So why should I buy a FS-100?

[Monty Wentzel]

I shoot with a 7d and it's so easy. Every camera has issues, but you just work around them and learn to work with it.

It's no longer about quality video, I mean it shoots so good, how much better does it need to get? Sure there are cams that spec out better, but really a good dv tape cam does fine and a 7d/5d does so well...why do I want to spent $6k on a new camera that's not going to make my films any better.

No ones been complaining, if anything they think I shoot with a $50k camera for it to look so good.

Other than the buzz of buying new gear what will I get for spending $4000.00 more than I shoot with now?

I'll buy one if I can be sold on why I should.

Monty

[John Wiley]

If you are so happy with your 7D, then why even consider upgrading?

If you've got some money to burn, put it towards something in you kit that you feel does need improving - audio gear, workstation, support gear, a back up body, etc - or even advertising for your services.

[Allan Black]

+1.

Cheers.

[Ger Griffin]

I hear ya Monty.
There is one area of improvment that might make me wish i had a newer camera,. and thats in autofocus.
If i could use these EF lenses with as quick AF as the can do in photo mode Id be tempted.
I believe the next DSLRs might tackle this issue.(AF during liveview)

[Brian Drysdale]

It's rather like buying a hi fi system, you shouldn't buy one if you can't hear the difference. If you can hear the difference you do buy... Assuming you can afford the price of course.

[Colin Rowe]

Ask yourself, do you need it, or want it ??

[Jonathan Palfrey]

7D is a great camera and I agree I'd imagine for 90% of the work everyone produces they are good enough quality.

Right now however I'm having to make the decision which camera our company buys next. We need another kit so the options are either to stick to DSLR or go for FS100/canons offering. Now I am almost sure we are going to get a FS100 or Canon 35mm video camera as our current biggest time consumption in editing is converting footage. our second biggest time consuming job is syncing audio. As this is the case I feel it's worth us spending the extra money on the camera after all if we are running a successful enough company we should be able to cover the costs.

That said I would not spend anymore than a FS100 on a video camera for what we do as the quality difference would never be seen on the web or DVD.

We've shot hundreds of vIdeos in the past year on two Canon 550Ds and no one has companied about picture quality or us using them, they must be doing something right.

[David Chapman]

I understand the desire to have a more "video camera-style" camera and the 7D does have its workarounds, but it seems the fs100 has some of its own issues. I'm waiting to see what comes out of the Nov. 3 announcement before buying anything new.

[Bruce S. Yarock]

I had been shooting with a couple of Canon hdv tape cams ( H1 and A1) for a few years. I started incorporating a 7d whenever I could, and love the image. I recently sold my tape Canons, one of my 7d's nd bought an FS100 and an nx5 as a companion.
Why I prefer the FS100 over the 7d, as
1- Don't have to record seperate audio any more.
2- Almost unlimited non stop recording time, especially if you buy the Sony drive.
3- Increased flexibility for tweaking the looks (picture profiles).

So with no need for seperate audio and long recording time, the FS100 can be used as the main camera for events like concerts and weddings, still providing the beautifull image we've all been accustomed to on the 7d's. And also NO MORE TAPE DROP OUTS!!!
We shot a concert on Sunday, and used the NX5, FS100 and a 7d for close ups.. Still need to get the color closer on the 7d, but everything is cutting together well.

The FS100 does have it's ergonomic challenges; tiny buttons, and needs accesories to use as a more run and gun rig. But it is modular and can be configured for most uses. Also, the couple of Sony lenses I got have stabilization and pretty usable autofocus when needed.
All things considered, it's a great camera. Now why Canon didn't come out with something similar, but with shoulder cam ergonomics, is a mystery o me.

