NoFilmSchool » sony

Sony NEX-FS100 to Get Global Frame Rates with Free Firmware Upgrade

Koo — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:23:54 +0000

With all the news about the Canon C300 and RED SCARLET-X lately, it’s easy to forget that both of these cameras are out of the price range of most DSLR shooters. What many were looking for from either company was an announcement at the price point of the Sony FS100, which, though it has some ergonomic quirks, is a very nice camera for $5k. It looks like it will be getting nicer in early 2012, with a firmware update from Sony that makes it a global camera — adding PAL recording rates to the North American model (and presumably vice versa) — as well as some nice other free feature additions. Here’s the list of expected upgrades: (more…)

The Sony F3 Gets New Zoom Lenses and Another Stop of Exposure with Firmware Update

Koo — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:02:08 +0000

Has anyone done an official dynamic range test of the Sony F3 with its amazing S-Log firmware enabled? I heard it was 13.5 stops, but now Sony is claiming firmware version 1.20 will add another stop by utilizing Exposure Index S-Log mode (more on this after the jump). Also, Sony will be coming out with two zoom lenses for the F3, making use of the camera’s zoom rocker. Plus, the CBK-3DL01 3D Link option will add the ability to link two F3s together for 3D use, but will apparently cost $5,500. While the F3 is a hell of camera, something tells me that if Sony wants to remain competitive in terms of pricing, after November 3rd they might want to think about their firmware pricing. If you want S-Log and 3D, that’s a total of $9,000 in upgrades on top of the camera’s $14,000 price tag. Then again, if the new S-Log mode does add another stop of exposure, that would put it even with the ARRI ALEXA — and that camera is $75k. (more…)

What's Coming from Canon on November 3? A Roundup of Super35 Rumors

Koo — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 21:59:16 +0000

Since Canon’s original announcement of something “historic” coming on November 3rd, there hasn’t been any hard and fast information about what kind of history they’ll be making. But rumors have been flying about a Super 35 4K camcorder, and as someone with an upcoming feature to shoot I’ve certainly been curious about what Canon has planned. RED will release SCARLET on the same day, and it’s very likely that many upcoming independent features over the next few years are going to be shot on one of these new cameras (in addition to existing RED cameras and the Sony F3). Again, no one knows for sure, but what seems likely? (more…)

More Tests Reveal Sony F3 to be an Entirely Different Camera with S-Log Upgrade

Koo — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:49:27 +0000

There are a number of slow motion sequences in my script for Man-child (only 8 days left… !), which makes a RED appropriate. Otherwise I would probably try to shoot it on a Sony F3 with the S-Log firmware (if the campaign is successful, that is… ). All the footage I’ve seen to date shot in S-Log has been beautiful, with very film-like highlight renditions and gorgeous colors. A common misperception with S-Log is that you need an uncompressed recorder to take advantage of it. Not true! DP Timur Civan recently ran some tests with a Ki Pro Mini: (more…)

Sony's VG20 Large-Sensor Camcorder Not Looking So Good

Koo — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:39:42 +0000

I suppose it makes sense that with the $5,000 FS100 out there, Sony would not want to make the newly-announced $1,600 VG20 a direct competitor. At the same time, you’d think they would want the picture quality of the VG20 to be significantly better than the $600 NEX-5N hybrid camera. But here’s some video evidence from EOSHD’s Andrew Reid that shows otherwise: (more…)

Sony Prices F65 'True' 4K Camcorder at $65K, to Ship in January

Koo — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:58:22 +0000

I was in the room at this year’s NAB when Sony revealed the F65, and one of my first thoughts was to wonder why it was called the F65 if the F35 was named because its sensor size matched that of 35mm film. With their announcement today that the F65 will retail for $65k, perhaps the camera was named because of target price? Strange. The F65 has the same size sensor as the F35, but upgrades the pixel count to a “true” 4K (I’m putting “true” in quotes because the F65 has a nonstandard pixel array that producers a resolution of 8768 x 2324). (more…)

