Alister Chapman is one of the foremost authorities on Sony’s large sensor cameras. He is a Sony Independent Certified Expert (ICE) and runs the excellent XDCAM user blog. He is also one of the few people in the world to have worked with the upcoming PXW-FS5.
Dutch rig and accessory maker Vocas recently organised an open day where Alister gave a thorough explanation of the capabilities of the FS5. He not only talked about the camera itself, but also about its applications in the field. He covered the lens options, variable ND filter, centre scan and clear image zoom, slow motion capabilities and codecs. The video also has a detailed hour-long section on image quality and the use of the various gammas and S-Log. Alister really knows his stuff and I think this is a must watch for anyone considering buying the camera.
The event was streamed live on the Vocas website using the latest Livestream Studio HD550. The feed was also recorded and the whole event is shown in the video above.
Vocas have several complete rig solutions for the FS5 which we saw at IBC a few months ago. The new USBP-15 MKII baseplate with its unique dovetail system makes it easy to turn the camera from a standalone run-and-gun camera into a full size shoulder camera in a matter of seconds. The camera with dovetail plate can also be rapidly mounted to drones, brushless gimbals and tripods with the matching docking plate fitted.
Below is a summary of what is covered in the presentation:
1:24 Start of presentation by Alister
2:45 Introduction of Alister’s work
7:12 Introduction of PXW-FS5 and it’s main features
10:38 What makes the PXW-FS5 different?
13:49 What the PXW-FS5 is NOT
25:37 But what it is…..
38:11 Usage with gimbals and drones
38:40 Cooling system
39:51 Lens options
41:41 Variable ND filter
49:35 Cool tricks (centre scan, clear image zoom)
55:07 Cool tricks #2 (joystick on handgrip, stream live, upload to FTP, GPS)
59:14 Picture quality (Gamma curves, Cinegamma, S-Log) – an hour long segment which is full of details
2:08:15 First firmware versions limitations
2:10:51 Recording modes, codecs, XAVC vs AVCHD, recording media and card slots
2:13:54 Super Slow Motion
2:18:31 Multi interface shoe
2:20:28 Why is it a star?
2:22:30 Model variations (kits)
2:23:00 Comparison: FS5 vs FS7 vs FS700
2:24:03 Sony Professional HDD RAID short info
2:26:10 Wrap up
2:27:38 Alister’s shameless plug for Northern Lights trip
2:28:47 Audience final questions
*Please note that audio is missing for the first half minute of the introduction.
Alister regularly speaks and runs training on Sony’s large sensor professional cameras. He is a regular storm chaser and also runs guided trips. You can contact him via his blog.
