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.
According to AbelCine, the $3,680 upgrade comes on a SxS card and, contrary to what some believed, does not require sending in the camera for any hardware modifications:
When you purchase the key you are actually buying an SxS card with a special encoded key on it. This will allow you to enable RGB & S-Log on one camera. Once the functions are active you can remove the SxS card from the camera for safety or continue to use it as a standard SxS card. It is possible to move the RGB / S-LOG functions from one camera to another by uninstalling the key from one and re-installing it on another. They are using some serious encryption on the card to prevent multiple installations.
I'm still curious to see how much dynamic range the camera will gain in S-LOG mode, but so far there's only been speculation. We'll see once formal tests hit. On the non-paid front, find the link for the free firmware update below.
Link: Sony PMW-F3 Firmware Version 1.1
[via CineTechnica]
