Sony Fs7 Owners 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   

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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....

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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...

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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. 
Content s  

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C. Choosing the right operating mode
C1. Understanding the different operating modes  
Custom Mode and Cine El Mode: The PXW-FS7 has two 
distinctly different 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...

7
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...

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C. Choosing the right operating mode
C 1.1  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...

9
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...

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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. Different MLUT’s can be used to give different 
monitoring ranges and different looks. You can even load 
user created MLUT’s in to the camera. The MLUT isn’t 
normally recorded. It...