Sony PXW-FS7K

cameragod

Well-known member
what do we think? A large sensor camera that is fun to hand hold without attaching a Meccano set or just more of the same?

So
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
I really like this camera and it's price. With the adapter, looks like a balanced camera.
It can use a power zoom. LIke the arm and the pod to control it.
 

Tv Shooter

Well-known member
Since I got my F5 and rigged it up, I will never go back to a "shoulder" camera again. Yes the FS7 looks like a well balanced camera, and it probably is. Until you change lenses, add a monitor or say a 7Q, or any other accessory on it.

The FS7 has one position it fits on your shoulder. So say the client wants a Fuji Cabrio 85-300, and you're shooting football handheld on the sidelines. You're now very front heavy.

With my F5 and the brand spanking new Zacuto baseplate, I can slide the camera forward and back, changing the center of balance to fit anything on the camera. Canon 30-105? No problem. Swapping lenses and using my 18-35 G&L? Suddenly the camera balance has made it back heavy.....until I just slide the camera forward.

I would rather have 40lbs well balanced that 15 unbalanced on my shoulder. My F5 completely rigged up weighs about the same as my HDX900, but balances much better.

If you want a large sensor camera for under $12K, then this will be a decent investment. But take out the "form factor" part of the equation. Unless you can try it out for an extended time, in the circumstances you normally shoot in, it would suck to decide 3 months later that it really does;t balance all that well, and now you're.....rigging it to balance.
 

Flaca Productions

Well-known member
I'm very interested in this for a B/C camera to my F5 and 800, but mainly I'm thinking this will be THE camera to go on my Ronin.

The stripped down version could be great as weight is the enemy on the gimbal. I can get the F5 on there with the addition of long arms, but it would need to be stripped pretty bare. I like the idea of having the FS7 somewhat setup and ready to go on the Ronin for B-roll, walk/talk, etc.

With a couple of adapters, I have all the lenses I need so it's a small outlay for a billable item. I was thinking of getting the new ENG sled for the F5, but the price of it is nearly the same as a FS7 and I can't bill for the sled.

If you're not in the large sensor field, it looks like a great way to get in and a nice addition to the Sony line. It's not going to kill off the F5 or 55 anytime soon, but I think a LOT of 5/55 owners will be getting these for B/C cameras...
 

2000lux

Well-known member
I'm looking forward to the "Build up Kit." I don't know why these features weren't part of the camera in the first place. It really wouldn't have been hard to do. Now they want us to pay more money for basic features like a white balance switch? Oy.
 
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Tv Shooter

Well-known member
I'm looking forward to the "Build up Kit." I don't know why these features weren't part of the camera in the first place. It really wouldn't have been hard to do. Now they want us to pay more money for basic features like a white balance switch? Oy.
The F5 has a white balance switch. It's on the upper right of the screen. I push that button, it gives me available white balance and I dial it and I'm white balanced.
 

Starman

Well-known member
Nice looking camera, but the adaptor on the back is a must for timecode and such. (That is why I am disappointed the C100 MKII doesn't have timecode in/out)

First question, do y'all think that the FS7 could become as popular as the Canon C300 in those circles of producers? Or, could it be accepted in place of a C300?

For those of you shooting on the F5, handheld sports and such, do you notice any rolling shutter at all since it is not global? Watched some slo mo on YouTube from the F5 and I did NOT notice any at all.
 
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Robin

Well-known member
Haven't shot sports but have shot out of very fast trains and no wobble.. some how they have got rid of the wobble without global shutter.. as with the Alexa..
The only difference I believe now is plain vanilla flash photography .. and even that is now becoming acceptable .. you see it all the time.. strobes also fine..

C300 is pretty well entrenched in a lot of markets.. as its become sort of the generic term for S35mm sensor look..(but in the last year or so.. I have got a lot of the C300 or similar requests .. where as before it was just C300) .. as much as Alexa is in the bigger budget field.. the workflow is know etc.. but for the operator FS7 is a lot better than C300 for all the obvious reason.. but not as good as the F5.. as far as build and VF.. IMHO..
 

Robin

Well-known member
Yes I get this a lot now.. I guess as production managers have been educated by those who bought before me.. or i just tell them my camera is a Sony F5.. quite a few have worked with the F5 or 55 now.. the fact you can offer XDCAM 422 is a bonus as they all know that.. I push towards XAVC.. recently sent a quick 10 second XAVC HD clip.. they wanted to check they could deal with it in post.. on AVID I think.. no problems .. so we shot in XAVC..but wow glad I sold my PMW500.. suddenly everything is S35 sensor.. haven't used any other camera since buying F5 in May .. but found I had to shell out for the Canon CN7 to get around the zoom lens problem.. well for me anyway I wanted to shoot as I had with the PMW500 and Fujinon 4.5 zoom.. one camera,one lens..
With centre crop ( HD /2K ) I can now have 17 to 240 in on lens.. not much better out there than that.. price being pretty heavy off the tripod and front heavy to carry.. but for me its worth the that for being able to get the shot .. wish they put 2K crop as assign button !! still pretty quick if its at the top of user menu..
 

Starman

Well-known member
Hmmm...I have a feeling that this camera will kill the C300 market at least for a while, and could become the next "hot" camera at l least for a while. It also does a lot of things that the F5 does, so it could very well replace the F5 on a lot of shoots as well. Maybe this FS7 coming out is the reason that Sony is offering zero down and zero financing for 12-24 months on F5's because they are getting rid of old stock? I also see it as becoming super popular for reality shooters (currently using C300) because of it's better ergonomics. Seems better suited out of the box for handheld and ENG than is the F5/55 where you have to build a shoulder rig, the servo lens is heavier, etc.

Here are some interesting articles:

http://www.eoshd.com/2014/09/sony-fs7-versus-canon-c300-and-their-own-cameras-too/

https://community.sony.com/t5/F5-F55/Sony-F5-VS-FS7/td-p/457960
 

Run&Gun

Well-known member
While the FS7 is a good value(bang for the buck), it's not an F5/55.

I've also seen a lot of threads/talk about it killing the C300. I think the C300 is too ingrained to be supplanted by it, at least in the broadcast market.
 

tresbeez

Well-known member
As an F5 owner i have to say, when I have my ENG lens on the front, It feels perfectly balanced on my shoulder. It's lighter than my XDCAM, so I could shoot handheld with it all day long.

I mean the F5 kit does come with a shoulder pad, with the exception of having to buy a good B4 adapter its ready to go right out of the box. To me the FS7 looks awkward to hand hold and the body looks too plasticey (thats not a word, right?) It will not takeover the F5 market.
 

Flaca Productions

Well-known member
You're exactly right. I have both the F5 and the FS7 and they're different animals - but with the same/similar sensors (I've read many takes on this and I'm undecided...but really don't care) the FS7 has proven to be a great B cameras to the F5. Easy to color match, same depth and with the right adapters, runs the same lenses that I already use on the F5. I haven't done any real amount of off-the-tripod shooting with the FS7 since that's not why I bought it, but do have a shoulder pad/15mm rails adapter on the way - just in case.

The other things that appeals to me about the FS7 is the low weight. Stripped down, it's the perfect camera for me on my Ronin gimbal.

Replace the F5? I don't think so. Bring people into the large-sensor game where they may eventually move up to the F5/55? You bet.
 
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