EA50 evolved.....it's now an FS5.....Sony listened!!!

[Scott Nocella]

I would say that Sony listened to this forum and made a fine camera based on EA50 feedback. Outstanding specs and an e-mount-this baby is a winner.

Will I be running out to buy one......NO!!!!.......When 4K is the rule of thumb, I might. Things are going to change even more quickly on the tech side. Will households be rushing to spend $2K on a new 4K monitor when 8k is around the corner after a 4k update......don't know.....and my pockets aren't that deep to explore that financial possibility.

So enjoy.....it's a nice camera for those wanting to spend their hard earned money on the next best thing until the FS4 comes around!! I say that sarcastically!!!

PXW-FS5 Official Function Video | Sony Professional - YouTube

Best,

Scott

[Noa Put]

This camera has nothing to do with the ea50 and no, Sony didn't listen to feedback on this forum, if they did they would have made a firmware update to solve some of the complaints made about the ea50.

[Michael Spanheimer]

yes...not really an updated ea50 but in fact a very nice camera.
but damn...the batteries should be the same as on the ea50.

[Noa Put]

Here you can buy two ea50's for the price of one fs5, it certainly is a nice camera and obviously competing with the c100.

[Michael Spanheimer]

well regarding the price hurts a little...or even more ;-) on the other hand it´s a major improvement compared to the ea50.
the superslowmotion is really tempting.
probably i will stay with the ea50 for quite a while. but still thinking about the selp18105....

[Scott Nocella]

The Sony EA50 will eventually be phased out as 4k becomes the standard, forget about firmware updates the EA50 was a test mule for the 4k format in 2K HD, and now what was learned is being applied to the 4k super 35mm camera platform.

The EA50 is done. Prepare for an FS4 and FS3 and that's what the EA50 will evolve into, my opinion. E-mount glass will move forward to serve 4K standard.

Love my EA50 and it has plenty of life left in it, not interested in buying 4K however being informed is key to understanding the dynamics of our ever changing field----this is evolution at work---The EA50 was a 1st of it's kind and I'm certain they will no longer make a 2K HD camera like again. HD is on the way out, 4K is on the way in. It's just a matter of time. The FS5 reinforces that on Sony's moving forward in a 4K world.

[Noa Put]

It sounds like you work for Sony :) I have had a nex-ea50 and miss it's ease of use compared to a dslr, 4K is just a new way to make a lot of money for the camera manufacturers because we all have to start all over again with with our camera investments, something that will repeat itself once the first 8k camera's will come out. Existing models are hardly being improved anymore and 4k is yet another reason to bring out a new model with some of the features you have been missing before.

[Chris Harding]

The thing that was different about the EA-50 was the shoulder mount form factor... To me this looks a lot like a 4K FS100 even down to the rotatable handgrip.

I honestly cannot see anything about the FS5 that remotely says it's a EA-50 replacement ... I see it purely as the new FS100 that does 4K

After going back to Panasonic I still think it's got a way better image than I ever achieved with my EA-50 ..Hmm wonder how much this will sell for down here?? Probably around the 8K mark ...ouch!!

[Scott Nocella]

EXACTLY. I'm done with the game, and to be frank it just cheapens the industry-we bear the weight of these format changes and it hurts. How are you supposed to run a business when somebody tells you your tools are out of style before their life cycle is up......Does a mechanic get a new crescent wrench because it has a new chrome fashion statement and that's what tool manufacturers are interested in selling.....NO....It's about function. But in our little world, it's keep up with a sick timeline of technology or get steamrolled by it, because product life cycles are shorter and shorter as camera manufacturers keep killing us with shorter technology life cycles....Not fair....for the little guy it just doesn't pay, unless you can survive by allocating $20K every other year on new monitors, cameras, and computer equipment. The last camera I had survived for 12 years.....now it's necessary to sell your gear and buy new gear annually.....that's INSANE!!!

So bottom line, I will admire the changes from afar and book jobs that pay my rate and work for me, as I don't have the pockets nor the patience to play this game that is tipped in the manufacturers favor....they win every time, we lose. I'm not doing it. I am by no means employed by SONY, and if I were this post would be my resignation. It's not a fun game, technology was fun when it was manageable, now it's a rabid elephant that tramples everything in the room including itself!!!!

