In Los Angeles for Cine Gear Expo this weekend? Art Adams and I will be giving an hour-long presentation on the Sony PMW-F55 at the Sherry Lansing Theater on the Paramount lot, Saturday 7 June, from 2:45 – 3:45 in the afternoon.
I'll go over the camera's versatility: with its modular design; interchangeable lens mount; dockable raw deck; four recording formats; multiple image sizes, frame rates, scanning modes, and gammas; and so on, there's not much it can't do. In the past month I've used the F55 to make antique aircraft slow down enough (and come close enough) for a really good look; made the moon and stars speed up, and made an ordinary small-town street scene into a very small-town street scene.
Then Art Adams takes over, with his usual keen insights about all the different ways the F55 can render color and tone, with comparisons to other digital cameras, to film, and to Kawase Hasui woodblock prints (seriously). He'll discuss the various gammas/gamuts, look profiles and LUTs the camera offers, and he'll explain which ones to use, and when, and why. His comparisons of the fine differences between different gamuts and look profiles are the best, clearest ones I've seen; if you really want to understand the subtleties of the F55's color science, Art's presentation is not be missed.
Disclosure: Sony is paying the two of us for the time we spent developing this presentation and the accompanying videos over the past month, but they aren't controlling the content of what we say. Where we like aspects of the F55, we will sing them and praise them. Where we find the F55 lacking, we will reproach it without remorse. Why should you trust us to be honest? Our reputations will be around a lot longer than Sony's money will be, and we are duly mindful of that!