Video & Companhia

PXW-Z280: Back to the future with Sony's new 3 sensor masterpiece

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 19:52:00 +0000

Written by Simon Wyndham

Simon Wyndham

Gear review: If you could make a Sony EX1 into a 4K camera, would you buy one? Read on because Sony'sPXW-Z280 could be just what you're looking for.

The PMW-EX1 and PMW-EX3 are two of Sony's most successful camcorders. When they were current, if you wanted a truly professional camcorder with a manual lens you had to own an ENG type camera with a B4 lens. The EX series literally changed the market overnight, with two three-chip camcorders that not only had manual lenses, but had incredibly high picture quality too. In fact so good was the EX series that they are still producing excellent results now, 11 years after initial launch.

Although the EX series was superseded by other models, still using the same chips incidentally, we are now in an increasingly 4K world. And while the talk of the town still seems to remain with large chip cameras, there really is a market for a workhorse do-everything 4K camera. Enter the PXW-Z280.

First impressions

The Z280, at first glance looks like, well, a hyper EX1. There are some big differences however. The first is that when you pick up the Z280 you very quickly discover that this is one robust piece of kit. It's weighty and feels very solid.

The stand-out feature of the Z280 is the Fujinon lens. It's big and has the now familiar manual iris, focus, and zoom controls. The focus control can be switched between an infinitely rotating ring, or one with end stops. The interesting thing about this lens design, which will be familiar to previous owners of the EX series, is that although these controls are manual, they actually control servos rather than having any true mechanical connection to the lens parts. The important thing is that you wouldn't know it in use.

The rest of the body is furnished with clearly labelled, well spaced buttons. The ND filter control is big and chunky, as is the accompanying ND dial. The ND dial you say? Indeed, the PXW-Z280 incorporates a similar smoothly adjustable electronic ND filter to the one that has been seen previously in cameras such as the FS5. This is one of those features that I am finding more and more invaluable the more that I use it.

The left side of the body is also home to audio controls for four channels. The camera has two XLR inputs, with a further two channels that are fed by compatible wireless microphone receivers that fit onto the hotshoes on the handle.

The carry handle is home to the now familiar flip out style LCD display, which whilst in its viewing configuration reveals controls for accessing the setup menus and clip playback. The rear of the body features an OLED viewfinder. Beneath this is a large on/off power switch. There is also an SDI output, timecode/genlock in/out, HDMI out, and Ethernet.

On the right side of the camera is the hand grip with record start/stop and a zoom rocker. Unlike many of Sony's recent cameras, this is fixed and is not rotatable.

The layout is eminently functional and holds no surprises. But there's no doubt when holding it, at 3.0kg, it is a serious bit of kit.

Power draw for the camera varies between 24W and 31W depending on the LCD/viewfinder configuration you are using, so it is a little more heavy on battery uses than some other recent camcorders.

The sensor block

The continuing trend at the moment is for cameras to use larger chips but in a single bayer configuration. The advent of the single high performance CMOS is what has lead to large chip, yet compact body camcorders to be possible. The PXW-280 eschews this trend by featuring 1/2" chips. Note the plural, since this is a three-chip CMOS prism arrangement.

This offers a number of advantages over single chip designs such as supplying true 4:4:4 colour right from the get go, as well as minimising any artefacts that can come as a result of debayering calculations. Smaller sensors such as these lend themselves better to three-chip configurations. But it also makes the design more complex. No doubt part of the reason for the camera's weight is due to a big block of glass in the form of the light splitting prism. What it does mean is that the Z280 should have no problems at all resolving a good 2000 TVL of resolution.

Power up

The PXW-Z280 powers upon very quickly indeed. For a camera aimed at news and documentary this is a very important consideration, and the Z280 passes the test with flying colours.

The flip out LCD display is clear and bright. Even outdoors in bright sunshine, whilst clearly there are limitations, I could still get by with it. Luckily the camera has the alternative in the form of the OLED viewfinder, which is actually a higher resolution than the larger LCD and works very nicely.

