When the E-mount versions of the camera ship next month, will they work with the focus by wire Sony OEM lenses in terms of focusing and adjusting aperture via camera body out the box?
Did you watch the video on youtube?I think that is a workshop not a factory, despite the clean air environment is a workshop better equipped is not a factory it totally lags the setup assembly factor of a factory, look at those workers they have no clue what they are doing they testing that is not an assembly line, and you still hope mass deliveries next month? Nope i do not think so. For me the big question is the workflow with the DNG troublesome and very slow, when freefly {agreed with their own limitation} offer prores 422 out of the box. Is a no brainer solution like DJI they offer prores retail something like 700 usd retail and they buy from apple with 400 usd and still they make a profit. So once again is a no brainer DNG for those who want slow and painful and prores for professionals what rely on speed and an intermediate codec correct. The problems Apple have very strict requirements on the hardware where prores is put, and my wild guess is that Pixboom hardware did not pass the test like Freefly. Otherwise make no sense why not to offer a pro workflow and make a profit out of it also. Every pro i know will happily pay lets say 500 usd extra for the licence to save him hours of work everyday.
Just wait and see.
Well, that was a completely unrelated to the original post tangent.
As to your rant, ProRes is on the current roadmap for a firmware update later this year. I believe they originally said 2Q2026, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it arrive later than that.
Yep i know, will see, lots of things have been said. At the moment in this price range everybody weights Freefly the workhorse with prores out the boz, chronos smaller sensor a bit cheaper and some limitations, and pixboomers full will hope that their dreams will become true and the hardware will perform as advertised and is not a marketing stunt.Lets wait and see the real word reports from the first 100 alpha testers what took the risk not the advertorials from the influencers, lets see what they say is the pix with the insanely overpriced proprietary ssd a real option or freefly stays the workhorse? Now the price difference is minimal especialy if you buy an extra special ssd.
My question is very simple. lol Really need to know cause I only have focus by wire Sony E mount lenses if I were to get the E mount.
Did you pre order the camera? No? So wait and see
They send me a pilot unit and just tried it with my Sony 300 2.8 GM and 2x extender, focussing worked pretty well. I have an Ember myself including EF glass, but I found the Spark with Sony lenses easier to focus on. Mostly because of the 4k output to the monitor instead of only 1080p on the Ember.
Hi Andy! Thanks for letting me know. How do you like it compared to the Ember? Is the image that much better on the Spark vs Ember? Also, is a pilot unit one of the backer units?
I don’t know any details if this a final unit or if it has the latest firmware. I’ve had one of their earlier prototypes with passive mount and quality was already pretty good: Andy Troy Photography on Instagram: "Trying out the upcoming @pixboomtech Spark high speed camera 😎 Riders: @oswald_smith @stig_hoefnagel @bowienvanderlinden @mathys_rmgl"
Don’t expect big difference with the Ember, biggest difference is probably the noise profile is way nicer on the Spark. The Ember has this static, kind of fixed pattern noise, only with AI noise reduction I can remove it. And it feels I have to expose the Ember better, otherwise you get blown out highlights or crushed shadows. Spark feels a bit more forgiving.
For me able to use my Sony lenses is amazing, otherwise I have to bring 2 lens sets when I’m traveling. I’m not going to say much about usability/workflow yet, because I don’t know if this is the final version.
Thanks for answering! Are you based in the USA? Are you allowed to keep the pilot model?
No I’m in the Netherlands. They just let me try it, I’ll probably order one soon.
Got you! Appreciate it. Have you tested the 2K frame rate? Is the image quality good at 2K?
@admin any update on the question?
At this rate might be best to wait and see what production units from the first batch look like if they stay on their timeline. I’ll happily test out 2k and some other stuff for you when I receive my unit.
That would be great Austin! Thank you. Really curious about the 2K quality and hope I can use my Sony focus by wire lenses!
Yes I’ve tried it, looks better than my ember. Just grab one of the raw examples from the website and zoom in until you have 2k. That’s the quality you get.
The focusing works fine with Sony FE glass with the pilot versions, I’ve already done some test shots. I just tried the 28-70 F2 and everything works.
Great! Thanks for confirming!