Owners, would you still buy a FS5?

[Nigel Davey]

I'm thinking of upgrading to a new camera since the technology seems to have moved on enough to give me an advantage.

Currently I make corporate promos, charity docos (abroad mainly and sometimes under the radar), property tours and the odd wedding. I use a XF300 and a couple of Nikon APS-C's (D5300). The XF is great for run and gun, interviews and the codec. The DSLR's are great in low light, for filmic/shallow DOF and under radar filming. But some jobs need both camera types....and then the pain begins in post!

I suspect the FS5 could get me 80% towards a perfect hybrid. Would I be right?

But into this mx I've read all the stuff about the codec, macro-blocking and the kit lens that is a pig to focus. I suspect I would rely on the kit lens to give me my run and gun stuff since my Nikon glass is mostly designed for APS-C (hence potential vignetting) and it seems I will lose a lot of functionality through an adapter.

Anyway my question is would any current FS5 owner buy the camera again if they had the chance? Particularly if they were in my shoes? Also practically is all the business regarding macro-blocking just over enthusiastic pixel peeping... or does it really wreck clips on a regular basis?

[Doug Jensen]

Your Nikon glass won't vignette on the FS5, so you can eliminate that concern from your pros and cons.

[Nigel Davey]

Hi Doug. One of my lens is the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR. Apparently this will vignette on a full frame Nikon, hence the reason Nikon launched the revamped mkii of this lens for full frames.

The 70-200 will probably be one of my two go-to lenses outside the FS5 kit lens, for its long reach. The other is my 35mm f1.8 for low light.

[Olof Ekbergh]

I would buy the FS5 again. It is great at what it does.

It is light, accepts all my lenses. I shoot mostly HD and that is very good in the camera. The UHD is great as well if used properly, a nice bonus and I have no problem getting good exposure and very clean images in UHD.

The pixel peepers are just that. I have never had a shot be ruined by the "ripping horizontal" effect. So to me at least it is a non issue.

The 5 is not a 7, and that is good and bad. I would suggest borrowing or renting one to make up your own mind. Everyones needs are different, how can I say the FS5 is right for you? Only you will know.

I love it because it is light easy to cradle, produces great video and seems very rugged. It i s a great companion to my FS7 and A7s, but I still use my EX3 from time to time. Right now it is my grab and go cam for a quick shoot. And it always comes along on a FS7 shoot. I find it is much better in low light than the EX1/3 cams and much greater DR. The kit lens is great grab and shoot with nice range, but it is not a cine lens by any stretch of the imagination. I would buy it again with the FS5 just because it is so cheap and works great in many situations.

But try it yourself even if just shooting in a camera store for a few minutes.

I think Sony is going to sell a lot of these, for good reason.

[Patrick Baldwin]

Originally Posted by Nigel Davey

Hi Doug. One of my lens is the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR. Apparently this will vignette on a full frame Nikon, hence the reason Nikon launched the revamped mkii of this lens for full frames.

The 70-200 will probably be one of my two go-to lenses outside the FS5 kit lens, for its long reach. The other is my 35mm f1.8 for low light.

It won't vignette to any meaningful degree at all. I have had this lens from launch and used it on full frame Nikons since 2007. The reason Nikon changed it was because the Mark 1 never gets sharp at the edges no matter what f stop whereas of course the new one does. I have never felt the need to change. Admittedly most of my photographic work is in the dark in a theatre at f2.8 so it doesn't affect me. Since I have started videoing shows at deeper f stops it still hasn't occurred to me to change it.
Don't change it until you have tried it on your prospective cameras.

[Jeremy Cole]

I use the FS5 primarily with Nikon lenses collected over the last 40 years. In no particular order, I have used it with the 20 f4, 28 f3.5, 50 f1.4, 105 f2.5, 105micro, 200m f4, 24-70mm f2.8, 80-200mm f2.8, plus the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 WA. They all work just fine. I have both the standard Metabones Nikon to E-mount adapter and the speed booster. Both were purchased used and work fine. I see none of the issues that people keep raising on these boards. I just use it and it works. I have done interviews with it and collected lots of b-roll. I have not used it for events. I use an EX1r for that with its better reach, but I am tempted to try it out on an event.

The FS5 is light, though it can get quite heavy when loaded up. My goal is to keep it light. I don't plan on rigging it. The lighter the better, though I dislike the kit lens' manual focus and zoom functions, I do like how light it is and how quickly it focuses when in auto focus. And the Clear Image Zoom function along with the variable ND are wonderful and I use them all the time. It is a nice camera. I plan on owning and using it a long time.

[Docea Marius]

work ok with speedbuster ultra,i have 35 mm 1.4 , 50 mm 1,4 ,85mm 1.8 ,70-200 vr II

[Mike Watson]

Originally Posted by Nigel Davey

Anyway my question is would any current FS5 owner buy the camera again if they had the chance? Particularly if they were in my shoes? Also practically is all the business regarding macro-blocking just over enthusiastic pixel peeping... or does it really wreck clips on a regular basis?

Outside of weddings, I do basically what you do - Corporate, Nonprofit, the occasional TV spot. I have no regrets with the FS5. Working with a real videocamera is 10 times easier than trying to rig a DSLR to shoot video.

There are pixel peepers in every forum. It does seem that the FS5 has attracted more than it's share, but if you look closely, I think you'll see that, worldwide, it's limited to a small handfull of folks, and if you connect the dots between their writings, you will find that you don't have much in common with them.

