Is a Sony F3 worthwhile buying in 2015??

[Gunleik Groven]

I still think the F3 gives amazing bang for the buck, and compared to R1 it is pretty light and shoulder-friendly.

If you have the S-log upgrade, you're golden for a lot of work with this camera.

Nope. It's not a "Mini-Alexa" or similar to whatever RED camera. (which was sillily thrown around in its time)
But it is itself a great camera for a lot of work.

Enjoy it and congratulations!

 

[July Morgan]

Wouldn't you rather get a Red One for nearly the same price? red is excellent,i love it

 

[Gunleik Groven]

Wouldn't you rather get a Red One for nearly the same price? red is excellent,i love it

I'd say that would depend on needs and workflows.

If you need prores log, and lower weight, do the F3.

If I was to get any of those cameras, I'd get a RED ONE M.

But I am consdered weird for liking that over ONE MX

 

[Christian Schmitt]

Nope. It's not a "Mini-Alexa" or similar to whatever RED camera.

But you could say its a baby F35...

 

[Gunleik Groven]

But you could say its a baby F35...

Nope. Those are totally different technologies.

Both are good cameras, though, and it's possible to pick up an F35 for an unheard of amount these days.

 

[Thomas Buchan]

F3 is still an amazing camera. 444 gives a really beautiful image to grade - only image that goes up to 200% saturation and doesn't look crazy. I've got the Epix MX, A7s & E5 combo and F3 still gives the most desirable skin tones.

 

[Mark K.]

The F3 is a steal at current prices. Form-factor is a bit shoddy (though I think you can still get the element technica body armour, which massively improves it), but that sensor is a little gem. Very sharp 1080p images, beautiful highlight rolloff and enough dynamic range to keep up with all of the latest cameras, up to 60fps output with the right recorder. Rolling shutter and moire/aliasing are VASTLY superior to other cheap options like the Blackmagic Cameras or Stills Cameras, and it beats out the Canon offerings with 10-bit recording, wider dynamic range and 60fps at 1080p.

Here's a few images I got on mine when I had it:

 

[Gunleik Groven]

And those pictures pretty much make my point Mark. Thanks.

 

[David W. Jones]

The F3 can make pretty pictures.

But I would ditch the $6 filters you bought, unless that is the look you are after.

 

[David Peterson]

Wouldn't you rather get a Red One for nearly the same price? red is excellent,i love it

Nope, the typical used price for an F3 is much lower than the typical used price for a R1 MX. (plus as a bonus.... I snagged my F3 for much lower than usual pricing! Very happy with it).

Also, I feel the F3 massively suits my needs better than a R1 MX would. (has internal ND filters, and is crazy good in low light, good audio handling, to just give a few reasons why)

The F3 can make pretty pictures.

But I would ditch the $6 filters you bought, unless that is the look you are after.

Heh, too cheap to not get it on a lark! ;-) But yeah, I do also have a Tiffen ND0.6 4x4 filter and a Tiffen ND1.2 4x4 filter on its way.
Still need to keep up the hunt for a few more filters: a Pro-Mist, Polarizer, & graduated ND filter. Just to list a few.

 

[Jiri Vrozina]

The F3 is a steal at current prices. Form-factor is a bit shoddy (though I think you can still get the element technica body armour, which massively improves it), but that sensor is a little gem. Very sharp 1080p images, beautiful highlight rolloff and enough dynamic range to keep up with all of the latest cameras, up to 60fps output with the right recorder. Rolling shutter and moire/aliasing are VASTLY superior to other cheap options like the Blackmagic Cameras or Stills Cameras, and it beats out the Canon offerings with 10-bit recording, wider dynamic range and 60fps at 1080p.

Here's a few images I got on mine when I had it:

Canon c500 records 10 or 12 bit and on outdoor shots will .... Any F3.
Great deal on F3 in USA. $4000 , how much is S-log and 4:4:4 option?

 

[David Peterson]

Great deal on F3 in USA. $4000 , how much is S-log and 4:4:4 option?

I wouldn't pay US$4k for a new F3 in 2015, at that price point there are too many other compelling options at that point or nearby (such as second hand FS700, second hand RED One MX, new URSA Mini, new Sony FS5, and even more options). Which makes the new F3 for $4k merely a "kinda good deal", good but not great for its price of $4k.

However its second hand price is around about US$2k ish (or even less! I got very lucky and picked mine up for only US$1.2k!), which then makes the Sony F3 an *AMAZINGLY GOOD DEAL*. There truly is nothing else at that price point which offers the same range of features and image quality as the F3 does for so little money. (other cameras such as GH4/A7s/BMPCC/C100, just offer a different mix of pros/cons. But head to head don't stand a chance at beating the F3 on every one of its point, you'll have trade offs for their few gains instead in other areas such as 4K, size, or raw).

 

[Mark K.]

Canon c500 records 10 or 12 bit and on outdoor shots will .... Any F3.

Well, not quite. Like the F3 the C500 only records 8-bit onboard. It can output a higher bitrate signal though (which seems particularly nice in 12-bit 2K). But the C500 also occupies a very different price bracket to the F3. So I wouldn't call them competitors. And the Sony still trumps the C500 for highlight latitude.

 

[Vince Sweeney]

https://vimeo.com/136678953

 

[David Peterson]

Vincent, you shot this on an F3? It looks very nice!
What support gear did you use with it, just a tripod? And handheld, or shoulder rig?

 

[Vince Sweeney]

Thanks. It was suppose to be shot with an Amira but ended up being no budget. I was alone with an F3 in S-log mode, Atomos Blade, Miller DS30, Senn. shotgun mic and a small Vance-jib. No lighting. Some was handheld using a Zacuto VCT Universal plate. Opening shots are an AF100 (it was all I could borrow at that time).

I'm going to sell the camera as I have no business owning any camera gear.

 

[Mark K.]

I wouldn't say that Vince, I just watched that mini-doc all the way through and was captivated.

Here's a short I shot on the F3 last year, 'The Good Wild Man', that a couple of the grabs I posted above are from:

 

[David Peterson]

Thanks. It was suppose to be shot with an Amira but ended up being no budget. I was alone with an F3 in S-log mode, Atomos Blade, Miller DS30, Senn. shotgun mic and a small Vance-jib. No lighting. Some was handheld using a Zacuto VCT Universal plate. Opening shots are an AF100 (it was all I could borrow at that time).

I'm going to sell the camera as I have no business owning any camera gear.

When you can make images that look that nice with it and when the camera gets so little on the second hand market, I can not see why you'd want to sell it!