Sony FS700 Hands-On . . . & Where are the Power-Zoom Lenses?

The Sony FS700 is one camera that I was really looking forward to checking out up close and personal at NAB 2012.  As you can tell from the images, it looks and feels a lot like the FS100.  Most of the controls and connections are in the same location, so if you are familiar with the FS100, the FS700 isn’t a different world.

There’s quite a bit more girth near the lens mount due to the built-in ND filters, which is certainly a worthwhile addition.  The second channel XLR input is also re-routed to the right front side of the camera to make room for the 3G-SDI on the back of the FS700, which should give us 4K RAW capture at a later date.

The hand-grip is definitely beefed up from the FS100 for a much more solid feel – again, a needed improvement.  Notably, there’s now a zoom rocker on the hand-grip, which led to a brief argument between me and Sony rep who tried to convince me that there were already E-mount lenses on the market that featured powered zoom motors.  Well, there aren’t, but there most likely will be in the not-too-distant future.

I’ve been shooting some with the Panasonic GX1 and the 14-42mm power-zoom kit lens.  I’ve found the combo to work swimmingly well.  If Sony can wrangle up something similar for it’s NEX line (not just the FS700, but other photo-oriented NEX models as well), I think it will hit home with a lot of shooters (both photo and video).

I think Sony is doing something special with the FS700 thanks to the high frame rates (up to 240fps at 1080p), 4K output and sub-$10k price point.  I’ve heard that Sony spent a lot of time listening to end users of the FS100 in the design and build of the FS700.  Looking at the camera as a whole, I think it’s pretty clear that Sony did just that.

The Sony FS700 should be available in June at yet-to-be-official sub-$10k price point.  Check availability here at B&H Photo.