Sony F5

Alister Chapman of XDCAM-USER writes: Well I’ve just returned home from NAB and a week of Tornado Chasing in the USA. For the Tornado chasing I was shooting in 4K using my Sony F5. I’ve shot run and gun with my F3 and FS700 in the past when shooting air-shows and similar events. But this was very different. Tornado chasing is potentially dangerous. You often only have seconds  to grab a shot which involves leaping out of a car, quickly setting up a tripod and camera and then framing and exposing the shot. You often only have time for one 30 second shot before you have to jump back into the car and move on out ahead of the storm. All of this my be happening in very strong winds and rain. The storms I chased last week had inflow winds rushing into them at 50+ MPH.

In this presentation from NAB 2013, DP Alister Chapman talks about what he's learned about the features of the Sony F5 and F55 from the sensor to color grading. Watch below.

Andy Shipsides of AbelCine writes: With every new camera, come many new questions about workflow. The term “workflow” can be fairly broad, but today I am looking at importing Sony F5/F55 footage into various non-linear editing systems (NLEs). Both the F5 & F55 can record in MPEG2 (XDCAM), XAVC and HDCAM SR formats internally. With the addition of the AXS-R5 recorder, they can also record in Sony Raw. This article is focused on MPEG2 and XAVC, but be sure to keep an eye out for future blogs on working with Sony Raw and HDCAM SR. The F5 & F55 workflows are similar to that of the F3 and XDCAM EX cameras, but with some significant changes.

Andy Shipsides of AbelCine writes: The Sony F5 & F55 cameras are shipping in quantity now, and we’ve gotten a lot of requests for some custom scene files. I’ve put together five files in our usual flavors. They are designed both to change the cameras’ look and make matching the two cameras easier. The cameras handle colors very differently due to their different Color Filter Arrays (to learn more, read Mitch’s article on CFAs), so you’ll see some obvious differences in the files. My focus on these files was to match skin tones and give a nice overall look.

This first look from Zacuto and AbelCine at the Sony F5 and Sony F55 looks at some of the differences between the two cameras as well as going through some handheld set-ups. Watch below.

Join Adorama for a free in-depth tour and hands-on demo of the new Sony PMW-F5 CineAlta camera; food and drink will be served.

What: Adorama Presents: Sony PMW-F5 CineAlta 4K Digital Cinema Camcorder
When: Thursday, March 21, 2013, 6 PM
Where: Adorama’s new event space at 55 West 17th Street, between 5th and 6th avenue, NY, NY
Cost: FREE

522 Productions set up some camera tests between the RED Scarlet, Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Sony F5 and present some of the results along with with comparisons of set-ups and more. Watch below.

Cinematographer Ben Allan of the Film Bakery has gotten his hands on prototypes of the Sony F5 and F55 and shot some test footage (that he's graciously offered up for free download too.) He writes, "Personally, I find [the] results to be quite remarkable and beyond what I would expect from any other camera I’ve tested – including film. To be 4 stops over exposed and have it not only useable, but really quite normal is astonishing.

Sony F3 user Adam Shanker takes a first look at the Sony F5, writing, "Many DPs, myself included, talked to Sony about a camera that would be everything to everybody. A camera that not only looked good on the sketchboard and on scopes, but was a camera that an operator had no limits with. The F5 looks to have taken a lot of those issues into consideration."

Read his full post here on Crews Control.

Sony Electronics has announced suggested list pricing for its newest CineAlta 4K cameras – the PMW-F55 and PMW-F5 – as well as their related 4K accessories. These new technologies, announced in late October to tremendous industry response, are designed to meet the growing demand for HD, 2K and 4K content creation across a wide range of professional applications.

The suggested U.S. list pricing for the new products, planned to be available in February, are:

•PMW-F5 CineAlta 4K Camera $19,400
•PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K Camera $34,900
•AXR-R5 RAW Recorder $6,300

Sony Electronics recently introduced two new 4K cameras, the PMW-F55 and PMW-F5, that can shoot HD, 2K and 4K. TV Technology’s Craig Johnston spoke to Sony Electronics senior product manager Juan Martinez and director of marketing for large image sensor cameras Rob Willox about the new cameras.

Where do these two new CineAlta cameras fit into the Sony 4K camera lineup?

After weeks of teasing, Sony finally revealed its expanded F Series ecosystem of products at the end of October. Sony’s expanded CineAlta ecosystem centers around two new 4K cameras, the PMW-F5 and the PMW-F55. They share an identical modular form factor differentiated only by the silver PL locking ring on the F55. The shape of the cameras very much resembles an Aaton film camera or even an ARRI Alexa, except smaller, shorter and lighter.

Sony Europe will be running a live-chat on December 4th all about their new F-series of cameras. The chat will feature Sony experts as well as the key crew behind two short films recently shot with the Sony F5 and F55.

The chat is taking place on Sony Europe's Facebook page at 6 PM GMT (1 PM ET). Register for a reminder here.

Download Film and Digital Times' extensive 96-page booklet going over both the Sony F55 and F5. The free PDF includes comparison charts, a thorough road map of each cameras' features and much more calling itself "“The Official Biography of the F5 and F55 at its Launch."

Download it here.

Sony has added a forum dedicated to its new F5 and F55 cameras to its Sony Support Community Boards. Moderated by Peter Crithary, Marketing Manager, Large Sensor Acquisition, the forum provides an opportunity for prospective users of these newly-announced cameras to interact with each other and with Sony.

Michael Sutton of Wide Open Camera weighs in on all the big camera news to emerge last week. He writes, "So it was a big week for all us gear heads.  Sony announced new cameras and a recorder, Red slashed prices and Canon started to trickle ship C500 EF cameras. One thing that all three companies offer is 4K but only two offer 4K video outputs. I mention this because I think its very important. Codecs get better and workflows become more efficient. Things change down the line as technology progresses. 4K resolution is great but most cannot even view it.

Filmmaker Nino Leitner goes into some of the details of Sony's two new cameras: the F55 and F5. He writes, "The Sony F5 & F55 cameras were just announced, alongside an entire range of workflow infrastructure that goes along with.

FXGuide's The RC podcast tackles new Sony cameras this week, discussing the F5, F55 and A99. Jerome Thelia and David Mclain guest star to talk about their short film, "The Calling," which was shot with the A99.

AbeCine helps define CFA (Color Filter Array) and specifically how it applies to the newly announced Sony F55 and F5. They write, "In the descriptions of the new PMW-F5 and PMW-F55 cameras, Sony notes that the F55 sensor shares the same CFA as its big brother, the F65.

Richard Lewis of Sony leads this 19-minute video walkthrough of the newly announced Sony F55 and Sony F5, providing a first look at the camera's features including the viewfinder, menu controls, recording options and more. Watch below.

Sony has just announced their new 4K F55 and F5 and Jon Fauer of Film and Digital Times breaks down some of the most impressive features.

He says, "Get the F55 if you want to record 4K, 2K or HD internally to SxS Cards, shoot to 240 fps, have a global shutter, and want an F65 type of sensor design.

Sony Electronics is unveiling two new CineAlta 4K cameras, complemented by a full line of new accessories. The new cameras – models F55 and F5 – have a modular and compact design for easy configuration, and each features a new type of 4K Super 35mm image sensor with a 4096 x 2160 resolution (11.6M total pixels).