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Reasons not to buy a used F3 package


John Palmer
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Other than they are oldish and max out at 1080p ( A pretty good looking 1080p though) I can't think of a true reason, other than finances, to not buy one

It seems really tempting when there are so many sitting on ebay in the sub $2000 range

I worked on shoots with them years ago and they seemed pretty reliable but I was just 2nd AC, so did not really do anything with the camera itself. It seemed to perform pretty well in low light too

Users of the F3:

What was your least favorite thing about it?

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

My least favorite thing was that I don`t own one :)

My favorite indie movie camera...image vise, athough diferent for me is on par with the alexa. Too bad I shoot clips where I need slow motion, othervise I would have own one. I did a documentary on it and it was flawless, the 1080p out of it is as clean as red 4k+, at least I can`t really tell a diference. 

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Thanks jagnje! I agree. Do you think that is has a better color science than Sony's new cam's?

I found this video awhile ago that I thought was pretty awesome looking (a little long for what it is but its looks like it handles the shadows very nicely

 

skin tones look great compared to a Scarlett too ( Though If the dude was better at grading It could look better)

 

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I believe when it comes to colour, S-Log was way better implemented on their Cinealta range than on the Alpha range.  ie. the implementation of S-Log on the f3, f35 and f65 was more carefully undergone and delivers more trustworthy results.  I expect @Ed David could shed some insight on the Cinealta range from the era of the F3.

Looking at the F3, I can't see a reason not to go for it at the current price.  as long as you can budget for an aftermarket fz mount adaptor or PL mount glass, as well as rigging and the external recorder for 4;4;4 you'll likely not find a more powerful camera.  I'd take 4;4;4 1080p from the F3 over any 4k dslr.

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The relatively heavy weight of the F3 when rigged with essential accessories is probably its main disadvantage for some these days, who might be too accustomed to 1080p and 4k cameras to be in a matchbox form factor and light as a feather. If you shoot handheld with F3 for longer than 30mins, you really start to feel it. But the very few times (twice) I've used an F3 it was a delight. The added weight really helps deliver 'weighty' looking handheld shots that look so much more professional than DSLR handheld nonsense. 

Body only it was $16,000 new, and is now sub $2,000 used for a 6 year old camera is quite a jump since it still shoots solid 1080p with very nice colours, when Sony used to not cut corners by cramming compressed codecs into ever-increasing tiny boxes. With external recorder for 4;4;4 it will still kick many modern cameras to the curb in the 'pretty pictures with little fuss' category...yet with a slight caveat of knowing it is pretty easy to build into a hefty beast that may not be to everyone's tastes for a 1080p camera.  

If you can work out what lenses to adapt or hire in PL's for a project - The F3 sure has some shine left in it.

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2 hours ago, richg101 said:

@Ed David

Looking at the F3, I can't see a reason not to go for it at the current price.  as long as you can budget for an aftermarket fz mount adaptor or PL mount glass, as well as rigging and the external recorder for 4;4;4 you'll likely not find a more powerful camera.  I'd take 4;4;4 1080p from the F3 over any 4k dslr.

Hey Rich,

also thinking about getting a F3 for our school. I was told it´s ready for 10bit 4:2:2 over SDI, right away out of the box.

Is that true? I only know about the paid for update for 899USD for SLOG and 4:4:4.

Also, is it possible to put another mount other than PL on the FZ mount, like EF or Nikon?

cheers, Marty

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4 minutes ago, Cinegain said:

The FZ-mount is regarded as a highly adaptable mount. I saw RJ did some: http://www.rjcamera.com/ocart/index.php?route=product/category&path=20_67

Wow, fantastic! Thank you for this great hint!

It´s really getting tempting to buy one. Now just wondering about the 10bit 4:2:2 for models before March 2012 without the update and sofore without SLOG and 4:4:4:)

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3 hours ago, John Palmer said:

Thanks jagnje! I agree. Do you think that is has a better color science than Sony's new cam's?

I found this video awhile ago that I thought was pretty awesome looking (a little long for what it is but its looks like it handles the shadows very nicely

 

skin tones look great compared to a Scarlett too ( Though If the dude was better at grading It could look better)

 

Well, I did not do any grading of that footage, but when I saw the doc I was like...I shot that?!?!? It is that good!  Weight was a plus for me. I will shoot a well balanced camera the whole day if needed. Shooting with a BMC production cam or any dslr style camera on a shoulder rig, where most of the weight falls on your arms...that 5kg setup will give you far more back problems than a properly balanced 10kg one. I just don't see why the f3 would neot be a very revelant film camera for years to come. The image it produces has so much detail...no sub 5k dslr will not touch it anytime soon, if ever.

