Sony PXW-FS7 User manual

Quick Reference Guide
PXW-FS7
PXW-FS7M2
sony.net/pro/PXW-FS7
sony.net/pro/PXW-FS7M2

2
Contents
A. Introduction to this guide 03
B. Saving the camera setup 04
C. Choosing the right operating mode 06
D. Preparing the camera and shooting 11
E. Advanced picture settings for Custom Mode 38
F. Detailed guide to the Cine EI Mode 51
G. Slow motion, time-lapse and picture cache 65
H. Audio recording 75
I. Recording, media and troubleshooting 78
Index 83

3
Contents
A. Introduction to this guide
A1. Introduction
This guide does not replace the user manual. It is intended
to be used in conjunction with the user manual and it is
recommended that you read both this guide and the user
manual to get the very best from the camera.
Where you see text in bold it indicates a menu setting,
button or switch setting. For example:
(MENU: System – Base Setting – Shooting Mode)
Indicates: refer to the camera menu, System page, Base
Setting page, Shooting mode sub page.
Where there are multiple menu choices a suggested or
recommended setting will be given as an initial starting
point to get you going. These settings should give good
results in the majority of cases.
Status Button: The STATUS button on the camera body
allows you to view several pages of information about
the way the camera is set up. This can be very useful
for checking settings, audio levels and setup, media
remaining and camera configuration. Press STATUS to
enable the status display pages and then use the scroll
wheel to step through the information screens. Pressing
STATUS again will turn the status pages o.

4
Contents
B. Saving the camera setup
B1. All files All files are a great way of quickly changing
shooting modes and saving your favorite settings. Once
you have the camera setup in a way you are happy
with I recommend saving those settings as an All File.
See the section on all files for more information.
All Files: All Files can be used to save a snapshot of
the way the camera is set up or to load a specific set of
camera settings.
An all file saves almost every available user setting,
including things like frame rate, shooting mode, paint
settings, viewfinder and MLUT settings. All files are very
useful for quickly switching between modes of operation
or for sharing settings across multiple cameras. Each all fie
can be given a unique alpha-numeric name that describes
the settings being saved. You can save up to 99 all files on
an SD card.
To save an all file you will need to insert an SD card (SD
card or SDHC card) into the SD card slot. You do not need
a large capacity SD card. The files are very small. An 8GB
card would be large enough for most peoples needs.
To save an All File first you must set the name for the
All File you wish to save.

5
Contents
B. Saving the camera setup
(MENU: File – All File – File ID)
Set the file name and select Done when finished.
Then save the file:
(MENU: File – All File – Save SD Card)
Choose an empty “No File” location to save the file in an
unused location or overwrite a previously saved all file
with the new file.
To recall an All File:
(MENU: File – All File – Load SD Card)
Choose the desired All File from the list and press
SEL/SET to load. The camera may reboot during the
loading process.

6
Contents
C. Choosing the right operating mode
C1. Understanding the dierent operating modes
Custom Mode and Cine El Mode: The PXW-FS7 has two
distinctly dierent operating modes which are called
“Custom” and “Cine EI”. The camera will create high quality
images at all available frame rates and resolutions in both
modes.
In Custom Mode the PXW-FS7 behaves much like any
other conventional video camera where the picture you
see in the viewfinder is the picture recorded to the XQD
cards and this is the image the end viewer will see.
This is the image as seen in the viewfinder and this is the image
recorded when shooting in custom mode.

7
Contents
C. Choosing the right operating mode
This is the picture that is
recorded in the Cine EI mode.
And this is how the
image may look after post
production grading.
In the Cine EI mode the camera operates using optimized
settings that allow it to capture the widest possible
dynamic range and color range. This wide range image
will look flat and washed out if viewed directly. But it
contains a huge amount of picture information that can
be manipulated and adjusted on a computer in post
production to achieve the desired final look. To make
shooting this way easier the camera incorporates a system
of MLUT’s (Monitor Look Up Tables) that allow the operator
to see in the viewfinder or on a monitor an approximation
of how the footage being shot will look after it has been
adjusted in post production.

8
Contents
C. Choosing the right operating mode
C1.1 More information on custom mode
In this mode you have the ability to change many of the
cameras image quality settings including gamma (contrast
and brightness range), the matrix (color) and sharpness if
you wish to alter the look of the recorded images. In most
cases in this mode the dynamic range (scene brightness
range) that can be captured is limited by the need to
create an on screen image with natural looking contrast
and colors that will not need any further adjustment. To
achieve this the camera must produce a signal range
that is directly compatible with the display device that
the pictures will be viewed on. For HD TV this standard is
called “Rec-709”.
Having to stay within the limitations of conventional TV
and monitor displays does impose some limitations on
the amount of adjustment available within the camera
and on the dynamic range that can be captured while still
producing a realistic looking image. But by staying within
this range very often it is not necessary to adjust the
images in post production.

9
Contents
C. Choosing the right operating mode
Custom mode would normally be used for projects that
have little or no time for post production grading or
adjustment. Where a fast turn-around is important or a
simple, straight forward workflow is desired. Although
the image quality in custom mode can be very high, it
is normally possible for experienced users to get better
quality images and greater post production flexibility by
using the Cine EI mode.
C1.2 More information on Cine El Mode
The Cine EI mode is quite dierent to custom mode and
the way a conventional video camera works. In the Cine EI
mode the camera is setup to capture the greatest possible
brightness and color range. A range that will often exceed
what can be shown correctly on a conventional TV or
monitor. These extended range images are then taken in
to post production where they will be adjusted or “graded”
to create the desired look for the finished production.
As a result of the greatly extended capture range the
images captured will typically look very flat and lack
contrast and color if viewed on a conventional monitor.
This can sometimes make exposure assessment dicult.

10
Contents
C. Choosing the right operating mode
To help with exposure and to help gauge what the
material will look like after grading the camera can apply
a Monitor Look Up Table (MLUT or LUT) to the viewfinder
or monitor outputs. The MLUT converts the image from
the flat looking S-Log2/3 range to a conventional viewing
range. Dierent MLUT’s can be used to give dierent
monitoring ranges and dierent looks. You can even load
user created MLUT’s in to the camera. The MLUT isn’t
normally recorded. It is just added to the viewfinder or
monitor output as a tool to help estimate what the final
pictures will look like.
In order to maximize the cameras dynamic range in Cine
EI the recording ISO of the camera is locked to it’s native
ISO of 2000. To help cope with dicult or challenging
lighting situations the camera can be “rated” at a higher or
lower equivalent ISO by changing the cameras Exposure
Index or EI. This changes the brightness of the MLUT or
LUT rather than the actual recording ISO. For a detailed
explanation of this please see the Using Cine EI chapter.
In the Cine EI mode the auto exposure functions such as
auto iris, auto shutter speed and automatic gain (AGC) are
disabled, so exposure must be set and adjusted manually.