Sony XDCAM PDW-F800 First Impressions

Wow it has been a while since my last post. I have been flat out editing and shooting which is great. I have made a few gear changes in the last month and the big one is moving up to a F800.

First off I sold my Sony PMW-350. Yes I know after raving about the camera and having such a great first impression I have moved on. There is nothing wrong with the PMW-350 except it did not have the latitude I expected in a 2/3″ camera. It is a nice nice step up from the EX1/3 but just that only a step up. So what are my reasons for selling and moving up? Well I have two longer term clients who said to sign on I needed a F900 or F800. I was not going to buy a F900 tape based camera so I went for the Sony XDCAM PDW-F800 Optical Disk HD camera.

The F800 is a big step up from the EX350. First off the camera it is CCD not CMOS. IMHO CCD is much better then CMOS. CCD handles fast motion better and there is not rolling shutter problem. This will improve in CMOS but it is not there yet. You get much greater level of control over the picture then any other camera I have used.

Here are just some there are a lot more but this gives you a taste of the positive items the F800 offers and made it easy to make the move:

Optical Disk recording. Now this is huge with native full res 1080p with three 2.2M pixels CCD’s recorded onto the disk at 4.2.2 50Mbps you have the top level broadcast quality HD. And once you have recorded you also have your archive, DONE! No copying onto a Raid 1 hard drive and worrying about when your hard drive will fail and it will. Or having the clips on DL-DVD, which are rated for 5-7 years. The Sony Optical Disk is rated for 50 years and come with great holders and take up minimum storage. THIS IS HUGE if you value your time.
Proxy Files and Meta data for every clip. How did I live without this feature? Future search is easy and setting up client info is done prior to the shoot which makes searching for clips fast. Another time saver the F800 offers.
F900 gamma curves which have become an industry standard. I have producers say we would like you to shoot with our F900 gamma/scene files to match the production. Well now I can just load the memory stick and done the same as the rest of the cameras on the shoot. I have found my own scene files with help from Doug Jensen and Dennis Dillon and am very happy with the results. I was never happy with the results on the 350 and it took months on the EX1. The wealth of settings from the F900 transfer so you have a great starting point.
Optical Color Correction filters. This was a nice surprise once I started shooting with the camera. Right behind the 4 ND filter wheel is the 4 Optical CC filter wheel. Very nice to do this optically instead of electronically. The quality of the optical filter is great and I love the look from the 6300 filter for outside shooting. You are offered clear, 3200, 4300, 6300. If you don’t like this you can use a preset number or you can white/black balance like you can on any camera.
No Nano needed with the F800. This lets me keep the Nano hooked up to my EX1 as a B camera. But if for some reason I needed the Nano no problem to hook it up to one of the two HD-SDI out.
All of my extra gear fits right on the F800: Batteries (F800 is power hungry so I now have three 130wh), Tripod plate, Fujinon ZA lens, Zylight, Marshal Monitor, Kata cover, Fujinon Focus control, Libec zoom control.
1920×540 slow motion. I have programmed on one of the five assigned buttons slow motion. I have always been frustrated with using 720p for slow motion and then having to down graded my 1080p 30p footage to 720p to make it all match. Uprezing the 720p slowmo to my 1080p footage never looked nice. The 1920×540 looks great and it is hard to believe it is only 540 vertical. Not sure how Sony does it but it is a huge improvement over my EX1 720p slowmo.
You can buy the Field Guide by Doug Jensen. I highly recommend the Vortex Media’s PDW-700/PDW-F800 Field Guide by Doug Jensen. www.vortexmedia.com Vortex Media’s Field Guide is 327 pages chock full of great information on how to setup and use the F800. This book is loaded with tips and tricks that you will not find anywhere else. If you buy or rent the 700/F800 this book is a MUST!
Digital extender. Now some people will say I never use the extender it makes the image soft and looses light. Well they must have multiple cameras with different lens lengths on all of them set to go on a shoot but for me it is one camera most of the time. To flick a switch and double my lens length and hit one more switch and go from 50% slow motions back to full speed is great features. Now if you use the optical extender on the lens and the digital extender wow talk about long. Is this as good as a 42x Fujinon NO WAY! But it is only two flicks and could be a money shot that would otherwise be lost. To use one or both extenders you must be locked down on a very high quality tripod. My Vinten Vision 100 head and Fibertec sticks are great for the F800 and any long work.
SD frame rates if needed. I never shoot SD anymore but who knows a client could ask for it and OK we are set.
23.98 comes standard.
Two SDI out which is great when we are in the helicopter or on the set and the producer needs one monitor and I need a separate and one has to have info on the screen.
Focus assist is a feature I did not even know about until I started using the camera. Very sensitive bar running vertical or across the bottom of the VF helping you dial in sharp focus. Mix this with peaking and you can nail focus fast.
Peaking on the HDVF-C35W monitor I purchased is nice but takes a little getting use to after the red of the EX models. This is a white outline on the edges and needs to be kept on a low setting. I use 8-10 depending on the conditions.
Viewing recorded clips is fast and easy off the optical disk.
A unique Freeze Mix feature if you set up on site and need to make sure you have the same frame next time you are on site as I do on one job. Freeze Mix takes a still of the top half of the image and you can turn that on and frame the bottom half to match. We have added a tape measure across the top/bottom and sides to help us match every month the same frame. One more of the many features you will learn how to use in Vortex Media Field Guide.

The list goes on and on and as Doug Jensen says in his book. “If the PDW-700 and PDW-F800 aren’t the world’s most advanced commercially sold cameras ever invented, then I’d like to know what is.” From using the camera and just scratching the surface of the features I fully agree with Doug this camera is amazing.

Now it would not be fair if I did not list what I thought are the cons from the camera.

Cost (yikes $40K for just the body, no lens, no VF, no batteries, no tripod plate)
Having to buy a viewfinder and the color one is expensive. Luckily I found a demo in Germany and saved close to 50%.
Battery power. The F800 sucks down batteries. I need three 130Wh batteries for a day and am looking to buy a 4th.

So after spending a lot of money and shooting with the F800 after owning the PMW-350 did I make the right move? Yes it is the top of the line Sony XDCAM and I can now see with Stunning Footage amazing features and optical disk rule. Now it is time to put the camera to work.

Just in case you were wondering where do I buy an expensive camera like the Sony F800. Well in my opinion there is only one place; Abel Cine Tech Give Charles Rowe a call and tell him I sent you. I do not work for Abel I just like to support a company that is honest, knows their products, great price, and stands behind their gear. Don’t skimp buy from the best.

For more information see the Sony product page on the F800: F800 link

Coming in future post:

Why I picked the Fujinon ZA 17×7.6 BERM lens

Moving from Canon 7d to 5d MKII

First trip to NAB