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Sony NEX-FS700 announced – striking 240fps in HD

April 2^nd, 2012

by Sebastian WöberApril 2^nd, 2012

Guest post by: Nino Leitner

Sony has just announced their new cinema camera, the Sony NEX-FS700, which is about to fill the gap between the FS100 and the F3 in Sony’s cinema camera line-up in Super 35mm cameras. It has a 11.6 million pixels sensor.

Incredible slow motion capabilities
There are two features that really make the FS700 stand out: It can record 120 or 240 frames per second in 1080p in 8 or 16 second bursts, respectively. It’s insane and unheard-of in a camera in this price range.

So far, the best we could get for a comparable amount of money was the FS700′s little brother, the FS100, which is able to record up to 60 fps in 1080p (in the US version, 50 in the EU version – though that is about to get irrelevant with a firmware update that will make it a world camera).

Details on what kind of slow motion it can shoot:
– 240fps for 8 seconds in Full HD
– 120fps for 16 seconds in Full HD
– 960fps up to approx 19 seconds in a burst
_(1920×216 line skipped readout, interpolated in
_camera to 1920×1080)
– 1480fps up to approx 9 seconds in a burst
_(1920×432 line skipped readout, interpolated in
_camera to 1920×1080)

4K upgrade in the future
The second big thing about this camera is that it will be able to output 4K “Raw” through its 3G HD-SDI output in the future. It seems like not even sources within Sony know yet when exactly this will be available, nor what the recording device will be like or what its cost will be. But it sounds extremely intriguing.

To keep in line with the NEX series, the camera will record AVCHD 2.0 by default, to SD cards. It is a world camera, switchable from 50Hz to 60Hz, recording all variations of frame rates that we need (24/25/30/50/60) in 1080p.

It seems like a series of shooters had a chance to use this camera prior to its release. We can expect test shots of it at and around NAB time, maybe even in the coming days. Den Lennie, James Miller, Peter Prevec and Jason Wingrove seem to be among the few who had access to the camera already.

ND filters & form factor
They enhanced a few things from the FS100, although the form factor is similar. The FS700 has 3 built-in ND steps at 1/8, 1/16 and 1/64.
I was never a big fan of the FS100 form factor, but it seems they enhanced some of its biggest shortcomings, e.g. moving the XLR port from the back to the front. It however still has the little awkwardly designed viewfinder that can be taken of, and it features the same LCD screen as the FS100 (3.5″ 921K).

It shares the same E-mount lens system with the FS100. Now, with the availability of a several adapters allowing you to control the f-stop on the ubiquitous Canon EF lenses, the Sony cameras will gain a lot of popularity in no time without a doubt.

Pricing [UPDATED]:
Now this is exciting, according to Sony’s press release it will be below $10K This will truly make a big difference in the camera market, mainly because of its slow motion capabilities which put it out of reach of all the competitors, for now.
Order @ B&H for $7999

I will keep this post updated as we learn more about the FS700. Please check back later.
I will do my best to get my hands on one to shoot something with it as soon as possible!

Visit our new Sony NEX-FS700 subforum:

The Sony Press Release is here