Alister,

The F3/FS100 image sensor is larger than APS-C. It is an S35 sized sensor measuring 31.1 on the diagonal, as opposed to 26.7 on APS-C.

(Figures courtesy of Creative Video)

OK -- I believe you are correct the F3 uses 12-bit processing. :)

I believe someone else posted the FS100 DSP was 8-bit and 4:2:2 when they were explaining the lower power consumption.

I also believe that Super 35 is 23.6mmx15.8mm and the VG10 uses a Sony APS-HD (23.4x15.6mm) sensor because these are what the Sony Japan specs say.

The VG10 has a 3:2 aspect-ratio APS-HD chip in which video is obtained by placing a 16:9 window within the sensor. I have assumed the window is the full 23.4 um wide, but it may not be which would explain your results.

There is another question about the APS-HD chip.

I have read that when you switch the 18200 lens to ACTIVE Steadyshot, EIS is added to OIS. If so, then the actual useable pixel area MAY be smaller than 23.4x15.6mm aperture in both photo and video modes. I have no confirmation of the rumor!

Do the F3 and FS100 offer ACTIVE steadyshot?

The FS100 has active steadyshot when used with an E-Mount lens. The F3 has no form of image stabilisation at this time. The 18-252mm F3 mount lens will have OiS. There is no mention of image cropping when using active steadyshot in the FS100 manual.

The sensor dimensions of 23.6 x 13.3mm for the F3 are taken from Sony literature and have often caused confusion as this is somewhat smaller than super35 which should be 24.89mm x 18.67mm (24.89 x 13.95 16:9) I believe.

Taking a 16:9 crop from the published sensor sizes would yield:

VG10 23.4 x 13.16mm
7D/550D 22.3 x 12.54mm
F3 publish 16:9 23.6 x 13.3mm

The Canon and F3 results fit my test results but the VG10 does not as it shows a considerably narrower FoV than both the F3 and Canon. I'll have to check to see if it's due to active steadyshot cropping the image in my test shots, I need to get the camera back out and have a look in the menu.

Hi Doug,

I'm coming to this thread a little late but you wrote something in the first post that caught my eye:

The camera arrived on a Saturday morning. I set it up on my DSC test chart and created a custom Picture Profile that looked good to me. Please keep in mind that you should never judge a Sony camera right out of the box. You MUST create (or get) a Picture Profile or Scene File with a Sony camera if you expect the camera to perform at its best. That's the way Sony designs them, and it is the right way to do it.

I have a Sony Z5U and would like to get my hands on some scene files or picture profiles that improve the image, as I've been using it now for a year and have never been happy with the black levels. Any advice is appreciated - thanks!

Sam

I'll have specific recommendations when my FS100 training DVD is released in late July, but I have not fine-tuned them yet. I was still not pleased with the results I got from the FS100 when I had it. I see a lot of flaws in the footage. It is hard to dial in the settings perfectly with a prototype camera that Sony warns is not running properly!

Anyway, I doubt my FS100 settings would translate to the Z5U. I recommend getting a copy of my Z7U training DVD since the Z5U is basically identical to a Z7U. I can't tell you what settings I recommend in that DVD because I don't remember off the top of my head what they are -- but more importantly, the DVD explains the reasons for the settings and how to set exposure for them, etc. I am not a proponent of just giving some settings, or having PP files for downloading, without the proper training to go with them. Good luck. I think you'd like the DVD.

Vortex Media: VIDEO & PHOTO Tools and Training (http://www.vortexmedia.com/DVD_Z7U.html)

As I said, none of the Sony cameras look good right out of the box. As you have seen, that is also true for the Z5U.

Doug, someone on another forum is questioning that the FS-100 doesn't have manual white balance/incremental Kelvin temp settings, but only:

Auto, Outdoor (5800K), indoor(3200K), One-push (Touch panel)

I don't believe it.

Can you comment?

Thanks.

Galen,

You're smart not to believe it. Total crappola.

Just like any other professional video camcorder from Sony, it has a standard white balance memory A/B switch for storing two custom white balances. Also there is a customizable preset setting, and the ability to dial-in a custom color temperature from 2300K to 15000K in 100K increments.

Just like any other professional video camcorder from Sony, it has a stadarnd white balance memory A/B switch for storing two custom white balances, a customizable preset setting, and the ability to dial-in a custom color temperature from 2300K to 15000K in 100K increments.

Dear Doug,

Of course you're one of the few to have actually used the camera, but are you 100% positive the CT can be dialed-in, other than through PP's WB offset?

Cause you see it's not quite true that "any other professional video camcorder from Sony" is capable of that; the EX1/3 being the most important example... Also, when you look up the specs on Sony sites, they say:

White Balance
Auto, Outdoor (5800K), indoor(3200K), One-push (Touch panel)

So, I guess we'll need to see the actual production units, I guess.

Piotr,

I'm sorry I wasn't clear in my post yesterday. I have edited that post this morning to phrase it differently. When I said that the FS100 was like any other Sony professional camcorder, I was only referring to the A/B memory switch. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Anyway, regarding the ability to dial-in a white balance setting, this comes straight out of the FS100 operation manual:

You can set the color temperature when you
set [WB PRESET] to [MANU WB TEMP].
Temperature range: 2300K to 15000K in
100K increments.

Thanks Doug for the quick reply.

BTW, is the user manual already available to the public?

Not that I am aware of. The copy I have is not for public use and contains lots of placeholders and printing notes, etc. I am sure a final draft will be available soon.