Sony FS100 in Peru
You need to stabilize the camera with anything you can find
Well I promised to put down some of my thoughts about the Sony FS100 and the process of incorporating it into my workflow and here it goes…
I love this camera even though at present it is filling a small niche within my field production workflow. While in Peru i have shot about 12 hours of footage with the Sony EX1 and about 100 minutes with the FS100 (90 minutes of which were an interview!) I didn’t shoot more with the FS100 for a couple of reasons…
1. I love shooting with the EX1. The camera is so easy to run and gun with because it is so versatile. After using the 5D and the FS100 I have gained new appreciation for the form factor and function of the EX1, which in my mind make it hands down the best camera for vérité documentary filming. Many of you know that I do not shoot purely vérité doc footage, but rather a blend of vérité and more structured b-roll, therefore the FS100 will play an increasingly large role in my workflow, however I have to address the other reasons I shot limited b-roll with the camera on this trip, including…
2. You really need ND filters. I was shooting with my Zeiss primes, which I have always used with my Letus when shooting interviews with my light kit… therefore, I never had to battle sunlight and never invested in either ND filters or polarizers for the Zeiss lenses. I didn’t purchase any before this trip and that forced me to crank the shutter speed whenever I wanted to use the FS100 in full daylight. I did also stop down on the lens, but even at F8 in sunlight I needed to crank the shutter up to 1/1000 or even 1/2000. One nifty way to cut down on light was to overcrank the frame rate. The FS100 can shoot up to 60 fps at full 1080p and that eats up more light, so I shot a number of portraits at 60fps which looked great and also solved my second major limitation…
The eyepiece works really well when shooting in sunlight
3. You still need a shoulder mount or some other device to stabilize the camera body when equipped with manual without internal stabilization. The hand grip and swivel LCD make it much easier to hand hold the FS100 (in comparison with the 5D), however you still get jitter in the frame even if it is tucked up against your chest. I over-cranked my portraits, which helped to smooth out many of those jitters, but when shooting b-roll run and gun, the EX1 was still and will probably continue to be my camera of choice.
So, after a few days of testing out the FS100, I would probably want to add the following items to my kit:
- Matte box with a set of filters including a polarizer, graduated ND and other full ND filters
- A shoulder mount or other stabilizing device
- A wide angle lens (my widest is a 50mm still camera lens, which is much to tight with the crop factor)
I am sure that more things will be added to this list.
Tomorrow I will write a bit more about the advantages of using the FS100 and compared my work flow with the FS100 compared to the 5D.
Hey Colby,
I have a few questions about this new toy.
Many people say that the FS100 has a huge problem about capture motion without heavy shutter strobing at 1080 25P (the PAL version) starting at 1/50, especially with high contrasts. When I add this to the limitations that you mentioned about its stability, I understand that the FS100 is really limited to Beauty Shots on tripod with a minimum motion, correct?
Let’s say that the jitter can be fixed by a firmware update (is it possible?), is the stability a matter of ergonomics or is it about lens optic stabilization?
So, is there any way to shoot handheld with the FS100?
Is there any option to shoot handheld OTS shots on a feature project and get a slightly narrower DOF than the EX1 standard lens?
Are the limitations of the Letus/EX1 combo solved by the FS100 and how?
Thx
Hasina
Hi Hasina,
Thanks for your comments. I am still in the preliminary stages of working with the FS100, so I have not really tested it out with a lot of motion, but I will do some tests this week and address those questions in a later post. I have been experimenting with ways to shoot handheld with the FS100 and I am having some good results. I will have a post purely on handheld work in the next couple of days. My initial reaction is that the FS100, is the best combination of 5D and EX1. The footage also cuts together really well with the EX1, so it is possible to use both cameras together and benefit from the EX1 as a handheld camera. I would strongly encourage you to use it on Dzaomalaza 3!!
Let’s talk by skype soon!
Colby
No need to spring for the expensive solution… matteboxing is pure pimping and only a bit of improving workflow.
I would suggest you look into lightcraft workshops variable ND filter. I can be had with 2-9 stops for 100 dollars. They also sell other size and other types, like the extreme ones for solar eclipses if one was so inclined to shoot that.
Thanks for the comment. One of the reasons that I wanted to try out a matte box is because I have been using a Schnider polarizer on my EX1 and it really softens the image. I am guessing that it does that because it is not HD glass. Have you worked with the variable ND and if so did you notice it softening the image?
Thanks,
Colby