Sony sees RED with PMW-F3 camera, we go hands-on with the $16k "indie" (video)

In the wild, wild world of film production it's sometimes tough to separate the consumers from the prosumers from the independent filmmakers from the big studios -- especially when more affordable technology makes it easier and easier for one class to imitate the other. Sony's latest 35mm CMOS imager video camera is an attempt to cover lost ground in the "indie" realm of requisite low-budget and desired high production value, a market dominated by the RED One, and to some extent Canon's 5D Mark II and 7D, for the past couple years.

Sony's PMW-F3 -- shipping in February -- is a considerable step up from the earlier EX3. The most obvious change is the inclusion of the new Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor and interchangeable lens mounts, facilitating shallow depth of field with a fairly impressive dynamic range. But at the price of a semester's worth of film school, will this offering hold its own in the field?


Cameras, HD Camcorders
Sony sees RED with PMW-F3 camera, we go hands-on with the $16k "indie" (video)
By Trent Wolbe posted Nov 18th 2010 7:10PM
Hands-On
In the wild, wild world of film production it's sometimes tough to separate the consumers from the prosumers from the independent filmmakers from the big studios -- especially when more affordable technology makes it easier and easier for one class to imitate the other. Sony's latest 35mm CMOS imager video camera is an attempt to cover lost ground in the "indie" realm of requisite low-budget and desired high production value, a market dominated by the RED One, and to some extent Canon's 5D Mark II and 7D, for the past couple years.

Sony's PMW-F3 -- shipping in February -- is a considerable step up from the earlier EX3. The most obvious change is the inclusion of the new Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor and interchangeable lens mounts, facilitating shallow depth of field with a fairly impressive dynamic range. But at the price of a semester's worth of film school, will this offering hold its own in the field?

Read on for our full impressions -- including all the gory details -- and video of our brief encounter with the new shooter.
Sony PMW-F3 hands-on


With a body design that closely resembles both Sony and Panasonic's handheld camera lines, Sony's PMW-F3 doesn't quite have the heft or robustness of a truly professional digital film camera -- it's still very much a prosumer option. Any disbeliever can just take a look at the relatively tiny onboard LCD monitor. At $16,000 for the camera body and an additional $7,000 for Sony's set of three overly large primes (35mm, 50mm, 85mm), the PMW-F3 seems too pricey for what you get.

The test photography proudly showed off the camera's perseverance in low light, but never pushed color correction to any extremes to show the point at which footage will break down. The camera shoots MPEG-2 Long GOP 4:2:0 8bit at 35 Mbps to two Sony SxS card slots, and dual link HD-SDI ports allow for recording full 4:2:2 to an external device. Those unfamiliar with Sony high-end offline / online workflow might find the process clumsy and cumbersome. Those accustomed to the workflow probably already use Sony's higher quality, professional-grade cameras.

The image quality of the PMW-F3 seems better than most DSLRs. Rolling shutter isn't bad. Warble and skew are minimized to extreme whip movements. Again, they didn't show off any sort of severe color correction so it's hard to say how well the colorspace holds up. Fancy Sony-only "stuff" like S-Log and Hypergamma will allow for tweaking. Overcranking for in camera slow-motion effects are disappointingly capped at 60fps.