Hasta La Gadget!

In the wild, wild world of film production it’s sometimes tough to separate the consumers from the prosumers from the independent filmmakers from the big studios — especially when more affordable technology makes it easier and easier for one class to imitate the other. Sony’s latest 35mm CMOS imager video camera is an attempt to cover lost ground in the “indie” realm of requisite low-budget and desired high production value, a market dominated by the RED One, and to some extent Canon’s 5D Mark II and 7D, for the past couple years.

Sony’s PMW-F3 — shipping in February — is a considerable step up from the earlier EX3. The most obvious change is the inclusion of the new Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor and interchangeable lens mounts, facilitating shallow depth of field with a fairly impressive dynamic range. But at the price of a semester’s worth of film school, will this offering hold its own in the field?

Read on for our full impressions — including all the gory details — and video of our brief encounter with the new shooter.