Slow Motion with the Sony FS700

We purchased the Sony FS700 last month to add to our arsenal and so far I am loving shooting with it.   Obviously one of the key attractions to this camera is the ability to record in 240 frames per second super slow motion without taking a hit in quality.  The camera can shoot 480 frames per second but the image will take a hit in quality.

A couple days ago I shot slow motion footage for a new Buckcherry video for their song ‘Gluttony’.   I was amazed with the footage  I shot and unfortunately can’t show any of it until the video is released in a month or so.  There are limitations to the slow motion however, but considering this camera costs less than $10,000 you can’t complain.  The biggest limitation is that he camera can only record slow motion for 9 seconds so you have to choose what you shoot wisely, it also will then take about another minute to buffer the footage to the card before you can record again. Once you have recorded that nine seconds however, it turns into about a minute a 19 seconds worth of footage at 24 frames per second.  However, as the camera is buffering you will see the footage you just shot on the screen and you can cancel the operation if you don’t like it and start recording again immediately.   The camera also gives you two ways to record, one is the standard way of hitting the record button and the camera starts from that point.  Another way is to hit the record button when you want the camera to finish recording.  This means that the camera is continuously recording and once you hit the record button, it will take the last 9 seconds of footage and buffer that to the card.   This is great if you are waiting for something cool to happen (a flock of birds flying away for instance) as long as you keep a count in your head you should be fine.

Slow Motion Tips for the Sony FS00

1.  Light, this is crucial.  I was lucky to shoot indoors the other day but the set was lit with a lot of HDMI’s and there was plenty of light.  However, if you will be shooting indoors, normal household lighting will not be enough, so bring in some  video lights.   Shooting outdoors is the best as you will get plenty of light for the camera to be able to do its thing.   When shooting at 240 fps, the minimum shutter speed the camera can be at is 250 so the camera does need more light.

2.  Get your focus and setup your shot beforehand.   Seeing you only have 9 seconds to get your shot, then plan wisely.  Having your focus and exposure set will help you when the action starts and you can put your energy into keeping your subject(s) in frame and making sure you capture the action.

3.  If you don’t like shot shot you got, cancel it soon and go for another one.  Seeing it takes 1 minute to process 9 seconds of video, if you didn’t like what you shot, take advantage of the Cancel function so you can quickly get back to filming and capturing something your are happy with.

4. Sometimes 240fps is too slow.  Believe it or not sometimes 240 frames per second can be overkill and some action may look too slow.   I found this out while filming Buckcherry and actually switched to 120 frames per second as it still gave me great slow motion but was more animated and interesting than the 240 frames per second.  For many of us, we have only shot at 60 frames per second so 240 is definitely in another league.

If you are an owner of the FS700 enjoy using it, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me.  We also provide slow motion services in California so if you need slow motion for your video project don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks

Benjamin Jones

TBJ Productions