Unboxing the NEX-FS100

[Dan Asseff]

I found this on vimeo NEX-FS100 First Official Unboxing - Sony NEX-FS100 Super 35mm User Group on Vimeo Man I can't wait for Tuesday.

Dan

[Dave Sperling]

I can barely wait for the sequel - when he discovers that if he puts a lens on the camera it doesn't look like a clamshell deck any more, and actually produces an image.

But all kidding aside, I was very favorably impressed with the image quality after doing a two-camera shoot last friday with an FS100 and an F3.

My only issue is that I can hardly wait for the new nanoFlash firmware that will see the time code from the HDMI and automatically trigger recording.

[Laurence Janus]

I am super jealous! It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine...

[Jon Braeley]

My unboxing is tommorrow but at least I will keep it sane without the obnoxious people in that video - sorry about that comment but please....!!

[Dan Asseff]

Jon, yea those guys were well you know. I was just wanting to see what I would be seeing tomorrow.Dave, I bought the 16mm pancake lens used from B&H, so it will still look like a clam shell even with a lens. I bought the E mount to Nikon adapter for the Nikon lens I have. Will be interesting to see how they play out.
Who is watching the tracking every five minutes to see where it is. LOL Is any body getting the stock lens with there FS100?

Dan

[Dave Sperling]

As it happens, the company that bought the FS100 I was using did buy the kit lens. They were fine about me using my nikons instead - they just figured it would make a good runaround lens outside, and that it would be easier to rent the camera out as a package with an included lens.

[Dan Asseff]

Dave, did you happen to try the lens? I am curious if it is worth buying. I just got the 18-55mm and if it is like that lens I will stick with my Nikon lens and novaflex adapter.

Dan

[Jon Braeley]

Those kit Sony lenses, the e-mounts feel like toys to me.

They just do not say "I do this for a living...really" - maybe its the way things are now... Consumer is tommorrows Professional.

[Dave Sperling]

Originally Posted by Dan Asseff

Dave, did you happen to try the lens? I am curious if it is worth buying. I just got the 18-55mm and if it is like that lens I will stick with my Nikon lens and novaflex adapter.

Dan

Hello Dan,
I only played with it - did not test it or shoot comparison footage. The image seemed fine, but it is a relatively slow lens. Ideally you should try it before making your decision.
It has the advantage of being a wide range zoom, and I will admit that right now I'm keeping my EX1 specifically for jobs where I do need that kind of zoom range.
Obviously one of the advantages of the FS100 (also the F3) is the large sensor, which can give you selectively reduced depth of field. The problem with the kit lens is that its wide-open f-stops are closed down enough that you don't get that nice, soft background you can get with a f/1.4 or f/2 prime, or with an F2.8 zoom.
I already have a pile of older Nikon (or nikon mount) lenses, so I probably can cover most of the focal lengths of the kit zoom with a variety of glass. (Nikon 17-35 2.8, Tokina 28-70 2.6-2.8, Nikon 24-120, Nikon 80-200 2.8, plus Nikon primes 50/1.4, 55macro, 85/1.4, 135/2, and older 200 and 400 tele lenses). If I didn't have such an assortment of lenses, or just wanted to carry a single lens, I might look more closely at the kit lens.
The big thing is to analyze what you really need for the shoots you will be doing with the camera. In the past I've shot entire features with just a set of 5 or 6 primes; but for doing CEO interviews with a teleprompter, I know there's no way my producers will put up with waiting for a lens change, so in those situations I need to have the zoom range for the various shot sizes on the camera as a single lens.
Best,
Dave S.

[Jon Braeley]

Unless you want to get into some expensive adapters or wait a few months for Birger, Nikon Zooms are the way to go I think. Those and a $30 adapter and you are all set.

I will wait and see for another month what happens with an EOS adapter but I am leaning toward 3 or 4 Zeiss primes - distagons with F-Mounts or Nikon F-mount primes and one mid-range zoom.

[Dan Asseff]

Dave, thanks for the reply. I bought the Novoflex Nex /Nikon adapter that has a ring adjustment for the aperture that works great for my Nikon lens that don"t have aperture rings. I have a Tamron 18-200 3.5 -6.3 that works and a Sigma 170-500 6.3 and my favorite is my 50 1.8. I would like to have a all around zoom lens 18mm to whatever that has a 2.8 aperture. I also bought a E to A mount used at B&H so an A mount lens would work to.

Dan

[Glen Vandermolen]

Originally Posted by Jon Braeley

My unboxing is tommorrow but at least I will keep it sane without the obnoxious people in that video - sorry about that comment but please....!!

Yeah, it made the video hard to watch.