Up coming information regarding new firmware update for the F3

Duke M.

Duke M.

Veteran
Sony's rep indicated they will be releasing information on the upcoming firmware update on the F3. It sounds surprisingly like an announcement of an announcement that Red camera would do. After v1.40 they solicited feature requests. Lots of people said 50Mbps, but I may be dreaming about that. I wonder what they're doing to the firmware now?

They do seem to be promoting the heck out of the F65, whick seems like a great camera but generally off my radar charts.

And then the FS700. Is it just me or without 4k does that just seem like a crippled F3 and somewhat of a waste? Especially since no one knows what the upgrade will cost.
 
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Saw that Tweet but haven't spoken to Peter in a couple of weeks, so not certain what he's referencing. I know they are at work on a new firmware, the functionality of which they haven't told me (and if they did, I couldn't tell you anyway).

Sony is on a big promotion of F65's as more and more of these are turning up on feature and episodic shoots. I've spoken with one DP who has shot with F65 and he is impressed. Like you, out of my ballpark.

Ned
 
nsoltz said:
Like you, out of my ballpark.
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Meh, a paltry $65,000 plus the cost to fully outfit it. About $80k. I can see why they'd have to promote it.

I still say that they F3 can record much more data than 35Mbps. a) At 30fps and 35Mbps it is recording 25% faster than what we need at 24fps and b) in Slow Mo it records quite a bit faster than 35Mbps to record all the extra frames. Even if it can only do 4.2.0 and 8 bit to SxS, it does have the speed functionality to get to 50Mbps. <rant over>
 
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MPB said:
does the codec?
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Sure. MPEG can be set to many different data rates as was done on the Nanoflash going up to 220Mbps even though the Sony encoding chips they used remained the same. A higher data rate means its compressed LESS. There's less for the chip to do.

Also the Sony PMW-500/ PDW-700/800 have 50Mbps 4:2:2 onboard recording in XDCAM format and it records just fine to SxS cards. Sony knows how to do it already.
 
I would be pretty annoyed if Sony kept back letting users shoot at 50mbps if this is something that can happen and could have happened some time ago. It's one major reason that many shooters have jumped over to the C300. It would have been be such a big mistake to make, I just can't believe it is possible. But there again, what other features are left to update?
 
You/we can be annoyed all we want (as we were when SLOG went from $3800 to $800) but the fact a company can release a product that can improve, evolve, and get even better AFTER it initially hits the market is quite impressive. Even MORE impressive is coming from a company like Sony. Even MORE impressive is coming from a company like Sony. (double take)

Lastly hopefully people realize that releasing a firmware update is a huge task involving many hours and resources going through all the lifecycles of development, testing, monitoring, and release. There are also "strategies" that I'm sure fit into the big picture as well when it comes to releasing these updates and rest assured that no decision made by a giant corporation like Sony have been made without any careful consideration.

Anyway you guys can be pissed all you want. I'm happy to know Sony is keeping up with the times - and subsequently making me feel better at the amount of cash I had to drop to own one of these "video cameras".

:D
 
Let's not get too far ahead of the announcement. I know we'd all be thrilled if the f3 could record a higher bit rate, but it doesn't seem very likely at this point.
 
Don't even go there on the 50Mbps 4:2:2 on the F3. I and others have said many times that the chipset of the F3 does not support it. The chipset of the Nanoflash supports higherbit rate MPEG2 because it is a dual-chip set. The PMW-200, which will indeed do 50Mbps 4:2:2 is a different firmware than prior cameras. I'll do some digging on the new F3 firmware and will post if there is anything I'm allowed to release.

Ned
 
Yeah, I was only ranting about the data rate. If it can't do 4.2.2 at 50Mbps, it can at least do 4.2.0 at 50Mbps.

However, I have no idea if that is being addressed in this version. I have no idea what new features they are working on this time.
 
100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....100frames a second 'til buffer is full...pls....

;-)
 
How about something easy like LCD showing actual image from S Log. Something like you will be able to judge like in the case of Rec 709.
 
I asked them to consider implementing a remote protocol for servo lens control (zoom, iris, etc.), potentially using the spare port the 3d link uses. I think this greatly increases the practical applications of the F3 servo lens for jibs, vehicle mounts and other remote mounting applications. It also seems like something that is realistically possible in firmware.
 
How about false color, that would be very helpful for shooting S-Log.
And a graphic that displays "TLCS: OFF"

My .02¢
 
Viddovation said:
I asked them to consider implementing a remote protocol for servo lens control (zoom, iris, etc.), potentially using the spare port the 3d link uses. I think this greatly increases the practical applications of the F3 servo lens for jibs, vehicle mounts and other remote mounting applications. It also seems like something that is realistically possible in firmware.
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ABSOLUTELY...with you on this. The onboard zoom rocker is about as useless as the rear EVF. I hope they can fix this so I can use my Microforce on the F3, that would be great for jib work as you say, but also for shooting on the tripod with my Sony servo lens.
 
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