F5: Upgrading the Sony PMW-F3, to a F5 or FS7?

[Run&Gun]

3) FS7 uses cheaper XQD cards for media. (You may have SxS cards from your F3 but unless they are the later faster cards they won't handle some of the 4K framerates on the F5)

Chris Young

The F55/5 can use Sony XQD cards in Sony SxS adapters for all internal frame rates, resolutions and codecs.

This is what my sales rep actually told me to do instead of the very expensive SxS cards.

We have not mentioned OXCN codec.. my fluffy memory says that might have been a FW upgrade to the 5/55 and might be a really good thing.. the FS7 codec is a bit thin (yes the 400mbs 4k is thin compared I guess with a C200 raw or shuchlike)

You have to have the R7 to shoot XOCN(and the VERY expensive proprietary AXS cards). But by all accounts, it’s an awesome codec.

When I was looking for an upgrade from my two F3s a couple years ago, the advice I got was that very few clients have heard of an F5, but more were familiar with the F55. This makes it an easier upsell. You can also get the AXS back for it and shoot raw or or other high end files if you need to.

I'm still making money every day with my F55...and have not had a bit of pushback when I tell an FS-7 mentioner that this is the FS7's better big brother.

That being said, usable autofocus and a variable ND wheel on the FX9 would be nice to have some days.

I have gotten jobs JUST because I had an F55.

Ironically, I did a shoot last year and I had to fight tooth-and-nail to use my F55 and 17-120, instead of an Fs7/Fs7II. And it wasn’t even a money thing, because I told them I’d do it for the rate they were paying(I was willing to sacrifice to make it easier on myself not having to deal with rental headaches).

 

[cyvideo]

The F55/5 can use Sony XQD cards in Sony SxS adapters for all internal frame rates, resolutions and codecs.

This is what my sales rep actually told me to do instead of the very expensive SxS cards.

Agreed. This is the way to go as you will need the SxS Pro+ to handle all speeds and bit rates on the F5/F55 as the earlier cards, the SxS-1 and SxS Pro only support 240 and 400Mbps respectively. The original cards developed by Sandisk for Sony were only suitable for the 35Mbps XDCam 420 codec in the F3 and the EX1 and 3 series and the original PDW three-chip 1/2" XDCam that only had the 35Mbps codec. The last time I checked down here the 128GB XQDs were around A$300.00 and the 128GB SxS Pro+ was around A$1,400.00. A no-brainer for the use of XQD cards in place of SxS for those two cameras. The only thing to watch out for is that some of the earlier SxS cameras didn't have firmware upgrades that could take advantage of XQD cards and their larger capacities. So if using XQD in SxS adapters check that your camera firmware can be upgraded to use XQD and if it can that your firmware is up to date. Since the introduction of the XQD 120GB and 240GB cards some cameras cannot be upgraded to handle those newer cards in SxS adapters.

Chris Young

 

[captslomo]

Yeah, sometimes the worst thing for an F55 owner is a 22 year old AP reading off a camera checklist from an advertising agency.

 

[Doug Jensen]

The F55/5 can use Sony XQD cards in Sony SxS adapters for all internal frame rates, resolutions and codecs. This is what my sales rep actually told me to do instead of the very expensive SxS cards.

The XQD to SxS adapters have been discontinued. So if you don't already have them, you might have trouble finding them. I scooped up the last one I could find on Amazon about 6 months ago just to have an extra. And i know that a major reality show has been looking everywhere for them and coming up empty.

 

[Grug]

The XQD to SxS adapters have been discontinued. So if you don't already have them, you might have trouble finding them. I scooped up the last one I could find on Amazon about 6 months ago just to have an extra. And i know that a major reality show has been looking everywhere for them and coming up empty.

That's a pretty big deal. SxS cards are not cheap or easy to come by.

 

[dc4040]

Glad to know that ... almost got sucked into the vortex of ordering one from MPB

Too many hurdles to overcome at this point to make sense ...

