thinkin of goin with 700 , lowlight/vs ex1r

[Jim Stamos]

im looking really hard at the 700 to replace my ex1r. ergonomics wise the ex1r is very easy for me to use. looks like the 700 isn't as easy to handhold.
love the DOF on it vs not so good DOF on ex1, how is the lowlight on this cam vs the ex?
thx.

[James Manford]

The EX1 won't even come close to the FS700 in terms of lowlight.

The FS100/FS700 is a low budget movie camera in my opinion. They are digital cinematography cameras for film making.

So it's completely different to what the EX1 is.

[Matt Davis]

I have 2x EX1s, used to have an FS100, used an FS700 for a while, currently using a C100.

But I didn't sell my EX1s - last year, 50% of my business was done on EX1.

I'm lucky - I can choose the right camera for the job. A lot of my jobs are Run and Gun style coverage, and the EX1 is superb for this. An FS100/700 won't replace it, though it will supplement it nicely.

Going FS700 means you'll be changing lenses when the action happens, you'll be investing in a lot of extra hardware to make it work like an EX1 (shoulder mount with remote on-off, EVF - tall people and high tripod settings are a challenge!), and there's the little things like fractional shutter speed, A/B media rollover, Shot Duration (!!! - so valuable!). I could go on. Frequently do.

I've decided, even though both my EX1s are in for service (and an expensive repair on the older one), should they meet an untimely end, I'll replace them with PMW300s, not large sensor cameras. I like the choice of glass a PMW300 offers over a PMW200, but I prefer the safety of a 1/2" (or better still a 2/3" chip) over an S35 sensor for some of my work. I often find myself on jobs pulling focus and iris on a parade of guys wandering around on a patchily lit stage for a day or three. I would be in therapy or at least a room with soft walls if I had to do that on the C100.

The trick is, sadly, to have both.