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Shooting RAW with the Sony AXS-R5 Recorder

Posted by Brad Spinsby on December 13, 2012

If you were to tell a camera crew 30 years ago to “shoot it raw,” they may think you want your project to look gritty like Serpico. Now if you say “shoot it RAW,” it means quite the opposite. It means shoot it with minimal amount of processing in a RAW file format with the maximum amount of data. Sony has made a top priority for RAW recording in 2K and 4K with its upcoming cameras, and even with one of its recently released cameras. With the Sony AXS-R5 Field Recorder you can record to AXSM cards in 4K RAW up to 60 frames per second, or with a future firmware upgrade, 2K RAW up to 240 frames per second. AXSM stands for Access Memory System and currently Sony will offer the 512GB drive. The recorder can sustain 300 mb/s transfer speeds from card to recorder. Sony also has an affordable AXSM reader on the market, the AXS-CR1, which works with USB 3.0 for transfers without the mobile recorder.

Many times when recording RAW files, the workflow to view and edit these files can be difficult and bog down the production to post production process. With the AXS-R5 recorder you can record separate files from on the SxS cards to make this easier and quicker. If you are recording 4K or 2K raw on the AXS-R5 recorder you can simultaneously record on an SxS card MPEG-2 HD 422 and with a future upgrade XAVC 2K formats. The files will have matching time codes, file names, and other metadata so you can have smaller, easier files to work with immediately and can plug the RAW files in later. The R5 recorder will also work with the Sony NEX-FS700 future 4K/2K upgrade. With the firmware upgrade and the Sony HXR-IFR5 interface unit that will couple the AXS-R5 the FS-700 with be capable of RAW 2K and 4K recording.

After its release the AXS-R5 will work with the upcoming Sony F5 and F55 as well as the FS700. Planning on upgrading to 2K or 4K with Sony? Let’s hear what your Chicago video crew has done or plans to do!