Comparing PDW-700 vs PMW-F5 on Location

As a lighting cameraman for 18 years I have been watching closely the development and progress of 35mm full frame cameras. With an accessible range of PL zoom lenses I wanted to take the opportunity to compare these traditional 2/3” broadcast cameras, for use in PSC/ENG, factual/documentary style work.

At a recent two camera event we had the perfect opportunity to asses a side by side comparison of the following cameras and these are my findings.

Sony PMW-F5 with Fujinon Cabrio 19 x 90mm

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Sony PDW-700 with Canon HJ22 x 7.8

Image

It’s well publicised and accepted, that the full frame 35mm cameras offer an improved gamma response and so more detail on wide shots especially dark areas due to more exposure latitude and low-light sensitivity.

The F5 also provides a shorter depth of field with shallow focus, often preferred by directors for a cinephotographic look.

Finding focus can on the F5 be more difficult but it's not a problem with the peaking assist. I’ve attached a grab from the each camera in the same low light setting. Note the improvement in the gammas can be seen in the audience and scenery while the host is at the same exposure.

The F5 was set to ISO 4000 with Hyper-Gamma 4 in the low light situations and there was no excessive noise in the blacks.

PMW-F5

PDW-700

Lenses

As the two cameras have different sensor sizes, the lens specifications are not directly comparable. The Cabrio fully wide 19mm point would equal to 7mm on a 2/3” camera and lens, so the cabrio only slightly wider than our Canon HJ22x7.8.

But the big difference is the canon HJ lens has a zoom ratio of 22 + doubler, the Cabrio only had zoom ratio of 4.7. This is a huge disadvantage, and by comparison heavily reduces shooting capability.

Even if we only wanted to match a standard HJ17x7.7, the equivalent lens would be roughly 21 – 353mm . A possibly solution to cover that range could be to bring two lenses, but of course more cost, more to carry and more delay.

Otherwise, lenses such as the Angenieux Optimo 24 – 290, will offer a significant range but weighing 11kg, is impossible to use at your shoulders and very, very expensive, around £60K.

One option that will help on the F5 is the CENTER SCAN MODE if you are only shooting HD or 2K, you’ll preserve quality and resolution, then as the name suggests using the center portion of the 4K sensor. Providing a 2x crop factor, working like a lens doubler without losing light.

The Cabrio 19-90mm works really smoothly, its servo drive unit and handgrip makes it very comfortable to operate the camera handheld, gives you balance, complete zoom and focus control, very similar to an HJ lens.

The lens is directly powered through its DC connection on the PL mount, there are no wires between the camera and the lens. Also like the HJ lens, the Cabrio has a back focus adjustment so easier to set-up in the field.

Usability

Both cameras had a matched video standard of HD 1920 x 1800 50i and to assist with the edit matched the HD 422 50 codec.

Of course the F5 can utilize the XAVC 422 codec, allowing access to S-Log 2 gamma options. Even sticking to HD 422 50Mbit we were happy with the images and didn’t experience any compression artifacts.

Access to menus on both cameras is equally straightforward, functional and you have all the buttons where they should be.

When working with the F5 camera on your shoulder, you have limited sound access and to adjust audio level can be tricky. To be fare, the camera is not designed for this style of shooting. Audio control on the PDW-700 is very easy to manage.

The Sony F5 has just 2 audio channels analogue inputs, where as the PDW-700 has 4 which is essential if you ISO record mics and stereo top mic for full control in the edit.

The F5 will soon have the option of a CBK-55BK Shoulder Mount Dock, that will accept a radio receiver so access to four audio channels. At the time of our shoot (Dec 2014) this was not an option, but even when it available will be another expense (£5K).

The cameras are generally the same weight, but the PDW-700 is much more comfortable to operate hand held. As we have been used to for years with 2/3” PSC cameras they are very well designed and balanced for one hand operation.

Due to the size of the F5s 35mm sensor, the camera looks and feels like a shoe box! No native shoulder support, our camera had a basic foam pad, but wasn’t adjustable for the center of gravity (like the PDW-700).

Other than the F5 being uncomfortable, with our lens configuration, it was very front heavy so keeping a steady hand held shot over a long period of time was challenging, similar to the balance of the ARRIFLEX 16SR3, super 16mm camera.

There are a range of third party manufacturer mounts, but is something you need to plan for and not take for granted. I would recommend finding a mount that is easily interchangeable between sticks and hand held.

I’m sure memory cards are the future for picture acquisition especially as the data rates increase. In this instance when we were shooting 50Mbit on both cameras, after a long shooting day, the need to ingest and store the footage in two or three locations is a pain.

As a general observation I’d say the batteries consumption on both cameras was similar, but of course wasn’t tested under laboratory conditions.

Conclusion

The PMW-F5 has the ability to overcrank to 60 FPS in 4k, 120 FPS in 2k and HD, and 240 FPS in 2K with optional AXS-R5 outboard recorder, and I’m sure I’ll be utilizing that more in the future. The image quality and sensitivity is superb, and the ability precisely control depth of field is also of benefit, but the PMW-F5 isn’t always going to be the best option.

For the reasons mentioned above the PDW-700 is quicker and easier to use, and if you have a lot to shoot in a variety of conditions it still is the camera for you. No matter how pretty the F5 image is, if you miss the shot it doesn’t count for anything. The cost saving in not needing additional lenses and less need for camera assistant would also allow your production budget to stretched further.

I would be interested to know your findings, and if you have any other thoughts please email me at pablo@westminster-live.com