Production F5/F55. No exposure metering.

Leonard Levy · March 8th, 2013, 03:26 PM

Alister,
Hopefully you are right about those features coming in the near future, but I suspect you are being a little to generous to the Sony design team. Not including essential features that have been in previous cameras for years and others that have been requested for years doesn't sound like they weren't ready yet, so much as they just weren't thought of in the original design.
Of course no way for us to know, just kind of disconcerting.

For my often fast moving work even if I could afford an F5 or F55 ( and I am tempted) the exposure tools and white balance button are all serious issues that would be deal breakers for now.

Having finally used the RED Epic a few times recently I have been surprised at how much more user friendly its been than I expected. Especially in the ease with which I can show and even record a good LUT without any effort at all. Someone must have been thinking of these kinds of issues at the design stage from the get-go. Of course in many ways I prefer my F3 .

Nate Weaver · March 8th, 2013, 06:23 PM

Given the F3 has histogram, I'm quite sure the F5/55 team thought of exposure tools.

The difference was they were moving the F65s GUI/menu software downwards, not the F3/EX1r/3 GUI upwards.

Right now the menu system is slow. Which makes me speculate (perhaps in error) that the frame rate on the menu system just isn't fast enough for exposure tools yet.

Regardless, while the lack of histogram or waveform drives me buggy right now, I am thrilled with the images I'm getting and it's enough of step forward I am glad I jumped from the F3. I can put up with lack of one tool for all of the other things I get with the whole.

Surprisingly, I've been ok without exposure tools. I'm finding SLog2 is easier to get exposure right by eye.

Dennis Hingsberg · March 8th, 2013, 06:49 PM

It is indeed a double-edged sword for Sony but I think they did the right thing releasing the cameras on schedule as indicated last year. Early adopters always pay some price for this but already in the 1st or 2nd week of delivering cameras already 2 firmware updates have been released and I know more will come soon.

Right now it would make sense that efforts are prioritized to address and major bugs or issuse before looking at improving some other areas of the camera. Although I do find it very absurd the camera didn't ship with at least some form of exposure tool.

As Nate points out, working with slog2 on-screen is actually not as difficult as slog was on the F3 for example. Mid-tones are not drastically boosted but instead nice and low so the images is not as "milky white".

Alister Chapman · March 10th, 2013, 12:03 PM

Dennis are you using S-Gamut? There's a big difference between S-Log2 in custom mode and S-Gamut or Cine EI mode. But yes I do think S-Log2 is a little easier to eyeball. I'll have some info on a rather nice monitoring/metering solution later in the week.

Dennis Hingsberg · March 10th, 2013, 02:44 PM

I am not using the AXS-R5 recorder with the F55, so cine IE mode is not available and the shooting mode is locked to "custom".

I am using the slog2 gamma curve, but burried in the menu there are additional options to select to color space you want to work in.

Under System -> Base Setting you can select Main Operation to be YPbPr or RGB and under Color Space you can select Normal or S-Gamut.

I am using S-Gamut along with the slog2 gamma curve.

March 8th, 2013, 03:26 PM	#16
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Re: Production F5/F55. No exposure metering. Alister, Hopefully you are right about those features coming in the near future, but I suspect you are being a little to generous to the Sony design team. Not including essential features that have been in previous cameras for years and others that have been requested for years doesn't sound like they weren't ready yet, so much as they just weren't thought of in the original design. Of course no way for us to know, just kind of disconcerting. For my often fast moving work even if I could afford an F5 or F55 ( and I am tempted) the exposure tools and white balance button are all serious issues that would be deal breakers for now. Having finally used the RED Epic a few times recently I have been surprised at how much more user friendly its been than I expected. Especially in the ease with which I can show and even record a good LUT without any effort at all. Someone must have been thinking of these kinds of issues at the design stage from the get-go. Of course in many ways I prefer my F3 . Last edited by Leonard Levy; March 8th, 2013 at 04:17 PM.

March 8th, 2013, 06:23 PM	#17
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	Re: Production F5/F55. No exposure metering. Given the F3 has histogram, I'm quite sure the F5/55 team thought of exposure tools. The difference was they were moving the F65s GUI/menu software downwards, not the F3/EX1r/3 GUI upwards. Right now the menu system is slow. Which makes me speculate (perhaps in error) that the frame rate on the menu system just isn't fast enough for exposure tools yet. Regardless, while the lack of histogram or waveform drives me buggy right now, I am thrilled with the images I'm getting and it's enough of step forward I am glad I jumped from the F3. I can put up with lack of one tool for all of the other things I get with the whole. Surprisingly, I've been ok without exposure tools. I'm finding SLog2 is easier to get exposure right by eye. __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net

March 8th, 2013, 06:49 PM	#18
Dennis Hingsberg Trustee Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,055	Re: Production F5/F55. No exposure metering. It is indeed a double-edged sword for Sony but I think they did the right thing releasing the cameras on schedule as indicated last year. Early adopters always pay some price for this but already in the 1st or 2nd week of delivering cameras already 2 firmware updates have been released and I know more will come soon. Right now it would make sense that efforts are prioritized to address and major bugs or issuse before looking at improving some other areas of the camera. Although I do find it very absurd the camera didn't ship with at least some form of exposure tool. As Nate points out, working with slog2 on-screen is actually not as difficult as slog was on the F3 for example. Mid-tones are not drastically boosted but instead nice and low so the images is not as "milky white".

March 10th, 2013, 12:03 PM	#19
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Production F5/F55. No exposure metering. Dennis are you using S-Gamut? There's a big difference between S-Log2 in custom mode and S-Gamut or Cine EI mode. But yes I do think S-Log2 is a little easier to eyeball. I'll have some info on a rather nice monitoring/metering solution later in the week. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

March 10th, 2013, 02:44 PM	#20
Dennis Hingsberg Trustee Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,055	Re: Production F5/F55. No exposure metering. I am not using the AXS-R5 recorder with the F55, so cine IE mode is not available and the shooting mode is locked to "custom". I am using the slog2 gamma curve, but burried in the menu there are additional options to select to color space you want to work in. Under System -> Base Setting you can select Main Operation to be YPbPr or RGB and under Color Space you can select Normal or S-Gamut. I am using S-Gamut along with the slog2 gamma curve.