The Sony FS700 is one camera that I was really looking forward to checking out up close and personal at NAB 2012. As you can tell from the images, it looks and feels a lot like the FS100. 
I only shot at full 1080P resolution so I didn’t test beyond 240fps. Reduced resolution didn’t interest me. You can record 8 seconds at 240fps and 9.5 second at 200fps (at 50Hz setting) and you end up with 1 minute and 15 seconds of super slow motion footage. You can set the trigger to be at the start, middle or at the end of action. I choose end trigger as you can wait for action to happen. You don’t need to expect it. Shot on a pre production Sony NEX-FS700 around South Bank, London. 
Just in time for the release of the FS700...!!
The FS100 is a bit of funny camera. It shoots amazing pictures but is ergonomically awkward and the highlights have a tendency to go a bit yellow when blown out, but it’s the best camera for the money by far. This film was produced to demonstrate the 200fps mode @1080p on the New Sony NEX-FS700. This camera will do up to 960fps but at reduced bitrate and resolution. We wanted to maintain 1080p so did not shoot beyond 200fps. The first footage from Sony's new NEX-FS700. The new Super 35mm model is designed for high-speed shooting and is capable of capturing footage at up to 960 frames per second. The camcorder also features a range of capabilities such as 3G HD-SDI output and built-in ND filters. Additionally, it also offers several creative options, shooting styles and enhanced ergonomics – all based on customer feedback – to deliver a flexible production tool that fits seamlessly into a variety of shooting applications. 
First is about a girl and her car. This shot was recorded on SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 lens. The creamy bokeh perfect for this scene as the sequence is about her memories. I helped myself with nailing the focus by using Genus follow focus and SmallHD DP4 with its great new peaking function. 
Remember 4K is fine if the 4K picture is truly stunning but some of the tech boys I have been speaking to are worried that Sony are asking far too much from the Super 35mm sensor and noise may be an issue, especially at lower light levels. Sony do not tend to disappoint when it comes to video pictures so I am confident that the picture will be stunning…my man at NAB will tell me next week. 
See the zoom rocker? Clearly Sony has an E-mount lens with servo motor (for zoom control) in the works, though it is not on their official lens roadmap for the next few years. Another thing: there is more than just Start/Stop on that handgrip (iris, photo shutter and expanded focus), but if NEX-FS100 users luck out: (1) it's the same LANC cable with the same 1/8" plug; 
Sony digital motion picture cameras come from two design teams. The F65 camera system is designed at Sony’s Atsugi Tech Center, in the countryside not far from the famous Kamakura Buddha. 
Ok, so how will we get 4K from the FS700? Well it’s going to come from one of the two outputs on the camera, SDI or HDMI. If it comes from the SDI connection you will most likely see 12 bit 4K data, not video or audio, coming through this throughput. 
There are so many new products I have heard of, the NEX-F3 a new NEX camcorder |
Yesterday Sony Europe held a chat on Facebook covering the three cameras they have announced for NAB, including the NEX-FS700. You can review the chat log here, but I've assembled the discussion of the NEX-FS700 into a more coherent - and readable - format below: 
480 line-skips a fair amount (and appears, on the charts, to pixel-skip as well, though that might simply be an artifact of different demosaicing in slo-mo); 960fps further decimates the vertical resolution and windows down to half-width on the sensor, too. You’ll see increased noise in the 480 and 960 fps clips as a result, though Sony cautions me that the multi-layer circuit boards still need to be optimized to reduce crosstalk: this camera is a “fairly good, stable, underperforming engineering sample”, and shipping versions may well yield cleaner images. 
Zunow introduce a new lens for Sony NEX-FS100 and FS700 camcorders. The Super Wide Vari-Angle lens E 11-16mm F2. 
As big of an electronics behemoth that is Sony, it’s somewhat surprising to see it stepping out on a limb with what customers are seeking – with a sub-$10k camera that shoots 240fps at full 1080p and planned upgrade path to 4K resolution. 
It looks like SONY has really listened to the users. We finally have that ND Filter wheel, a lot of guys where asking for. The top handle is super beefy now and feels like it is milled out of one massive block of aluminum. Also the front mount sits on a big black metal base, very solid and twice the size of the FS100 counterpart. Overall the whole body feels more rugged and solid, but gained some weight, because of all the extra metal. This was a very quick test we did with the FS700 and it's super slow motion options. Both clips are shot at 480 fps which records 10 seconds of real time. The image quality is reduced when shooting in this mode. Other big features of the FS700 include: Cine gammas (the same found in the PMW-F3), progressive (P/Psf) outputs over HD-SDI and HDMI, still picture shooting, 50/60hz switchable, the ability to save picture profiles to an SD card, up to 8x focus magnification, and a sturdy body design. The camera will have a newly designed handle which attaches to the camera via an Arri style rosette. 
Chris Fenwick, planetMitch and I talk about the latest announcement from Sony: the new NEX FS700. The NEX-FS700 is touted as a 4K-ready NXCAM camcorder with a superior Super35mm CMOS sensor, super slow-motion capability and an interchangeable E-mount lens system, offering unrivalled flexibility and creative expression. The real question is, 4K at what cost? 
This weekend I got the chance to play with the new Sony NEX FS700. I was the last in line to test a preproduction model on its European tour. 
The FS100 uses the same sensor as the PMW-F3, but it doesn’t have the same processing or the same output options, meaning that the image wasn’t quite as good as the PMW-F3. Will the FS700 vault past the PMW-F3 at HD resolutions, or will it be similar to the FS100? 
The NEX-FS700 looks interesting; I liked the FS100 but I really wished it had ND filters so that I didn't have to bother with ND filters in front of the lens. Sony has listened to me! (and lots of other people that mentioned this short-coming when the FS100 was released.) Oh, and thrown in the promise of 4K as well. 
At NAB 2012 next month, Sony will shake the digital cinema market to its core. Sony's answer to the C300 is a 4K Super 35mm update to the FS100. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  |
9 |
|
Next |
