评测:索尼PXW-FS5

I’ve waited five years to write this article—a review about love, 摄像机, 解决问题, 进行权衡. I waited to write this article until I found love again. 我喜爱的对象是索尼PXW-FS5.

Every veteran professional video camera operator has a favorite video camera. What makes one video camera better than another is a topic often debated in online forums and at professional video association meetings. Some requirements of video camera love are specific to the evolving requirements of an individual camera operator, 以及他们所做的工作类型. These needs progress along with the operator’s professional career, so it’s often unfair to the newer 摄像机 as they are being asked to do more that the old favorites ever had to.

Some requirements aren’t negotiable features or technical requirements, while some of the reasons why an old video camera is favored over newer models can be boiled down to familiarity and sentimentality. 不管, this video camera sets the standard by which all other 摄像机 are judged, regardless of whether the old favorite can keep up with the newer model from a technological standpoint.

索尼Z7U和我寻找它的继任者

当我回头看我的最爱，那个 索尼Z7U (下面的图1)，有很多值得爱的地方. 从人体工程学角度来说，我拿在手里感觉棒极了. I loved the 12x Zeiss lens that held its own against professional ENG lenses, 以及其集成的CF记录器, it allowed me to break the 60-minute MiniDV tape barrier without having to pair it with a DV/HDV tape deck, and it even let me film with a true 30p frame rate. We produced a lot of great video together during a time when my professional career and personal life blossomed—hence my silly sentimental attachment.

图1. My old favorite, the 索尼Z7U, with its traditional side-mounted LCD screen

不过也有一些问题. The internal HDV codec left a lot to be desired. I worked through that issue by pairing it with a new-at-the-time Atomos Ninja. Recording the uncompressed HDMI output enabled the Z7U to hold its own against the internal codecs of newer models. 尽管我很喜欢我的索尼Z7U, I still wanted a better internal recording codec, 即使我把它和a配对 索尼Z5U for when I needed a 20x zoom lens, irrationally I sold both the Z7U and the Z5U. Their replacement was supposed to be a pair of NX5Us with internal AVCHD recording on SD cards, 但我最后买了一双索尼fs100.

I chose video quality over both ergonomics and a great lens. This was a challenging transition for me, coming from the ergonomics-centric camcorder world. 在我的手中 索尼FS100 (后来 FS700) 摄像机 had all the elegance and design of a block of modeling clay that was supposed to be modeled into something beautiful and practical but comically was mistaken for a finished concept. 我知道这不是真的. In 2011, Sony proudly devoted three pages on its website to how they designed the FS100, referring to it as a “cylinder + box theme” and stating that, 加上目镜, it took on a symbolic shape overall with video signals “funneled” from a cylindrical lens into a box-like body in the middle and then funneled out through the cylindrical eyepiece. 本质上, Sony designed the FS100 to compete against the design and ergonomics of DSLRs and threw out all the lessons they learned from the successes of their Handycams.

Fast forward to late 2015 and I still had not found the video camera love I had once enjoyed. I appreciated the PXW-FS7 for its improved ergonomics, thanks to its SmartGrip and an LCD that I could actually see when the camera was at or above eye level (Figure 2). But I hesitated because of the investment required. I would have needed to re-invest in Sony BP batteries, and the FS7 required XQD cards. The current XQD V2 cards cost $350–380 for a single 128GB card, 与45美元相比, 在写这篇文章的时候, 用于索尼128GB U3 Class 10 SDXC卡. The total package for the FS7 with 28-135mm f/4 PowerZoom lens was priced at $10,499. 一旦你添加了少量的电池, 记忆卡, 和一个XQD读卡器, 你喜欢12美元,000范围. I didn’t fall in love enough with the FS7 to spend that much money.