Also, remember, on any forum where there are reviews, it attracts people with a grievance. Nobody ever writes a review to say "my camera works just fine, thanks".

[Ray Lee]

Originally Posted by Nigel Davey

Hi Doug. One of my lens is the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR. Apparently this will vignette on a full frame Nikon, hence the reason Nikon launched the revamped mkii of this lens for full frames.

The 70-200 will probably be one of my two go-to lenses outside the FS5 kit lens, for its long reach. The other is my 35mm f1.8 for low light.

I have had every version ever made of the 80-200 and 70-200 2.8... from film though digital full frame (FX) and I am sure some are ever so slightly darker/softer in corners on full frame/film but you'd never know unless you shoot a solid color evenly lit flat surface... real life it makes little (no) different thin DOF and the corners are never at the same distance to the film plane My advice is to stay away from DPreview and just shoot :)

Also the super 35mm sensor of the FS5 is smaller than FX Nikons so any of the issues would be even less

I have one Sony lens and all the rest are Nikon 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 50 and 85 1.4, 400 2.8, 600 f4 and several old Nikon AIS lenses that all work great the Sony is pretty low resolution vs modern still cameras and smaller than the FX Nikons sensors so you really are not asking them to do all that much for video... things like focus breathing, not being par focal, perfect color matched sets, look of the out of focus areas (more and rounded aperture blades) are the reason people spend the big bucks on cine glass

I just ordered a second FS5

[Nigel Davey]

Thanks for all the useful feedback, I've decided to get one, although probably after my new edit PC arrives. I prefer to learn/break in one thing at a time.

Is there one Nikon adaptor above others that is bubbling to the service re cost/quality/usability? Jeremy what is your preference from the two you are using and why?

[Jeremy Cole]

The Speedbooster gains me an extra stop and, effectively, widens the field of view. Both adapters are quite good. If I want the extra reach, and am not shooting in low light, I typically, don't use the Speedbooster.

[Brian Jansen]

Originally Posted by Olof Ekbergh

I would buy the FS5 again. It is great at what it does.

It is light, accepts all my lenses. I shoot mostly HD and that is very good in the camera. The UHD is great as well if used properly, a nice bonus and I have no problem getting good exposure and very clean images in UHD.

The pixel peepers are just that. I have never had a shot be ruined by the "ripping horizontal" effect. So to me at least it is a non issue.

The 5 is not a 7, and that is good and bad. I would suggest borrowing or renting one to make up your own mind. Everyones needs are different, how can I say the FS5 is right for you? Only you will know.

I love it because it is light easy to cradle, produces great video and seems very rugged. It i s a great companion to my FS7 and A7s, but I still use my EX3 from time to time. Right now it is my grab and go cam for a quick shoot. And it always comes along on a FS7 shoot. I find it is much better in low light than the EX1/3 cams and much greater DR. The kit lens is great grab and shoot with nice range, but it is not a cine lens by any stretch of the imagination. I would buy it again with the FS5 just because it is so cheap and works great in many situations.

But try it yourself even if just shooting in a camera store for a few minutes.

I think Sony is going to sell a lot of these, for good reason.

I've gotta second what Olof says... completely.
I already have the FS7, sold my FS100, and had a work horse EX1R that was just sitting because I was was loving the FS7. I sold the the EX and replaced that with the FS5 and would do it again in a NY minute. While you are right about the kit lense being a bit of a pig, that 1 push auto focus button can be your best friend in quick run/gun. I have the sony 10-18mm short zoom with OSS on it a good amount of the time, and any of my FS7 lenses / accessories work with it too.

[Jeremy Cole]

How is the focus on the 10-18? Similar to the kit lens or more like a normal manual lens?

[Docea Marius]

i use 10-18 mm on ronin m,is a nice lens

[Ryan Douthit]

I also use Nikon lenses on my Sony cinema camera. I have an FS7, which I love to death. Wouldn't ever trade it for an FS5 (though I would consider an FS5 for a B-cam at some point.) Same basic sensor, so my experience is applicable.

Here's my Nikon lens lineup:
Nikon 17-55 F/2.8 DX. This is my everyday lens on the FS7. They're super-cheap on eBay and are a near perfect combination with the FS7.
Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8 (DX). Amazingly versatile. I even use it on my D810 in DX mode for video sometimes. Best manual focus feel of the bunch. (But not weather sealed.)
Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII (FX). Huge. Epic. Used mainly for motorsport video because I have to rig the camera to take the extra weight.
Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro (FX). Focus feel is a bit loose, but it produces amazing macro shots.
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 (FX). Rarely use it, but glad to carry it around just in case in need 1.4.
Nikon 16-35mm f/4 (FX). I love this on my D810 for photography. I use it all the time. However, as a video lens, the focus feel is crap. Only useful as an AF lens -- which I can't do when attached to the FS7. Basically, between this and my short-lived ownership with the Nikon f/4 70-200... which had the same awful manual focus precision, I've since avoided buying anything but the premium Nikon lenses for video.

I should mention I use the Novoflex adaptor. So it's not speed-boosted. I also own a cheaper Vello adaptor, but it doesn't fit as well as the Novoflex so I only carry it as a backup or use it on the FS700 we still have kicking around the office.

TL;DR: You won't have any vignetting issues with Nikon DX/FX lenses on your FS5.