nofilmschool » sonyfs100

Micro 4/3 Metabones Speed Booster Optical Lens Adapter Delayed Until Later in 2013

Joe Marine — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:06:28 +0000

Just a few months ago, a company many are familiar with for their smart Canon EF to Sony NEX adapters, Metabones, introduced a brand new adapter with an optical component that can make full-frame lenses faster, wider, and sharper by focusing them onto a smaller format like APS-C/Super 35mm. Metabones also announced they were going to be releasing a Micro 4/3 to Nikon, Leica R, Contax C/Y, Contarex, ALPA, and Rollei Speedbooster adapter. Originally set to be released in the first half of 2013, it looks like we’re going to have to wait a bit longer. (more…)

Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Sony FS100, and Canon 5D Mark II Face off in a Hair and Skin Tone Test

Joe Marine — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:27:41 +0000

Color is just about the most subjective aspect of any visual creation. Everyone sees color a little differently, so it’s no surprise that we talk endlessly about color science and about which cameras we prefer. Certain looks are too much for some people, and others are not enough. Blackmagic spent a great deal of time developing their color science with Australian Director of Photography John Brawley, and I think working with an actual shooter in developing their camera has made a significant difference in the visuals of the final product. Adam Roberts got a hold of the BMCC and performed a thorough test to compare the camera’s skin tones to that of the FS100 and the Mark II. Click through to check it out. (more…)

Revolutionary Metabones Speed Booster Makes Your Lenses Wider, Brighter, and Sharper

Dave Kendricken — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:33:47 +0000

There’s more than one way to get a lens on a camera it shouldn’t naturally fit, particularly when adaptation has to go beyond mere lens mount disparity and extends all the way to major sensor size differences. Of course, in approximately none such case does the adapter getting the job done actually widen field of view, improve clarity and sharpness, and increase exposure levels by up to one full stop. In fact, to expect as much (and all in one device) would seem to equate to madness — especially if such a device supports electronic lens control. This is not the short and skinny of the new Tom Cruise sci-fi/action film, but that of the Metabones Speed Booster. The adapter not only mounts your Canon full frame 50mm f/1.8 lens, for instance, to your Sony FS100 — but also turns it into a sharper 35mm f/1.2 in the process. (more…)

Canon C100 vs. Canon 5D Mark III vs. Sony FS100 with Magnanimous Media

Joe Marine — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 23:12:00 +0000

If you’re looking for a camera in the $3,000-$8,000 range right now, there aren’t too many options — at least as far as large sensor cameras go. We’ve always had lots of options in this range for 1/3″ cameras, but it has taken a bit for manufacturers to start moving the prices down and really get competitive larger sensor cameras in this range. Magnanimous Media, a rental house in Chicago, Illinois, has taken the Canon C100, Canon 5D Mark III, and the FS100 for a spin and offers their thoughts about some of the advantages and disadvantages of the new C100 compared to the others. (more…)

Details Revealed About Possible New Sony F5 and F55 Digital Cinema Cameras, and 4K Recorder

Joe Marine — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 22:52:18 +0000

We already discussed XAVC, which will likely be a new codec that Sony will be introducing when they announce new cameras on October 30th, but now it seems the details for their upcoming cameras have been outed. Nothing is concrete until the cameras are released (of course), but Matt Ryan on the REDUser forum reportedly attended a Sony Demo Focus Group where the new F5 and F55 cameras, as well as a 4K recorder, were all introduced. He not only mentions many of the specs, but the current pricing information as well. Read on for more details. (more…)

Sony F5 Digital Cinema Camera May Get a Newly Developed Codec Called XAVC

Joe Marine — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 05:00:59 +0000

We’ve already speculated a little bit about the possible new camera Sony will be announcing October 30, which may be the long-rumored F5 camera. Sony may be releasing an additional camera on that day, but it’s likely that whatever is announced will be 4K compatible, and that may also include a new 4K recorder that would work with the FS700 as well as any other Sony 4K cameras (besides the F65). Now Sony has reportedly been developing a brand new codec to replace or augment the XDCAM codec, called XAVC. (more…)

Is Sony Announcing an F5 Digital Cinema Camera, 4K Recorder, or Both on October 30?

Joe Marine — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:36:07 +0000

Just before NAB this year, there were plenty of rumors that Sony would be introducing a higher-end Sony F3 with the potential for 4K. That camera, dubbed the F5 by many, never materialized, quite possibly because they wanted some space for their newly announced FS700, which took everything the FS100 already did, and added ND filters, slow motion, and a 4K upgrade path. Now it looks like Sony will be announcing a brand new camera on October 30th according to some recent Tweets and a Facebook posting. (more…)

Sony's FS100 vs. Blackmagic's Cinema Camera: a Low-Light Showdown

Joe Marine — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:15:08 +0000

The Cinema Camera is starting to make the rounds with those who’ve been asked by Blackmagic to test out the camera. While the test below conducted by Frank Glencairn isn’t exactly a low-light showdown (in fact it only goes up to the BMCC’s limit of 1600 ISO), it does give you a great sense of the noise, color, and definition of both the Sony FS100 and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera in a lower light situation. (more…)

The Sony NEX-5 Mirrorless Has Been Hacked with Higher Bitrates, is the FS100 Next?

