Is the 4K Sony FS5 a 1080p Canon C100 Mark II killer?

After yesterday's chart comparing the specs of the new Sony FS5 and the Blackmagic URSA Mini, I received feedback from a reader who thought a better comparison might be with cameras such as the $3495 JVC LS300, $4195 Panasonic DVX200 and $5499 Canon C100 Mark II.

I thought this was a good idea, and wanted to take a look at how the new Sony stacked up against the other non-RAW cinema camcorders in its price class, so here is part deux of the "affordable cinema camcorder side-by-side comparison" between the FS5 and its sub-$6000 competition.  The most interesting part of this comparison (for me, at least) is on the right side of the chart - between the similarly priced 4K Sony and 1080p Canon:

	JVC LS300	Panasonic DVX200	Canon C100 Mark II	Sony PXW-FS5
Street Price (Body-only)	$3495	$4195 (w lens)	$5499	$5599
OEM Viewfinder	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	Super 35 w var. crop	MFT	Super 35	Super 35
Lens Mount	MFT	Fixed	EF	Sony E
Max Recorded Resolution	3840x2160 (free 4096x2160 upgrade)	4096x2160	1920x1080	3840x2160 ($ 4096x2160 upgrade)
Max HD Frame Rate	60fps	60fps	60fps	240fps
Codec	MPEG4 8bit 4:2:0 (4:2:2 HD)	MPEG4 8bit 4:2:0 (ext. 10bit 4:2:2)	MPEG4 8bit 4:2:0	XAVC 8bit 4:2:0 (4:2:2 HD, $ ext. RAW upgrade)
Shutter	Rolling	Rolling	Rolling	Rolling
Mic Input(s)	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom
Headphone Output(s)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SDI Out(s)	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Storage	2xSD	2xSD	2xSD	2xSD
In Body Stabilization	No	Yes	No	No
ND Filter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Electronic
Native Power Zoom	<$300 (3x)	Fixed (13x)	$31K	$548 (6x)
Still Photos	No	No	No	No
Weight	3.6 lbs.	5.95 lbs. (w lens)	2.5 lbs.	1.8 lbs.

Of course, specs alone don't tell the whole story. Manufacturer support, personal preference, ergonomics, legacy lenses and other factors all weigh heavily on the final decision whether to buy one camera rather than another. All of that said, based solely on specs and price, the C100 Mark II seems to be the clear loser here.

Sadly, despite its lack of competitiveness in resolution and frame rates, Canon continues to sell $5000+ 1080p, 4:2:0 Super 35 camcorders into what is increasingly a 2160p 4:2:2 marketplace.  With the introduction of the $2998 Sony A7s Mark II, the situation is arguably worse for them in the full frame DSLR arena.

Canon has successfully ridden their breakthrough 2008 video success with the 5D Mark II for 7 years. It will be interesting to see how long that ride continues.

As usual, if anything here has helped you to make a buying decision, please order through the links above. It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these blog posts coming. Thanks so much for your support.

New Sony FS5 - URSA Mini Killer?

Today, 5 months after NAB 2015, Sony has launched a major counterattack against the URSA Mini (which finally started shipping yesterday).

The new $6699 (body only) Sony PXW-FS5 is a lightweight Super 35, E mount camera with a 240 fps super slow motion burst capability, a built-in electronic ND filter and compatibility with affordable Sony power zooms (such as the $548 Sony 18-105mm constant f/4).

As usual, Sony's marketing department had a sample video ready on the day of the announcement, something Blackmagic has not done in the 5 months since NAB:

Here's a BTS and interview with Producer Den Lennie and DP Mick Jones:

The size, weight and image quality from this camera appear to be ideal for independent narrative and documentary filmmakers.  Its compatibility with affordable power zoom lenses is an added bonus, and will probably cut into sales of the $4195 fixed lens Panasonic DVX200.

Here is a table comparing the specs between the FS5, both models of the URSA Mini and the Canon C300 Mark II (Canon's lowest priced 4K Super 35 camcorder).

	Mini 4K EF	Mini 4.6K EF	Sony PXW-FS5	Canon C300 II
Body Only Price	$2995	$4995	$5599	$15999
OEM Viewfinder	$1495 option	$1495 option	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	Super 35	Super 35	Super 35	Super 35
Lens Mount	EF (add $500 for PL)	EF (add $500 for PL)	Sony E	EF or PL
Max Resolution	4000x2160	4608x2592	3840x2160 (paid upgrade to 4096x2160)	4096x2160
Max HD Frame Rate	120fps	120fps	240fps	120fps
Codec	ProRes 422 or RAW	ProRes 422 or RAW	XAVC 4:2:0 (4:2:2 HD, paid upgrade to ext. RAW)	XF-AVC 4:2:2 (4:4:4 HD)
Shutter	Global	Selectable Global/Rolling	Rolling	Rolling
Mic Input(s)	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom
Headphone Output(s)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SDI Out(s)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Storage	2xCFast 2.0	2xCFast 2.0	2xSD	2xCFast 2.0
In Body Stabilization	No	No	No	No
ND Filter	No	No	Electronic	Yes
Native Power Zoom	NA	NA	$548	$31K
Still Photos	No	No	No	No
Weight	5 lbs.	5 lbs.	1.8 lbs.	7.4 lbs.

Bottom line - this looks like a nice little camera - 240 fps, the ND filter, the OLED viewfinder and HD 4:2:2 are great features - and it produces nice looking UHD images on YouTube - but $6699 is a whole lot of money to pay for 100mbps 8-bit 4:2:0 UHD.

The Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K EF (with the OEM viewfinder) is $209 less for a camera with higher resolution straight out of the box - plus built in 12-bit RAW recording (of course, that extra $209 might pay for one CFast 2.0 card).

All of that said, both of these are great cameras - Sony and Blackmagic are to be commended for giving filmmakers such terrific tools at these prices.

EDIT: Hat tip to reddit user /u/zdubs1, who points out that the pre-order price for the FS5 is actually $5599 , $1100(!) less than the $6699 list price.

This makes the FS5 a whole lot more attractive, and a real threat to cameras such as the $5499 Canon C100 Mark II, which is limited to 1920x1080p maximum resolution and has no upgrade path the 4K or RAW.