 

[IronFilm]

A top sony mirrorless probably costs the same as an old alexa now - the question is if it is better (businesss tool)

One way to look at it, is that 5yrs from now the a7Smk3 will be old old news, but an ARRI Alexa would still be cool. (although it would be tough to find even an Alexa Classic for US$3.5K! But for only a grand more? It might be doable with luck)

The F55/5 can use Sony XQD cards in Sony SxS adapters for all internal frame rates, resolutions and codecs.

This is what my sales rep actually told me to do instead of the very expensive SxS cards.

Sadly the XQD/SxS adapter cards are no longer available to buy.

Ironically, I did a shoot last year and I had to fight tooth-and-nail to use my F55 and 17-120, instead of an Fs7/Fs7II. And it wasn’t even a money thing, because I told them I’d do it for the rate they were paying(I was willing to sacrifice to make it easier on myself not having to deal with rental headaches).

See, I don't want to have to fight tooth and nail for a job that an FS7 would have easily done, that sounds like quite a big negative against the F5/F55 if a person is just doing mundane run of the mill average low/mid budget shoots where they want a camera matching their FS7 shoots.

Yeah, sometimes the worst thing for an F55 owner is a 22 year old AP reading off a camera checklist from an advertising agency.

Exactly that.

The XQD to SxS adapters have been discontinued. So if you don't already have them, you might have trouble finding them. I scooped up the last one I could find on Amazon about 6 months ago just to have an extra. And i know that a major reality show has been looking everywhere for them and coming up empty.

That sucks! :-/ No wonder I can't even find them secondhand either.

Anybody know if SD to SxS adapters work? Seeing as SD cards can be very fast these days.

 

[Grug]

See, I don't want to have to fight tooth and nail for a job that an FS7 would have easily done, that sounds like quite a big negative against the F5/F55 if a person is just doing mundane run of the mill average low/mid budget shoots where they want a camera matching their FS7 shoots.

To be fair, with a LOT of jobs that have requested FS7s over the past few years, I've never once (not one time) had any pushback whatsoever to using an F5 or F55 instead.

So I really wouldn't worry too much about that.

With the XQD adapter availability issues though, I'd definitely stick to looking at camera packages that come with enough media for a day's shooting. No need to discount the cameras entirely, just be specific on the components you're going to need to get a working package together.

 

[IronFilm]

With the XQD adapter availability issues though, I'd definitely stick to looking at camera packages that come with enough media for a day's shooting. No need to discount the cameras entirely, just be specific on the components you're going to need to get a working package together.

Yes, but it is pushing me back towards the FS7 even though I'd prefer an F5. As would be easier to put together a FS7 kit, vs trying to find a cheaply priced F5/F55 that *also* comes with the right media too.

 

[IronFilm]

Wellll... just finished up a shoot using an URSA Mini Pro

Nice cameras. But oh man did I wish I had more outputs!

Only 2x SDI :-o One used though for the SSD card, and another used for the EVF

Thus in reality I had ZERO outputs spare :-o :-/

A far cry short of the F5 (or even FS7) which has 4x SDI + HDMI

The other negatives were: uses DOUBLE the power consumption of a F5/FS7 (roughly 50W ish vs roughly 25W ish), and also you can't delete ever any clips in camera.

Plus a bit of a minor mild heart attack with how much footage was shot, the better part of a terabyte once you round up.

Am used to measuring my daily total in gigabytes! Could count it on my fingers, on one hand.

This is another con for the URSA Mini Pro, and a pro for the F5/FS7, the UMP can't do proxy recordings! As it would be nice to have automatically recorded a proxy recording to upload now for review/edit over in London, and just for general peace of mind. (for instance I always keep backups for many months into the future when I'm the Sound Mixer for a shoot, but I couldn't imagine doing that if I was filming heaps of content! But perhaps I might keep the proxies well into the future as an emergency back up "just in case" to save the day in the future?)