So me and my Sony EA50 will live happily ever after as that's the last camera I'm buying to do work, this has become a hobby for me!!! I will be making my own enjoyable content that is entertaining to me---that's what it's come to, and I'm happy with that. My camera earns, and will continue to earn, no need to buy into this manufacturer game anymore, I'm just shooting what I enjoy shooting with my EA50 until it dies!!! which is never since it's a tank!!

Keep independents alive and create beautiful content because as always "Content is KING"

Best,

Scott

[Chris Harding]

Hi Scott

Let's face it if you are pure tech head and buy the latest gear you will for sure end up with no money in your pocket. However technology HAS advanced so much that you can get better gear and actually pay less!

I sold both my EA-50 bodies (I sold the E-Mounts earlier and used my Nikon lenses) and the videos I shot for brides were good but never awesome. The EA-50 with the F3.5 lens at weddings bottoms out at around 3200 ISO so low light was always an issue for me ..Had to then buy F1.8 lenses to do my job! The cameras alone cost me $4000 each ..then the extra lenses etc etc and on it went.

I was forced to resize my gear as the EA-50's were just too heavy for my old back and I bought two Panasonic FZ1000 bridge cameras ... $899 each versus $4000 +++ BIG difference!! After the Sony's were sold I still had a pocket full of cash left. Now one would think that an $899 camera is going to be a lot worse??? Not at all ..The image quality throws my EA-50 footage out the window ..I can shoot wedding right up to 6400ISO and the image is clean ...AND I can shoot in 4K too and no extra lenses to buy either!

Sometimes a downsize does work ... I'm thrilled with what I have now and it weighs in at around 2lbs too!!

[Josh Bass]

To me the only reason to upgrade gear is if you can't paid to use the old stuff anymore. . .that definitely should not happen every year!

Yes, SOME clients have very specific demands for what codec/camera/etc. you shoot, others wouldn't know an EX1 from an elbow. Unless all your clients are the former, you shouldn't have trouble making money with "old" gear for years. I unfortunately never bought into HD, instead getting an XL2 in 2005 when the Sony HDV cams were just coming out. I think if I had bought into a CARD-based camera (tape sucks so hard now after using cards) even in the "old days", like an HVX200 or something, I'd STILL be using it on most gigs. Not all, but most.

[James Manford]

This is a FS700 replacement.

240fps slow motion at full HD, variable ND's better ergonomics and most importantly 4K video with a wide dynamic range.

It's the FS100/FS700 upgrade most definitely. Unless they come out with one that does 240fps 4K slow motion.

Personally? I can't wait for 8K camcorders to come out so I can grab the best Sony 4K cam for half price on ebay in a few years time. At the moment, I can't afford to upgrade and thankfully my customers don't require 4K video. They're satisfied with a creative Full HD edit most importantly full of content, with nothing missed out !

[Randy Johnson]

Its a nice camera personally I think its interesting that Sony seems to really have a commiment to the NEX mount as far as cameras but doesnt seem to want to make more lenses. personally id like to see some faster lenses before I make another commiment to the Sony NEX line. I love my ea-50 but I always seem to struggle in low light, id need more lenses in the 2.8 range.

[David Banner]

I really like the FS5.
I WISH they would make an EA50 4k version and call it something like FS4.

While the FS5 is way better than the horrible brick design of the FS700, I still prefer the ergonomics of the EA50.

If there was an EA50 4k that could do 12MP stills and low light video like the A7S / FS5 with some 1080P slomotion and built-in ND count me in! Put it around $3.5k-5k so it falls beneath the FS5. Heck I'd even pay the same price as the FS5 for it!

I really want AVCHD and XAVC-S along with XAVC-L. My NLE's cannot ingest XAVC-L.

[Dmitri Zigany]

Originally Posted by Randy Johnson

Its a nice camera personally I think its interesting that Sony seems to really have a commiment to the NEX mount as far as cameras but doesnt seem to want to make more lenses. personally id like to see some faster lenses before I make another commiment to the Sony NEX line. I love my ea-50 but I always seem to struggle in low light, id need more lenses in the 2.8 range.

They just announced at IBC that 8 more FE lenses will be released before first quarter of 2016.
One lens is a SEL2470GM. My belief is that it's finally a 2.8 24-70 for the e-mount.