Sony's New $600 NEX-5N Hybrid Camera Put to the Test

Koo — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:16:40 +0000

In addition to the A77, A65, NEX-7 and NEX-VG20, Sony will also soon be shipping the $600 NEX-5N, a diminutive, low-cost hybrid camera with an APS-C sensor. Despite the lack of a mirror (thus making the NEX-5N not a DSLR, technically), this camera should be capable of the same shallow depth-of-field images that have popularized HDSLRs, and a few sites have gotten their hands on it for testing purposes. Note that some of these videos follow the standard tradeshow practice of camera manufacturers: bring in female models to a predominantly male world in order to show “skin tones.” I’m not judging, just saying. To the tests: (more…)

Sony Aims to 'Fulfill the Needs of Filmmakers' with New NEX-VG20 Camcorder

Koo — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:48:55 +0000

Along with those intriguing hybrid cameras, Sony also made the NEX-VG20 official today, replacing the VG10. The VG20 shoots at 1080/60p (50p in PAL countries) using a 16 megapixel APS-HD CMOS sensor (what size is that, exactly?) and takes both Sony E-mount and A-mounts lenses, which should also allow for third-party adapters. Here’s the promo video: (more…)

Sony Announces Innovative A77, A65, and NEX-7 Cameras with Full 1080/60p Video

Koo — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:03:02 +0000

Sony has announced several new hybrid still/video cameras, and they’ve got a number of innovative features to go with impressive specs. The flagship camera, the $1,399 A77, might just be the first significant new camera in the HDSLR market in quite some time — if it delivers on its numbers. First off, the 24MP camera goes from 1080p/24p all the way up to 1080p/60p (NTSC models; PAL cameras go up to 50p) and is based around the newer AVCHD 2.0 standard (which ranges from 17Mbps up to 28Mbps). The A65 and NEX7 use the same APS-C sized sensor and retain these same specs. Sony’s bringing a number of intriguing new features to the table as well. (more…)

Rumors Have Sony Joining the HDSLR Game for Real with A77, NEX7 and VG20

Koo — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:16:03 +0000

The internets seem to believe this rumor’s real, so here we go: reports are that Sony will make an official announcement on August 24th about their next lineup of DSLRs and large-chip camcorders, which will come with a laundry list of much-requested features. With a lack of significant new HDSLR features from Canon and Nikon in quite some time, Sony’s new features are even more welcome: namely, full 1080p at 60/50/25/24p with full manual controls. (more…)

The New Sony NXCAMs Have Uncompressed 4:4:4 60p HDMI Outputs*

Koo — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:10:17 +0000

Well, this is interesting. Sony’s $14,000 F3 camera has all manner of professional HD-SDI outputs, including S-LOG with a $4,000 firmware upgrade. You’d therefore expect Sony’s $5,000 FS100 to ship with a more limited set of outputs, and it does — to an extent. While the FS100 only has a “consumer” HDMI output, there are some interesting things about this particular HDMI output. The same goes for the documentary-friendly HXR-NX70 and the twin-lens stereoscopic HXR-NX3D1 as well — but don’t get your hopes up, as that asterisk in the title comes with some disclaimers. What is it about these HDMI outputs that are unique? (more…)

Cine Gear Roundup Part 1: Sony, RED, Technicolor, and Zeiss

Koo — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:09:55 +0000

As a first-time attendee, one of the things that surprised me about NAB in Las Vegas was the fact that the majority of the trade show was focused on broadcast and delivery tools. Cinema production and post-production tools were secondary, which makes sense — it’s the National Association of Broadcasters, after all. But there is an annual trade show specifically for motion picture tools, and that is Cine Gear, which took place in Los Angeles this past weekend. I didn’t fly across the country to check it out, but I’ve rounded up some of the more relevant coverage from several sites that did cover the show; here’s part one, covering Sony, RED, Technicolor, and Zeiss: (more…)

Sony Releases 4:4:4 S-Log Upgrade and New Firmware for F3 Camera

Koo — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:16:23 +0000

Sony has released version 1.1 of the F3′s firmware, which adds simultaneous HD-SDI/HDMI output, ND filter color correction, Planning Metadata (file naming convention schemes), and other new features. They’ve also released the much-touted S-LOG upgrade, the tongue-twisting CBK-RGB01 paid upgrade, which adds awesome uncompressed output capability — for a price. (more…)

The Opposite of DIY: Michael Bay and James Cameron Talk 3D Production on the $195 Million 'Transformers'

