Just got my hands on one for the weekend. Will do some shooting with it tomorrow and report back!! Looks lovely, got the latest xdcam deck to go with it.

Initial thoughts, much better LCD, V nice viewfinder, menus more like digibeta in using than previous XDCAM ones but got used to them...

Weight heavier than my F350 but balance very good.

Great having separate timecode display. Good for saving battery life.

No 24p, unlikely to change in firmware update. No over or undercrank, that could happen. I hope so!!

More to come!

Hi Phil,

I already have some questions :-)

What viewfinder did come with it? The HDVF-20A or the HDVF-C35W?

What codecs are included for the moment? DVCAM, MPEG-IMX, MPEG HD and MPEG HD422?

Can you change a dics when the cache is set maximum of 30 seconds?

Thanks and happy testing tomorrow!

it's the 20a

Currently it will record only 720p or 1080p 50i/25p. SD recording will come in a few months with firmware upgrade.

Don't know about the cache yet

I had my hands on it last weekend. It is a very early pre-production firmware. 25p only works as long as you don't turn the shutter on, and then it messes up if you do. This is why I was going to wait for the final version before writing anything up just yet. It is pretty flakey as it stands.

It does have a 30 sec cache on it though which is nice (and yes you can change a disc with it on), and the picture is extremely low in noise (actually non existent!)

I wouldn't exactly call the LCD good!! It is the same as the 350/355 at the moment. I was hoping that they'd put the one from the EX on it.

But as I say this is a *preproduction* (I can't emphasise that enough) model that could change in minor details before release.

It is more robust feeling than the 350/355. It uses the same body type as the SD cameras, which is good for me. It was like an HD version of my 510, which is great as it means that it also has the seperate timecode and battery display that I missed on the 1/2" XD HD.

Good to see that the menus are the same as the SD cameras too. The menus in the 350 etc were dumbed down too much.

Simon / Phil - I was just about to ask if anyone had heard any news on the F700...:-)

Have you heard any further news regarding the street release date of this camera.

Got lots of questions, really look forward to hearing you thoughts Phil, and Simon I understand you do not wish to say too much at this point, but your thoughts will be very appreciated by quite a few folks here I bet.

I have been keeping an eye on this camera for a project at the end of the year (it was either that or a Red) and if it has the same user friendliness and workflow as the 350 then I am very keen to hear more.

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com

I'll be writing up my thoughts in Showreel. I can't tell you what I do or do not know about extra functions. But I will say that it is one hell of a cool camera!

hi simon - does it record at 25/35/50 or just 50?

I believe this preliminary model only records 50 mbps.

Yes, correct.

Phil - How did the picture quality of the 700 compare to your 350?

Gary :)

The 700 uses the same CCD's and optics as the HDC1500 studio camera. I was shooting a conference with some 1500's during the week and the pictures were stunning so I am expecting nothing but good things from the 700.

I was at NAB; Sony rep indicated 1080 24/30p were definately coming in a firmware update but no timeline.

Phil - How did the picture quality of the 700 compare to your 350?

Gary :)

definitely better, but the f350 is still quite amazing

I second that. The F350 is an amazingly versatile camera..