Sony NEX-FS100 Update 6

It's in the lens
If you're planning to get an NEX-FS100, you're going to have to think about what lenses you will use with it. Because you'll want to use E-mount lenses if you want to have optical image stabilization and auto-focus. If you use A-mount lenses (with the A-E mount adapter) you will probably still have auto-focus (though it will be interesting to see how well that performs, if it's like the NEX-VG10, it's not the greatest.) But if you use any other lenses, you lose all that.

The product specification for the NEXFS100UK says:
Image Stabilizer: Optical SteadyShot | Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode
But the NEXFS100U (body without the lens) lists:
(nothing)
That's because the E18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens included in the kit model supports optical SteadyShot and auto focus.


Meanwhile, The DSLR Shooter, while noting that the E-Mount provides:
The beauty of short flange distance is that you can practically use any lens via a 3rd party adaptor. There’s definitely possibility of putting your nikon or canon mount lenses to good use.
Laments "8 bit, lack of HD-SDI and no built in ND" The latter, according to one source, is a limitation of that E-Mount. Supposedly there wasn't enough room to include neutral density filters.
DSLR Shooter: Sony Announces: NXCAM NEX-FS100


Sensitivity
The sensitivity of the camera - unsurprisingly -  depends upon the lens you use. Sony's own press release gives two different sensitivity numbers for the camera (at different points in the release):
with the f3.5 E18-200mm the NEX-FS100UK enables shooting in illumination as low as 1.5lux when using a fixed shutter speed of 1/30, auto gain and auto iris
But elsewhere:
while providing the sensitivity necessary for shooting at a minimum illumination of 0.28 lux (when using a fixed shutter speed of 1/30, auto gain and an iris setting of F1.4).
your mileage may vary...


Sensor Resolution
The NEX-FS100 uses the same sensor as the PMW-F3, but while Sony has released the total number of pixels in that sensor (3.43MP), they won't say how those pixels are arrayed and used to produce the HD image. The press release just notes:
"The sensor also features the optimum number of effective pixels for shooting HD moving images"
- what does that mean?


Release Date
In one earlier report I noted a release date of May. The official press release notes that release of the NEX-FS100 and HXR-NX70 will come sometime between "July-September"

Press Release: Sony Expands its NXCAM Family of Products [PDF]

Comments

FocusPulling (.com) said…
I've been making a lot of noise about the image stabilization issue for a while, but it's largely fallen on deaf ears in the NEX community (and presumably to Sony) because that world is fractured by a majority of still camera enthusiasts who generally dislike image stabilization for shorter focal lengths like primes, believing (rather superstitiously) that image stabilization meaningfully degrades still picture quality.

The E-mount lens standard requires more than just allowing for image stabilization; Sony should be Active-ly (pun intended) enforcing it, because its future in video depends upon it.
Mar 23, 2011, 3:53:00 PM
Michael Murie said…
I think there's at least two (probably more) classes of video shooter: ENG and narrative.

Narrative people are about stunning visual images. ENG (and documentary) people have to capture the moment; if they can make a pretty picture, that's great too, but you have to capture the moment first.

I fall into the latter camp; if the camera's screwing up capturing the moment, then I don't want it. I know there are people shooting news with DSLRs, and I'm really amazed that they do it. For a lot of what I shot, I want image stabilization and auto-focus too!

Not sure if this camera will satisfy both worlds.
Mar 23, 2011, 4:12:00 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera
Read more