Sony's camcorder changes

A forum to share ideas and opinions on the equipment and technical aspects of film, video and AV making.
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

Good review of Sony's new cameras here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrsJp8J3jUg&fmt=18

Indeed, the man is paid by Sony, yet I felt he gave a clear, concise run-down of the EX1's improvements. And it's good to see that Sony listens so intently to the forums, as the changes they've made have all been highlighted by real-world users on the www.

The re-engineering of the hand grip alone (in form and position) has meant far more radical engineering changes than might at first appear, and the slow-mo switch, proper detents for the on and ND switch all
were much needed.

The fact that no optical changes have been made (apart from the v'finder) is quite telling in my view - Sony got the original spec right. No word that they approve SDHC cards in an adapter even for DVCAM operation though.

I do like the sound of this improved EX1, and I can see it being a hot contender as a Z1 replacement in tom's kit bag. I'll bite the CMOS bullet I suppose, much as I dislike the image degradation under electronic flash.

Wonder what the price will be?
And I wonder what Canon have up their sleeve? The XH-A1 is ageing and the XL-H1 is just so weird. They need a JVC700 form-factor cam to compete I feel.

Or maybe they'll leap-frog the competition and bring the APS-C chipped camcorder to market. Think I'll hang on a bit....

tom.
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

Sony don't sit still. It's now announced the Z5's successor, and they've taken that camera's form factor, deleted the tape deck and added a couple of Memory-stick card slots. Shame it's not SD card, but there you go. Lots more detail improvements on the Z5, so it's a 20x zoom feeding 3x 1"/3 CMOS chips. Looks a nice camera to me.

I've been shooting with the Z7 and my thoughts on using that camera after years cradling a Z1 appear in the next FVM.

tom.
User avatar
billyfromConsett
Posts: 489
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:27 pm
Location: Consett

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by billyfromConsett »

Seems a bit depressing to talk about my camera's replacement (I've just finished paying for it), but nothing stands still.
User avatar
billyfromConsett
Posts: 489
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:27 pm
Location: Consett

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by billyfromConsett »

Tom - I looked at the Sony advert for the two cams, and they didn't really get me hankering after either. If I was asked to pick an improvement on my Z5, well I'm thrilled by it - two summer wedding shoots went almost flawlessly with it. The only extra I would wonder about - and it's a theoretical point only - is the 25Mb bitrate. Would less compression and more data being worked with allow slightly more electronic processing to be used without affecting the picture?
The only time I re-shot some documentary clips was when I didn't control the gain (thinking it was off) and the picture, with 12dB of the stuff, looked less than clean. My mistake.

I still like the miniDV tape option, as when I filmed the weddings with tapes and CF cards. The tapes - costing about £7 total are in a box, unused, and the CF cards were copied to computer then wiped.
User avatar
Stephen
Posts: 223
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 3:36 pm
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Contact:

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by Stephen »

cor blimey gu'vnor... a new model already :shock: ..... I still have mine to pay for !!!!!! :shock: :shock:

but ... as you say Billy .... its a cracking camera and not much to shout about with the new model....

the tape option is a good thing for backing up.... you cannot argue with 13Gb of data for about a £1 !!!!

just finished a horrendous gig shooting in light that was virtually none existant, the lights that were there, flashed in every colour you could dream of but the camera did a magnificent job !
Stephen

Film making is not a matter of Life and Death
It's much more important than that.
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

That's good Billy - it's certainly not worth chopping in the Z5 for an NXCAM, in the same way as it wasn't worth swapping the PD150 for a 170 or an FX1 for an FX1000 or an EX1 for an EX3.

