Why I traded my Sony PXW-FS5 for a FS7

SONY FS5 WITH SONY 18-105 F4 KIT LENS

Late November I was an early adopter of the Sony FS5. I was very excited about this new camera after I had played with it at IBC 2015 in Amsterdam.

It had the same super 35mm sensor as the FS7, a camera I had been eyeballing from the moment it was announced but which seemed too intimidating and costly.

When the FS5 came out, I figured this was a mini FS7 and I felt it was meant for me. This was not as much based on reality as it was on desire. Even after visiting Alister Chapman's workshop on the FS5 I failed to see that this camera was not a small FS7, even though Alister emphasized this. Although he phrased it a little differently by saying it was 'not a cinema camera' like the FS7. There were so many things I did like about the FS5, like the variable ND, the handy viewfinder, super slow motion and the fact that it fit in my bicycle messenger bag.

I was set on the camera and pre-ordered one. Late November I received it.

NOTHING BEATS THE SMELL OF A FRESH CAMERA...

After having test-shot the FS5 and filmed part of an assignment with it, I soon became frustrated and desillusioned. The quality in UHD was not what I expected, especially in low light. The kitlens is very hard to focus manually and autofocus is slow and not accurate the few times I tried it. The compact form factor of the camera actually works against you when trying to shoot handheld. The package with the kitlens is fine when you cradle the camera or do very short takes through the viewfinder. But when you use a bigger, heavier lens, possibly in combination with a SpeedBooster and you add a wireless receiver, an external mic, a (in my opinion mandatory) loupe and a big BP-U60 or even U90 battery, you have one very heavy, small package that cannot be handheld for extended periods of time. It is much easier to balance a 'large', heavy package than a 'small', heavy package. When I started looking for a loupe and a shoulder-solution, I realized I was building a FS7.

I traded my FS5 in for the FS7 -with considerable loss- but have nonetheless been extremely happy with the decision.

THE SONY PXW-FS7 WITH VOCAS BASEPLATE & CANON FD 50MM 1.4

First surprise: the FS7 is not a big, heavy camera at all. I think most people coming from DSLR's would disagree but coming from a Sony EX3, it is about the same size and weight (with the Canon 24-105 and the SpeedBooster). Second impression: I love the arm for shoulderwork. This camera is actually much better designed for shoulderwork than the EX3.

(Another misconception: the FS5 is small and light and will therefore attract little attention. Well, forget it. It looks like a pro camera and once decked out it is far from stealth.)

The FS7 solved a lot of my problems: an excellent Sony loupe, better ergonomics for shoulderwork, a much better 4K picture, bigger buttons for easier control during shooting and alltogether a camera that represents the best value in a camera by far, ever.

But even the FS7 needs improvements ie investments to make it (near) perfect. I have immediately ordered the Shape extension arm and it is brilliant and mandatory. There was basically no way to quickly lay the camera down without one... (and then there are other other benefits like being able to change the length or position of the arm in a second- something you needed tools for with the Sony arm)

THE SONY FS7 WITH VOCAS BASEPLATE AND SHAPE ARM

And today I received the Vocas baseplate for a much better shoulderfit. Expensive? Yes. But I want the best possible results with this camera and spread out over the many years I'll be shooting with it, the investment is acceptable.

In my younger days I often tried to cut corners but as I get older, I am more inclined to buy the best possible gear I can afford. No more compromise. Right now I can afford this camera and it feels just right.

Enough talk, let's go shoot already.

RAW video for the 5D Mark 3

About 3 weeks after I bought my 5D Mark III, one of  the most amazing development in recent video-years has been realized by the magicians from Magic Lantern. They have been able to unlock full potential from the camera's fullframe sensor, enabling RAW video to be output directly onto the card.
I am not a technical person and definitely not a pixelpeeper but the amount of information that becomes available not only in terms of dynamic range and color space but also in terms of detail is absolutely phenomenal for every shooter.
I was going to write a piece about my initial experiences with the 5D Mark III, which were not too positive about a few findings that will most likely be completely alleviated by this development: mushy images and dynamic range. There's so much information being pumped out of the sensot at such rates that my Class 10 SD cards won't be able to keep up. I needed a CF card for backup anyway so I picked up one of these cheap Komputerbay 64GB CF cards that can apparently digest the RAW files without exploding... Here are the first RAW video's shot with the 5D Mark III:
Canon 5D Mark III Continuous Raw Video with Magic Lantern (1920x1280 24p) from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

14-bit RAW on Canon 5D Mark III vs. factory default - Night Image Quality & Dynamic Range from Saad Rabia on Vimeo.

Mailbox: (un-)original Canon batteries...

CANON OR NOT...?

