Just Finished First Wedding With FS100's

[Aaron Jones Sr.]

I just finished my First serious shoot with the FS100 and i wanted to give my thoughts on my experience and overview.

I upgraded from the EA50 to the FS100 recently and I had a few guys ask for my thoughts when I have had the chance to really use the FS and what I thought of it.

Let me start by saying I am a tripod shooter (Mostly). Seeing that I have upgraded from the EA50 this makes a big difference. I think EA50 users are more into the EA because of the mobility away from tripod. That being said, I do go hand held, but for 80 - 90% of the time I'm posted up with tripod (Mainly only because I'm not comfortable with hand held on the FS100 as of yet). So I'm goin to give this short sided perspective as I have experienced it.

I was truly excited about the footage that I was capturing using the stock lens for the FS100. The image was crisp and clear with the stock lens. So for the Ceremony it was all stock lens. When I got to the reception I was thinking to myself maybe I need to switch lens when the light gets turned down. I have a Metabones that I use with my Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC lens. So I did so. Now, I have two FS100's and one was sill fitted with the stock lens as the other was switched to the Tamron lens. I could not tell much difference in the low light setting between the two lenses. I'm sure that this has to do with the low light capabilities inside the FS100 body, instead of trying to use lenses to compensate. The stock lens is rated at about 2 stops slower, I could not see that in the view finder. I had compared both cams and I was amazed, really...

I will say this though. with the Tamron lens I did notice that in environments with better light it show blacks darker and contrast was a little bit better where it seemed as it was a little sharper overall. The problem I have with this is that both cams I had the PP on off. So I can play with the PP and I'm sure i can get a display using the stock to adjust to what i was seeing with the Tamron lens.

Once I got home and took a look at the footage that was taken I was definitely sold on the FS100. That was a great investment for me. The clarity, sharp, and crisp footage compared to my experience with the EA50. Again, I'm not a pro just to make this perfectly clear. I'm sure I can output better footage with FS with out any lenses, adapters, and ect. besides the stock 18-200mm lens.

After this experience I have found that I have bought a few things that I do not need. In anticipation I got 7" monitors to compensate for my high tripod angles that I like so much. Because the LCD being on the top of the cam instead of the side I was thinking I can just tilt the monitor to compensate. The Genus Cheeseplate I got to mount the monitors, but I have found an excellent use for them. It is now my mount for my lav mic receiver which works out well. I bought a Proaim shoulder rig and customized it to my liking. I will be morphing it to have the cam more on my shoulder and just use one of the brands of a EVF. My customizing puts the cam right in front of me so that I see the LCD screen plainly.

I have an inexpensive 3 Axis Stabilizer that I will try out as well. This is possible because of the weight of the FS100.

So from a stand point of a inexperienced videographer who shoots mostly on tripod the FS100 was indeed the best way for me to go. with out any extra bells and whistles it is a very good camera that delvers really good footage. If you are a run and gun type of guy you will have to make you a rig, maybe something similar to Matt Sharp's rig. that is the route that I'm goint to take. If you think that that is too much and you need to up and go at seconds notice then i would suggest two FS100's with one already to go for shoulder.

I know I'm probably forgetting something here but I'm extremely glad i chucked my SOny AX2000 and my EA50 when I did to invest in the FS100's. It has paid off for me.

[Aaron Jones Sr.]

What I miss from the EA50 is the Digital Zoom. It is kind of bitter sweet. The FS100 you are manually dialing in your shot with the rings. So the digital zoom, well I'm not sure if i would use it much becasue the FS causes you to be in a manual ring posture, if that makes sense. I do wish the FS had the digital zoom.

Also the EVF top mount instead of the side mount. That is another issue. I will correct that by ordering an external one. for both cams.

I have to admit the slide out shoulder rest is handy to have. Although i never tried to balance mine which caused the weight to stay unproportioned.

[Tom Van den Berghe]

I have nex-ea50 but I did a search after the FS100 and the FS100 is much better in low light. Now I bought a flycam with arm and vest so the shouldermounted nex-ea50 isn't much more an advance now.

Mostly I will shoot tripod or short handheld and If I have to shoot long (3 hours walking) without tripod I use the flycam. For shooting events I use my HXR-NX3 which is good in low light and have 40x zoom.

Because a second hand FS100 is cheap these days I'm thinking about getting one. They are selling with our without the stock lens.

I have a variable ND filter. I want to film more cinematic videos without paying a high price tag.

So is there a big difference in picture quality between these 2 camcorders?

[David Peterson]

If you wish to use a gimbal at the wedding, I'd suggest picking up a Sony A6000 to use on it instead of a FS100

[Chris Harding]

Hi David

Tom actually has a flycam set up for the EA-50 so a FS100 is roughly the same weight so would work well on the spring arm set up he has. The A6000 will be way too light for that flycam! I am using my Lumix cameras on my stedicam and had to add stacks of weight to the top stage to get the arm to even work!!

