Thoughts on the Sony PMW-F3


Having me comment on the PMW-F3 is a bit like having me review the latest Lamborghini - "nice car; I'm never going to buy one."

If it comes in at around $16,000 US - and who know's what it will be, but at 20,000 Euro's there's little chance it will be much less than that -  the PMW-F3 will be well outside my budget. Clearly this is no DSLR killer; though maybe it's intended to kill DSLR sales and for use only in Hollywood.

And at that price, it's almost not worth commenting on the specs, because I can't even begin to consider this camera. It doesn't really matter if it outputs 4:2:2 10 bit via the HD-SDI link, or records to SxS cards, or has a PL-mount, or two XLR inputs.

I must admit, I'm somewhat disappointed. With the Panasonic AG-AF100 about to hit the stores, I thought that Sony might have been going after the same market. I imagined they might come out with something that cost about $6,000. More than the Panasonic, but then this is Sony. At $6,000 it would be the price of the EX1R; but the EX1R includes a lens; you'd still end up spending a considerable amount more to kit the thing out.

Ah well, maybe they will up-mod the NEX-VG10.

In the mean time, I hope to get some comments from a pro who works in the professional movie side of things to get his perspective on the camera. Stay tuned.

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