FS7: Would You Buy A Panasonic AU-EVA1?

Is that XLR really sticking out of the back of the camera ..YES it is !.. looks like no way to use V mount .. no EVF.. .. small battery/screen only hipster cam.. best used on a state board .. groan..

Jesus ..now many more of these identical toy cameras are going to be produced..
 
You know the thing.

The fs7 has two problems for solo shooting. Mass and Evf cable length. The Evf cable means one can never create a balanced rig that one can use with a loupe and no counter mass - it is just not possible due to physics.

The canon and the panny have it on mass.

So Evf cable length is the defining spec!
 
I've never had issues with the EVF cable but then again what suits one might be wrong for the other.

I won't consider the Panasonic but coming Sony cameras are very interesting.

As I see it Sony sits on the key components like BSI stacked sensors, IBIS, phase detection covering most of the sensor and electronic ND and it's now time to implement them.

I actually have two cameras on order with BSI sensors and more inside.
 
To Morgan

Yes but you actually want mass for stability.. (cable length aside.. Sony should sort that out for the Fs7).. these toy cams.. small battery,SD card, no shoulder ,non EVF.. ok there is a market for it I guess.. gimbal etc.. but what abut the job cameraman /women .. there was a skill involved.. you needed to learn some skills and the pay was pretty good.. now we have "professional" camera people saying cameras are rubbish because they are too big ,dont have stabilization in the lens and camera body..the recoding cards are too expensive and to top it all off.. dont have auto focus !!.. thats just pointing a toy box at your subject and pressing a button.. preferably on a skate board.. its a slippery slope.. these cameras are aimed at, and again I use the term loosely .. director/shooters.. not actual professional camera ops.. i.e. 20 yr old interns on $300 a week.. who are so lucky to work in the media.. or actual real directors who are being forced to shoot and hating it..

Really you think the fs7 is too big for solo shooters.. its tiny.. no?
 
To me the fs7 is indeed too big.

The game probably has changed "since your day" (ducks for abuse) - the jobbing beta camera op did sticks a bit of shoulder and got out a wally dolly on a corporate. This beast is extinct.

Such "simple" shooting no longer cuts it. The expectation now is to spice it up with moves bokeh and hfr. All with enough dr to not have to gel the windows and "hold up production" by setting lights!
With the new requirements beta style cams are way too heavy. Of course I get that low mass on the shoulder is a challenge.

Does the new way improve story telling and make better content? Not me to judge.

Are fewer slipped discs and hernias good - yep :)
 
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upgrading the business from GH4/5 or any other DSLR it will be very tempting because on specs it has the highest value for the money.
Personally I can't imagine to swap the whole FS7 eco-system. The only thing I am really missing is manual WB in CineEI or even better CineEI color science in custom mode.
 
How can you decide anything from they told you here. Just not enough detail. It has V-Log - Ok great - can you color balance it or is it like Sony's 3 presets. So many other questions. Frankly i started to get suspicious when Mitch ,who certainly knows better, started explaining why not having an EVF was a good thing- I mean who needs one- Huh?! Thats when I started wondering whether he had any input at all or like Sony was this just a bunch of engineers not talking to real users before they start designing their cameras and the reps get stuck trying to explain them.

Size looks great (esp for gimbals) but do they have a shoulder configuration? Don't tell me some third party guys will figure that one out. If you want sell a camera make a workable system. Would love to get back to Panasonic color though.
 
Yep I want a camera that I can see what I'm shooting and hear what audio I'm recording - troublesome oddball behaviour I know.

And on a sunny day an Evf delivers that.

(Currently I live with my 502 with a very big hood - not ideal)
 
LennyLevy said:
Frankly i started to get suspicious when Mitch ,who certainly knows better, started explaining why not having an EVF was a good thing.. .
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ha ha, same thought. I remember him pussyfooting around and selling the huge delay of Convergent Design 7Q features.

btw: how will they manage to record 4K/400mbs on a SD Card?
 
Liam Hall said:
Well would you?

Specs look great. Wonder if those red lines light up when you hit record...

https://vimeo.com/220076198

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It looks a nice camera but...

I had a big discussion about when to replace the FS7 with my work colleagues and we came to the following conclusions.

The upgrade must result in clients seeing better images and assist with production/post production.

In no particular order,

Better sensitivity and lower noise.

Significantly greater dynamic range.

At least 6k so debayered is real 4k.

Artefact Free 4k HFR up to at least 120fps but would prefer 1080 at 240 and 4k at 150.

XAVC, XAVC 480 and internal ProRes like codecs. Decent RAW output unlike FS7.

Smaller package if possible.

We felt that if the camera wasn't a significant upgrade then it was just tinkering and neither the clients nor we would see a huge benefit over what we already had.

There isn't enough of a step forward with the new Panny to warrant buying it but it looks an interesting camera for those trading up from DSLRs or handycams.
 
You are right that is has to change some game not be a minor upgrade.. put you in a different place... but image delivery may not be the only key to that.. it is the real small subtelties.

What could change my game?

-Ability to cycle/hand luguage

(this probably means an evf on a long wire and lower mass than FS7)

-decent remote control/monitoring with app

-small enough for roninM

-AF ?

-18-150 lens solution (would probably need to be MFT!)

-Really really solid 444/raw codec onboard?

The two new cameras both see a minor upgrade to the FS7 - are they game changers.. that is far less obvious.


(Especially if you dont have the budget for the 18-80 canon in your upgrade package)

S
 
morgan_moore said:
You are right that is has to change some game not be a minor upgrade.. put you in a different place... but image delivery may not be the only key to that.. it is the real small subtelties.
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If the FS7 III was the size of the FS5 ( or the FS5 II was an FS7) it might be an interesting camera. I'd buy it given the choice between small package and full size.

I think the FS7 will be the last big cam my colleagues buy. Throwing the camera about has far more appeal, their DJI gimbal cam gets used a lot more than than it should.

Edit. I think camera companies are very close to releasing a camera that people simply won't need to upgrade from so you'll probably see very tiny incremental improvements over the coming years. 10 bit 4k HFR decent codec, high sensitivity etc etc how do they get you to buy another camera?
 
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LennyLevy said:
How can you decide anything from they told you here.
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True. There's a lot of speculation at this point. But it certainly looks more promising than the C200.

LennyLevy said:
Frankly i started to get suspicious when Mitch ,who certainly knows better, started explaining why not having an EVF was a good thing- I mean who needs one- Huh?!
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I just shot a bunch of TVCs on Red Epic, no EVF in sight - and I love my EVFs! I'm sure people will make loupes and other rigs once little EVA hits the streets.
 
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morgan_moore said:
My personal desire for a light camera comes with my grid locked city - I want to ride my bike to little jobs or fly hand luggage only.
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Using EVA as opposed to my FS7 would make little difference to the kit I usually fly with. This is my hotel right now and at around 85KG it's about the lightest load I take anywhere:

IMG_3558.jpg
 
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