The menu system is on the whole pretty good, and will be familiar to users of other Sony cameras. As usual there is a user section that can be configured with your most used functions. The default configuration of this generally has the most often needed functions already to hand.

The lens feels good to use, with a nice smooth action. The control rings are a good size, and if like me you prefer to use three fingers on each of the controls, you'll be right at home. As I mentioned earlier, these control rings actually actuate servos rather than having any direct mechanical connection to lens parts. It's only if you move them extremely fast that you notice any lag, but even then it is barely anything. One thing is very certain, it was a lovely experience going back to this type of lens operation over DSLR style lenses or cine primes.

The glass on the Z280 goes from 5.6mm at the wide end, to 95.2mm at telephoto. It's a big range, and one that is super useful. Now, the big question is whether this is a constant f/stop across the range. In my tests I didn't notice any appreciable loss of light. There is also no change in f/stop on the LCD display, as would normally happen on any other camera I have used if it lost light through the zoom range.

I have been told by some people that it drops to f/5.6, but I do not agree with this at all, since such a drop off would be very noticeable. As you can see from my example shots at the end of this review where I go from full telephoto to full wide, there is no appreciable change in exposure. I haven't been able to confirm the precise drop off, but at most I would say it falls to f/2.8, just like the previous EX cameras. Rather impressive given the price of the camera and the focal range on offer.

Autofocus performance was good. The camera has facial tracking, and this can be either turned off, told to prioritise faces, or to focus entirely on facial features. In practice it works pretty well, even if the subject is a fair distance away. It's not perfect: no autofocus is currently. But tracking subjects accurately is a challenge for any camera operator. These new options give us an ability to be flexible. In HD focus was critical, in 4K even more so. Any error in the tracking is noticeable, so it is good to see how these systems are becoming better.

Recording options

The PXW-Z280 has a very large range of recording options, from lowly DVCAM all the way up to 4K (UHD for the pedants). But gone are the days of struggling with highly compressed codecs with low colour precision. The Z280 has no such foibles. With this camcorder you can record up to 600Mbps 422 4K intraframe with 10-bit colour resolution at up to 60p. This, finally, is a do-it-all camera that gives you some of the highest quality recording options available anywhere.

HDR is taken care of in a couple of ways. In the menus you set the base recording type to either SDR or HDR. This cause me a bit of confusion at first. Because I'm a man, I didn't read the manual until I had to. At first I couldn't find out how to shoot using the feature listed SLog3. It took me a bit of playing around, but you need to set the camera to HDR mode first, and then tell it that you want to record Slog3 instead of HLG. By default the camera will apply an assistive LUT to the LCD monitor output to help with monitoring and exposure.

Physical recording is to SxS cards. It is possible to record both 4K and HD versions of the same clips to the same SxS card simultaneously. You can also record 4K to the SxS card while recording proxy files to SD. By way of an adaptor you can also record to XQD cards. Lastly you can also record 2 copies of the footage simultaneously to two SxS cards.

A wireless future

The PXW-Z280 is designed to work in a world where footage needs to be dealt with yesterday. By way of a subscription to XDCAM Air it is possible for the Z280 to upload footage via a dual link cellular connection directly to the cloud. I didn't have an opportunity to test this, but it is clearly an advantage for those working on breaking stories.

But the connectivity doesn't end there. The camera can upload to a remote FTP server while it is shooting. A Content Browser Mobile app allows clips to be reviewed and logged via a smartphone, as well as being able to control the camera itself.

Offloading footage can be done a few ways. For some reason I couldn't get my Mac to recognise the camera when it was connected via USB. I have a strong feeling this was an issue with my computer and not the camera itself since the USB connection dialogue appeared as it should do. Not to worry, however. The Z280 can have a USB3 hard drive plugged directly into it, and you can then tell it to copy the footage over to your storage device. The only drawback to this is that it's an all or nothing approach, so if you then record some additional clips you will need to copy the whole card again rather than selecting just the new shots. When performing this transfer you can elect to have error correction turned on. This gives you file integrity protection at the expense of transfer speeds.

