes with a $8,000 purchase vs an $80k purchase. But as it has become clear that Sony sold me a wireless transmitter with an advertised function that does not function as advertised, even if it were a consumer product that would be unacceptable - if advertised and sold as filling a certain purpose, it should do as advertised when purchased.
 
My investment in my FS7 is certainly over £10,000 at this point. I might not be going off to shoot a new Tolkien trilogy with it but it's most certainly being used in a professional environment every time it comes out of the bag.
 
Ben Scott said:
My investment in my FS7 is certainly over £10,000 at this point. I might not be going off to shoot a new Tolkien trilogy with it but it's most certainly being used in a professional environment every time it comes out of the bag.
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Indeed - it's fair to point out that the system extension and support accessories officially available from Sony mean that an $8,000 base purchase is the introduction to a turnkey ecosystem purchase of $20k or more. What failed here may be a $400 wireless receiver, but it's advertised for professional use in that $20k+ ecosystem.
 
VinceinLA said:
An $8000 camera is not a "professional" piece of gear. "Prosumer" comes to mind but nothing more than that by any stretch.
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It's an impossible and pointless exercise to define what is a "professional" piece of kit any more than it is to define a "professional" user. Many of the best photographers in the past have done it part time and could therefore be defined at "amateurs" depending on the definition.
What is clear it that a shooting kit up to the standard of broadcast or cinema can probably be had for a tenth of what it could even 10-15 years ago. When Digibeta first came out a camera was £60,000, wide lens £18,000, long lens £25,000, battery kit £2,000 etc.... same when HDW700 and Varicam were released. Now it's pennies by comparison.
Steve
 
Ned,

Have you used the URX-P03 and SMAD-P3 shoe? Have you experienced this electronic beeping issue when the GPS module is active? I think I remember you posted about the UWP-D series before, with positive comments.
 
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