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I own an F3 myself and I've been quite an advocate online for giving this camera a fresh breath of life in 2015/2016.

If you can overlook these factors:

Isn't 4K (but 2K/1080 is still more than good enough for most deliverables for the next couple of years plus)

Isn't raw (but raw is overkill for many people's projects. While I feel 10bit 422 is a perfect sweet spot for most cases)

Isn't the latest shiny new toy  (but you'll be like the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland if you try to play that game, constantly running nonstop just to stay in place as you try to keep up. Because there will always be a new shiny toy just around the corner which is about to be released)

Doesn't have super slow motion (but 60fps FHD can meet the majority of most people's slow motion needs for the bulk of their projects. And just rent an FS700 for cheap when you need better. Or even buy a Sony RX10 mk2 for cheap slow motion usage, it can double up as your matching gimbal camera as well! Has slog too)

Doesn't have AF (but to many filmmakers that is a complete non-issue)

Is rather bulky (but that extra weight can be beneficial for stability, means you're not left with those handheld "shakeycam" footage like you might get from a DSLR if shooting in the same manner. Plus unfortunately first appearances do matter.... thus for those kinds of clients they'll love to see your built up F3 rig!)

 

....then (if those factors above are not deal breakers) you've got what I believe is the best possible camera that you can buy today for under US$2k!

As nothing in that price bracket (including many options costing thousands more) can offer what the F3 can in terms of: feature set, low light capability, S35 sensor, built in ND filters, XLR inputs, SDI outputs, 12bit 444, slog, 60fps FHD, dynamic range, solid & versatile interchangeable mount system (including expensive high end PL lenses or an affordable Nikon F set, or many other options), and more.

 

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5 hours ago, dbp said:

^damn, I didn't realize the F3 was spec'd like that. That really does sound like an insane deal for 2K. Like a souped up Canon C100.

Nah, more like a souped up C300 ;-) Other than size (debateable... I personally hated shooting with the top heavy C300. But then again an F3 needs a recorder), and being "Canon" (which is bullshit but unfortunately "real" reason that is given), a F3 (with external recorder) has a C300 beaten in absolutely every way.

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Safety Not Guaranteed was shot on an F3:

 


Interestingly is I believe it was shot entirely internally recorded and was done pre slog update.

The difference between that F3 camera they shot with and an F3 with slog and external recorder is like the difference between a 90lb weakling vs Arnie Schwarzenegger in his prime and on steroids!

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1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

Safety Not Guaranteed was shot on an F3
Interestingly is I believe it was shot entirely internally recorded and was done pre slog update.

The difference between that F3 camera they shot with and an F3 with slog and external recorder is like the difference between a 90lb weakling vs Arnie Schwarzenegger in his prime and on steroids!

Loved this film, looked great. Very interesting it was all shot internally.

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2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Safety Not Guaranteed was shot on an F3:

 


Interestingly is I believe it was shot entirely internally recorded and was done pre slog update.

The difference between that F3 camera they shot with and an F3 with slog and external recorder is like the difference between a 90lb weakling vs Arnie Schwarzenegger in his prime and on steroids!

If a film shot on the F3 can land you a job directing Jurassic World, and Star Wars Episode IX then why not? Look's great in my opinion.

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thanks for the comments fellas. My thoughts exactly. I owned a gh4 for the past 1.5 years but sold it to a buddy for $2g + accessories. Kept all my Contax Zeiss primes and Tokina 28-70 f2.6-2.8 though. I have seen several FZ to nikon and EF adapters. Was feeling like the gh4 wouldn't be worth as much in the next 6 months. Always been a fan of bigger cameras and I never used anything over 60p on the gh4, so the slow motion capabilities of the f3 isn't a deterring factor. No AF is definitely not a problem either

I believe For Safety Not Guaranteed they did shoot it on the f3 but did a film transfer. At least that's what I remember it saying on IMDB. I thought it was a good looking film either way

 

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Can you actually take off the top handle with the viewfinder? With a lot of the older systems I feel like the monitor and EVFs are so "old tech" that it would be best if you can just take them off and replace them with the system of your choice with HDMI or SDI connection. They also could get in the way when rigging it.

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