Best Sony hdw f900r Review Sony HDW-F900R
Sony HDCAM has become firmly established as the de-facto High Definition (HD) production format worldwide, with a unique track record for production of the highest quality programming. Much of this reputation has been built upon the HDW-F900, the world's first 24P CineAlta HD camcorder, which received a Primetime Emmy® Engineering Award in 2004.
Using the HDW-F900R is very similar: the menu set-up and the external controls are familiar. The resulting images however are worlds apart. The colour viewfinder is more than a gimmick, it is very helpful.
On average, its users find the user-friendliness of the SONY HDW-F900R is good.they provide very high value for reliability and sturdiness., Moreover, most of them share the same opinion. You can look at the SONY HDW-F900R to identify problems that users have found and suggested solutions.
Its users find it very efficient., Moreover, most of them share the same opinion They find it expensive for what it offers You can download the SONY HDW-F900R manual to ensure that its features according to your needs.
So for so good. But what does a cameraman think of it?
Ian Salvage has been a director of photography for 14 years, working on a huge variety of projects, from documentaries to drama, commercials and pop promos.
Astounding pictures
“When I started out, I used Super 16. The fantastic thing about 16mm film was that it allowed you to work across many different genres of film-making, using one camera,” he says. “The good thing about the new F900R is that it allows me to regain this flexibility. Most of my work is for British and American broadcasters and the NTSC/PAL formats are bridged in one camcorder”.
“The pictures that the camcorder produces are astounding, shooting in progressive scan and using the full gamma capabilities of the camcorder has been fantastic. The colour viewfinder is great fun, and once again brings you a little bit closer to the experience of shooting with a film camera.”
How does it compare with its predecessor, the F900? “It seems to be a more complete camcorder. Buying the extra boards and add-ons for the camcorder was expensive, but well worth it, giving me more room to be creative. The time lapse and cache board are constantly in use.”
“Progressive scan is the greatest thing that HD now offers me. The HyperGamma allows me to change the response of the camcorder depending on the conditions, allowing me to take full advantage of the camcorder’s capabilities. The camcorder is more compact and lighter than the F900, which is a huge advantage, but it still feels pretty heavy after a day’s filming on the shoulder!”
Fantastic steadiness
What are the images like for contrast, sharpness and stability? “Trying to gain detail in the deep blacks and bright whites is always going to be a challenge on a video format,” says Salvage. “With the HyperGamma you have the best chance to get everything out of the camera that it is capable of giving. The sharpness can be a little bit too much sometimes, but that again is easily controlled via the camera menu. Also one of the advantages of HD over super 16 for graphic-heavy jobs is its fantastic steadiness.”
Salvage has used the camcorder on a number of productions. The first was an American documentary made with both theatrical release and television broadcast in mind. Produced by Inca Productions, it tells the story of the cosmos, and involved a four-week shoot on the island of Samos in Greece. His next project was a three-week shoot in Kenya and Uganda telling the story of the relocation of delinquent elephants. This film was produced by Tigress Productions, and is a co-production between National Geographic and Five.
“On both locations the camcorder was rugged, reliable and performed beautifully, giving the sort of images that are impossible to achieve with Digibeta,” he comments. “The camcorder was subjected to the worst possible working environment in Africa, with constant dust storms and terrible road conditions, and it remained reliable.”
“For anyone making the move from Digibeta, using the HDW-F900R is very similar: the menu set-up and the external controls are familiar. The resulting images however are worlds apart. The colour viewfinder is more than a gimmick, it is very helpful. You still need an HD monitor for any kind of serious scrutiny of the image but you soon get used to interpreting the viewfinder image.”
Camera set-ups
Now that he has had time to explore the camcorder’s potential, Salvage has this tip. “The advice I would give to anyone picking up the HDW-F900R is to be brave and start investigating the menus. It’s by playing with these camera set-ups that you can really begin to take full advantage of the camcorder’s capabilities, and, as a cameraman, stamp your own style on the images.”
Salvage believes that the camcorder can be used across a variety of productions. “I have been approached about using my F900R on everything from low budget features to idents, commercials and, of course, documentaries. Because so much of my work is international, the camcorder is ideal to cross all these boundaries.”
The future of HD cinematography, says Salvage, is bright. “I am very excited about having the F900R and feel very optimistic about the future. I hope to be shooting on it for many years. For me the best thing about it is the variety of work that I can get using just one camcorder. I do not think that anyone can say with any certainty what the future holds for HD formats, but I bought the F900R because, at the moment, I believe this is the best all-round HD camcorder.”
The original HDW-F900 model, part of Sony's CineAlta™ line, ushered in an era of 24P television production and helped to drive the conversion from 35mm film to digital video formats. Nearly all television prime-time sit-coms are now shot on the system, as well as the majority of episodic dramas. The new HDW-F900R is designed as a replacement to this model, offering a number of enhancements.
This new camcorder features a more compact and lighter chassis, HD-SDI outputs and new accessory boards for slow shutter, image inversion and down conversion with 3:2 pull-down. The
Sony HDW-F900R model can also take advantage of the optional video cache feature of Sony's HDW-730/750 camcorder series, giving this new camcorder even more production flexibility.
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