Picture performance

I'm going to lay my cards on the table here. I don't believe it is possible to buy a badly performing camera today. Which is why I focus so much on the usability of cameras in my reviews rather than pixel peeping.

With that said, as you can see in the examples below, the camera performs incredibly well even at +18db (for those who are obsessed with cinema cameras I am using the correct parlance for an electronic camera here). Sony rates the camera as having a S/N ratio of 63db. This is a camera with 1/2" 4K CMOS chips. That is an incredibly quiet figure for sensors with such a high pixel density, and is on par with some of the best 2/3" SD CCD cameras of the past. To compare this to its predecessor the EX1R, that camera had a S/N figure of 54db. In contrast the FS5 lists at 57db. In other words, this is progress.

Is the PXW-Z280 a low light monster? Yes and no. No, it isn't an A7SII, but at the same time you can hardly be disappointed by its performance. As you can see from the clips below, there's barely any difference in noise between 0db and +18db when using the in-built noise suppression. This can be tuned, but as you can see it does a very good job.

Lastly, about IR contamination. A few RSN readers asked me to look at this. From what I can ascertain the PXW-Z280 has none of the issues that its predecessor suffered from.

Like many similar cameras, I feel that it comes set with the electronic detail enhancement too high out of the box. Just like the EX series I feel that this camera doesn't really need this enhancement, and I dialled it right down. I prefer a more natural level of detail. But your tastes will vary, and the camera comes with a vast amount of picture profile setup options to fine tune things.

In the autofocus shots of my test video below, there is some noise visible. These were shot using Slog3 and corrected with a basic LUT. Put this down to user error in that I underexposed, hence some of the noise being emphasised.

Lastly, regarding the lens. There does appear to be some chromatic fringing on very bright highlights, particularly in the shot of the flickering water. There doesn't appear to be an option for in-camera correction for this, so it is something to be aware of. But keep in mind the range of this lens and what it is being asked to do for the cost, and this is a minor price to pay.

Conclusions

The PXW-Z280 is in my opinion an EX series camera for the 4K age. It is very easy to get all too caught up in the drive for 'go big or go home' when it comes to sensors. The Z280 is a camera that gives a flexibility of operation that is simply unmatched by any of the alternative cine influenced cameras, and it offers a lot more than I can possibly cover fully in this article. You don't have to think about which lens to use, or carry around a huge bag of accessories for every occasion. You don't need a cage, and you don't need an external recorder to get the highest quality recording. The PXW-Z280 is simply a pleasure to use, and a welcome relief from the complexity of cine style cameras. Thank you, Sony.

A few purchasing options...

Canon XF705 with 4K 50P 4:2:2 10-bit XF-HEVC recording

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 19:50:00 +0000

Canon has just announced the XF705 camcorder. The XF705 is the companies flagship model in the XF series and can shoot 4K UHD 50P in full 4:2:2 10-bit. Perhaps the cameras biggest drawcard is actually its new XF-HEVC codec.

The XF705 uses a 1.0″ type CMOS sensor and DIGIC DV6 processing. This is the same image processor that can be found in the C200. The recently announced EOS R uses a Digic 8. The camera is equipped with a fixed 15x optical zoom, and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. The aperture on this lens is not fixed though and changes between f/2.8-4.5 depending on your focal length. At the wide end, the lens can work at 25.5mm and it also utilizes built-in IS which is important when shooting handheld. The lens has three independent control rings for iris, focus, and zoom, all with end stops.

The XF705 is capable of recording HDR files internally using both the Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and Perceptual Quantisation (PQ) HDR formats. The camcorder also has HDR assist functions to support the user when controlling exposure. The XF705 can also output an SDR signal at the same time as recording an HDR file internally to an SD card. The XF705 has a 12G-SDI interface, which allows for an uncompressed UHD 50P signal to be sent over a single SDI cable. The camera can also stream 4K UHD HDR using the HEVC format via the network. This makes it ideal for broadcast and video production applications, for users who want capture 4K UHD HDR video, but still want to have a streamlined production workflow.

