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Thoughts on upcoming 4/3 inch cameras
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If a camera like that is wrong, I don’t want to be right!
Cf
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“Sony Japan say their Super 35mm Exmor CMOS in the upcoming F3 is completely new and has pixels which are 4x the size of typical DSLR CMOS ones. Approximately 12 microns sized versus as little as 3 microns on APS-C DSLRs (according to Sony).
“The Canon 5D Mark II has a much larger sensor but 22MP. That one works out at 6.4 microns, so even against that beast the F3 comes out with twice the light capturing capabilities per pixel.
“This, Sony say, results in ‘dramatically increased sensitivity and dynamic range’.”
and
“… the camera has dual-link HD-SDI outputs for 4:4:4 10-bit offboard recording; S-Log gamma curves; loadable LUTs; a “3D link” terminal for stereoscopic applications; and a reported 12- to 13-stop dynamic range—think of it as a baby F35 or a RED ONE / Alexa competitor more than a challenge to the AF100.”
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Jay my point is that the market for it is the F35 market and not much beyond that. That’s a small market. I’m not even sure it competes against the RED ONE and now RED EPIC given that’s a 4K camera (if needed) and can record at a higher frame rate for solo motion (if needed) and a codec that doesn’t depend on tape (that may change for the F3 though).
There’s also been much discussion that the NXCAM would get the same sensor but it’s not clear.
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Craig, sorry–that wasn’t directed at you, necessarily. I just through that out as food for thought.
The F3 is not a run-n-gun camera for sure, not as it’s currently configured.
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Well, we all know they can do firmware upgrades to give us ProRes recording, or other format choices. But, they can’t make money off of firmware upgrades.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1, V1U
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
ha ha, funny. Now that song is stuck in my head.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1, V1U
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
I too think that F3 is little overpriced knowing its capability.
I just found this article
https://cinescopophilia.com/?p=3311
What do you guys think about this?
I might need a new camera in Early 2012, and do you guys think there will be new one at that time? (Just like Sony introduced EX3 next to EX1?)
I know that RED makes some nice cameras but from what I know, RED is more hard to operate and they are complicated…..
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Noah Kadner: “I’d be investing in a high end set of lenses. Something like the Zeiss compact primes. Then you can roll with whatever the body camera du jour happens to be.”
The thing is, at 18mm, the widest Compact Prime isn’t wide enough on the AF100. Fast wide-angles are a real problem for m4/3.
Brent Dunn: “Well, we all know they can do firmware upgrades to give us ProRes recording, or other format choices. But, they can’t make money off of firmware upgrades.”
HDCam-SR is Sony’s ProRes, and the upgrade path seems to be their upcoming solid-state SR box. But this box will surely cost way more than the camera…
I actually don’t think Sony know where they’re going with the F3. They’re marketing it as a baby F35, and at the same time claiming it’s 4:2:0 because it’s part of the EX line. They’re bringing out their own set of cinema-style primes, but there’s a zoom rocker on the side and the suggestion of an ENG-style zoom. That Sony offer so many different camera models makes this one look like it’s having an identity crisis.
But anyway, the more important point is that in 2011, professional cameras should not be recording 4:2:0. Somebody needs to let Sony and Panasonic know.
Beom Koh: “I know that RED makes some nice cameras”
Until I see living proof, Red makes a nice camera.
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[Keith Pratt] “The thing is, at 18mm, the widest Compact Prime isn’t wide enough on the AF100. Fast wide-angles are a real problem for m4/3.”
Another good reason why I’m not sold on the AF100.
[Keith Pratt] “HDCam-SR is Sony’s ProRes, and the upgrade path seems to be their upcoming solid-state SR box. But this box will surely cost way more than the camera…”
. . . and why I’m not sure the cost/convenience compared to RED is all that great.
[Keith Pratt] “I actually don’t think Sony know where they’re going with the F3. They’re marketing it as a baby F35, and at the same time claiming it’s 4:2:0 because it’s part of the EX line.”
. . . and why I think the camera doesn’t quite serve a market niche beyond F35 users who need a less expensive B camera. The EX codec is nothing more than a proxy file.
If it had 50Mbps 4:2:2 it might be of value to certain indy film and high end corporate markets.
[Keith Pratt] “That Sony offer so many different camera models makes this one look like it’s having an identity crisis.”
It’s seems to be the worst possible combination of features rather than the best. Bad eyepiece, bad codec for the price, not shoulder mount if that’s a market. It’s just smack in the middle of nowhere.
[Keith Pratt] “in 2011, professional cameras should not be recording 4:2:0. Somebody needs to let Sony and Panasonic know.”
But at least Panasonic is only charging $5K for the AF100 so one expects compromises.
If Canon can put 50mbps 4:2:2 in a $4K XF100 You’d think Sony could make a large sensor interchangeable lens camera with the same codec for about the price of an EX3 $8K.
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[Craig Seeman] “You’d think Sony could make a large sensor interchangeable lens camera with the same codec for about the price of an EX3 $8K.”
Maybe Sony doesn’t plan on actually selling the F3 since it’s really just a hodge podge collection of high and low end parts flying in formation. Maybe they just showed it off to see if we’re all awake enough to say “WHA…..?”
– Don
Don Greening
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com
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