Is the Sony FS7 Still Worth It In 2024? Sony FS7 Review in 2024

I just purchased two Sony FS7s in excellent condition with low hours, both were horrible!

Over the past year I've been watching the prices of Sony FS7s drop, and when I saw that this camera, which was once selling for $7000 dollars, could be purchased for $1500 dollars or less, I decided it was time to upgrade my Sony FS5 to the Sony FS7, and I bought not 1 but two FS7s. Both very low hours - one had about 500 hours and one had about 600 hours, both in excellent condition, and both purchased from very reputable companies, and I paid about $1500 for each one.
Now I was so excited to get these cameras and I really thought I was going to love using them, but that excitement died very quickly, when I received the first camera and started shooting video with it.
Right off the bat there were problems with the camera reading the media cards. Now I had purchased brand new Sony 240 gigabite and 120 gigabite cards just to use with these cameras, and I formatted both cards in the camera, but every 2nd or 3rd time I removed the cards from the camera to review the footage, when I put them back in, I would get an error message telling me that the cards were almost full, even though there was only about 5 minutes of footage on each card, or, I would get an error message telling me that the media needed to be restored, even though I just formatted the cards in that same camera an hour ago. 
But I figured maybe it was just a minor glitch, so I reset all of the camera's factory settings, I made sure the firmware was up to date, and expected the issue to be fixed. But when I put the cards back in the camera I was still getting the message telling me the media cards were almost full. So then I figured, if I record for a couple minutes, the camera would realize that the media cards had plenty of storage available and the error message would go away, but after a couple minutes, the camera stopped recording and I got a message telling me that the media cards were full. So despite the media cards having over 100 gigabytes of storage available, the camera would not record on them. Then I figured maybe 1 of the media cards wes the problem, So I tried shooting with only 1 card in the camera, and I continued getting the error messages for both cards. 
At that point, I wiped both of the media cards clean, and reformatted them, hoping this would solve the issue. After reformatting, I recorded 2 minutes of footage and at that point they were working fine. But once I took the cards out and put them back into the camera, I once again got the warning message telling me that media cards only had 2 minutes of storage left. 
So I just reformatted the cards, yet again, and continued with my testing of the camera's other features. Now this time I shoot a 40 minute video clip so I could test the image quality of the camera. And while I'm reviewing the footage, I notice at around the 20 minute mark, the image becomes significantly brighter, even though the camera was set to full manual. When I saw this I figured there was a problem with one of the lights I was using, or maybe the small amount of natural lighting getting in just got much brighter, like, maybe there was cloud cover when I started shooting and then the sky cleared up, so I didn't worry about it at the time and I continued testing the camera. But as the day went on, so did the false warnings telling me the media cards were full when they weren't, and I couldn't get them to go away, so at that point, I decided to send the first camera back, and I enthusiastically waited for my second FS7 to arrive. 
A couple days later, the second camera arrives. I do a factory reset, make sure the firmware is up to date, and set the camera to the preferred XAVC-I setting. But then I put my xqd cards in, and guess what, I get a warning message telling me that there's only 2 minutes of storage left on the cards. So I just reformat the cards in the camera again, and begin going through my testing procedure. 
But the testing procedures don't go well, because with this camera, not only am I getting the error messages about the media cards being full, now, every hour or so, I get the "execute APR" message as well. I just deal with it and continue testing the camera. 
But when I go to review  the footage, once again, around the 20 minute mark, the footage gets much brighter, and this time there's no doubt that it's the camera that's causing the problem and not any of the light sources I'm using. So I make a note of this, and I begin editing the footage on final cut pro. But as I'm editing, every 10 to 15 minutes, final cut pro freezes up and needs to be force quit and restarted.

[Ironcladstudio]

Bought a FS7 this year, none of these issues have occurred for me. Love the 180 fps S&Q.

[jacopoabbruscato]

Regardless of the possible card problems here, the objections with file size, power draw and bulk when compared to the FS5 are legit arguments.

[mjeffharrison]

I hate that you’ve had these issues. I’ve had an FS7 for 9 years, and I still make my living with it every day. I have an FS5 as well, and I like it, but the 7 is my workhorse.

[fxtopt]

These issues sound like user error if you are getting the same problem in both cameras.

The FS7 was the third most used camera in the documentary category for films screened at Sundance 2024. It is still a top-notch tool in the hands of world-class filmmakers.

It continues to make 10x - 100x in ROI for commercial videographers, and is still requested by UK, EU, and US based producers for its reliability.

[jujufactory]

Ot's not an FS7 issue. It's your particulaf camera which is broken. You got ripped off.

[sixofsix]

Guys, it's not the camera. These cameras were and ARE STILL used in MANY productions around the world. IT'S THE CARDS. It's the only variable in your story that was constant. You never mentioned buying new cards or trying different cards. You used the same exact cards on two separate cameras and got card error messages for BOTH. How is it not the cards? What would make you think it was the cameras?

[mikejezo]

Nothing unusual 😅😂 the card could be faulty or camera were faulty and they didn't tell you.😅 my one work fine 😅

[collinwisely]

sounds like the SD card is the issue here.

[JulienVerly]

in menu of fs7 have you update a xqd card ? have you test a fs7 mark 2 ?

[mikejezo]

Oh please 😅😂 you made this video just to talk about your faulty card or camera?? Please do yourself a favor? DELETE THIS VIDEO? IT'S EMBARRASSING AND YOU'RE UNDERMINING YOURSELF. The fs7 has proven to be a real deal for years. Infact even the fx9 nor fx6 or fx3 has yet achieved the same level of wide usage. Sorry to hear that you bought faulty stuff.

[itisme-fkzf]

you just need to reset the fs7 several times, then wash the previous setup in the memory.

[CLIFFLIX]

The FS7 was a great camera in it's day...but dang. The image sensor is VERY old by today's standards. It dates all the way back to the original Sony FS700. Today's Sony Super35/APS-C BSI sensor in the FX30 and A6700 completely destroys that old sensor. The FS7 can't even compete in image quality with the 4k oversampled FX30....it's not even close.