XF-HEVC codec

If there wasn’t already enough codecs floating around, Canon has introduced another one. The new XF-HEVC file format utilizes HEVC encoding technology that is about twice as efficient as mainstream H.264/AVC. By using XF-HEVC the XF705 can record 4K UHD 50P 4:2:2 10-bit files directly to widely available SD cards. The way this works is Canon is using (HEVC) video compression, and then packaging it inside the industry standard Material eXchange Format (MXF) container. This is a big deal as one of the primary concerns when capturing 4K material is the amount of data it takes up and the price of the recording media. Leveraging HEVC encoding technology and putting it inside a camcorder like this makes a lot of sense. All of the major NLE and post-production software will be supporting XF-HEVC, including Adobe, Avid, FCPX, and Blackmagic.

* These recording formats will be available in a coming firmware update on a date to be determined.

Considering Canon has been able to put XF-HEVC recording into the XF705, it is a little bit of a surprise that this codec wasn’t used in the EOS R, or even the C200. The fact that a camcorder gets 4K UHD 50P 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording and the Canon C200 doesn’t is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Dual SD Card Slots

Dual SD card slots allow for simultaneous or relay recording. Simultaneous recording allows you to record on both SD cards at the same time, so that you can use one as a backup. Relay recording allows uninterrupted recording from one card to the other when the first memory card becomes full.

5-axis Optical Image Stabilization (IS) system

The XF705 camcorder has a 5-axis Optical Image Stabilization (IS) system, featuring three modes of image stabilization: Standard, Dynamic and Powered. In Standard IS mode, the stabilizing angle is made constant, independent of the zoom magnification. Dynamic IS mode extends the stabilizing range at the wide end of the focal length, allowing for image stabilization when shooting while walking. Powered IS mode helps facilitate stabilization in the low frequency range at the tele end, and should be used exclusively for fixed-point shooting which does not involve panning.

Other features

The XF705 has a built-in Infrared mode, ND filters, manual white balance modes, zebras, peaking, waveform, dual SD card slots, wi-fi, infrared control, and a host of manual and auto shooting options. The camera can also shoot at frame rates of up to 120p in HD.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF

Canon has also given the XF705 Dual Pixel CMOS AF. This is the same system used in the C100 Mark II, C200, C300 Mark II, and the recently announced EOS R. Dual Pixel CMOS AF is an accurate and fast way of doing autofocus with touch focus control, Face Detection AF and object tracking. The Dual Pixel Focus Guide also provides a graphical guide to support accurate focusing when manually adjusting the focus. This is the same guide as used in the C300 Mark II, C200 and EOS R.

Canon Log 3

The XF705 can shoot in Canon Log 3. Canon Log 3 is a gamma designed for simple grading at a deep level for toning up dark areas and adjusting color tone/gradation to make noise less noticeable. Simple previews can also be performed on-site with Look-Up Table (LUT) accuracy.

Canon Log 3 shooting can be especially effective for documentaries and other settings with drastic changes, along with outdoor and other locations where light conditions change frequently, or where monitoring setups may be insufficient.

HDMI 2.0 Terminal with 4K UHD 60p Output Support

The XF705 features an HDMI 2.0 terminal that supports 4K UHD 60p output. The HDMI 2.0 terminal allows the camcorder to be connected to a standard external SSD/HDD recorder, enabling conversion to ProRes and DNx formats for efficient editing and storage.

** Internal recording not enabled.

*** Restrictions apply only when shooting in 4K UHD 60P. OSD overlay disabled / Browser remote Live View disabled.

Live IP Streaming

The XF705 has the ability to stream video live online using IP transmission in either the H.265/HEVC or H.264/AVC encoding format. Live H.265 streams (16Mbps at 59.94p) can be used to reliably distribute either 4K UHD or Full HD data efficiently to a variety of TV and social media platforms.

The livestream can be viewed directly from the camcorder using the on-board LCD monitor, sent to a standalone HEVC IP encoder or redirected to a 4K UHD monitor for a confidence check and public viewing. In addition, Live HDR data (Message/Mastering Display Color Volume) can be added in the H.265 stream if required to help improve picture quality.