I always think a leapfrog is better than a sideways step - unless you've worn your current camera out through sheer volume of work.

tom.
Geoff Addis
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:56 pm

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by Geoff Addis »

Have now had chance to play a little with my new EX1r and I'm very pleased with the mods that Sony have made. Surprisingly, one of the least mentioned mods is to my mind one of the best; the camera is now balanced and when hand held you don't have to struggle to keep uprights upright. The EVF is a vast improvement over the original and may be used for accurate focusing, but I still prefer to use the LCD with a ProHood. The raised switches that replace the membrane ones originally fitted are an improvement, but they're still not like the ones on larger cameras. The SQ button on the side does not immediately switch the system to the preset S or Q mode, you have to confirm the action using the set switch, not too time-consuming though. Nice to have an HDMI output. The zoom function behaves much as before, but there is a nice ramp mode available when using the zoom rocker on the handle - slow, creep zooms seems much as before and although the lowest speed control setting number is 8 you can go below this and I suspect the smoothnes of zoom in these lower ! * " settings may vary from camera to camera, but you can always do this manually.

Now, all I want is some decent weather to get out and really put this beast to test.

Geoff
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

What camera did you have before the EX1-R Geoff?
I too think the changes made to face-lift this model are very worthwhile, unlike (say) those made when the PD150 went to the PD170 or the TRV900 to the TRV950.
Geoff Addis
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:56 pm

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by Geoff Addis »

Hi Tom,

The Z1 and the EX1 - still have the Z1, and wished that the original EX1 had the same 'feel' to the balance of the Z1. This has now been addressed.

Geoff
Mike Shaw

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by Mike Shaw »

I feel like a right dinasaur here with my FX1 ...

Oh well. It's a step up from my TVR900. And a lot more usable than the HC7 ...

Note that all use miniDV. Yep. I'm a dinasaur!
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

I'm the same as you Mike with my FX1 and Z1. They happen to record natively to MiniDV, but I'm recording to hard disc for hundreds of hours right now, and of course you can connect them up via Firewire to all sorts of flash memory storage.

Nothing dinasaurish about the FX1. It's a beautiful modern camcorder in my view, capable of quite outstanding results. As always, this comes down to the nut behind the shutter.

tom.
Mike Shaw

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by Mike Shaw »

the nut behind the shutter
Yep. That's me!

I never thought of connecting via firewire to flash storage. Do you do that on a shoot (is that 'Firestor?). Could be expensive (especially compared to miniDV costs)?
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

Sony sell a Compact Flash recorder. It comes bundled with the Z7, is an option on the Z5 but of course it can be used by any HDV camera that has a Firewire socket. I don't use it because 13 gb for one pound (MiniDV tape) is mighty hard to beat, and I like the ease with which tape archives (plonk it up there on the shelf. Job done).

tom.
Michael Slowe
Posts: 807
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:24 pm

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by Michael Slowe »

Tom, you seem to have revived a thread long dead!

I've read the review of the EX1 R and indeed have met the reviewer, Alister Chapman. He fronted a Sony day at the suppliers I use Top-Teks out at Harefield. I've been filming on my EX1 for nearly two years now and I have got on with it very well but the changes with the 'R' version would seem to be big improvements but that will always happen and I'm certainly not going to change.

I have got to really appreciate the substitution of tape by cards. The media is so much easier to manage with the file structure. I can download to drives on location through a laptop thus releasing the cards for re recording and I then back up the files on another drive back home. When it comes to editing and bringing media into the system it is so much easier to identify individual clips than it was with tape where they were buried deep in a tape cassette. The Sony XDCAM Transfer software allows viewing and the marking of in and out points before import. I have got so used to this workflow that I wouldn't want to go back to tape.
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Sony's camcorder changes

Post by tom hardwick »

Oct 21 2009 was the first posting so not really 'long dead' Michael.

I tend to think sideways moves (Z1 to HMC100, say, or Z1 to Z7 even) are hardly ever worth the money. They won't make you a better filmmaker at all, they'll just cost you money. Face lifts are even less useful (PD150 to 170; DVX100A to DVX100B) are only of use if you've actually worn the original camera out.

But leap frogs are a different matter. If you trade the V1 for an EX1 you're talking real changes. So to with an HV30 to an NXCAM.

I reckon the change from EX1 to EX1R is a little sideways hop Michael, and you're right not to be drawn in. Admittedly the R model has fixed a few niggles but you're not about to have a wow moment in front of your big TV. My view? The money's better spent on countless other things.

tom.
Post Reply