Koo — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:53:55 +0000

When a director like Michael Bay talks about his $195 million 3D blockbuster to-be (regardless of whether it’s any good) Transformers: Dark of the Moon, you might think that very little of it would apply to indie pictures. But in the new era of large sensor digital cameras, the Sony F23 and F35 cameras Bay used are more similar to the new Sony F3 and FS100 than you’d think. When I watched F35 and F3 footage side by side, in fact, the F35 actually lost to the F3 in some tests (notably low-light). The Hollywood Reporter, in its reincarnation as a weekly publication, recently sat down with the duo of blockbuster directors to talk 3D, which, love or hate the technology, is a technology all filmmakers should be aware of — whether you’re indie or Hollywood. (more…)

AbelCine Releases Ten Custom Sony F3 Scene Files

Koo — Tue, 24 May 2011 02:00:12 +0000

The Sony F3 has a wealth of image adjustment options, befitting its pro price tag. Users can create custom scene files and upload them via SxS card, and while I’m sure we’ll be seeing hundreds of custom styles released in the coming months (none of which have any effect should you shoot in the upgradeable S-Log mode), AbelCine is the first to my knowledge to release ten styles of their own: (more…)

How Does the Sony FS100 Compare to the 3X More Expensive Sony F3?

Koo — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:13:57 +0000

The Sony F3 is a $13k professional camcorder, upgradeable via paid firmware upgrade to a $16k “even more professional” camera with a 4:4:4 S-LOG output. The Sony FS100 is the more compact, $5k prosumer version of the F3. However, despite the price difference, the two cameras share the exact same sensor. So are those initial negative reviews of the FS100 justified? It appears not. In the words of tester Alastair Chapman, “The FS100 is remarkably close to the F3. You would have no problems cutting between the two of them in a project.” Here’s a video comparison of the two: (more…)

First Sony F3 Uncompressed S-Log Footage Hits the Web

Koo — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:19:54 +0000

While I was catching some Zs at NAB, the guys from Next Level Pictures and a number of shooters who have appeared on this site in the past (Vincent Laforet, Jared Abrams, Timur Civan, Tyler Ginter) were off testing the Sony F3′s S-Log firmware upgrade. This is the first time the uncompressed outputs from the F3 were enabled outside the walls of Sony (in this case, they were recording to a Cinedeck), and the footage should demonstrate greater latitude than the default F3 settings. Here’s the test: (more…)

NAB Video: Sony F65 >4K Camera and New ARRI ALEXA Models

Koo — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I’m not going to go into much detail on Sony’s new F65, which I covered at launch, or the new offerings in the ARRI ALEXA lineup, because cameras that run six figures aren’t exactly the purview of DIY filmmakers (though they’re nice to think about, at least as a rental). Briefly, here’s what I saw at NAB about the latter: the ALEXA has gotten a number of new features, upgrading it to Plus status — 3.5K ARRIRAW codec, 120FPS shooting mode in 2K (which was working fully on the camera I toyed with briefly), and iPad wireless camera control. There are also two new models — the ALEXA M, which separates the camera head from the recording body, and the ALEXA Studio, which has a mechanical shutter, optical viewfinder, and 4:3 sensor with anamorphic de-squeezing. And of course, Sony has their new F3. (more…)

Sony Demonstrates F65 4K + Camera with 8K Sensor and 16-bit RAW Output

Koo — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:52:52 +0000

At their press event today at NAB, Sony demonstrated their previously previewed 8K camera and officially gave it a name: the CineAlta F65. When we’d last heard of this 8K camcorder, I’d assumed the high resolution was designed for the purpose of providing a full 4K image after de-bayering. But it turns out the sensor has dedicated green photosites for every pixel (unlike other bayer-pattern sensors, as far as I know), and thus Sony is designing the F65 for not only 4K, but beyond. (more…)

Picturesque Images of Portugal Shot on the Sony F3's Native Codec

Koo — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:18:50 +0000

FilmsDaMente has posted some beautiful uncorrected Sony F3 footage shot in Portugal, using nothing fancier than the stock 4:2:0 35Mbps codec. Some of these shots (by Nuno Rocha and Victor Santos) are downright painterly, and make one wonder about the supposed “limitations” of shooting traditional video vs. working with a RAW workflow. RAW has plenty of advantages — it gives the most flexibility in post — but video also has its advantages, by allowing for a shorter (and cheaper) post-production pipeline. Always something to keep in mind when planning for any production. Here’s the footage: (more…)