ot: FS100, new toy for me :)

paul_w wrote on 1/19/2012, 5:36 PM

Just wanted to share the happiness i am having with my new gift to myself, Sony FS-100 :) It arrived yesterday.

At last i can start using all my old Nikon glass via a new MTF Nikon->E mount adaptor. yay.

So far good points:
lots, extreamily good in low light, like mind blowingly good and low noise.
Compact.
battery life is probably a whole day's worth on one good battery.
Gazzilions of lenses and mounts to choose from - thats my main reason for purchase.
Real pro balanced XLR mic inputs, not DSLR mini jacks.
Audio metering.
full HDMI HD output, i read its 4:4:4 but not sure about that.
under and over cranking 1 fps to 50, soon to be 60 with a firmware update ( i have the PAL version).
Slow motion, ok its reduced resolution but its 4 x slower. Use at 50fps (or 60) and get full HD resolution at 2 x slower, yes, HD at half speed. Nice.
ohhh, loads of goodies.

Then the bad points:

No built in ND filters, not major, will use a matt box anyway.

Where is the variable GAIN control??? it does not have one, you get 3 settings low, medium and high - these can be preset but you need to go into the menu. DOH!

And the biggy, the images from this camera go yellow if you over expose or hit a highlight in the scene :(( YELLOW!! not white. Not impressed with that. And quite honestly may have even have been a deal breaker had i known about it before hand. That will take some getting used to. Someone tell me how to fix that please.

All in all though, this is brilliant camera so far. And if exposed correctly and with somemore experience, i think this is going to be a lot of fun. Its going on a tripod, and mainly for cinematic use like short films.

there: I wanted to share my initial thoughts. My new toy!

My antidote for bugs and moanings ive been having recently.

Paul.

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Comments

paul_w wrote on 1/31/2012, 5:35 PM

Thanks @atom for the kind words, glad you liked the test. I do want (need) to do more actual outdoor filming. I love camera work. Got a couple of ideas but the weather here has been awful this month so far. So lots of indoor shots, tests etc.. nothing too exciting yet. That will change!

Bob, PMW 350... ohhhhh... :) yep, very much out of my league. Bet thats a lot of fun though. Have you had the pleasure of shooting with it?
1mm DOF.. ha. Im trying to think of a use for that. Bit extreme.

Paul.

paul_w wrote on 2/1/2012, 5:58 PM

Just if anyone may be interested, i did a graded version of Swan Lake..
http://vimeo.com/36049896Swan lake (graded version)[/link]

thanks. hope you like it.

Paul.

Julius_ wrote on 2/1/2012, 8:17 PM

Thanks Paul for your review.

I'm curious to know if you put this camera in 30db gain setting (in night), is the image grainy?

Also, what do you mean by "this camera go yellow"? If you do a white-balance your okay right? Also does it have a customable white balance setting? Meaning you can control the Kelvins (sp?) thru the spindle (higher'ing and lowering)
Thanks

paul_w wrote on 2/2/2012, 4:30 AM

Julius, when i first got the camera i noticed that when the image is over exposed like at the sun for example, you got a yellow image rather than a clean white. It was anoying trying to get bright whites to look white. Apparently the R G B levels from the sensor (or bad processing) do not all get to 255, blue fades earlier and that leaves a yellow cast at the very top.
After some testing, i found that dialing in new profile settings cleared the problem.
I ended up using some profile settings from AbelCine for cinema profiles like the AB_canon5D_techincolor for example. This gives a flat image so needs grading in post but the images are way better and no yelow on highlights. There are other profiles out there and you can make up your own too if you know what your doing.

At 30db Gain, yes there is noticable grain. But saying that, its still a pleasing image to look at, its not a bad video looking grain, more like film i'd say. So even at this crazy Gain level, it could still be used for certain types of shots.

Custom white balance, yes it does. It has the usual indoors outdoors settings and a K setting to dial in your own Kelvin. It also has white balance set, which you can set using a gray card.

The AbelCine profiles are here:
http://blog.abelcine.com/2011/07/25/fs100-scene-files-from-abelcine/

And here is a link to Sam Morgan Moore's explination of the yellow effect. Although like i said, correct profile settings can fix this.
http://dslr4real.tv/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=97&Itemid=1

Paul.

farss wrote on 2/2/2012, 5:21 AM

"Have you had the pleasure of shooting with it?"

No, despite many times my boss / benefactor saying "why don't you take the 350 instead of your piddly EX1?"
Thing is I'd rather use a camera I'm familiar with and sadly I can never find enough time in my life to just shoot for the fun of it.

