NAB 2011 – World’s first Sony F3 Test Footage

by Sebastian WöberApril 20^th, 2011

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Above you can see the first ever footage of yet unreleased Sony F3 . That’s a new $13k 35mm sensor camera. Why is a camera that expensive relevant to indie filmmakers? Because it shares the exact same image sensor as the much more affordable ($5k) Sony NEXFS-100 I’ve recently reported about. In combination with an Atomos or Hyperdeck kind of hdmi recording device we can get much higher quality (bitrate) footage at this price point than we’ve been used to so far.

The video above was made and posted by Next Level Pictures. Check out their blog and website here.

I find the footage breathtaking in quality even at a price of $13k. The F3 will be one major camera and the FS-100 will open new doors at $5k.
In the course of Next Level Pictures’ post Vincent Laforet has also posted about the F3 and several other new high end cameras yesterday. During NAB he attended a screening Zacuto had organized. They called this event “The Great Camera Shootout 2011”. You could see testclips of the following cameras in a small tent and evaluate their power for yourselves, among them were our dear dslr friends:

– Arri Alexa
– Sony F-35
– Sony F3
– Canon 5D Mark II
– Canon 7D
– Canon 1D Mark IV
– Nikon D7000
– Weisscam HS-2
– Phantom Flex
– Panasonic AG-AF100
– RED ONE M-X
– 35mm Kodak 5213 and 5219 film

Each camera faced in-depth analysis in regard to it’s sharpness, low light sensitivity, exposure latitude, highlight detail, shadow detail, color quality, flesh tone reproduction, compression losses and shutter artifacts.

Vincent Laforet reports that they did a second screening for himself and some selected people he had invited. Check out his personal winners, evaluations and thoughts on these cameras. Very interesting and revealing read.

He calls the Canon HDSLRs “STILL A PLAYER GIVEN ONE FACTOR: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY”