F3

Sony large sensor cams

The Large Sensor Camera that I have pixel envy for currently is the Sony F3:

F3

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-highend/resource.solutions.bbsccms-assets-show-highend-pmwf3.shtml

They have a much cheaper version (NEX-FS 100U) that is really popular due to having the 35mm-ish-size sensor, but it is hobbled in a few ways from a video pro's perspective:

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/micro-nxcamsite/resource.latest.bbsccms-assets-micro-nxcam-solutions-nexfs100ulanding

But they've just announced, pre-NAB the updated version which looks very cool (addresses a lot of the issues, plus does super slo-mo and will do full 4k with a future upgrade) the 700U:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/sony-nex-fs700-cinema-camera/


So the F3 costs too much but is awesome, the 100U is way cheaper but not something I would really want to own, but I'll be really interested to see exactly what and how much the 700 turns out to be - supposed to be under $10k, but I'm not sure if that's with or without lens.

I was kind of hoping for a little brother of the F3 rather than a big brother of the FS100, but I imagine they're selling a lot more 100's and they're cheaper to produce.  I still think there should be a PMW-EX5 or something that updates the EX1 and 3 to a large sensor.  But that's probably not possible in that camera's architecture - again, not sure, just wishful thinking.  This 700 could mostly be it.  Plus the path to 4k inspires confidence in its future viability.

I broke down and pimped my EX1 with a matte box, rails and focus knob from Shoot35.  Nice bang for the buck vs. the major players.  So now there's a place to mount the Samurai and 7" monitor.  
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Arri Amira - We Don' Need No Stinking 4K!

Yeah - no way I could afford it either - but it's pretty!

intro_amira


http://www.arri.com/amira/

The major thing is THEY BUILT A CAMERA THAT YOU CAN PICK UP AND SHOOT WITH like normal cams of yore!  Did you see the adjustable shoulder rest and eyepiece?!  Don't need an effing cage with crap bolted all over it!  AND FULL QUALITY 200fps!  Yowza indeed.

They have some over-the-top grading on the showreel stuff, but I generally like the look of Alexa-stuff over RED.  Haven't ever really cared for the look of a lot RED footage - it seems to have a “hardness” that doesn’t appeal to me.  Still like the look of Sony stuff though - guess I'm a traditionalist.  They get slammed a lot for being excessively red-tinted by people who like the green-leaning look of Ikegami (if they're old like some of us) or the "moody" green grades you see in movies these days.

Still hope to one day either be able to afford (have jobs for) an F3, or maybe an FS-700.  I keep thinking (thought the new EX-3 upgrade, the PMW-300 was going to be it - but it ain't) they're going to combine an EX-style camera with an F3-type sensor and such.

Good article on trying to make sense of sensor size and crop factor:


http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/01/sensor-size-matters-part-1

It's skewed toward still cameras a bit, but overlaps video a fair amount.  Haven't read the whole thing (makes my head hurt), but so far he's left out the whole 3-chip vs. 1-chip deal, which a lot of talk about sensor size tends to do.  Read up on "de-Bayering" - what 1 chip large sensor cameras have to do to make 3 colors.  You have to get up into the F5 kind of money, I believe, before you get into a camera that doesn't have to do a bunch of computational magic to simulate 3 colors (unlike traditional 3-chip cameras).  But most people don't care or know about that.  Big sensors do have a number of benefits that outweigh the negatives - particularly for people that don't ever have to deal with the technical issues!

The other big thing about most of these cameras is that you are typically looking at an investment of 1-2 times the cost of the camera body to fit it out with lens(es) and ancillary gear needed to make it function like a normal, full-on camcorder.  Hence you have all these still photographers that led the charge into DSLR video, since they already had a significant investment in camera lenses.

Even with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (around $1k), you kinda want a good all-around lens with Image Stabilization, etc.  which is going to run you more than $1k -- then you need a boatload of spare batteries (they only last ½ hour) and high-end memory cards, blah blah.  And it's only "Super 16" size (smaller than full 16).  

Speaking of the BMPCC - this is a kinda nice piece shot on it, from Philip Bloom - though largely due to the light and the subject.  If you were standing next to him with your camera (what ever it may be), you would have gotten some really nice footage as well.

https://vimeo.com/72996911

He did a lot of post on it with FilmConvert, etc.

http://philipbloom.net/2013/08/27/pocketcamera/

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