It is of course a very nice camera for what it was made for, ENG and EFG, everything you need in a hurry is at your fingertips and it sits well on the shoulder. Buried in the menu is considerable ability to customise everything and the main menu is not cluttered up with things you wouldn't normally change. These cameras are one man affairs.

Bob.

paul_w wrote on 2/2/2012, 7:16 AM

"and sadly I can never find enough time in my life to just shoot for the fun of it"..

Thats a shame mate, so hopfully you get enjoyment during your work time shooting. Either that or you get paid a shed load of money :)
My situation is different, i dont get paid at all. This is really a serious hobby for me with the view to extend the hobby to a possible creative outlet. I stopped trying to become a rockstar!! Songwriting and music were always my life, did a few albums, gigs etc. And produced in London. But have now reach that sad point in life when you realise the dream has gone. Filming and editing are now my main pastime. Always learning (thanks to people like yourself) and enjoying the process of doing.
So i'd say enjoy your EX1 - why not, its a good camera.

Paul.

megabit wrote on 2/2/2012, 7:27 AM

Keep dreaming, Paul!

Being a CAD/CAM/CAE engineer by trade, video filming and editing has also been just my "serious hobby" - and yet I have already produced 3 classical music DVDs, and they are actually selling :) Not that I've made a fortune on that (far from that) - but the satisfaction is enormous...

Piotr

paul_w wrote on 2/2/2012, 7:31 AM

Thats very cool. Nice.
To date i have done 3 music videos, one of which got on TV, a few short films and a ton of testing.. Thats about it.. Yeah, i secretly keep dreaming - dont tell anyone! lol.

Paul.

Rory Cooper wrote on 2/3/2012, 12:44 AM

Paul I am still dreaming of getting an FS-100. “Ton’s of Money” don’t care much about, fame not at all, being creative is the reward.

If you want to get work for yourself start looking at below the line corporate stuff. This is bread and butter media and can be very rewarding both financially and artistically.
The web is a powerful marketing tool if you have clips rendered 40megs because most corporate marketing agents and interested people will do this at work and have this as a network limit.

paul_w wrote on 2/3/2012, 6:59 AM

Rory, when you say clips of 40 megs, we are talking resulting file size right? or thereabouts. And suppose i was interested in dipping my toes into this area, where would be a good starting place to do research?.
Not sure if this is for me, but could be tempted if it helps pay the bills.

Paul.

Rory Cooper wrote on 2/3/2012, 8:26 AM

Yes Paul file size.

There are two corporate areas you can look at.

1. The far majority corporate people believe that any digital media production is going to cost them big bucks, that is the perception. when they need video content their attitude is” can we do this without video if not how much can we throw at this. They only do video when it is absolutely necessary. The next step is they go to an ad agency who will storyboard it and turn it into an expensive production when the real requirement was a simple video shoot/edit. when you approach corporate business make it clear that your area is Below the line marketing, that is filming/editing used internally to promote company strategy and other advertising. Below the line budget decisions are made by mid level managers and not top executives. This can lead to above the line more lucrative offers.
2. Marketing yourself. When a corporation or small business needs a videographer they will discuss their needs and afterward “a secretary” will get on the net and look for a person who “vidoes stuff” she will only be able to view content that is bellow 40megs any fancy content as good as it is will be of 0 value. So she is your target market. as crazy as it is she is the one who will hire you. not her bosses. create a web page with her “the secretary who knows absolutely nothing about video” in mind.

Rory Cooper wrote on 2/3/2012, 8:27 AM

message deleted

Remember repetition for emphasis ..lol

paul_w wrote on 2/3/2012, 8:49 AM

Good info Rory, thanks.
So am i correct in thinking this is about aiming at internal business videos rather than videos for public advertising. Thats the impression i get. Ie, Below the line marketing.
That sounds like a logical starting point to me, and a great way to get started.
Its giving me food for thought... I am just treating this as a creavtive hobby, although i am taking it quite seriously and investing in it. But taking a step into making some money from it seems like a big deal for me. So your post is most welcome and i will certainly take a look at it.

Paul.

Rory Cooper wrote on 2/4/2012, 11:28 AM

That’s correct Paul, below the line. you will be surprised at what a wide variety of film/work offers this covers.

megabit wrote on 3/17/2012, 6:32 PM

Paul,

Just thought you could be interested in this

Real FS100 handbook, much better than the user manual

Enjoy!

Piotr

paul_w wrote on 3/17/2012, 8:41 PM

Excellent PDF!
Thanks so much for that.

Paul.