Network Connections for FTP Transfer and Browser Remote (Wired and Wi-Fi^® Connectivity)

The camcorder offers both wired and wireless connectivity to enable recorded files to be shared and transmitted back to the station or home base via FTP for editing or live streaming.

The camera can also be accessed remotely from a typical web browser running on a laptop or a compatible smart device to control functions such as record start/stop, record mode and frame rate, AF/MF switching, focus/zoom settings and white balance mode*. Background transfer of video files via FTP links is also possible, enabling the latest news images, for example, to be distributed quickly over the Internet.

* Compatible with iOS^® versions 9/10, Android™ smartphone and tablet versions 4.4/5.0/5.1/6.0.

Optional Wide and Tele Accessories

There is an optional Wide Attachment WA-U58 and the Tele Converter TL-U58 attachments available for the XF705.

The Wide Attachment WA-U58 offers a 0.8x wider angle of view, and the tele Converter TL-U58 provides extended 1.5x longer telephoto range for the XF705 camcorder’s fixed lens.

Are small sensor cameras still relevant?

Cameras with smaller sensors are often overlooked because of the plethora of super 35 and full frame options available. Small sensor, fixed lens cameras such as the XF705 still very much have their place. For certain types of work such as news, documentaries, and event shooting, having a fixed lens camcorder that can shoot all day on a single battery and record for hours and hours on end makes a lot of sense. In emerging markets such as India, South America, South East Asia, and Africa there is a big demand for cameras such as the XF705. Often these type of cameras are used by broadcasters who can’t afford more expensive ENG options.

Canon’s original XL-1 was released way back in 1997. It was designed for the prosumer market and became very popular with independent filmmakers at the time. The XL-1 had a 3CCD chip, XLR inputs, interchangeable lenses, and even a viewfinder. Since that time Canon has released a multitude of cameras under the XF name. Today the XF series consists of the XF100/105, XF200/205, XF300/305, XF400/405 and now the XF705. All of Canon’s XF series camcorders feature Neutral Density filters, vectorscope, waveform monitor, focus assist, 2-channel 16-bit 48 kHz audio recording, two XLR audio input jacks, HDMI output, headphone jack, USB Mini-B, LANC remote jack, built-in stereo microphone, and two primary flash card slots for dual recording or relay recording.

Competition

Sony has the 4K 4:2:2 10-bit PXW-Z280 and PXW-Z190 camcorders, although they use the smaller 1/2″-type Exmor R CMOS image sensor, and 1/3″-type CMOS sensors respectively. To go to a 1″ sensor, Sony has the PXW-Z150, but it can only record 4K UHD XAVC Long GOP in 4:2:0/ 8bit 100 Mbps. It can, however, do up to 120p in HD. Panasonic has the 1″ HC-X1, and JVC also just released their new 1″ GY-HC500 and Gy-HC550 Connected cams that can shoot in 10-bit ProRes 422 at 4K resolution up to 50/60p.

Specifications

Standard Definition or High Definition

4K Ultra High Definition

Power Supply (rated)

14.4V DC (Battery Pack), 24.0V DC (DC IN)

Video Recording system

Compression: H.265/HEVC or MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
Color Sampling: 4:2:2 (10-bit) or 4:2:0 (8-bit)
File Format: MXF
Recording Modes:
XF-HEVC 160 Mbps/110 Mbps: 3840×2160 (60p/30p/24p)
XF-HEVC 60 Mbps/45Mbps: 1920×1080 (60p/30p/24p)
XF-AVC 45 Mbps: 1920×1080 (60p/30p/24p)

Audio Recording system

LPCM (24-bit 4ch), 48 kHz

Image Sensor

1.0-inch CMOS

Total Pixels

Approx. 13.4 megapixels (4268 x 3148)

Effective Pixels

Approx. 8.29 megapixels (3840 x 2160)

Maximum recording Time

32GB card
160 Mbps: 25 min.
110 Mbps: 35 min.
60 Mbps: 65 min.
45 Mbps: 90 min.64GB card
160 Mbps: 50 min.
110 Mbps: 75 min.
60 Mbps: 140 min.
45 Mbps: 185 min.128GB card
160 Mbps: 105 min.
110 Mbps: 150 min.
60 Mbps: 280 min.
45 Mbps: 375 min.256GB card
160 Mbps: 210 min.
110 Mbps: 305 min.
60 Mbps: 565 min.
45 Mbps: 755 min.A variable bit rate is applicable in each case.

