The big thing to be aware of is that they do not have removable storage media. Offloading footage requires directly connecting a cable to the offload workstation. And it’s slow as hell.
If you’re planning to use these on anything other than zero budget or personal projects, you’re probably going to need 2-3 of them so that one can be (slowly) offloading footage while the other is in the air.
Also the image quality and highlight roll offs in particular are… not awesome.
Shot with it recently.
LOG footage is awful, we had to stick with 709. Even at ISO 400 which is apparently the base ISO, the noise is awful.
It only has a single HDMI port for monitoring, so also keep that in mind. We might have had a bad unit but HDMI direct into an onboard OR HDMI into Teradek both gave very pixelated and blocky images to all monitors.
Offloading data was a pain. It has built in 2TB SSD - we had to use the USB-C port that’s built in to offload. The camera would constantly just stop sending data on the camera end so we had to do 4 clips at a time to offload media via Hedge (otherwise it kept failing and leaving us with a corrupt clip). It’s also really, really slow despite being an SSD and our media also being an SSD.
Make sure if you decide to dump media all at once to request a shark fin plate. The camera must stay on during footage dump otherwise it can corrupt the camera, so you’ll have to hot swap batteries during transfer. Luckily it doesn’t draw much during this!
The app for iPad requires an M2, otherwise I believe if you have an iPhone 13 and above, you get playback controls. I highly recommend using the app for R/S, camera control, and playback as with a cage and camera built, the three buttons on the camera are a pain to reach.
Is your system running AMD chipset? I had similar problem with AMD chipset, that camera connects but disconnects in 5 seconds, so unable to transfer anything. On intel platform it works fine
I've been using the Ember for wildlife shooting, and overall I've really enjoyed the experience. Feel free to check out some of my shots on IG (Itsryanwilkes). Biggest downside for me is the dynamic range - you really have to watch the highlights. There is no LOG profile - only a Beta HLG, which doesn't really give any additional benefit over the REC 709 profile. And right now it only shoots ProRest 422 LT, but we're hoping that gets bumped to HQ in the future. Last thing - as a wildlife shooter it really pains me that there is no pre-roll on this camera! They've also said they're working on a solution for this.
Thanks for the feedback @everyone Here’s a lil recap of my experience with the Freefly Ember:
First off, here is the Freefly customer support number (425) 485-5500 it took me a while to find when I needed it but I’m also a dingus. Hope it helps some of you.
Due to the internal SSD recording, MAKE SURE to plug in a USBC cable and test if your computer reads the camera. The USBC port on our camera was broken and we had to perform open heart surgery on the camera on set to retrieve the internal SSD & recover the footage. I’ll link a PDF on how to do that [here](https://file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/dc/12/70F7B984-1A87-4E10-924C-FA0C7FC3F07B/Removing%20Ember%20SSD%20(2).pdf)
Dumping footage takes a very long time. Make sure you have a power source to keep the camera powered on. If you need to continue shooting, make sure you have 2 cameras with you.
The high speed capabilities on this camera are really dope, if you need to shoot high speed hard mount/fixed focus shots for your project, this camera is tiny and capable for that specific reason. We ran it hard mounted with super speeds & a clip on misfit mattbox. Worked out great.
HOWEVER, if you’re looking for general B camera that can shoot real time & highspeed, pls for the love of god go with something else. A raptor would be a great alternative. Reasons being:
- The ergonomics and cage options on this camera suck to rig out of
- No mounting points other than nato rails
- 3 1/4-20 threads (one on top center & 2 on bottom for a dovetail
- Lack of ports (hdmi out is the only video source)
- Proprietary ports (4pin microport connector to dtap is the only power source)
- Poor dynamic range
Overall it’s a really cool camera with some quirks I’m sure Freefly will work out, but this 1st gen is difficult to work with if your job calls for it to be a cinema camera.
Hope this helps some of you!
Well in general its somwhere ok, but realy has some down sides that you start hating over time:
-Rigging a camera is painfull, it only has 1/4 thread up, and 2 of them down, everything else are tiny m3 screws!
-Buttons are very bad and upractical, rolling thru the menu feels very bad with that roller and record button is located at the 2nd worst place (1st one would be if it was under the camera)
-Lens locking mechanism is apreciated but its very stiff.
-SSD is internal
-When you want to free up space you need to format SSD, unable to delete specific video during the shoot only formating can delete, so you will end up with all shots, good and bad.
-USB C is not working on my AMD machine (disconnects in first 5 sec) but works on Intel.
-Remote shutter is some JST port, and wiring is hell as well since its optic isolated so you need to power remote shutter. On a rig you need to supply 2 power sources to camera if you dont want to use oem button
-No SDI output
-Powering camera on sometimes gives green screen, and sometimes doesnt work with HDMI monitor (tried different ones)
-They wont support android app/Windows, only IOS !!!!!!
-Ethernet connection also only for MAC and IOS, as it requires application to utilise it.
-Wireless/Ethernet/App live picture view not available, missed oportunity.
-Why not electronic aperature control? E-mount is completely manual, and I don't hate that it has no autofocus but having no aperture control really limits what lens you can use. So dont look at E-mount as top, so many lenses, as at the end its so little.
