A couple weeks ago, when I met with some representatives from Sony Middle East regarding doing a workshop about their a7R and a7s Mark 2 cameras, I was informed that they have a pre-production model of the FS5 and I’d be able to try it out. Because a simple camera test isn’t enough, I decided to enter this year’s Dubai 48hour Film Project and shoot the film on it. I did some testing and ended up shooting about 80% of the 48hour film on, and here are first observations. Unfortunately I had the camera for only about 36 hours, so wasn’t able to film the entirety of the film with it.
PROs
- The hand-grip is the greatest
- Surprisingly light, especially when compared to FS7
- Well balanced. No more awkwardness like on the FS700
- Battery life is quite good – whole shoot brought me down to about 20% on a single charge!
- Supplied lens (G series 18-105 f/4) is quite acceptable for run and gun.
- Stabilization on this lens is impressive
- Has integrated mic with is great for reference audio
- Built-in EVF was very useful in sunlight
- Variable ND was very useful
- slog2 and slog3 inclusion, as well as calibrated SGamut3 for different light temperatures
- Did I mention the hand-grip is the greatest thing ever?
CONs
- Mic hotshoe should be further back… using my e-mount 10-18mm I would always get it in frame.
- LCD screen is incredibly lacking in image quality and features
- LCD isn’t touchscreen even though menus are identical to my fs700, so took some getting used to.
- Button layout is a bit confusing and doesn’t follow much reasoning
- No volume adjustment for headphones without going into menus
- Would have been nice to get a few more stops on the Variable ND filter
- Although quite sharp, the kit/supplied lens still has pincushion and poor fly-by-wire focus
For the moment, I can’t post any footage as the film needs to be approved by Dubai Film Commission and screened at the 48hour film screenings first, but I will update this page in the future, as well as some more in-depth findings.
Here’s a few photos in the meantime:
