It would be a trifle unfair to criticise Sony’s new FS100 for not having some of the costly features of a high-end camera.
The new camera is from Sony’s NXCAM budget range, with a list price expected to be NZ$8.5K (Under US$7K) for the bundle including an E-mount 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Optical SteadyShot Sony auto focus zoom lens.
It is a fair game to compare it to a Canon 5D Mk II though, and sure enough one was produced to sit side by side with the Sony FS100 when a group of camera and sound Crews.TV members met recently at Spoon Studios in Auckland. It’s a venue often used by Crews.TV and this time the session was to look at a pre-production FS100 sample loaned by Sony.
There are lots of spec sheets, press releases and reviews that will give you the details of the camera and cover the image quality, but for this group the discussion turned to three main usability issues, once the amusement of being able to shoot around corners wore off.