Jump to content

SONY FS5 vs SAMSUNG NX1


DBounce
 Share

Recommended Posts

EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

It's an interesting test in that it proves just how misleading camera specifications can be.  Based on that test one would feel a fool to spend $5,000 for an FS5 body, instead of $1,000 for a NX1. The test shows that, resolution-wise, both cameras output similar footage in a static scene with objects lit within (my guess) 2 stops of each other (if that!), between the white of the photograph paper border and the black in the wall, depicted in the picture.

There's a reason Andrew puts lamps, strings of lights and shadow-producing objects in his test scenes.  It is difficult to shoot a scene of wide dynamic range using reflected light only.  In the real world, where the sky is in the scene outside, or even coming through the windows, there will be 10-20 stops of dynamic range, or brightness from dark to light where each stop at the high or low end would show more or less detail (contrast).

So when a filmmaker looks at Andrew's test scenes, for example, he will look to see how much detail is preserved in the string of lights, or in a shadow.  The book on the table is mostly to show color at middle gray.

Point both cameras at a person sitting on a couch, say, with light streaming through the window, with a mix of highly reflective objects, and light absorbing objects, and then let's see the difference between the FS5 and NX1 :)  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

This is a very basic test but it does show the resolution advantage of oversampling 4K from a 6.5K sensor on the NX1

Doesn't show much else, like what it is like to grade or dynamic range, where the FS5 definitely has an advantage with S-LOG and the 10bit output

Internal 1080p is also much better on the FS5 but good 1080p is pretty commonplace these days so not jumping up and down in excitement too much for that at $5000

I absolutely love my NX1 and the H.265 codec maintains a TON of fine detail in the mids... not so much in the shadows or places where there's not much detail anyway

NX1 with the Novoflex A mount adapter and Sony / Minolta / Zeiss lenses by the way = MEGA!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the test. I see a lot of resolution, low light and dynamic range test on the internet, but if I may, I would love to see more tests of color grading - meaning, how well does the codec holds up in a color grading situation. Cameras can really be split up in two groups : 420 8 bits internal on one side and PRORES/RAW recording on the other side.

The camera of the first group are all subject to banding / macroblocking or noise issues - especially more visible when grading. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a very basic test but it does show the resolution advantage of oversampling 4K from a 6.5K sensor on the NX1

Doesn't show much else, like what it is like to grade or dynamic range, where the FS5 definitely has an advantage with S-LOG and the 10bit output

Internal 1080p is also much better on the FS5 but good 1080p is pretty commonplace these days so not jumping up and down in excitement too much for that at $5000

I absolutely love my NX1 and the H.265 codec maintains a TON of fine detail in the mids... not so much in the shadows or places where there's not much detail anyway

NX1 with the Novoflex A mount adapter and Sony / Minolta / Zeiss lenses by the way = MEGA!!

What fast lenses would you recommend with the Novoflex NX adapter?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've sorta changed my tune recently on 4K. I really like true 1080 better for everything except product/landscape shots.

I have as well.  Last year I upgraded our 3 main sets to 4k (well, UHD) and playing back downscaled 4k I see no real difference between that and 1080p.  At least not on a 60" set.  I remind myself that the TVs all do some 4k sort of 4k upscaling.  People also forget that really good 1080p *can* be cropped, panned, etc. in post as well.  Yes you lose a bit of resolution but if you have really good 1080p it shouldn't matter.  I have 720 blurays that look stunning on a 4k TV.  I sure as hell don't miss the file size / conversion / reduced FPS headache that went along with shooting 4k.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm fine with good 1080P as a delivery size.  I like to pan, zoom and stabilize with 4k NX1 footage - the extra resolution is a plus when editing.  The BMCC has so much going for it when it come to DR, color and short flange distance with the M43 mount, and if the person you purchase from includes the Resolve dongle, having the noise reduction as a part of Resolve is a plus when it comes to playing well with my CPU/GPU.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still not sure why between 1080p and 4K there's a void on these puppies.

Why won't they be like GoPro... they offer you 1440p and 2.7K. Blackmagic figured 2.5K would help. Subtle pans, zooms, re-framing, stabilizing. Just a little wiggle room. No need to get 200% overscale with 4x the real estate 1080p has. Plus, you can get still record in high resolution, but at higher framerates/better bitdata than 4K, if you're going to put it into a 1080p project anyways. That's what I'd love to see. I agree, 4K might be a little overkill and good 1080p still is more than fine, but a little something something extra to work with would be nice...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have as well.  Last year I upgraded our 3 main sets to 4k (well, UHD) and playing back downscaled 4k I see no real difference between that and 1080p.  At least not on a 60" set.  I remind myself that the TVs all do some 4k sort of 4k upscaling.  People also forget that really good 1080p *can* be cropped, panned, etc. in post as well.  Yes you lose a bit of resolution but if you have really good 1080p it shouldn't matter.  I have 720 blurays that look stunning on a 4k TV.  I sure as hell don't miss the file size / conversion / reduced FPS headache that went along with shooting 4k.

As a matter of interest, which Blu-rays do you have that are 720p? I've never heard of any before now....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still not sure why between 1080p and 4K there's a void on these puppies.

Why won't they be like GoPro... they offer you 1440p and 2.7K. Blackmagic figured 2.5K would help. Subtle pans, zooms, re-framing, stabilizing. Just a little wiggle room. No need to get 200% overscale with 4x the real estate 1080p has. Plus, you can get still record in high resolution, but at higher framerates/better bitdata than 4K, if you're going to put it into a 1080p project anyways. That's what I'd love to see. I agree, 4K might be a little overkill and good 1080p still is more than fine, but a little something something extra to work with would be nice...

If BMC had ever actually given us 60p at 2.5 k, I'd own one now… beautiful image, I just find 60p to be really handy sometimes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well in the video that was posted above, the FS5 looks awful and the NX1 looks great, no matter what mode it was shot in. It's hard to tell the difference between NX1 4K and NX1 1080p and it's hard to tell the difference between FS5 4K and FS5 1080p. Both FS5 modes look way worse than both NX1 modes, even the FS5 4K looks worse than the NX1 1080p. The NX1 performs great but that FS5 footage is seriously flawed, so it's hard to compare it to the NX1 really. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • EOSHD Pro Color 5 for All Sony cameras
    EOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs
    EOSHD Dynamic Range Enhancer for H.264/H.265
×
×
  • Create New...