Why we don’t film 200fps with the Sony PXW FS5 anymore

Pimped my little Sony FS5! Up until now, using a Sony FS5 you could only record UHD (3840 × 2160) on the internal SD card in 30p/25p, but also only in 8 bit 4:2:0. Now, using a paid Sony upgrade license (CBKZ-FS5RIF), you have the possibility to receive 4k (4096 × 2160) 60p/50p in FS RAW format with 12 bit on an external recorder. It is connected to the camera’s 3G SDI BNC output. We decided to use Atomos’ Shogun Inferno recorder for our film recording since it is able to convert and record the 4K 50p RAW signal we selected on the camera into Apple ProRes 4:2:2 10 bit. The questions we asked ourselves were the following: How well do camera and recorder work together and can we film properly using them? Are there any differences to more expensive cameras like e.g. RED Dragon which records in 4K50p, too? In order to answer those questions, when filming the urban dance video clip for our footage platform https://voodage.de, we both used the Sony FS5 (main camera) and the RED Dragon. One more thing: When testing the two cameras, we were not looking to compare them from a technical point of view, rather we wanted to find out, if the resulting footage was really that different. They are, after all, very different when it comes to their prices: Sony FS5 (incl. RAW update): ca. 5,000€ plus Atomos Shogun Inferno: ca. 1,500€ is still less expensive than RED Dragon (the camera body only costs already more than 20,000€). Obviously, the RED has its advantages when it comes to handling due to the internal RAW recording possibility. Apart from that, the Sony FS5’s image quality increases astonishingly when combined with the external recorder, but it has its limitations after all. Skin tone: In order to compare skin tones, we used the X-Rite Color Chart to adapt the footage of both cameras in Resolve 14 later on. R3D files were filmed in REDcode 8:1 and REDgamma4. The Sony FS5 doesn’t have any settings regarding the RAW signal. Slow motion: RED’s advantage here is that it offers different frame rates whereas the Sony FS5 only offers 100fps or 200fps. When filming with the Sony FS5 at 200fps (which is only possible in 2K), we noticed pink block boundary artefacts, above all with motifs rich in contrast. Looking at our urban dance footage, you will notice it clearly e.g. when looking at the dancer’s hair when she is walking against the light. According to Sony, this is a “normal practicality of the camera”. Footage filmed in 4K100fps didn’t show any artefacts. Workflow: We adapted the selected recording formats (2K@200fps as well as 4K@100fps) in Davinci Resolve 14 based on the charts, i.e. applying “first light correction”. The results of Sony and RED look very much alike. We then cut the footage using Adobe Premiere and exported it: 1080p25 für Vimeo und 2160p25 für youtube. This is where you can clearly notice Sony’s pink block boundary artefacts again, since even though they are not very noticeable when scaled down to 1080p, they are still visible. Have you experienced what we described or ideas for possible solutions? Let’s hear them! Yours truly, voodage.