FS5 - Kit Suggestions

PXW-FS7, PXW-FS5
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CamSam
Posts: 1
Joined: October 31st, 2017, 12:12 am

FS5 - Kit Suggestions

Post by CamSam » April 29th, 2018, 2:49 pm

Hi all,

New to the forum,

I have a Sony FS5 with the 18-105 f4 kit lens, canon EF 24-70 with metabones speedbooster and Sony 50mm prime.

I’m recently doing a lot of work for some popular motovloggers which i hope will continue. As such, there is a lot of filming at race circuits which is new to me.

I’m looking at ways to make my life easier with following the action. As the FS5 is quite small, i find it tricky to zoom and nail focus whilst following the bikes on track.

Option 1; zacuto shoulder rig with follow focus
Allows me to zoom with the grip (if lens allows) and focus with other, whilst using the grip handle to pan/tilt whilst on tripod

Option 2; 18-110 f4 lens from Sony ( parfocal? ) so I don’t have to worry about focusing too much if I need to use full length of zoom. Or70-300 manual and only shoot slomo and don’t worry about panning.

Option 3; FS7 with kit lens. With prices of new lens or kit it is nearing body only FS7

Any suggestions?
I’m in awe of the way camera operators on motogp or f1 nailing focus on a corner at 200mph, whilst seeing the whites of the drivers eyes.

Am I asking too much of the FS5?

Thanks in advance.
alisterchapman
Site Admin
Posts: 431
Joined: February 1st, 2011, 7:43 pm

Re: FS5 - Kit Suggestions

Post by alisterchapman » June 19th, 2018, 10:25 am

You are asking too much of the lens you are using. A typical setup for trackside motorsports would be a 2/3" sensor camera (giving greater DoF for slightly less critical focus) with a good quality ENG or EFP zoom. These lenses have nice big focus rings with lots of travel. Often they will be used with a remote zoom demand and possibly a remote focus demand on the tripod pan bars. All of this will be on a big, heavy tripod with a silky smooth pan and tilt head and lots of damping. The final item is skill and experience. It can take years to become proficient at pulling focus on race cars and bikes (I did it for 10 years). It's a quite specialised setup and skill set.

Of all the lenses you have mentioned the best would be the Sony 18-110, but really this isn't long enough. For most motorsports you want a parfocal lens in the 100-500mm range.
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