Is a Sony F3 worthwhile buying in 2015??

[IronFilm]

I've almost completed my initial kit out for now. The last remaining items I still need to decide on buying is: a second dovetail (one for the tripod, one for the monopod. The camera already came with one dovetail), a fluid head for the monopod that can handle 10kg or more, and maybe a tripod (as I expect my current one won't quite handle the full set up).

Haven't looked enough into which fluid head, so still quite clueless as what to get! I'd appreciate any suggestions? Am considering a couple already, but they're only capable to a max 8kg payload, which I suspect in a worse case scenario could come up a couple of kilos short. 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-JY0506-video-DSLR-Camcorder-Fluid-Tripod-Head-Drag-slider-rail-max-8KG-load/121491999464
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miliboo-MYT801-Pro-Tripod-Monod-Ball-Head-Quick-Release-Plate-for-Canon-Nikon-/271837439808

I'm looking at one of these dovetails:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lanparte-15mm-Slide-Dovetail-Plate-230mm-Long-For-Tripod-Baseplate-DSLR-Rig-BMCC-/370856985673
http://www.ebay.com/itm/45cm-long-Dovetail-Plate-Arri-standard-with-1-4-20-3-8-Hole-InnoCamera-/171787795433
http://www.camtreerigs.com/camtree-19-15mm-base-plate-with-dovetail-tripod-plate-arri-standard.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/891108-REG/Wooden_Camera_WC_151100_Safety_Dovetail_8.html/prm/alsVwDtl
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1100200-REG/lanparte_dp_15_dovetail_plate.html

This is the tripod I'm considering:
http://www.came-tv.com/came15t-pro-carbon-tripod-for-red-epic-cage-dslr-rigs-p-573.html

 

How did you find that? I looked a while back and nothing less than 2300 came up. Jealous.

 

This is almost the same price as a new A7s in NZ (& I got mine for quite a bit less):

http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/video-cameras/professional-cameras/auction-911356034.htm

 

You're not in NZ however, but look around and I expect with enough effort and time you'll be able to find similar deals on your local marketplaces. Just takes time and patience, and a bit of initiative. (I googled the seller and hunted about, so I could contact him directly and work out a deal in person rather than just going via the auction) 

​

Some good observations about the F3 and comparisons to the AF100, Red One, and Alexa. http://www.provideocoalition.com/ag-af100_and_pmw-f3_on_the_charts

​Thanks, that reminds me now that I should add IR-cut filters to my shopping list. 

[IronFilm]

Is there more than one standard for these dovetails??? :-/  I had guessed there was only the Arri standard dovetail. 

As I ordered this (which is Arri standard):
http://www.proaimshop.com/pas/CAMTREE-19-15mm-Base-Plate-With-Dovetail-Tripod-Plate-ARRi-Standard.html

I've attached an image of my camera, with its baseplate and dovetail that it came with (TILTA LSW baseplate).

 

 

[IronFilm]

I can't seem to find online the specific "TILTA LSW Baseplate" which I own (that is the words on the side of it).

Guessing it is a bit older model which is not being sold anywhere. 
As far as I can tell by looking over Tilta's current products they make two kinds of dovetails:

Arri standard and Sony VCT-U14.

Unless... is "Lightweight Standard" a third standard for dovetails? I'm unfortunately suspecting it is!

Although that doesn't make sense:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/992650-REG/ikan_tt_c07_12_2060_2575_120ex_dovetail_plate.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/992649-REG/ikan_tt_c16_10_lightweight_dovetail_plate.html

 

They're both called "lightweight", yet the 1st one doesn't work with mine (I know as I have an "Arri Standard" dovetail which doesn't work, unless... "Lightweight Arri Standard" is something specific and different to "Arri Standard". While the second one looks like it is identical to the one which came with my camera, and is what I'm seeking a second one of)

Is Tilta with their 15mm baseplates using their own made up "standard"??

[PannySVHS]

Here's a feature I shot on the Sony F3 - resolution aside - the color information is quite excellent - and you can make some really lovely stuff with it.

 

 

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Hallo Ed?!:)

 

would you allow to watch your piece and provide the password? By the way, really digged your modelshoots and your differnt grading approaches to it.

 

cheers, Martin

[BenEricson]

because I use them a lot on jobs where we need 3 cameras or more.

Has 10 bit codec output umcompressed and better highlight handling - about 13 stops to my eyes vs 12 stops on c300

and well motion feels better to me.

C300 has nicer skintones out of the gate and also has more resoliving detail - but still F3 is a steal right now.  And it's better for doc when you need the extra dynamic range in the highlights for doc-like conditions.

 

Ed, I have been watching your F3 footage online. Really nice looking stuff. Thinking about buying one of these to shoot with for a while. I have been shooting with the FS700/7Q and the only disappointment to me is the skin tones for interviews. It's really difficult to find a camera that can do Pro Res/422 60p at an affordable price. 

The only negatives, I don't own any PL glass... Anyone still shooting on this camera? I love the images it puts out.

