Sony PMW-F3 with 2500 hours on it. Should I buy it?

[PPNS]

i disagree, but it can look pretty good just like in some of the examples. if you need an external recorder to get good results out of your camera i dont think its worth anyones effort. 

[webrunner5]

The F3 was never meant to not be rigged out to the max.Heck they even made a Cine Lens kit just for it. A lot depends if you are using stuff for fun or if you are making a living from it. If the latter you wold have everything they make hanging off of the camera.

 

it is by no means a run n gun camera like a C100 can be.

[IronFilm]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:13 PM, webrunner5 said:

Might be but Canon sold one hell of a lot more C100's than Sony Sold F3's.

Surprise surprise, a massively cheaper camera sold a lot more than an expensive camera!

On 7/17/2022 at 2:46 PM, webrunner5 said:

The F3 viewfinder always seemed broken

"Solution": you can't have a broken VF if you've removed it entirely 😉

Mine is removed completely!

[webrunner5]

Apparently they say it is usually the ribbon cable that goes bad. Probably not the easiest thing to replace.

[IronFilm]

On the topic of old Sony CineAlta cameras, the Sony PMW-F55 just turned 10 years old:

 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

On 7/24/2022 at 5:56 AM, PPNS said:

i disagree, but it can look pretty good just like in some of the examples. if you need an external recorder to get good results out of your camera i dont think its worth anyones effort. 

That depends heavily on how you shoot. Almost everything I do has it least 1-2 crew members, a client monitor, and something big onboard for operator/crew. In that environment, there's no real downside to making that onboard monitor a recorder. 

On 7/24/2022 at 11:30 AM, webrunner5 said:

The F3 was never meant to not be rigged out to the max.Heck they even made a Cine Lens kit just for it. A lot depends if you are using stuff for fun or if you are making a living from it. If the latter you wold have everything they make hanging off of the camera.

 

it is by no means a run n gun camera like a C100 can be.

The wealth of mounting points on the camera would completely contradict the idea that the F3 wasn't meant to be rigged up, no? It's primarily a studio camera that needs some rigging to work its best, unlike the canon C-series that excelled as a stripped down all-in-one DSLR upgrade.

 

6 hours ago, IronFilm said:

On the topic of old Sony CineAlta cameras, the Sony PMW-F55 just turned 10 years old:

 

Now THAT'S a camera I could see having a second life as prices plummet. Amazing codec, strong DR, and the siren song of global shutter...

[PannySVHS]

Such subtle differences. I still liked the F3 best out of the three cameras.

 

[andrgl]

Sorta hijacking this thread but it is relevant:

Must've been living under a rock, Sony discontinued the FS5M2.

RIP

Awesome camera to keep an eye out for used, and Atomos effectively prolonged these cameras forever with the Ninja V.

I fucking love S35-sized sensors. Allows you to shoot on vintage and tiny glass. Add a focal reducer and you have almost full frame.

Of course you need to rig the fuck out of this camera to get good image quality. Good camera to own for low budget, controlled shoots.

 

[FHDcrew]

4 hours ago, andrgl said:

Sorta hijacking this thread but it is relevant:

Must've been living under a rock, Sony discontinued the FS5M2.

RIP

Awesome camera to keep an eye out for used, and Atomos effectively prolonged these cameras forever with the Ninja V.

I fucking love S35-sized sensors. Allows you to shoot on vintage and tiny glass. Add a focal reducer and you have almost full frame.

Of course you need to rig the fuck out of this camera to get good image quality. Good camera to own for low budget, controlled shoots.

 

Indeed, very underrated. And for those who are cool with 1080p it does so internally, in 10 bit color. No bulky rigging needed. I think the 1080 may be oversampled. 

[IronFilm]

On 8/26/2022 at 5:04 AM, TheRenaissanceMan said:

Now THAT'S a camera I could see having a second life as prices plummet. Amazing codec, strong DR, and the siren song of global shutter...

I already sometimes see a Sony F55 flirting quite close to the US$3K mark. 

(with the current high inflation though... for how much longer though? Everything seems to be going up lately, even secondhand prices of goods on eBay 😕 )

The Sony F5, that is essentially identical to the F55 (the two key differences being without the global shutter, but much better low light with the F5 because of that) is already sometimes just slightly under the $2K mark by a fraction of a hair. 

[IronFilm]

On 9/2/2022 at 11:37 AM, andrgl said:

Must've been living under a rock, Sony discontinued the FS5M2.

RIP

Awesome camera to keep an eye out for used, and Atomos effectively prolonged these cameras forever with the Ninja V.

I fucking love S35-sized sensors. Allows you to shoot on vintage and tiny glass. Add a focal reducer and you have almost full frame.

Ninja V?? But I thought I had to use a SDI recorder to get 4K raw out of the FS5? 

[BTM_Pix]

4 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Ninja V?? But I thought I had to use a SDI recorder to get 4K raw out of the FS5? 

Atomos released new firmware late last year for the Ninja V+ to enable this now with the FS5,FS7 and FS700 when you add the AtomX SDI module.

 

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, BTM_Pix said:

when you add the AtomX SDI module.

Ah yes, I was forgetting that. 

[PannySVHS]

The F3 has one of the best posts vs image quality ratios on youtube. It keeps me looking for new pieces showing off the magic coming from this beauty instead of using my own F3. It´s a lazy way of enjoying this camera. It´s an easy way to do so 🙂 Is´nt it:

 

[FHDcrew]

14 minutes ago, PannySVHS said:

The F3 has one of the best posts vs image quality ratios on youtube. It keeps me looking for new pieces showing off the magic coming from this beauty instead of using my own F3. It´s a lazy way of enjoying this camera. It´s an easy way to do so 🙂 Is´nt it:

 

You should use  your F3!

[PannySVHS]

I will, if David and other Eoshd F3 owners join for a bit of challenge fun! @IronFilm @TheRenaissanceMan @Josue Nunez @Triste Han @BenEricson 🙂

[FHDcrew]

1 hour ago, PannySVHS said:

I will, if David and other Eoshd F3 owners join for a bit of challenge fun! @IronFilm @TheRenaissanceMan @Josue Nunez @Triste Han @BenEricson 🙂

Even if they don’t you should still use it 😛 😂 👍 

[PannySVHS]

I will. You could grab one yourself and film FHD with a crew.:) I would still love a challenge. It would provide us with more beautiful pieces to watch.

[FHDcrew]

1 hour ago, PannySVHS said:

I will. You could grab one yourself and film FHD with a crew.:) I would still love a challenge. It would provide us with more beautiful pieces to watch.

I’d love to but I can’t. I’d need to join in with My Nikon Z6 and oversampled 1080P PRORES footage via the ninja star.

[FHDcrew]

3 hours ago, PannySVHS said:

I will. You could grab one yourself and film FHD with a crew.:) I would still love a challenge. It would provide us with more beautiful pieces to watch.

I JUST GOT YOUR JOKE HAHA