Sony just announced that their best-selling Super 35 chip camera – the Sony PXW-FS7 is finally going to receive the much-awaited firmware version 3.0 with some awesome new features in December 2015. They did say earlier in the year that the firmware update should drop before the year’s end and looks like in December the legions of FS7 owners will finally get the much promised new features. Of course, the best thing is that it will be free of charge. Among the newly added features is the ‘2K Center’ scan mode that was previously seen in the other Sony’s successful cameras including the top dogs PMW- F5/55 and upcoming Sony FS5. Overall, this is a great news for all FS7 shooters who now can utilize the full potential of their Super 16mm lenses without vignetting.
Another feature included is the ability to move the focus magnification area position around the screen which will allow users more precise focusing when the subject is off centre of the frame along with support for interval recording, improved zebra levels and support for noise suppression setting in Cine EI mode. As expected, the latter should significantly improve the noise levels in shadow areas of the captured footage.
Here’s is a list of all the Features & Improvements included in the upcoming Firmware V3.0 update:
- Adjusting the Focus Magnification area position
- “2K Full, “2K Center” setting in Imager Scan Mode
- Interval Recording function (Not supported when recording with XAVC Long interlace and MPEG2 interlace format.)
- Noise Suppression setting in Cine EI mode
- Expand the lowest value of Zebra level to 0%
Overall, these are great add-ons to already available features such as Super 35 CMOS sensor, 14 stops of dynamic range, XAVC-I 4K (4096 x 2160) up to 60fps, ProRes HQ & 422 in 1080p internal recording on XQD cards, built-in ND filters, slow & quick motion capabilities for over-and under-cranking, S-Log 3 Cine Gamma Curve, support of 4-channel audio input and more.
Since it was officially announced at last year’s IBC Show in Amsterdam, the camera proved to be a true workhorse in the broadcast industry. Canon announced their Canon C300 II at NAB 2015, and started shipping their primo 4K camera just last month, however, the FS7 is still half the price while providing more features and is still the “go-to” solution for a wide range of documentaries, reality TV, commercial and corporate applications.
[source: Sony]
B&H Order Links:
Sony PXW-FS7 XDCAM Super 35 Camera
PXW-FS7K Super35 Camcorder 28-135mm Zoom Lens
Adorama Order Links:
Sony FS7 4K XDCAM Super 35 Body Only
Sony FS7K Super 35 Camcorder with 28-135mm Zoom Lens
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