Sony PMW F3 with RGB 4:4:4 Upgrade and Element Technica Body Armour

[Mark Kenfield]

Selling my lovely, maxed-out Sony F3. You won’t find a better version of this camera anywhere - this unit has both the RGB 4:4:4 upgrade (for 10-bit 4:4:4 uncompressed output) and Element Technica’s amazing body armour modification, which strips away all of the handycam-style nonsense of the original F3, and turns the camera into an incredibly solid and genuinely production-friendly machine.

They called this thing the “Baby Alexa” for a reason, with full 4:4:4 colour subsampling, huge dynamic range, and incredible low-light performance (due to its massive photosites), when you pair it with an external recorder, you get fantastic images in 1080p up to 60fps. I’ve been using it as a B-camera to my Alexa for the last few years, and it’s kinda remarkable how well the image from the Sony keeps up.

It’s been very well looked after and is in great condition, with a low 677 hours on the body. The baseplate also includes a rear 15mm LWS rod clamp (not pictured) for mounting a v-lock plate or other accessories.

It has a great set of built-in pre-amps, so for documentary interviews, or corporate shoots where you need to run sound into the camera as well, it really works a treat.

So if you’re after a cheap, but powerful S35mm camera, with the reliability that Sony’s Cinealta cameras always deliver, and don’t want to deal with the mess and complexity of the mirrorless cameras, this might be of interest to you. 

Looking for $3,200 AUD (ex. GST) / $2,400 USD

Located in Melbourne, Australia, but happy to ship worldwide.

[Mark Kenfield]

And here are some screengrabs from a few things I've shot with it, to show what it can do:

 

[Jeff Yong Yan Hee]

Hey Mark,

Really great images!I'm interested. Do you use any external recorder with the F3 to achieve those images?

[Mark Kenfield]

On 6/30/2019 at 5:42 PM, Jeff Yong Yan Hee said:

Hey Mark,

Really great images!I'm interested. Do you use any external recorder with the F3 to achieve those images?

Sorry Jeff, just seen your post. I've always used external recorders with the F3. The internal 8-bit recording isn't up to snuff for a mastering codec. But the 10-bit Prores 4:4:4 most certainly is.

 

I've also just listed the camera for auction on eBay (if anyone's interested):

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/143356574635