Photokina report day 1 - Sony FS7

[Tim Naylor]

Ebrahim, you nailed it. For commercial use I think this camera is probably just right, but for cinema... no way. I am definitely more interested in cinema capabilities and the ursa, as odd as it is (and btw this FS7 will be even more odd and heavy once equipped for cinema), is much more attractive to me. 

Why's that? The only weakness I see is the lack of a good PL to E mount adaptor. But someone will jump on that soon enough. But the size of the camera without external battery pack will be welcome for cinema, especially for gimbal and handheld work. If C300/500's are being used in movies and episodic, I see this making big inroads to cinema. 

 

Guarantee this camera will be all over the place. Indies will now be able to afford a B camera, broadcast will get a 10 bit 422 small file size codec, and doc guys will be in heaven.

[rishio]

I've had problems with eMount adapters too - so from here on out I'm only purchasing native lenses. Some of them are too tight and possibly damage the mount. Some of them too loose. Some of them made with cheaper metals. Good ones cost $200+. I think the rental house guy is making the right decision based on the lenses they have invested in. That said, I'm fully invested in the eMount and am excited about some of the lenses announced (28 f/2, 35 f/2 and 50 f/2)

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

You can't blame the rental house guy, it takes time to get on with the times and some people in the business will always be against the new stuff like adapting mounts, but for me, I think the concern is unfounded and probably based on experience with cheap low quality adapters.

If an adapter has any sort of play or tolerances in focus percision, throw it away, that's it. There is absolutely no excuse for it not to be a perfect fit just like a native PL mount, it's just that there are so many companies making cheap products out there that are giving this bad impression to some people that adapters aren't suitable, if you pay enough for a well-made one, it will have no problems what so ever.

I've had experience with the one from MTF services here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/765119-REG/MTF_Services_Ltd_MTPLSEM_PL_to_Sony_E.html

Absolutely perfect fit and machined of very very high quality metal. No complaints at all.

I've also had experience with a cheap chinese one that I refused to shoot with and cancelled an entire day as it was unusable for either focus or in durability, a simple joke, if I had used it it would have probably cost me thousands in broken gear.

-Just pay for a good high-quality one and you should have no problem using any PL lenses. The strong E mount + A strong durable adapter are capable of holding any PL lens. Just stay away from the cheap stuff as it's not worth it and too dangerous for anything, even for casual shooting, PL lenses are not cheap!

[Tim Naylor]

Ebrahim (or anyone else for that matter), can you recommend a good "smart" EF to Emount that isn't Metabones? Something with no play whatsoever.

 

Thanks.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Ebrahim (or anyone else for that matter), can you recommend a good "smart" EF to Emount that isn't Metabones? Something with no play whatsoever.

 

Thanks.

Unfortunately if you want a smart one (IS support, Aperture control and for some lenses (85L) even manual focus needs power) I believe the Metabones one is your only option.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/983747-REG/metabones_mb_ef_e_bm3_canon_ef_to_e_mount_nex.html

I didn't use that specific one so I can't comment on how well made it is, but I expect it will be excellent like there other products. Hope others who use it chime in on how well it fits on the E mount and whether it has any issues as I am getting one soon too it appears.

[pablogrollan]

I've had problems with eMount adapters too - so from here on out I'm only purchasing native lenses. Some of them are too tight and possibly damage the mount. Some of them too loose. Some of them made with cheaper metals. Good ones cost $200+. I think the rental house guy is making the right decision based on the lenses they have invested in. That said, I'm fully invested in the eMount and am excited about some of the lenses announced (28 f/2, 35 f/2 and 50 f/2)

 

Considering the price point of the camera ($8K) I don't think adding 400-500$  (not 200$) is a problem for a PL lens user. As Ebrahim said, proper adapters should be a perfect fit, solid and with no play whatsoever, just like a native mount.

[Tim Naylor]

Unfortunately if you want a smart one (IS support, Aperture control and for some lenses (85L) even manual focus needs power) I believe the Metabones one is your only option.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/983747-REG/metabones_mb_ef_e_bm3_canon_ef_to_e_mount_nex.html

I didn't use that specific one so I can't comment on how well made it is, but I expect it will be excellent like there other products. Hope others who use it chime in on how well it fits on the E mount and whether it has any issues as I am getting one soon too it appears.

In a word it blows. The amount of play between lens and mount is unacceptable for precise work and quite noticeable on long lens pulls. I tried more than one to make sure I didn't have a defective. Returned it to B&H already. Way too expensive for that kind of jiggle. Waiting on a Viltrox any day now.

 

Jacek at Optitek just got back to me and has chatted with Sony about developing a mount. Fingers crossed. If you've ever seen his work, it's uncompromising. His Nikon / EF mounts to other cameras are genius. Instead of clicking, a pressure lock disc presses the lens into place. In short a PL system for still lenses.

[jgharding]

One of my adapters went wonky on shoot recently, but with no client over the shoulder dealt with it and the result looks great. It was a $10 adapter though ;)

 

Ideally the FS7 should have a changeable hard mount, like the Epic.

[mat321]

Hi,

 

Can someone can tell us how is the fs7 compare to fs700, fs700 + 7q ?

 

Also comapre some camera in the same price rnage like c100 ?

 

Thanks