Cinematography : Sony FS7 field feedback? by Eric Peter Abramson

Haven't had a chance to rent one to test for myself, but from the tests I've seen online, it feels a lot like video. I don't really see the filmic choppiness from the electronic shutter. But then again, I haven't tested it myself. And you might be able to get a look out of the camera I've never seen before. And it really depends on what you're going for. My goal has always been feature films and narrative drama tv shows, so I always go for a filmic feel. But from what I've noticed, i didn't see that from the FS7. Have you rented it and tested it? If so I'd love to know what you came up with haha.

Not sure what you have been looking at but the Super 35 CMOS in the FS7 & F5 are more than capable of emulating "filmic" looks. The S-log3 is awesome for that purpose but It requires a color grade and/or application of LUTs to bring that beauty out. I shot film for years before HD. An individual's idea of "film look" is highly subjective. One should Consider how the camera moves in the scene, DoF utilized, selected frame rate, and how the sequence is lit/shot/edited to be a way stronger influence in making high performance video cameras look more like film. Check out this nice overview using preset Film emulation LUTs http://youtu.be/8VHDZQQqP1g

I'm mostly referring to the shutter. The tests I saw were done by a reviewer who's primary focus was stills and not motion picture capturing. But It's like I said, I haven't done any tests myself and I'm sure you'd be able to come up with something better.

I'm about to buy one! I actually think the canon c300 mk ii will be really sweet, but it's twice the cost. With a speed booster on the fs7, gaining a stop on all my canon lenses doubles the value for me by itself. The image from it looks good and even better with an external recorder. I too haven't been blown away by what I've seen on YouTube.... But I think that's due to people posting only shallow depth of field, slow mo, uncorrected or poorly corrected slog footage, for the most part. When I saw it on set the footage looked great, and I was DIT so I spent some time with it. My thinking is that it is a great value, with everything I need for a variety of work environments (with the extension), and I'm spending more on lenses and accessories that will last me through another camera in 3-5 years. Curious to hear other peoples' thoughts.

Hi Peter, I've used the FS7 a few times on shoots and I think its a great camera. It's not small but it depends on what you've been using in the past. I wanted to get the 4kraw like you used to get out of the FS700 into a Odyssey Q7 but that doesn't work unless you buy a Sony adaptor that costs an extra £1500 just to get a raw output!! This adaptor also give you prores back into the camera which is a great option too plus a Vlock battery capability but it is an expensive addition. Plus if you want to record 4K raw and 2K raw slo motion you will need the Q7. Saying that recording internally is actually really good and the detail of the XAVC format is amazing and has loads of room for grading so I think you can get away with not shooting raw for a lot of work and still be very happy. The XAVC does slow down editing and grading in this compressed format so you'll need fast machines or transcode to prores. I found out that premiere won't work with XAVC unless you have the latest CC version and I think FCPX is just about to release a version that works with those files too. One other nice thing is the sony zoom lens has stabalisation and it's quite a nice lens for the money (about £2k). You'll also need a good shoulder pad and tripod adaptor for it and Zacuto and Vocas make good ones. Other camera options I would put it up against is the new C300mkII but also the new Black magic URSA mini which is less money and has a lot of similar specs. I'm seriously looking at that camera now. Hope that helps a bit. Adrian

better latitude than a C300, i think you'll be amazed at its capabilities, don't forget to get Catalyst Browse, and try Catalyst Prepare/Edit too.

I just spent the day with the Metabones Emount to EF adapter, and a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 lens. I will post the results later, I was supposed to shoot surfing, ended up shooting some sailing. I was a little frustrated, it seemed like every time I changed the iris up or down, my viewfinder flickered. It seemed like a short, and I was a little concerned. I think I might stick with Emount lenses for now.