Hot on the heels of the unscheduled recent firmare update, V1.03, Sony has issued V1.10 for the F5 and F55, which addresses a number of issues. Since the AXS-R5 recorder has its own internal processing and is considered part of the camera, it also needs the same firmware update to be applied separately. We've also got a recent 4K test done by the guys over at cinema5D that intercuts Canon's 1D C with the Sony F55. Click through for more on both.

Thanks to cinema5D for putting out this video showing off the 4K of the 1D C and F55:


Both cameras could be matched easily in post production. Contrary to our expectations the Canon 1DC could be underexposed even more than the F55 (talking usable dynamic range). On the other hand the noise and 10-bit image of the F55 is obviously more clean and stable due to its powerful new xavc codec.

I think both cameras look good, and the 1D C certainly has a major size advantage for a lot of situations. Obviously rolling shutter can be an issue for pretty much any CMOS camera out there, but thankfully this is something Sony has figured out with the F55, and it should perform just as well as a CCD in terms of image skew. Interestingly enough, they also mentioned that the 1D C delivered footage that was better to grade and more usable than the C300, and while the C300 has a number of shooting advantages over the 1D C, that's definitely promising for being able to intercut with a camera made specifically for video.

As for the F5 and F55, here are some of the improvements with the new V1.10 firmware:

  • Corrected; the “black edge on highlights” issue. This fault may occur on high-brightness transitions when shooting with HyperGamma or S-Log2 gamma
  • New software prevents the camera from occasionally freezing when holding down any of the following keys: PREV, EXT, F.FWD, F.REV, PAUSE, STOP & THUMBNAIL
  • Acquisition Metadata Sets for Video Camera Parameters - may be incorrectly registered as “S‑Log2”. Version 1.10 correctly registers the value as: “Content Video”
  • Audio Rec Port name correction
  • Salvaged Clip Playback improvements
  • Fixes SxS card corruption when using Content Browser for Mac V. 2.0

Improvements for the AXS-R5 recorder:

  • Improved stability when the AXS Memory card is ejected too early
  • Improved stability when recording unexpectedly stops
  • Embedded Audio Control Packet on the HD-SDI signal from AUX OUT terminal

You can find links to the firmware updates below, but be sure to head on over to the Sony forum to make sure that you are installing them correctly.

Links: