Ode To the Beloved Sony FS100

[Benjamin Hilton]

I was thinking back today just how much I enjoyed the images produced by my beloved old Sony FS100.  I have shot with quite a few cameras since then, but I think I can honestly say that the FS100 produced some of the best-looking images on a consistent basis for me than any other camera I have worked with since.  I shot primarily with Glen Cairn's G log ultimate which gave me beautiful dynamic range and color straight out of camera.  Many times my grade was a simple lowering of the blacks and white balance adjustment.  And, the files for 24mb/sec AVCHD, so easy in post. 

We moved on with cameras because of the size and ergonomics but I think that if Sony rehoused the FS100 sensor in a mirrorless body today, I would be the first buyer.  Here are some 720p images from some of my old films for posterity sake.  Does anyone else have fond memories with this camera?  Some stills from your work with it? 

[IronFilm]

At one point I wondered if there was going to be a "Sony FS1":

http://ironfilm.co.nz/sony-fs100-discontinued-sony-fs1-coming-soon/

I suppose the closest we got to that was the Sony FS5, did you ever try that?

[Mako Sports]

This just showed up in my Youtube feed lol - 

 

 

[Benjamin Hilton]

41 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

At one point I wondered if there was going to be a "Sony FS1":

http://ironfilm.co.nz/sony-fs100-discontinued-sony-fs1-coming-soon/

I suppose the closest we got to that was the Sony FS5, did you ever try that?

I haven't tried the FS5, but have spent some time with the fs7.  They are nice cameras for sure, just don't seem that came out of the camera special touch that the FS100 did.  Maybe the 1080P helped with it to a certain extent, 4k can be a bit harder to get right without feeling like plastic. 

[IronFilm]

if only the FS100  had built in NDs then I'd find it a lot more appealing to buy in 2018 (as it sells now on eBay for almost nothing!).

[Benjamin Hilton]

Agreed.  NDs and a smaller body would be amazing!

[mercer]

Umm yeah... those images are gorgeous... I particularly love the bottom 4.

Are Glencairn’s G Log settings transferable to the newer sLog2/3 capable cameras?

I love these kind of posts, so thanks for sharing. After 5 years of hobby shooting, I find myself way more interested in older cameras I couldn’t afford then than the modern 4K cams available today.

I know gear and tech marches forward but it seems like there was better looking footage from those cameras than what is floating around now. I guess the pool of shooters was smaller back then, so there is more muck to sort through. Hell, I alone have 50 or so horrible videos clogging up searches... lol. 

[webrunner5]

I think the PMW F3 is a far better camera for nearly the same money. Heck Adorama had a F3 for like 775 bucks.

https://www.adorama.com/us 1018391.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwkYDbBRB6EiwAR0T_-gfda0onpd5_BqiNOttXZz3lzZ9EwQZSYaHldHxvZDtz_FSGxsciNBoCelsQAvD_BwET

They have a Panasonic AF100 for 625 bucks, and a Bunch of FS100's.

But yeah Like I have said, really good 1080p, even 720p is still good enough for 95% or more of video needs.

[Trek of Joy]

I shot with one briefly not long after it was released, mostly to shoot some beach tourism stuff with the underrated A-mount 16-50/2.8 on one of the LAEA adapters. I used Glencarin's profile as well. For me its biggest issue was how easily it clipped the highlights, this meant heavy ND use since I mostly shoot outside in bright sunlight. The ND color cast was a PITA to remove (admittedly I'm not the best colorist), so was AVCHD on my Mac back then. Internal ND's would have made a huge difference. I think it was a step forward at the time being a large sensor cinema camera, but with fs700r's selling for $1500 or so, the fs100 feels really outdated by comparison these days.

I've said for years I'd like to see something like the a6500 or even the fs700 sensor in a VG10/20/30 style small camcorder body to fill the gap between the a7 and the FS lines. The add-on XLR module would give you real audio. The new AF would be killer on a camcorder with a larger body to dissipate heat. But that will never be a reality.

Side note, I got my mint fs100 from a wealthy guy in Miami for peanuts who just wanted to get rid of it. He was using it to shoot porn and bikini babe videos of his wife. He upgraded to a C300 to shoot them in 4k. We met at a cafe and he rolled up in a convertible Ferrari, he was an interesting character, it was straight out of Boogie Nights. Would love to be able to see what he's doing now.

