SONY comes out swinging with the NEX FS 700

HyperMedia wrote on 4/10/2012, 12:26 PM

I like the demo. SONY is very aware they are in a dog fight now. These premade video promos are a must to gain buzz. Canon has a head start in the DSLR race.
Sony must fight back with the 4K camera. I like that this camera can film HD now and 4K for the future.

Now...I think SCS needs to have several premade professional promos and TV commercials produced and stamp by SCS and ready to go before releasing Vegas 12. Show severals sample of working with the new SONYNEX-FS700 4K camera. That is HypeMedia at it's BEST!

When I see videos like this in advance. They got me sold. Now I want to hold on to money and save up for this camera. Instead of buying two FS 100's.

http://vimeo.com/39405035

http://vimeo.com/39839187

Comments

VanLazarus wrote on 4/10/2012, 1:35 PM

HyperMedia: "I like that this camera can film HD now and 4K for the future. "

Sorry, have to disagree. I hate this mentality of hardware makers. Either make the camera modular like Red, or make it 4k NOW. It's like adding a carrot for the future... only because of marketing pressure.... Just like I dislike the F3's "but you can record to 4:4:4 through the HDSDI with an external recorder." Why can't the camera makers also make the system that records the better format WITHIN the camera system. Why do I have to buy another piece of external hardware to realize the camera's true potential? It's like Sony is lazy.... we've created a camera with a great sensor, but decided not to design a way to record what the sensor can provide... go to someone else to actually record the video. Isn't a camera a recording device?

HyperMedia wrote on 4/10/2012, 6:54 PM

I understand ...Sony doesn't want to lose anymore sales to JVC 4K and Canon DSLR camera's. My thinking is when JVC 4K and Canon 5d Mark iii camera's were announce. SONY had to make quick draw ---so they wouldn't lose camera sales. Today's Cinematographer's aren't willing to wait until the end of year for a SONY brand release anymore.

I think Sony learned a hard lesson from Canon 5D Mark ii release. I assume they are hoping with this announcement will have the Cinematographer's hold back on purchasing Canon and JVC cameras. Canon 5D Mark iii has already shipped. And, I think JVC 4K is now starting to ship soon.

Sony is in a dog fight for Camcorder / DSLR sales. The sweet spot are $1500 to $16,000.

In addition, I notice Samsung is starting to produce cameras at the low end.

farss wrote on 4/10/2012, 7:50 PM

"Why can't the camera makers also make the system that records the better format WITHIN the camera system."

Weight, power consumption and heat. Ignore the issues the last two raise and you end up with the mess that is Red.
On top of that is the question of flexibility. Not everything needs to be shot at 4K and recorded as RAW for serious post tweaking. There is no camera at any pricepoint that can shoot 2K 10bit S-Log remotely suitable for gun and run. You want the ultimate image then you aren't going to be shooting run and gun because your budget is limited and you'll never afford the cost of serious color grading.

Sony does spend a lot of time working with and talking to the people who use their higher end cameras. They also understand the importance of ergonomics and reliability. I sure wouldn't rate the FS100/700 high on the ergonomics scale but at the pricepoint and for the intended audience it's a reasonable compromise and all things considered I think a better effort than the C300 which is a lot more expensive.

Bob.

NickHope wrote on 4/11/2012, 1:48 AM

This camera interests me more than anything else that has come out in recent years. I had promised myself I would buy 2 identical cameras for my next upgrade, but this might make me settle for one, depending on what else comes out in the next few months.

I have read that not just 4k but 1920-x1080-50/60p also will have to be recorded on the forthcoming external recorder and not internally. Not great, but hopefully the external recorder will be nicely integrated.

Does anyone know if the 4k external recording over HD-SDI is likely to be 4:4:4, 4:2:2 or 4:2:0?

farss wrote on 4/11/2012, 2:02 AM

"Does anyone know if the 4k external recording over HD-SDI is likely to be 4:4:4, 4:2:2 or 4:2:0?"

My understanding is that the 4K output over HD-SDI will be RAW. That means a specialised recorder, lots of number crunching in post and leaves only (maybe) the HDMI output for monitoring unless Sony's external recorder can do all the number crunching and provide a conventional 2K/4K HD-SDI output. Some of this is a bit of an unknown at the moment for me at least.

Certainly it seems the FS700 will give up a bit to the F3 IF you need a feed for client monitoring etc.

Bob.

VanLazarus wrote on 4/11/2012, 4:28 PM

Farss: "Weight, power consumption and heat. Ignore the issues the last two raise and you end up with the mess that is Red."

Mess that is Red? Really? We own a Red Scarlet X and it's hardly a mess. Beautiful 4k images in the most flexible format I've ever used. Heat? Yes, it generates a lot of heat, that's why it has a fan. Weight? Yes, but every feature film rig I've seen is on the heavier side. Is the Scarlet a 'run-n-gun' camera? No. But why try to make a camera that is both a 'run-n-gun' camera and a feature film camera? Sony should make a proper competator against the Red, not try to band-aid a 4k solution onto their current camera line. Stupid marketing driven feature design!

And that added weight you're talking about for the Red? If I have to buy an external recorder and wire it up to the NEX FS700, isn't that adding more weight and clutter? WIll I need an additional power source for that recorder? Seems like more weight, heat, and power consumption for your Sony 4k camera than the modular design Red has.

Is the Red perfect? No. Beta firmware is both a blessing and a curse. A tradeoff of getting cool feature additions with less camera stability. And very expensive accessories! But we love our Scarlet, and have enjoyed using it, and love the images we capture with it. If you want 4k, Red is your company. Red has done what should have been done years ago by the other so-called industry leaders. Create a modular camera system that doesn't require you to throw out everything when your sensor becomes obsolete. It has yet to be seen how their DSMC system will play out, but currently the Scarlet and Epic share all the same components, so when they release a new sensor and/or brain, we can buy that and keep all our other components.

For our 'run-n-gun'/corporate work we bought a Canon XF100.... a great camera for $3k. Different camera for a different role. We also own 2 Canon T2i's.... also amazing camera's for indie filmmaking... under a $1000 each!

But please, Sony, Canon, etc... stop the 4k carrot dangling. Red has beaten you and until you seriously release a proper 4k camera, you're just pretending to compete!