Sony FS7 Review – Shooting 150fps in the dead of night

[hmcindie]

studio purely from your living room without ever leaving the house, because the internet really is that powerful, a new 'universe' which we live in whether we like it or not, or even understand it or not (the dinosaurs don't!)

​I once rented from a guy who had a .. "production studio" in his house. The service was really bad and it was only about 40 euros cheaper than a proper rental place. Never doing that again. 

[Nick Hughes]

​ Looks to me the camera is front heavy. The rigs I've seen on line don't seem to get that as they have the balance point too far back.

 

​If you get the expansion unit and a V-lock battery, I bet the balance would be pretty spot on. Of course, that's another $2,000 + batteries and the charger. If you want to shoot RAW, you'll need it anyways. 

 

[DigitalEd]

Is the NX1 part coming soon?

 

[Andrew Reid]

Yep but probably not for another couple of weeks as busy with other stuff.

Love the NX1 internally so much, it doesn't really need the Shogun!

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Yep but probably not for another couple of weeks as busy with other stuff.

Love the NX1 internally so much, it doesn't really need the Shogun!

​It doesn't NEED it, but I'm curious how the video holds up in terms of DR and banding without the added variables of third party H.265 conversion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ed_David]

I  jest with maxotics...because he's delusional. Much too sensitive and political correct...and parental....to a bunch of strangers.  I question someone's sanity when I see that. However, he seems like a well meaning kid.

Phil Kenny - a grumpy cat, un-talented DP, cruising EOSHD because he has no work and no fan base. Jealousy and poverty is a bad combo. This sad clown is just pathetic. I actually feel sorry for the motherfucker. Another lost, lonely douchebag in the city of angels.

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The FS7 can take some pretty pictures..its just not the best ergo/or time saving machine - production or post.

SLOG 3  is a HUGE learning curve, and an enormous time succubus....even if you know what you're doing.

The brand new Canon C300 ll will put it out of it's short life.

I do think Sony is very progressive, and will no doubt come out with something else within a year.  Gotta respect that. 

For low budget indie shooters/music video guys, the A7s ll will probably be a dream come true. 

​lafilm, my goal now is to reveal who you are.

You remind me of some weird Begby-type person who uses slang like "cat" and "geeze" and "city of angels" - no one who lives in LA has ever called Los Angeles the "city of angels" so there's that - 1.  older probably male 2.  definitely doesn't live in LA.  3.  check the time stamps.  4.  check the IP.  5.  check all of his posts - cross check with facebook posts of a catfish "woman" from LA who also commented recently on the untalked about issue.  6.  wait for him to bite 7.  compile more lists 8.  or move on with my life and have to deal with finishing the coloring on a friend's film - maybe I should stop procrastinating

-BATMAN

[Wulf]

​ my goal now is to reveal who you are.

...

​No.

No please.

 

stop it right here

[IronFilm]

I could compromise my editorial pretty badly here in an effort to nurture that relationship. What for? I might get the occasional chance at a workshop (Samsung have already asked), but I'd rather be out shooting so would turn it down any way.

​Please do a workshop for Samsung! Would help bring NX1 even further into the spotlight and get adopted more widely.

[Mozim]

I'll be shooting with a Sony FS7 that I just rented. It's a personal project and I'll have my Nikon D750 (which I love) with my but I'd like to experiment with 4K/60p and high frame rates, so the FS7 made sense. 

I'm not very familiar with Sony cameras. Are there any issues or quirks that I should be aware of and avoid? Also, as far as I understand there are several different picture styles with different color gamuts. I'd like to give SLOG3 a try and use the Cine EI, so if I understood everything correctly that will give me the most dynamic range and I'll shoot at the native ISO of 2000. What's the best way to set exposure then? 

[Nick Hughes]

I'll be shooting with a Sony FS7 that I just rented. It's a personal project and I'll have my Nikon D750 (which I love) with my but I'd like to experiment with 4K/60p and high frame rates, so the FS7 made sense. 

I'm not very familiar with Sony cameras. Are there any issues or quirks that I should be aware of and avoid? Also, as far as I understand there are several different picture styles with different color gamuts. I'd like to give SLOG3 a try and use the Cine EI, so if I understood everything correctly that will give me the most dynamic range and I'll shoot at the native ISO of 2000. What's the best way to set exposure then? 

Your only exposure controls are ND, aperture and shutter speed, to be used in that order IMO. If you're using LUTs in-camera, you can control how the dynamic range is spread out by 'rating' it at different ISOs, but ultimately the camera is still recording at 2000. It becomes tricky in low light situations since you can't raise the ISO, and underexposing SLOG can lead to lots of noise. 

Sounds like you've already done a bit of research, so using the camera shouldn't be too much of a shock. Spend 30 minutes digging through all the menus, customizing your user menu and assignable buttons and you'll be good to roll. Shooting 180fps continuous is a joy. 

[Mozim]

Your only exposure controls are ND, aperture and shutter speed, to be used in that order IMO. If you're using LUTs in-camera, you can control how the dynamic range is spread out by 'rating' it at different ISOs, but ultimately the camera is still recording at 2000. It becomes tricky in low light situations since you can't raise the ISO, and underexposing SLOG can lead to lots of noise. 

Sounds like you've already done a bit of research, so using the camera shouldn't be too much of a shock. Spend 30 minutes digging through all the menus, customizing your user menu and assignable buttons and you'll be good to roll. Shooting 180fps continuous is a joy. 

Thanks Nick! Yeah I guess I'll play around with it tomorrow when I get it and then see how it goes. 

I haven't had a lot of time to read about the FS7 but then again NDs, aperture and shutter speed aren't exactly rocket science. 

Going above ISO 2000 won't be an issue so I'm not worried about that. Is there anything else I need to pay attention to when I shoot in the Cine EI mode? As far as I'm aware, you can't change a whole lot when shooting in that setting. So my idea is to set the camera to the Cine EI-mode, then chose SLOG 3 picture style / color gamut, adjust exposure / shutter speed / white balance / ND and then start shooting. Does that sound about right? Also, what's the best way to expose when shooting in Cine EI / SLOG 3? So far I've always relied on the histogram of my cameras. I've read that I should set the Zebras to 66% when shooting in SLOG3, is that correct? And does the FS7 need to be overexposed by 2 stops like the A7s?

Again, thanks for all the help!

[RRRoger]

Andrew, I for one am really glad you posted the Video.

It shows me what I can actually expect from the FS7 on poor/low light.

I imagine 60 fps to be about twice as good and 24-30 to be quite usable.

As for your dislike of the Menu, If it is like the A7s/A7sII, I concur.

 

If the Nikon D500 disappoints me, I may cave and try the FS7.

So far the A7s is the only camera that delivers good footage in the poor/low light that I shoot in 95% of the time.

[deezid]

First time I've been using this camera. Call me impressed! The dynamic range is nothing but incredible.