Chris

[BenEricson]

18 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

I think the PMW F3 is a far better camera for nearly the same money. Heck Adorama had a F3 for like 775 bucks.

https://www.adorama.com/us 1018391.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwkYDbBRB6EiwAR0T_-gfda0onpd5_BqiNOttXZz3lzZ9EwQZSYaHldHxvZDtz_FSGxsciNBoCelsQAvD_BwET

They have a Panasonic AF100 for 625 bucks, and a Bunch of FS100's.

But yeah Like I have said, really good 1080p, even 720p is still good enough for 95% or more of video needs.

Colors kind of remind me of the frames posted above. The F3 produces a really good image. Really underrated. 

[IronFilm]

14 hours ago, Trek of Joy said:

I think it was a step forward at the time being a large sensor cinema camera, but with fs700r's selling for $1500 or so, the fs100 feels really outdated by comparison these days.

I bid a few times on a FS700 today on eBay, but once the price got over US$1.4K I chickened out :-/ ?

 

14 hours ago, Trek of Joy said:

Side note, I got my mint fs100 from a wealthy guy in Miami for peanuts who just wanted to get rid of it. He was using it to shoot porn and bikini babe videos of his wife. He upgraded to a C300 to shoot them in 4k. We met at a cafe and he rolled up in a convertible Ferrari, he was an interesting character, it was straight out of Boogie Nights. Would love to be able to see what he's doing now.

Probably shooting it on a RED Monstro now.

 

[Benjamin Hilton]

On 7/31/2018 at 4:05 PM, mercer said:

Umm yeah... those images are gorgeous... I particularly love the bottom 4.

Are Glencairn’s G Log settings transferable to the newer sLog2/3 capable cameras?

I love these kind of posts, so thanks for sharing. After 5 years of hobby shooting, I find myself way more interested in older cameras I couldn’t afford then than the modern 4K cams available today.

I know gear and tech marches forward but it seems like there was better looking footage from those cameras than what is floating around now. I guess the pool of shooters was smaller back then, so there is more muck to sort through. Hell, I alone have 50 or so horrible videos clogging up searches... lol. 

I tried working his profile into an a6400, but couldn't get anything to feel right.  Something really special about that sensor. 

20 hours ago, BenEricson said:

Colors kind of remind me of the frames posted above. The F3 produces a really good image. Really underrated. 

I have never used an F3 before, would love to try it though.  Anyone had any experience using Glen's profile with the F3?

[Benjamin Hilton]

I believe also that the FS100 had about 11.5 stops of dynamic range; about what the GH5 and similar cameras have.

I wonder if it's possible for some really talented person to take the sensor and processing power of the FS100 and mod it into a smaller body.  Even just a box with an HDMI port on it would be amazing...could build out a nice package that is still small and compact. 

[webrunner5]

2 hours ago, Benjamin Hilton said:

I believe also that the FS100 had about 11.5 stops of dynamic range; about what the GH5 and similar cameras have.

I wonder if it's possible for some really talented person to take the sensor and processing power of the FS100 and mod it into a smaller body.  Even just a box with an HDMI port on it would be amazing...could build out a nice package that is still small and compact. 

They really are not that big to start with if you take the mike handle, side handle off and not use the Tube on the LCD with a small lens on it. I have that same Zacuto Rig as in this picture. I used it for my Sony VG-20, VG-30. The FS100 was in the same NEX class of cameras.

Now the PMW F3, that is a pretty damn big camera.

 

[mercer]

36 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

They really are not that big to start with if you take the mike handle, side handle off and not use the Tube on the LCD with a small lens on it. I have that same Zacuto Rig as in this picture. I used it for my Sony VG-20, VG-30. The FS100 was in the same NEX class of cameras.

Now the PMW F3, that is a pretty damn big camera.

 

Yeah, that doesn’t seem too big. Want to sell me that Zacuto rig, or just give it to a fellow filmmaker in need? Lol. 

Btw, what model is that Zacuto?

[webrunner5]

1 hour ago, mercer said:

Yeah, that doesn’t seem too big. Want to sell me that Zacuto rig, or just give it to a fellow filmmaker in need? Lol. 

Btw, what model is that Zacuto?

The gun stock is on sale on closeout, Usually like 250 bucks. Their stuff is expensive as heck, but really well made. Rest of the stuff you can just buy cheap on Amazon. But you have to have the right thread pattern to screw that Gun Stock into. Might need one of the Zacuto rods to be safe. Even the hand grip you can probably use one off Amazon. Won't swivel as well but.. I have never seen anything like the Gun Stock though. So probably have to buy it and the second item I have a link to. The demo z mount thingy..

