Sony PMWF3L/RGB Brochure page 4

Exceptional cinematic imagery:
The visual language of motion pictures is inextricably tied to the image format of the camera.
That's why Sony designed the PMW-F3 with a large single sensor, similar in size to the Super
35mm 3-perf film frame. With Sony's Exmor
camera. You get shallow depth of field, to enable your subject to stand out gracefully from
the background. You get beautiful bokeh. All the familiar cine lenses behave in all the familiar
ways, to achieve predictable, comfortable results. The large sensor also provides high sensitivity
and the clean, low-noise images that have so many cinematographers nodding with approval.
Base sensitivity is ISO 800, specified at F11 with 63 dB signal-to-noise ratio.
Sony PMW-F3
10 mm
13.3 mm
23.6 mm
35mm motion picture film (3-perf)
14 mm
24.9 mm
Optimized resolution
The PMW-F3 sensor was designed from the ground up for
moving images. Its 2.5 K resolution provides the optimum
number of effective pixels for HD, with superb image
detail, fine texture, high sensitivity and extreme exposure
latitude.
5
® Super35 sensor, you get angles of view like a film
The resemblance
to the 3-perf 35mm
14 mm
film frame is not
an accident.
24.9 mm
the Exmor Super35 sensor
Exmor™ CMOS sensor
As a world leader in semiconductor image sensors, Sony
sought to minimize the "rolling shutter" artifacts common
among CMOS cameras. Conventional CMOS sensors use
only a handful of analog-to-digital converters, creating
a traffic jam that slows down the readout process and
exacerbates rolling shutter. Sony's Exmor™ CMOS design
supplies each column of pixels with its own, dedicated
converter. The sensor has literally thousands of converters,
reducing rolling shutter to a minimum. The sensor's
high speed enables the F3 to read every pixel, even
when overcranking at 60 frames per second. There's no
sacrifice in resolution or focal length. The Exmor design
also shortens analog signal paths for an extraordinary
reduction in image noise.
OLPF tuned for motion pictures
The typical DSLR image sensor and its optical low-pass filter
(OLPF) are optimized for stills. This can have a pernicious
side-effect: aliasing, otherwise known as moiré can appear
on repeating, lined patterns in clothing, buildings or
household objects like venetian blinds. The patterns also
move, distracting audiences and taking them out of the
story. Because Sony incorporates an image sensor and OLPF
designed from the ground up for moving pictures, the F3
minimizes these distortions.
Shallow depth of field at work: frame grabs from Alin Bijan's
"The Ghost of Goodnight Lane," shot with the F3.
6