Angus Farquhar, Online Video Producer

Sony NEX-FS100 - Close to the perfect small camera

Sony has finally launched what could possibly be the perfect camcorder, the Sony NEX-FS100, which combines a Super 35 sensor with interchangable lenses and full video controls and all for under £4000.

Since the start of the video DSLR revolution I have, along with everyone else, been amazed by the quality and look of the footage that these cameras could produce but I have been consistently put off getting one because of their usability for everyday video production.

I’ve been biding my time until someone could come out with a camera that combined the ease of use of my Sony EX1 and the image style of the Canon 5D and it looks like it might finally have happened with the Sony FS100

The FS100 body looks like a scaled down version of the EX1 with all of the usual controls you would expect on a video camera, all easy to hand, including the all important dual XLR input and audio controls.

The front of the camera however is designed to take Sony’s proprietary E-Mount NEX lenses which can also take Sony A-Mount DSLR lenses with a simple adapter offering a wide range of DSLR style filming options.

On first look there are a few problems with the FS100 like the lack of built in ND filters and the fact it records in AVCHD which is still a pain to edit even on the most top end systems. These can be worked around easily though (with lens mounted filters and using the 4:2:2 HDMI out) and I think they impact the quality of this peice of kit too much.

In the fast paced production environment that I work in with myself and my team producing up to 10 web videos every day, then the Sony NEX-FS100 really could provide the solution to providing us with the look we want without having to sacrifice usability that could impact our work flow. It is definitely on my shopping list for the next year.

Den from Fstopacademy.com has already used it on a pop promo and the results are impressive. Check out his video review and the resulting film in the video below.

NEX FS 100 Video Blog from Den & James on Vimeo.