I found out the Zacuto rods are a 15mm rod with 1/2"-13 thread. So 1/2"-13 thread rods are what you need. Some of the ones from China are Metric which makes sense.

I have this plate also. For the money on closeout it is a CRAZY good deal.  They usually are 160 bucks.You can mount just about Anything on it. From V mount batteries, to recorders, audio mixer on and on. I just buy stuff from them when it goes on closeout. Like 25% of the original cost. Philip Bloom uses all their stuff.

https://store.zacuto.com/zwiss-cage-plate/

 

https://store.zacuto.com/demo-gun-stock/

https://store.zacuto.com/demo-z-mount-2/

https://store.zacuto.com/wooden-handgrip/

https://store.zacuto.com/z-mount-zwivel-2/

[webrunner5]

Sony PMW F3 picture in hand. They are pretty wide also. They are about the same as a Panny AF100. Both are  not huge like a Arri Alexa is though.

[Kieran]

2 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

Off-topic: That photo is of Matt Davis who was a really good bloke. He was active on the dvinfo forum dispensing lots of useful advice usually with a sense of humour. Ask him a question in a private message and he'd take the time to write an in depth reply worthy of a magazine article.  Sadly he passed away a couple of years ago. I still have my C100 set up according to his 'cheat-sheet'. I chatted to him a few times at a couple of expos he gave talks at. A really nice guy sadly missed. 

[mercer]

43 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

The gun stock is on sale on closeout, Usually like 250 bucks. Their stuff is expensive as heck, but really well made. Rest of the stuff you can just buy cheap on Amazon. But you have to have the right thread pattern to screw that Gun Stock into. Might need one of the Zacuto rods to be safe.

https://store.zacuto.com/demo-gun-stock/

https://store.zacuto.com/wooden-handgrip/

https://store.zacuto.com/z-mount-zwivel-2/

Thanks, I’m looking for a simple gun stock rig I can use in conjunction with a strap to get an extra point of contact... but most importantly something compact that I can either fold up or take on or off the camera quickly and stow away. Any ideas?

To keep my comment on point, is the EVF on the FS100 removable? If so, it doesn’t seem to big from the photos. But I’ve never seen one in real life, so what do I know. I have seen a few videos recently and I really do like the output and IQ. And the price seems right. Of course, I still think I’d rather have a C100...

[webrunner5]

23 minutes ago, mercer said:

Thanks, I’m looking for a simple gun stock rig I can use in conjunction with a strap to get an extra point of contact... but most importantly something compact that I can either fold up or take on or off the camera quickly and stow away. Any ideas?

To keep my comment on point, is the EVF on the FS100 removable? If so, it doesn’t seem to big from the photos. But I’ve never seen one in real life, so what do I know. I have seen a few videos recently and I really do like the output and IQ. And the price seems right. Of course, I still think I’d rather have a C100...

Well that tube is removable and the LCD folds down on the top. But then a lot of the controls are hidden. They are a damn good camera for the money. A great Cine Camera learning tool if for nothing else. Shame they don't have ND filters like the PMW F3.

That first picture is the first version normal kit lens that came with them. like a 18-200mm I think. There was at least 3 versions of them. The last one was Black and had a zoom rocker switch in the lens. I had the first and last versions. This one I think is the first. https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SEL18200-mount-18-200mm-F3-5-6-3/dp/B0042GFYLI

Last version.  I had this one for my VG-30. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/913563-REG/sony_selp_18200_18_200mm_f_3_5_6_3_pz_oss.html

But, I never knew this but this is a surprise to me. A Hasselblad version of one!

https://www.keh.com/shop/hasselblad-18-200mm-f-3-5-6-3-e-oss-silver-e-mount-autofocus-lens-67-1.html?m=Grouped&prod_id=1188151&aid=1188151&rmatt=tsid:|cid:1410740124|agid:60981491932|tid:pla-473957324134|crid:270919503814|nw:g|rnd:10272506598975176105|dvc:c|adp:1o7&gclid=CjwKCAjwtIXbBRBhEiwAWV-5nkJ0CB_Er7RXBBPJKhvDtIIypwPeCDhk7AEet54BiGxx1skRgMkBfBoCszgQAvD_BwE