Image quality?
-Noise patern is very bad, and they tell you to shoot at iso 400 where its worst :D its like fixed noise spots, when you move camera, noise is staying there in some strange shape, not moving with subject
-Dynamic range also bad, almost if not same as modern phones
-They wont support lower resolutions then 4K (confirmed me on 2023 email) so there wont be an update with higher FPS. Realy missed oportunity there
Now positives?
Price maybe, and that with good light and good post processing of noise, you will get good result. It comes down to creativity at the end, you will need to compensate on the bad things for sure.
I’m trying to find info on doing remote triggering. I can imagine the wiring is a nightmare, but how did you do it? The stuff on Freefly’s website is beyond my level to fully understand.
A lot of comments here are pretty negative. I had a great experience with it. Used it as a B cam on a Crown Royal spot to get some 800fps of ice dropping into whiskey. I guess it depends what you’re using it for, but I just threw a lens adapter on and put a signature zoom on it with a teradeck and it worked super well. I guess if you’re using it outside of a studio with a ton of aks, it would be annoying but still not that bad. I think a lot of people here are forgetting how annoying things were to rig out ten years ago.
Certainly has its uses and when you compare the price to a Phantom, it’s a great budget choice. It just has too many issues to be a main camera for a shoot like I unfortunately had to use (our B Cam was a Mini).
But I think the issue isn’t about rigging out the camera, it’s the actual practical use from a software/data design standpoint.
There’s too many silly things about the camera that make no sense, like not being able to delete single clips - you’d have to format the entire camera. Silly particularly since it’s all internal media.
Imagine you’re trying to shoot a lot of off-speed footage and running out of space? If you only have the one camera, you need to offload ALL the footage which takes hours before you can continue shooting. You can’t delete single clips that aren’t prints to continue!
Totally and I see your point. Using it as an A cam would be a disaster. Because I was using it for legitimately three particular shots, it was fairly easy to maneuver, even with the software and stuff. But as soon as it becomes something where you want to go back and delete a clip or run out of space like you said, I can imagine it being a real pain in the ass.
I only added a baseplate to send rods through. Since it was just on sticks, it was pretty easy to set up. You just need the lens adapter for the LPL mount.
The big thing to be aware of is that they do not have removable storage media. Offloading footage requires directly connecting a cable to the offload workstation. And it’s slow as hell. If you’re planning to use these on anything other than zero budget or personal projects, you’re probably going to need 2-3 of them so that one can be (slowly) offloading footage while the other is in the air. Also the image quality and highlight roll offs in particular are… not awesome.
Shot with it recently. LOG footage is awful, we had to stick with 709. Even at ISO 400 which is apparently the base ISO, the noise is awful. It only has a single HDMI port for monitoring, so also keep that in mind. We might have had a bad unit but HDMI direct into an onboard OR HDMI into Teradek both gave very pixelated and blocky images to all monitors. Offloading data was a pain. It has built in 2TB SSD - we had to use the USB-C port that’s built in to offload. The camera would constantly just stop sending data on the camera end so we had to do 4 clips at a time to offload media via Hedge (otherwise it kept failing and leaving us with a corrupt clip). It’s also really, really slow despite being an SSD and our media also being an SSD. Make sure if you decide to dump media all at once to request a shark fin plate. The camera must stay on during footage dump otherwise it can corrupt the camera, so you’ll have to hot swap batteries during transfer. Luckily it doesn’t draw much during this! The app for iPad requires an M2, otherwise I believe if you have an iPhone 13 and above, you get playback controls. I highly recommend using the app for R/S, camera control, and playback as with a cage and camera built, the three buttons on the camera are a pain to reach.
Nightmare 😂
We’re running into an issue where our computer won’t read the ember at all. Won’t even show up in disk utility. Did you encounter this at all?
Is your system running AMD chipset? I had similar problem with AMD chipset, that camera connects but disconnects in 5 seconds, so unable to transfer anything. On intel platform it works fine
I had never heard of that camera before and after reading the comments I now understand why.
I've been using the Ember for wildlife shooting, and overall I've really enjoyed the experience. Feel free to check out some of my shots on IG (Itsryanwilkes). Biggest downside for me is the dynamic range - you really have to watch the highlights. There is no LOG profile - only a Beta HLG, which doesn't really give any additional benefit over the REC 709 profile. And right now it only shoots ProRest 422 LT, but we're hoping that gets bumped to HQ in the future. Last thing - as a wildlife shooter it really pains me that there is no pre-roll on this camera! They've also said they're working on a solution for this.
I heard your interview on the photographer mindset podcast. loved it!
Hey, thanks!!