Bruce Yarock

[Robert Turchick]

Bruce, that's what all of us want for Christmas!! Ha ha! A camera from Canon to blow the fs100 and af100 out of the water.
As for the OP, even though i do a ton of shooting with the 7D, I much prefer my xf300 as far as resolution goes. I've been bit a couple of times by the moire and the aliasing is terrible. For grins I shot side by side on a talent against my greenscreen. When I went to key the 7D it really showed the deficiencies in quality. Don't get me wrong, the 7D looks great when used for DOF work and b-roll but there is a large amount of room for improvement. If the "novemeber cameras" can offer large sensor with no moire or aliasing and use the XF's codec I'll be a very happy camper! And if one happens to shoot 4K....I might sell one of my kids to get it! Ha ha!
And yes, our clients don't really care what camera we use as long as it does the intended job. My reasons for lusting after a 4k are simple. Save time during the shoot. Since I deliver in 1080, I have to shoot for that space. A 4k image over a 1080 window means I can do zooms and pans as well as cut to closeups in post without resolution loss. More options in editing and less time shooting makes my life a lot easier.

[Buba Kastorski]

I am replacing my cameras with the only purpose - to get better image quality, and not because my clients complain, they never do unless you shoot a paid job with an iPhone :), but because I want it, I want better picture, I want better sound, I always want something better than I have :)
and it's been a very long three years that I can't find anything better (I don't want to go over $10K ) than EX1 and 1/5D, I am ready and really want to, but FS-100? no thanks, it has APS-C, but 21Mbs is today's consumer video standard;
so, like guys from the red community say :"remember remember the third of November"

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Buba Kastorski

no thanks, it has APS-C, but 21Mbs is today's consumer video standard;

I'm not the biggest fan of AVCHD either but you truly need to look at the footage out of an FS100 before deciding on the camera based on the bitrate. For a $6k camera, I'd list the video quality as SUPERB and VERY low noise, even when pushed to 15dB of video gain. And we have an Atomos Ninja on its way from Guy Cochrane and the DVEStore next week if we need a more edit friendly CoDec at 4:2:2...

[Greg Lam]

I was on the fence for quite a bit regarding the FS-100. What got me was that I needed to have the ability to record 90 minutes at a time without interruption.

Now that I have the camera, I absolutely love it. The record times and audio are great, but the image is simply better than what I can get with my 7D and 60D (which I will continue to own). The low light is also better than these cameras. I really couldn't believe it when I put the camera to 18db and the image was still so low in noise.

When I watch the 1080p footage full screen and pixel peep, the FS100 comes out on top, even on well lit footage.

Something that I didn't realize, was a 32GB card will give me 175 minutes of record time at the highest quality 1030/30p recording. That's pretty much double the record time of my DSLR's, but the quality looks better! Perhaps the memory usage isn't a big deal when you're shooting, but if you're shooting at half the rate for better quality, that means that you'll use half the storage space on your computer.

The last thing that I want to mention is 1080/60p. That's slow-mo footage at 1080p. That's a nice feature that the other Canon DSLR's don't have.

At the end of the day, you have to go with what your budget commands. I've been perfectly happy with my DSLR's for the past year, so nothing against them.

[Monty Wentzel]

We are toying with some bigger projects in the near future, a full length film feature. This is one reason I started to think about a new camera.

Since the OP I've concluded the dslr video is era is dead. I don't think I'll sell my 7d it's so easy and fast to use and looks great. Audio has been an issue, but I get by and the limited time record has been a problem, but again I work around it.

I had an hour long event to record and could not do it. I want a video camera again! XLR audio inputs with controls, 444 recording and s-log. If I wait and get a camera like this I will be set for 5/10 years.

For where I think I'm going and what we will be doing I am waiting to see what cine style camera, Sony's F3...w/ the new firmware?

Monty

[John Vincent]

A lively debate on this subject here:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-avc...nex-fs100.html

I seemed to be in the minority thinking that the FS100 not worth the $5K (you could buy 2 refurbed Mark II's and a new T2i, plus used glass for that price).

I suppose it comes down to two basic factors - who's you client base (IE - will they accept a DSLR as the primary camera), and two, are you willing to deal with some of the limitations the DSLR form factor has.