New Sony NEX FS-700 camera

Yesterday Sony announced its new NEX range camera, the NEX FS-700, scheduled to start shipping in June of this year for less than $10,000, making it one of the cheapest 4K recording cameras on the market, and giving it competition to the Canon C300.

This new Sony camera covers some of Canon’s shortcomings, incorporating elements such as higher resolution, 10-bit SDI output and Full HD slow motion.

It is based on an “Exmor” CMOS sensor, Super 35, 4K; with the possibility of “E-mount” interchangeable mounts (E-mount) that allows the use of any SLR and DSLR lens with the use of simple and low-cost adapters.

However, although one of its most striking features is the 4K sensor, at the moment it is not possible to achieve true 4K through its 3G HD-SDI output, but will require a firmware update and an “optional Sony 4K recorder”, which will be available in the future (it is not known exactly when). They even say that thanks to these updates it will be possible to reach RAW over SDI.

Another of its most outstanding qualities is its ability to record in “super slow motion” (10x in Full HD or 40x for lower resolutions). It is designed to capture at high speeds, being able to obtain 120 or 240 fps in bursts of 8 or 16 seconds at 1080p. If we select lower resolutions we can go up to 960fps.

The NEX FS-700 will be placed halfway between the FS-100 and F3 models, but unlike the latter it has a very high frame rate; and compared to the F3 it brings some other improvements such as SDI output or ND filters (neutral density, 2, 4, or 6 stops) included. This quality increases the possibilities of shooting in very bright exteriors, since Sony’s low light “Exmor” sensors can make this task difficult if they are not filtered.

In addition to HD SDI, the camera offers HDMI output at both 1080p/50 and 1080p/60. Also in 60i, 24, 25 and 30p with timecode and embedded audio. The 3G HD SDI connection adds 23.98; 25 and 29.97 in progressive signals, along with selectable PsF capability.

It is also possible to select 50Hz or 60Hz, to give users the freedom to work in any geographical region and not be restricted to PAL or NTSC recording.

It has SD and MemoryStick card slots.

In addition to these, it also has other features such as autoiris, focus assist, face detector, profile saving possibilities, etc.

Here is the press release with all the information available.