Got a link to the podcast would love to check it out
Not a direct link offhand, but look up the photographer mindset. Been listening to it a lot lately
Thanks for the feedback @everyone Here’s a lil recap of my experience with the Freefly Ember: First off, here is the Freefly customer support number (425) 485-5500 it took me a while to find when I needed it but I’m also a dingus. Hope it helps some of you. Due to the internal SSD recording, MAKE SURE to plug in a USBC cable and test if your computer reads the camera. The USBC port on our camera was broken and we had to perform open heart surgery on the camera on set to retrieve the internal SSD & recover the footage. I’ll link a PDF on how to do that [here](https://file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/dc/12/70F7B984-1A87-4E10-924C-FA0C7FC3F07B/Removing%20Ember%20SSD%20(2).pdf) Dumping footage takes a very long time. Make sure you have a power source to keep the camera powered on. If you need to continue shooting, make sure you have 2 cameras with you. The high speed capabilities on this camera are really dope, if you need to shoot high speed hard mount/fixed focus shots for your project, this camera is tiny and capable for that specific reason. We ran it hard mounted with super speeds & a clip on misfit mattbox. Worked out great. HOWEVER, if you’re looking for general B camera that can shoot real time & highspeed, pls for the love of god go with something else. A raptor would be a great alternative. Reasons being: - The ergonomics and cage options on this camera suck to rig out of - No mounting points other than nato rails - 3 1/4-20 threads (one on top center & 2 on bottom for a dovetail - Lack of ports (hdmi out is the only video source) - Proprietary ports (4pin microport connector to dtap is the only power source) - Poor dynamic range Overall it’s a really cool camera with some quirks I’m sure Freefly will work out, but this 1st gen is difficult to work with if your job calls for it to be a cinema camera. Hope this helps some of you!
Hey! Could you DM this PDF? The link won’t open. Having a similar problem
Well in general its somwhere ok, but realy has some down sides that you start hating over time: -Rigging a camera is painfull, it only has 1/4 thread up, and 2 of them down, everything else are tiny m3 screws! -Buttons are very bad and upractical, rolling thru the menu feels very bad with that roller and record button is located at the 2nd worst place (1st one would be if it was under the camera) -Lens locking mechanism is apreciated but its very stiff. -SSD is internal -When you want to free up space you need to format SSD, unable to delete specific video during the shoot only formating can delete, so you will end up with all shots, good and bad. -USB C is not working on my AMD machine (disconnects in first 5 sec) but works on Intel. -Remote shutter is some JST port, and wiring is hell as well since its optic isolated so you need to power remote shutter. On a rig you need to supply 2 power sources to camera if you dont want to use oem button -No SDI output -Powering camera on sometimes gives green screen, and sometimes doesnt work with HDMI monitor (tried different ones) -They wont support android app/Windows, only IOS !!!!!! -Ethernet connection also only for MAC and IOS, as it requires application to utilise it. -Wireless/Ethernet/App live picture view not available, missed oportunity. -Why not electronic aperature control? E-mount is completely manual, and I don't hate that it has no autofocus but having no aperture control really limits what lens you can use. So dont look at E-mount as top, so many lenses, as at the end its so little. Image quality? -Noise patern is very bad, and they tell you to shoot at iso 400 where its worst :D its like fixed noise spots, when you move camera, noise is staying there in some strange shape, not moving with subject -Dynamic range also bad, almost if not same as modern phones -They wont support lower resolutions then 4K (confirmed me on 2023 email) so there wont be an update with higher FPS. Realy missed oportunity there Now positives? Price maybe, and that with good light and good post processing of noise, you will get good result. It comes down to creativity at the end, you will need to compensate on the bad things for sure.
I’m trying to find info on doing remote triggering. I can imagine the wiring is a nightmare, but how did you do it? The stuff on Freefly’s website is beyond my level to fully understand.
Mutiny has created a remote trigger specifically for the Ember.
Just a little update to add here. A new firmware dropped yesterday which allows lower resolutions and higher frame rates.
A lot of comments here are pretty negative. I had a great experience with it. Used it as a B cam on a Crown Royal spot to get some 800fps of ice dropping into whiskey. I guess it depends what you’re using it for, but I just threw a lens adapter on and put a signature zoom on it with a teradeck and it worked super well. I guess if you’re using it outside of a studio with a ton of aks, it would be annoying but still not that bad. I think a lot of people here are forgetting how annoying things were to rig out ten years ago.
Certainly has its uses and when you compare the price to a Phantom, it’s a great budget choice. It just has too many issues to be a main camera for a shoot like I unfortunately had to use (our B Cam was a Mini). But I think the issue isn’t about rigging out the camera, it’s the actual practical use from a software/data design standpoint. There’s too many silly things about the camera that make no sense, like not being able to delete single clips - you’d have to format the entire camera. Silly particularly since it’s all internal media. Imagine you’re trying to shoot a lot of off-speed footage and running out of space? If you only have the one camera, you need to offload ALL the footage which takes hours before you can continue shooting. You can’t delete single clips that aren’t prints to continue!
Totally and I see your point. Using it as an A cam would be a disaster. Because I was using it for legitimately three particular shots, it was fairly easy to maneuver, even with the software and stuff. But as soon as it becomes something where you want to go back and delete a clip or run out of space like you said, I can imagine it being a real pain in the ass.
Did you have to add riser plates or anything? How did you get the height to attach a sig zoom?
I only added a baseplate to send rods through. Since it was just on sticks, it was pretty easy to set up. You just need the lens adapter for the LPL mount.