I am sure this has been asked but a quick answer would be appreciated. I have someone that is selling the fs700u without the 4k upgrade for 2000.00 with the 18 -200 mm lens. If i purchased the upgrade for 400 to get 4k, do I need other hardware or would lt just write to the SD cards in the camera?
Sony NEX FS700u Upgrade to 4k question
- Thread starter tonydiato
- Start date
alaskacameradude
Veteran
The FS700 will never shoot 4k internally. You must purchase the $400 upgrade,
and then purchase a compatible external recorder. There are 3 that I am aware
of. One is the big, heavy Sony recorder. Then there is the Odyssey 7Q (+) (which
also requires purchase of a license as well as the cost of the recorder.). Finally,
there is the Atomos Inferno. Figure on around $2000 for the external recorder.
Plus, costs for the recording license if you go with the Odyssey (which is the best match
for the FS700 currently in my opinion....although the Inferno is getting firmware
updates which get it close, and you don't have to buy a recording license with the
Inferno.)
fatman
Active member
To add to this... when he said you have to buy the upgrade firmware, that means you have to either go to a sony dealer/service centre (as I did) or ship it to a service centre. It's not a simple SD download, they actually alter the physical mechanics/components in some way. In toronto there is one right near a highways, so I just dropped it off and picked up 48 hours later. 2k for the camera is a good price imo. I paid 4k back in 2015 (Which was a good price then), got the 400 4k upgrade, bought a used 7Q w/ sony codec (2k), so all in was about $6500. Your setup would be more like $4500 which isn't bad at all considering the camera paired with a recorder is a very nice setup. I also think the fs700 on it's own produces a nice image as well - which I still do from time to time and just use the odyssey as a monitor - that happens for me maybe 20% of the time since some clients want nice 1080 images in tiny file sizes which AVCHD certainly is.
ebsseattle
Active member
Seeing this months after the original posts, but from what you're saying, I wouldn't need the Sony 4K back end pack? (not sure what it's called) I thought I would have to pay the $400 for the 4K upgrade, buy the back pack for another $2k, then if I wanted to use an Atomos or Odyssey recorder, that cost on top of all of that.
thirdyearff
Active member
No you don't need the Sony back/recorder. You just need the 4k upgrade to the 700 and an external recorder of your choice
ebsseattle
Active member
I’m planning on going to the FS7, but until then using the FS700 as much as possible before converting it to a B-cam. Also having the external recorder will come in handy regardless of the camera I end up with.
ebsseattle
Active member
But I still see that as a more viable long-term solution when upgrading, rather than going to the FS5 which will outdated much sooner.