Tom?? Just bear in mind that the FS100 is now discontinued so once the new ones have sold..that's it!!

[David Peterson]

Ah I see, if you've got something already set up for EA-50 then an FS100 should slot in easily enough instead.

But even so, I'd prefer a more discrete A6000 on a Came Single for weddings than a bulky set up like that.

[Chris Harding]

Hi David

I tried the gimbals that take an action cam and was somewhat unimpressed! The have such precise control that I found they were just too accurate and tried to compensate for every bump in the road..they seem to be especially jittery walking on beach sand so it went back on eBay.

I find that a traditional stedicam absorbs the bumps a lot better as it has more mechanical dampening so I get a smoother fly. Funnily enough I have a CAME vest with a Weildy carbon fibre sled and Weildy arm and it works very well for me. At less than 1kg I need to load the top stage with more weight though.

The bigger gimbals I'm sure can be adjusted for dampening but what concerns me is a decent gimbal to take my Panny cameras weighs 1kg upwards already and trying to hold nearly 2kg out in front of you just with two handles will be tough on your arms so I stick with my stedicam!!

[Noa Put]

I have used my beholder gimbal during last wedding and was able to get much ore use out of it with a gh4 then with my blackbird, the biggest advantage it has is that it is insensitive to wind, I took it with me during a photoshoot and there was a stronger wind which left the gimbal unaffected and it remained level no matter what. The only thing I find more difficult is to get a smooth panning motion. I also agree with David that a a6000 with a fast enough lens and a small gimbal such as my beholder is a much better combination at weddings to have steadicam shots, it's small, light and you can easily move on a crowded dancefloor.

I"m also not sure what you mean with dampening? Is that the walking motion? You will get that with any steadicam, unless you use a vest and arm which when properly used can filter out that up and down motion.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Noa

I have never used a handheld stedicam so yes, a gimbal is far superior to a handheld sled of course ... even a vest and arm with a single spring arm will give you a bit of bounce which is annoying but a dual arm system and vest will dampen out any small unwanted small movements simply due to the mechanical nature of the connecting arm.

[Tom Van den Berghe]

I don't shoot weddings. Is the FS100 really that better in lowlight then the nex-ea50? Like the starter of this thread. There also lots of second hand A7s camera and about the same price. The A7s is a lowlight killer for video.

I don't know how FS100 compares to the A7s in 1080p.

[Dave Sperling]

Originally Posted by Tom Van den Berghe

I don't know how FS100 compares to the A7s in 1080p.

No comparison. When you absolutely NEED to shoot where there's no light, nothing else is going to get close to the A7s. When you put a fast lens on it and crank up the ISO (which for me means somewhere between 40,000 and 80,000 ISO) the A7s is seeing a LOT more than your eyes will. How often do you need that kind of speed? -- That's a whole other question. But now I have the capability when I do need it. (I originally got the A7s to do unlit audience cutaways in the dimmest recesses of dark clubs for a music documentary.)

[Tom Van den Berghe]

thx Dave for your reply. I will think about it if I need such a low light performer like the A7s.

[Tom Van den Berghe]

I can buy a second hand FS100 voor a cheap price, cheaper than a second hand sony A7S. Still a good investment knowing I already have a nex-ea50?

I want better low light performance. And on my steadycam I can strip down the FS100 more than my ea50.

Aaron was happy when he did it. Other people tha made this jump?

[Aaron Jones Sr.]

I can't speak from a A7S stand point but I do know that the FS100 is better in low light than the EA50. I now own 4 FS100 cams and I have a strategy that works for me now that I have been doing weddings for a little while. I found that the Canon 50mm f/1.4 is like a dream on the FS100 in low light instances. Although it is prime I really enjoy using it. So I shoot with Sony Action Cam & 3 FS100's normally Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, and 2 Stock lenses.

I'm leaning into venturing to try the Samyang 35mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4 for receptions. I want to try the Emount Samyang and see if they compare to the Canon. I hear and read very good reviews.

Here is a stupid mistake I made last weekend on a wedding. I brought only 2 FS100's and forgot all of my tripods. It was a low budget job but i always give my all no matter what they pay. Anyway i had to go hand held with the FS100. It was not pretty at all. I did not even have the side handle as I planned all tripod shots. Anyway, I'm thankful I had my Sony Action cam because if saved me in a lot of instances especially the ceremony. The chapel was to tight and i could not fit at the front of the chapel so I had to shot from the back. I clamped my Sony Action Cam up front and ran it on 4K. The reception and picture session though was uuuuuuugly. Thank God for my stabilizing software.

[Tom Van den Berghe]

I can't decide if buying a FS100 will be a good choice. The only advantages for me the FS100 has over the EA50 are better low light and sharper picture.

The EA50 has digital zoom, can take still pictures and is shouldermount.

Is there is still a video around that shows how much better the FS100 is against the EA50 in low light?