Joe Marine — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:00:43 +0000

While the hacking of a camera that can’t shoot 24p wouldn’t normally be cause for excitement, in this case it may actually mean quite a bit. Sony has traditionally kept bitrates low on their lower-end cameras, and even on some of their higher-end cameras (like the F3). We’ve all seen how much higher bitrates have helped cameras like the Panasonic GH2, and while increasing the bitrate is no magic bullet for image quality, being able to do it on a camera like the FS100 or even the NEX-5N or NEX-7 would certainly be helpful, and it might even be possible to add new features to any of those cameras. With what Magic Lantern has incorporated into their own hack, it’s pretty obvious why this might be exciting. (more…)

Which Camera Won the Zacuto Camera Shootout? The (Anonymous) Winners and Losers

Ryan Koo — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:21:44 +0000

A couple weeks ago Zacuto released their Revenge of The Great Camera Shootout, which pitted the Apple iPhone 4S, Panasonic GH2 (Hacked), Canon 7D, Canon C300, Sony FS100, Sony F3, Sony F65, RED Epic, and Arri Alexa against each other. This year, however, there was a twist — they didn’t tell you which was which. I ran a poll asking folks which camera they liked the most, and with over 600 responses here are the results, by camera letter: (more…)

The $4500 Sony PMW-100: a Sign of Codecs to Come on the 4k Sony F5 (And Why Canon Should Be Worried)

Joe Marine — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:15:16 +0000

The powerhouse FS700 wasn’t the only new camera that Sony recently announced. Another camera was quietly (at least to this community) introduced that packs a punch and has its sights square on Canon’s event/doc cameras: the XF100 and XF300 series. The real announcement behind the announcement is the way that Sony is positioning its separate camera models and features. Sony has a clear idea about where specific cameras should stand in terms of features and price, and it seems we might get a more powerful F3 sooner rather than later. (more…)

Fool Your Camera with the Metabones Canon EF to Sony NEX Smart Adapter

Joe Marine — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:27:12 +0000

The Sony FS100 has been very popular for those wanting to own a large sensor video camera, but can’t afford the Sony F3 (plenty of you who read this site). Obviously the FS100 has its issues – like any other camera – but one of the major problems for lots of folks that upgraded from DSLRs is being able to properly use their EOS EF mount lenses on their shiny new Sony camera. If you’re one of those people, then Metabones has a product that just might solve your problems. (more…)

Philip Bloom's Camera Shootout Features the Latest Large Sensor DSLRs and Camcorders

Ryan Koo — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:19:29 +0000

I was waiting for part two to post this, so now that it’s live, here is Philip Bloom’s latest camera shootout pitting the Canon C300, Sony NEX5N, Panasonic AF100, Panasonic GH2, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, Sony FS100, Sony F3, and Nikon D7000 against each other in a variety of real-world situations: (more…)

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

Ryan 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…)

A Look at the Sony FS100's Dynamic Range

Ryan Koo — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:01:21 +0000

Abel Cine continues their helpful camera tests on their blog with an insightful look at the dynamic range of the post-HDSLR Sony FS100 camcorder. They find the camera gets a respectable 11.5 stops, which according to similar tests is the same as the Sony F3 and Canon DSLRs like the 5D Mark II. They also look at the different CinemaTone settings, which are the customizable knee settings in the FS100. Along with pro audio inputs and interchangeable lens mounts, these settings help separate it from its cheaper HDSLR brethren: (more…)

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

Ryan 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…)

The Sony FS100 Goes Up to 16,000 ISO

Ryan Koo — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:05:18 +0000

The folks at AbelCine have put the prosumer Sony FS100 through the same tests to which they subjected its professional cousin, the Sony F3, and have discovered some interesting things. First of all, it seems the FS100 gets about 10 stops of dynamic range as opposed to the F3′s 12 stops. But the FS100 has higher sensitivity settings, which let it reach the equivalent of an astounding 16,000 ISO. Here’s the chart that AbelCine came up with, to translate Sony’s video-centric “db gain” settings to the filmic ISO rating to which many are more accustomed: (more…)

Sony's Complete Super 35mm Seminar from NAB 2011

Ryan Koo — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:36:35 +0000

At this year’s NAB, a number of conferences and seminars were running just outside the show floors. One of the seminars I circled on my list was the Sony Super 35mm Seminar, put on by Vortex Media’s Doug Jensen, and I stopped by briefly only to get pulled away to another event. Sony has now posted the full video of the seminar; if you’re already familiar with both cameras, this likely won’t impart a ton of new information, but if you’d like to sit back and get an overview of both the Sony F3 and Sony FS100, here you go. (more…)

Three Large-Chip Camcorders Compared by Philip Bloom: The Panasonic AF100, Sony F3, and Sony FS100

Ryan Koo — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:38:11 +0000

Philip Bloom, Kessler University, and Documovie.co.uk have conducted a shootout between the Panasonic AF100, Sony F3, and Sony FS100 (with a Canon 5D Mark II thrown in for good measure). As Philip states on his site, this is not meant to be a scientific test, as is the Single-Chip Camera Evaluation being released later this year, but the tests are a good watch for anyone considering these camcorders: (more…)

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

Ryan 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…)