[dhessel]

No need to worry about the PL mount on the F3. The camera actually has a FZ mount which can be adapted to just about anything. It shipped with an FZ to PL mount adatper which is one rerason why you see so many of them with PL mounts.

[IronFilm]

Only a hundred bucks for a Nikon F adapter and now my camera feels like a rock solid Nikon F native mount camera! I really like the concept of the underlying FZ mount

[jax_rox]

1 hour ago, Elagabalus said:

I might be insane, but I'll probably buy this camera if I can find one for a decent price in Europe this summer. 

You're not insane  

[IronFilm]

It is getting up to nearly ish a year later and I'm still happy with my purchase :-)

[jax_rox]

7 minutes ago, Elagabalus said:

The only thing I'm not sure about is the fact that it's not 4K. 

But do you need 4K?

Depends what you're shooting as to whether the lack of 4k is a problem or not.

[John Palmer]

I made a post just like this about 2 months ago. Still haven't pulled the trigger. Been waiting for a little bit better of a price and I may be getting a full time position at a university so possibly getting a stipend for extra equipment. Ive been camera-less for almost 2 months and haven't had a hard time doing any jobs though luckily I have a buddy with an a7s2 I've been using for most projects

[IronFilm]

3 hours ago, Elagabalus said:

The only thing I'm not sure about is the fact that it's not 4K. 

If the client "needs" 4K then I can easily enough borrow a GH4 or similar from a friend for free / dirt cheap, otherwise if they *NEED* 4K then they ought to have the budget so I can rent an FS7/F5 and do it properly. 

For everything else.... there is the F3! (plus with a small gimbal camera, in my case the BMPCC. But an A6300 / A7s mk1 / BMMCC could all also fill this role cheaply)

[jax_rox]

29 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

If the client "needs" 4K then I can easily enough borrow a GH4 or similar from a friend for free / dirt cheap, otherwise if they *NEED* 4K then they ought to have the budget so I can rent an FS7/F5 and do it properly. 
 

If the client needs 4K, chuck the Shogun on the A7s! 

Or hire something that can comfortably do it, assuming you're charging out appropriately.

You'd be surprised though at how few require 4k. There are some broadcasters requesting 4k, but I've recently been shooting cinema commercials for brands, and the cinema's requirement is a 1080p DCP - not even 2k!

 

[Justin Bacle]

I'm pretty sure you won't loose a contract because of not complying to 4K. If it looks good in 1080p, upscale it in post to 4K if the client requires it.

If it looks good in 1080p, it'll still look good on any screen

[richg101]

The 1080p from the f3 is better than the 4k from any camera system within the same budget (sub $3-4k).

[AaronChicago]

Any of the cameras that shoot quality ProRes or Raw 1080 can be upscaled to 4K no problem. I've never once had a client ask what camera was used to check and see if it's "real" 4K. For that matter, I've only had one that even requested a 4K finish.

[IronFilm]

18 hours ago, jax_rox said:

If the client needs 4K, chuck the Shogun on the A7s! 

Hopefully! I kinda want to get an A7s mk1 as my "matching" gimbal camera with my F3.

Am borrowing an A7s mk1 for the short film shoot this weekend down in Hamilton. 

But mostly I'm trying hard to resist buying any more camera gear! Or at least not until levels of paid work improves for me. 

All good, gives more time for the A7s mk1 secondhand prices to drop even lower ;-) And wouldn't it be a miracle if the Sony Hackers discover Sony left an option for internal 4K in the A7s mk1 firmware but it was disabled and is a simple switch to turn it back on ;-) :-D 

[jax_rox]

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

All good, gives more time for the A7s mk1 secondhand prices to drop even lower ;-) And wouldn't it be a miracle if the Sony Hackers discover Sony left an option for internal 4K in the A7s mk1 firmware but it was disabled and is a simple switch to turn it back on ;-) :-D 

Well, so far we've been gifted unlimited record times, so... you never know...  

Don't think it will be as simple as a line of code a la F5/55, but if ML could hack a 5D to get raw out of it... who knows what's possible

[IronFilm]

ML however was building on the years of work from CHDK, and ML raw was building on the years of work of ML itself. They're basically kinda rewriting the firmware from scratch. 

While the Panasonic and Sony hacks are rather more like the Sony F5 hack, merely tweaking a line or two of code to enable what is already there! Thus I'll be healthily skeptical as to if either will ever be making the large leap to raw video out of a mirrorless camera. (but we can still dream! :-D But I expect to see pigs fly first)

[jax_rox]

6 hours ago, IronFilm said:

ML however was building on the years of work from CHDK, and ML raw was building on the years of work of ML itself. They're basically kinda rewriting the firmware from scratch. 

While the Panasonic and Sony hacks are rather more like the Sony F5 hack, merely tweaking a line or two of code to enable what is already there! Thus I'll be healthily skeptical as to if either will ever be making the large leap to raw video out of a mirrorless camera. (but we can still dream! :-D But I expect to see pigs fly first)

Of course, but we're only just starting to see the first A7s hacks... Imagine it like the very very first ML hacks.. we may not be weeks away from raw video, but who knows what we could get, given enough time.