F3 in 2016

[TwoScoops]

Given how relatively cheap this formerly $20k camera can be had on ebay in 2016, what are your thoughts on it?

[Ed_David]

I own one still, used to have three.

 

here's some things I shot on it:

 

 

 

It's a really great camera, has built in XLRs, I really like slog1 and sgamut - and man for the price, it's a great deal.

Is it better than the canon 1dx which is probably now cheaper at the same price?

Or the blackmagic MCC or pocket?

That's where you need to do some testing.

Check motion, color, etc.

I think at this point a rigged out BMPCC with a nice monitor maybe a good alternative too.

If you need the extra resolution.

Anyway it's any interesting time to be alive.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kingswell]

I saw an fs700 with 4k firmware go for £1800 on ebay the other day.. If you had another £1k for an external recorder you could have a solid 4k HFR camera under £3k. 

I'd buy an F3 as a B or C camera, but not as a main camera these days. Wouldn't go higher than a £1k for it.

 

[Ed_David]

good call , the fs700 is another interesting option.  test test test before you buy if you can or just scour vimeo and youtube for clips

[TwoScoops]

2 hours ago, Ed_David said:

I own one still, used to have three.

 

here's some things I shot on it:

 

 

 

It's a really great camera, has built in XLRs, I really like slog1 and sgamut - and man for the price, it's a great deal.

Is it better than the canon 1dx which is probably now cheaper at the same price?

Or the blackmagic MCC or pocket?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From what you posted I prefer it to what I've seen from the 1dx/1dc and bmpcc/bmmcc, but hard to know how muchof that is just your mad skillz.

[Ed_David]

Thanks - not really skillz - I'm also doing some grading work on it.

I think it has less jello than the BMPCC, but I don't remember, skintones, probably less room to move around than BMPCC  - I don't know - would have to do a test.

 

[BenEricson]

On July 27, 2016 at 8:48 AM, Kingswell said:

I saw an fs700 with 4k firmware go for £1800 on ebay the other day.. If you had another £1k for an external recorder you could have a solid 4k HFR camera under £3k. 

I'd buy an F3 as a B or C camera, but not as a main camera these days. Wouldn't go higher than a £1k for it.

 

Agreed, the fs700 is an insane deal. 

Im curious how much you have shot with the fs700/7q? My work recently went from the fs700/7q to the c300ii. 

I will tell you that the f3 color wise is in a completely different league than the fs700. It is much more comparable to the red/c300ii than the fs700. 

If you shoot extreme sports, event videos etc, fs700 is probably great, but wouldn't be my first choice if I shot a lot of interviews and certainly not narrative work. 

i just bought the f3 for a project over the summer and I so happy with the results. The black magic cameras are also great, but the image seems more fragile, more noise, the color takes more time to get to a nice place, also the ND/IR pollution situation will drive you nuts. 

That being said, fs700/7q is hands down the best deal right now for a 4k setup. Go for the F3 if you want superior color, but to impress clients and the high frame rates with resolution, you probably want the fs700. I have been shooting a to of 1080/60p through the 7Q and have been so impressed by the image. 

[Luke Mason]

8 minutes ago, BenEricson said:

Agreed, the fs700 is an insane deal. 

Im curious how much you have shot with the fs700/7q? My work recently went from the fs700/7q to the c300ii. 

I will tell you that the f3 color wise is in a completely different league than the fs700. It is much more comparable to the red/c300ii than the fs700. 

If you shoot extreme sports, event videos etc, fs700 is probably great, but wouldn't be my first choice if I shot a lot of interviews and certainly not narrative work. 

i just bought the f3 for a project over the summer and I so happy with the results. The black magic cameras are also great, but the image seems more fragile, more noise, the color isn't as good, and the IR/ND situation will drive you nuts. 

That being said, fs700/7q is hands down the best deal right now for a 4k setup. Go for the F3 if you want superior color.

One thing to note about FS700/7Q combo is that FS700 output a "unique" SGamut thats different than all other Sony cameras, especially the red primary. So colour grading FS700 material becomes a demanding job (you can't use standard SGamut to Rec709 LUTs).

[IronFilm]

I made a lengthy thread about the F3 last year, before I purchased one myself:

 

 

[jax_rox]

54 minutes ago, BenEricson said:

I will tell you that the f3 color wise is in a completely different league than the fs700. It is much more comparable to the red/c300ii than the fs700. 

There's a reason they used to call it a mini-Alexa