Hi,

Before I pull the trigger on the much more expensive Sony FS5 (or even FS7 though this I doubt), I couldn't be sure the decision was right before seeing some unedited DVX200 footage straight off the camera. Can anyone help? TIA

Piotr

Will it really help in the decision (either way) though?

If it looks good - is that down to this camera (vs the FS5), or simply the skill of the operator, skill of the grader or the nice way the camera has been set up? Similarly, if it looks bad - is that down to lack of skill of operator etc or intrinsic to camera?

It's possible to imply a lot from controlled tests (charts etc) as they tell you certain absolute factors, but I don't see real scenes of much use for comparative purposes UNLESS you can see exactly the same subject shot under the same conditions at the same time. One operator may like a soft look, another may like a harder feel, and have set up their cameras accordingly. Compare the two and it's likely you'll be comparing cameramen - not cameras.