Sony's new S35mm camcorder PMW-F3K

Vincent Sweeney · November 9, 2010

Got this email, passing it along.

Phil Connolly · November 10, 2010

That looks really interesting especially it the bundled lens's are any good.

But I think Sony are really dropping the ball with the choice of recording codec - the 35mbs Mpeg codec can look pretty decent, but for any serious jobs and the majority of HD tv projects your going to be forced into using an external recorder.

The 50mbs 4:2:2 XDCAM HD codec would have been a much better choice, making the camera more flexible. I guess Sony are either top slicing the market and a 50mbs version will turn up once people have paid out for the 35mbs version or they don't want people using this camera instead of their high end stuff.

Still it could be a really nice option for modest budgeted work, basically a 35mm Ex3 which is no bad thing. The EX series have been my go to cameras for the last few projects I've worked on and the option to have a lower DOF would be nice.

Brian Drysdale · November 10, 2010

Sony seem to see it as a B camera for their HDCAM SR cameras. Having the 35mbs codec is less of a restriction in that case because it would fit into the percentage of "SD" material that the HD channels allow.

Ravi Kiran · November 10, 2010

I don't like the little viewfinder in the back. This would be better if it had the side VF like on the EX-3.

Phil Connolly · November 10, 2010

Sony seem to see it as a B camera for their HDCAM SR cameras. Having the 35mbs codec is less of a restriction in that case because it would fit into the percentage of "SD" material that the HD channels allow.

Sure it would be a good B camera in that situation, but its limiting the market. I can see myself renting this camera, but I'd need to use it as the A camera so I'd probably have to rent a nano flash as well. It would be great if I didn't have too, money spent on cameras is less money in your pocket.

In the past I haven't minded the 35mbs codec too much - as I've got good results, but I'm currently working on EX 3 documentry shot under less then ideal conditions and the grade's been quite hard work, the image can fall apart very quickly if your not careful - it would just be nice to have something better in the low budget area.

Vincent Sweeney · November 11, 2010

I don't know why I get so many camera event invites/news, etc. Anyway if you are in LA, they are showing the cam off at USC:

http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/ext/eblasts/broadcast/dmplaunchinvite2_111710.shtml

Keith Walters · November 11, 2010

F3K link

Got this email, passing it along.

It sounds like exactly what the industry wants, so NOBODY is going to buy one of those :P

BUT:

"1920 x 480" sounds like an odd choice for the viewfinder.

Or does that really mean (3 x 640) x 480, that is 640 RGB x 480?

How many Pixels does the sensor have?

And is a Bayer Mask or RGB?

Does "F3K" mean a 3K sensor, perhaps?

I know, I'll go over to Reduser. They're SURE to know :D

Edited to Add: Nope. Looks like they don't, for the moment anyway.

But somebody who calls himself "esp" and has been a member for 3 1/2 years, was banned after making his first and only post there about this camera. :rolleyes:

Vincent Sweeney · November 11, 2010

The question you really want to ask is: Which new camera will make me most famous and has more "K's" than the other guy? ;)

I'll go and look at it for fun's sake but owning anything anymore seems like a mistake to me, of course I'm not running a video business like so many are these days, so...

Keith Walters · November 12, 2010

http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/ext/eblasts/broadcast/dmplaunchinvite2_111710.shtml

I wonder if that red (ie "scarlet") cloth next to it is meant to be of any significance :rolleyes:

Note the venue:

Location: University of Southern California | School of Cinematic Arts

Ray Stark Family Theatre

George Lucas Building

SCA108

900 West 34th Street | Los Angeles, CA

Keith Walters · November 12, 2010

Hello, hot off the Sony Cyber-Press today.

This can't be the chip used in the F3, though; because this is a "vista-vision" size sensor

It says " All-pixel scan mode of 6.3 frame/s" which is still pretty impressive for a 24MP chip.

Image size Diagonal width 43.3mm (Type 2.7)

Total number of pixels 6236(H) x 4124(V) approx. 25.72M pixels

Number of effective pixels 6104(H) x 4064(V) approx.24.81M pixels

Number of active pixels 6096(H) x 4056(V) approx.24.73M pixels

Chip size 41.0mm (H) x 31.9 mm (V)

Vincent Sweeney · November 19, 2010

The demo was ok, nothing ground breaking in my eyes although I'm not as technical as many. The codec seemed to hold up pretty well though the demo footage did let some highlights go way over several times which didn't set well with some people, but it's better than catering it like some companies do. The projection may have been partially at fault for some inaccuracies and some of the post work seemed rushed but that is expected on this kind of thing.

The dual-link SDI feature was unexpected so you can hook up to their new SR drives when they arrive at 10bit uncompressed. They showed a 1 terabyte card coming for the drive later in '11. The battery life was reported to be amazingly long and the DP's liked the ruggedness and images overall but not the viewfinder. It was cool to watch the live feedback while turning the fps dial from 30fps to 1fps (60fps in 720). Hopefully the primes that were laying on a table in the hands-on demo room later were prototypes as they felt like a plastic toy. They are also huge, given what they are, like the red primes.

At $16k with a PL mount, it should sell though the Panasonic AF100 at $4500 might fit into a lot of its intended market better.

Coming more from the producing/directing side of things, this whole trendy market is a little confusing to me since all these large sensor cameras, which are marketed heavily to be the great indie filmmakers tool, come at a time when the indie narrative film marketplace is at its worst ever (aka, dead). These big sensors aren't the best idea for documentary work or general video production but since you can't push HD as the big selling point anymore, I guess it's time for big sensors few people really need but sound cool to own. I suppose it will be easier to get that 35mm look for someone's music video that won't be seen past youtube, but a 7D will do that too. Like with 24p being used for no reason in everything on TV (does Top Chef and Stormchasers need to look like film?) we will soon get to watch everything with strobing and focus issues if this keeps up.

Brian Drysdale · November 19, 2010

The cheaper version announced this week in prototype form may be the answer to the AF100.

For many TV productions 2/3" makes a lot of sense and the Scarlet 2/3" may be the answer to a lot of people in the documentary world who miss film's aesthetic, but the budget demands a cheaper camera and shooting video. However, the RAW rendering times may prevent the shoot everything that moves approach that some people have and limit its use in reality TV.

Brian Drysdale · November 19, 2010

Will these larger sensors force a more cinematic visual style into TV, which may not suit every programme, or the mindset of quite a few TV production people?