This is a very interesting phenomenon: usually they tell you you're getting the real thing but you're buying clones... In this case they told me these batteries are 'not original' but they seem to be the real thing. These batteries say 'Canon' and they even sent the 'original' Canon boxes along, as 'proof' that I'm really getting Canon batteries.
I realized I needed some extra batteries for my SmallHD DP4 monitor after I was on a job a few weeks ago and realized I had only 3 batteries for the entire day. That should be enough but I was feeling a little anxious about running out of juice and that's very distracting. My motto is:

                                           "Bring twice as much juice as you expect to use."

If these are the real McCoy, US $16,- a piece (shipped) is a very decent price. I'll keep you posted on their performance.

CANON BOXES TO 'PROVE' THESE ARE ORIGINALS

IF THESE ARE NOT REAL, GOOD JOB!

Canon & Nikon are killing eachother...

It's a little juvenile for my taste but an A for effort. Since this is made in Amsterdam (hometown of Filmersblog) by 32 members of a Dutch electronics forum called Tweakers, I thought it deserved a place on the blog...

To color correct or not to

"We'll fix it in post", is a much heard expression and its meaning is becoming more and more prevalent in video and filmproduction. The ability to correct and manipulate (the look of) footage has become more mainstream since the advent of tools such as Magic Bullet's Look or Colorista.

I wouldn't call myself a knowledgeable color corrector at all and I feel I make too little use of it. I have used presets from 'Looks' on a few clips and the response on Vimeo was so much more enthusiastic compared to 'unmanipulated footage'... it was a great stimulus to explore more of that area.

Free DSLR moire-filter just released!

Ik had een paar dagen geleden een stukje geschreven over de gratis filters en hoe mensen het leuk vinden om anderen te helpen en hun vondsten te delen, toen ik een stukje las over een wanhopige -Nederlandse- filmer die ten einde raad was omdat zijn klant al het materiaal had afgekeurd dat hij gedraaid had met de Canon 5D Mark II. Reden: moiré. Dit kleine sprookje geeft precies aan waar ik het over had: de essentie van het internet, mensen die kennis delen, elkaar belangeloos helpen.

De lenzenkoffer/tas is binnen!

De Vanguard camera/lenzenkoffer is gisteren thuisbezorgd. Ik had 'm natuurlijk al even gezien maar nu heb ik ook al mijn lenzen erin kunnen passen plus mijn 550D. In totaal kan ik er 7 lenzen plus m'n camera in kwijt. De tas die in de koffer zit, is een volwaardige cameratas.
Paar features die ik nog niet had genoemd: koffer heeft een vacuumknop en metaal gevoerde openingen waar je een hangslot in kunt hangen. Maw: die knip je niet zomaar open. Alles ademt degelijkheid aan dit produkt, van de dikte van de plastic koffer tot aan de prettige rubber handgreep. Als het geen Amerikaans produkt was geweest, had ik gezworen dat het Duits was. Jammer alleen dat de eBay verkoper hem binnen een week 20,- duurder heeft gemaakt en ook niet reageerde op mijn email hoe dat zat. (er is trouwens ook een iets kleinere versie van deze koffer (ik heb de 40D) en dat is de 37D. Voor 85,- thuisbezorgd.)

Een onverwoestbare koffer voor je lenzen

Ze zeggen dat lenzen je hele leven mee gaan, terwijl camera's na een paar jaar outdated zijn. Geld steken in kwalitatief goede lenzen is dus een investering, die minimaal zijn waarde behoudt en in veel gevallen aan waarde wint. (ik zeg dit ook een beetje om mijn lenzen-aankoop van de week te rechtvaardigen... Maar het is waar!) Met het oog op die levensduur én om al je mooie 'glas' te beschermen, moet je natuurlijk wel iets stevigs hebben om al dat moois in te doen. Vooral als je op pad gaat.
Nu had de aardige lenzen-verkoper waar ik het gisteren over had toevallig net een paar dagen eerder een mooie lenzen-koffer uit Duitsland besteld.

Mijn apparatuur: Canon 550D

Mijn laatste camera-aankoop en wat voor één. Een zeer betaalbare digitale spiegelreflexcamera die Full HD video opneemt en de mogelijkheid biedt om een externe microfoon aan te sluiten. Voor mij was dit de aanleiding om te gaan experimenteren met video opnemen met een DSLR-camera (digitale spiegelreflex-camera).

Mijn apparatuur: Canon HV 20

CANON HV 20: EEN JUWEELTJE

De HV20- toen ie uitkwam veroorzaakte dit juweeltje een kleine aardschok onder armlastige, onafhankelijke filmmakers en videoproducenten. Hij was -bijna- perfect: voor rond de 1000,- prachtig HDV beeld, 25p, handmatige focus en audio, alles kon je zelf instellen... behalve de belichting. Het diafragma was niet handmatig af te stellen. Maar al snel wist iemand een 'workaround' en was ook dat euvel verholpen.