Wish List For Future Firmware Updates

[Ned Soltz]

Sony is interested in knowing your wish lists for future firmware updates to the F3.

Don't request 50 Mbps 4:2:2 to SxS cards since that is not going to happen.

But any feedback on 1.4 or requests for future updates should be sent to production@am.sony.com


Ned Soltz

[Andrew Stone]

This is really significant. I suggest that people take this seriously and think through and report the really good ideas to Sony as Ned indicates in the above post.

I would suggest that ideas that are going to be win-wins for both Sony in terms of maintaining market share and operators in terms of functionality and better workflow are going to make their way to the top of the pile.

Brainstorming here will obviously increase the quality and number of suggestions.

[Alister Chapman]

Reading between the lines it also suggests th F3 isn't about to be replaced any time soon.

[Ron Aerts]

Originally Posted by Ned Soltz

Sony is interested in knowing your wish lists for future firmware updates to the F3.

Don't request 50 Mbps 4:2:2 to SxS cards since that is not going to happen.

But any feedback on 1.4 or requests for future updates should be sent to production@am.sony.com


Ned Soltz

Is (more) remote control via WiFi thinkable?

[Ned Soltz]

I get the feeling that anything other than 50 Mbps 422 is thinkable.

And yes, I also get the feeling that the F3 will be around for a while even if a higher level camera should be introduced.

Ned

[Jason Bagherian]

Well what about just 50 Mbps without the 422. Will this be possible?

Would 48p be possible at 1080 to SXS cards? This is what I would really like.

Speaking of slow motion, how about 96p to SXS cards?

What about a 2K frame size at 24p or 48p to SXS? I'm sure a 2K frame size is possible.

I would suggest 4K, but I have read on hear that it isn't possible with the F3, shame as it cost enough.

[Leonard Levy]

Here's an exhaustive list. If you like any of these idea send them to Sony because numbers are what they will look for.

1. Add 30DB gain and 60fps slomo 1080 recording like the FS100 &700 have. (Maybe slo mo is harder on the SxS card, but 30DB has to be possible). Give us the choice to shoot noisy in the dark.

2. Make it possible to send color peaking and especially zebras to the SDI & HDMI out along with other viewfinder information. FS700 has this. This would help functionality with third party EVF's that often don't have either- i.e Small HD4 & others. (this can't be that hard)

3. Add a waveform to the viewfinder ( and while you're at it a vectorscope) . Panasonic has it in all their cameras - why not Sony? Histogram is very very limited info. You could even add a false color option but the waveform is a very big deal.

4. Very Important - MAKE THE ASSIGN BUTTONS MORE USEFUL
For many kinds of shooting the time it takes to access the menus to change parameters is serious liability. Unfortunately the F3 eliminated one of the most useful features of the EX1- the little Joystick at the top of the camera that allowed you to change PP Settings and shutter speed with the flick of a switch. The recent addition of a jog wheel speeds that up quite a bit and was a great addition but you could do more:

The F3 has assign buttons all over the the camera. Sounds great but the options available are virtually useless in most production and are already assigned anyway. I never delete the last Clip a shot, never add Marks to anything - I'm too busy shooting. That's done by someone else logging footage.

Assign buttons could:

Set things from the PP menus for say:
specific gamma
specific color temperature,
specific PP setting

or from the main menu:
a specific shutter speed
an additional gain choice
perhaps the audio ext CH select A1 or A1/A2
or the wind filter
color peaking high, med or low
ND adjustment - now that would be incredibly valuable.

- Best would be if it just gave me access to various menu and PP menu items that I could scroll through with the jog wheel:
- i.e press assign 8 and the shutter speed menu comes up and I choose a new shutter speed with the jog wheel.

This would speed up use of the camera enormously and make those buttons powerful.

6. Make the 5600CC button 5600 only - get rid of it adding 5600 to the existing color temp choice its just confusing and makes errors too easy.
The camera really needs just a 3200 and 5600 choice that you don't mess with.
- It would be cool if you could roll through the color temps or just the color color offset with the scroll wheel without going into the menus ( i.e. an assign button)

7 . viewfinder could show the name of the PP file not just the PP1, PP2 etc.

8. Focus is the biggest problem in shooting with the F3. so here are 2 suggestions:

- If there is any way to make the color peaking circuit less affected by movement that would be good. Unfortunately now it disappears whoever the subject moves. ( this is probably hard though)

- Add the B&W mode choice to the flip out view finder. When B&W is enabled along with color peaking the focus point stands out very clearly (that's easy as its already there for the rear.)

[Eric Wright]

I agree most with Leonard Levys #6

6. Make the 5600CC button 5600 only - get rid of it adding 3400 to the existing color temp choice its just confusing and makes errors too easy.
The camera really needs just a 3200 and 5600 choice that you don't mess with.
- It would be cool if you could roll through the color temps or just the color color offset with the scroll wheel without going into the menus ( i.e. an assign button)

Now my 2 cents:

The color temp control is kind of fiddly, and it would be a lot better if you could easily dial in the color temp of Prst, A, and B manually. So if Prst is 3200, I could make A = 4600 and B = 6000 and still use the 5600 CC button on the side. This could be immensely useful in certain reality show conditions.

I called Sony about this last year to see if there was a work around and they told me it was only possible by making a custom PP which is a pain. It would be way easier if we could just dial those in whenver we wanted in the current PP. No offsets, just plain manually dial in the color temp for any of those switches.

Please vote for this guys. It seems like its an oversight in the first place.

[Leonard Levy]

Sure , right now you can make B AWB , why not have 3 choices for A & B make a preset use the atuo button or choose AWB?
I've never needed it but why not?

Again it could be part of a more flexible user button system.

[Dusty Powers]

The firmware updates have been great. Sony needs to look in beyond and build an EVF for the F3 under 1300.00. The lack of a decent viewfinder is the down fall of the F3 system. I own just about every EVF claiming to been made for this camera and have been very displeased with all. Look at the Arri and learn.

[Ned Soltz]

I hope all of you are actually sending these suggestions to Sony. To be best of my knowledge, the relevant people are not monitoring the boards.

Ned

[Steve Cocklin]

Menu presets for your set-ups? Like the Ki Pro Mini now uses.

[Rudy Wilms]

I bought the Sony F3 when the SLOG option was around 4000usd now the price is reduced and when you buy a new Sony F3 you get it for free so my wish is to provide the CBK-RGB Slog free for every Sony F3 user.

To me this would help Sony’s good reputation and would be fair for all the Sony F3 users.

[Andrew Stone]

If there are any simple and obvious firmware suggestions that you feel emanated from taking in the info on the introduction of the Sony F5 and F55 cameras that would be a shoo in for the F3, please inform Sony through the email listed in the original post of this thread.

[Mark Kenfield]

A few things I'd love to see:

1) The full 4:4:4/RGB/LUT SLOG update made available to everyone via v1.5 (it's standard in the camera now - so just let everyone have it).

2) An assignable "Lock" button that locks down all of your settings so that nothing can be accidentally changed as you run around with the camera.

3) Menu presets that can be rapidly switched between would be great.

4) The ability to manually dial in white balance temperature using the scroll wheel would be a real time-saver.

5) if any kind of high fps S&Q 1080p burst mode (like the FS700 has) is possible, implement that. Doesn't matter if it maxes out at 60, 50, 48 or even just 40fps, the ability to get bursts of 1080p slow motion has real value.