Lens

Canon 15x Zoom, 8.3-124.5mm (35mm equivalent 25.5-382.5mm), f/2.8-4.5

Focusing System

Dual Pixel CMOS AF, Contrast AF
The detection range for CMOS AF is approx. 80% (vertical) x 80% (horizontal) of the entire field of view.

Manual Exposure

Yes

Max Shutter Speed

1/2000

Minimum Focusing Distance

10mm at wide end, 60cm across entire zooming range

White Balance

Auto, Preset (Daylight, Tungsten), Color Temperature Settings (2,000–15,000K), Set (1/2)

Frame Rate

60p, 30p, 24p

Minimum Illumination

P Mode: Approx. 1.7 lux (shutter speed: 1/30 sec., 60p with auto slow shutter on)
Low Light Mode: Approx. 0.1 lux (shutter speed: 1/2 sec.)

Genlock Terminal

Yes

Timecode Terminals

Yes

Image Stabilization

Optical system (lens shift) + electronic stabilization
(Image rotation and camcorder movements in the yaw and pitch directions are electronically corrected.)
Modes: Dynamic IS, Powered IS, Standard IS, IS Off

Filter Diameter

58mm

Viewfinder

0.46-inch wide color OLED display, approx. 1.77 million dots, approx. 100% field of view

LCD Screen

4.0-inch wide LCD and wide view angle, wide color range supported (Approx. 1.23 million dots)

Microphone

Stereo (using electret condenser microphone)

Recording Media

SD/SDHC/SDXC Card (2 slots): XF-HEVC/XF-AVC movies and photos. Menu settings can also be recorded.

USB Terminal

mini-B receptacle and Hi-Speed USB supported (output only)

Video Terminal

3.5mm stereo mini-jack, HDMI^™ mini connector, 12G-SDI terminal

Audio Terminal

3.5mm stereo mini-jack, XLR 3-pin jack (two channels), HDMI^™ mini connector, headphone jack, 12G-SDI terminal

HDMI Terminal

HDMI^™ mini connector

AV Mini Terminal/Headphone Terminal

3.5mm stereo mini-jack

Operating Temperature range

For Performance: Approx. 0-40° C, 85% (relative humidity)
For Operation: Approx. -5-45° C, 60% (relative humidity)

Dimensions

Approx. 6.4 x 8.3 x 14.9 in. / 162 x 210 x 378mm (excluding lens hood, mic holder unit and eyecup)
Approx. 7.5 x 10.2 x 17.0 in. / 191 x 258 x 433mm (including lens hood, eyecup and mic holder unit)

Weight

Approx. 5.86 lbs. / 2660g (including grip belt; excluding hood, eyecup and shoulder pad)

Price and availability

The Canon XF705 isn’t exactly cheap. In Europe, it will retail for €6999 incl. VAT. In the US it is $6999 USD. The camera will be available for purchase in December.

Sony Alpha A7S II review

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 15:45:00 +0000

After the introduction of the Sony Alpha 7 II and Sony Alpha 7R II it was only a matter of time before Sony introduced the update to the Alpha 7S, its 12Mp, low light and video-centric model which has become popular in the film and television industry. Sure enough, the Alpha 7S II was announced in September 2015 and is now on sale.

[Update: The Alpha A7S II (or to give it its full technical name, the ILCE7SB.CEC) has been around now for a while, but is still one of our favorite cameras that shoots 4K, while its low-light performance for photography still impresses.]

VC GY-HM170U Ultra 4K HD 4KCAM

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 15:24:00 +0000

If you’re looking for a small camcorder that’s packed with a lot of features, you won’t go wrong with choosing the JVC GY-HM170U Ultra 4K HD 4KCAM. It comes with automatic features that make it easy for amateurs to start shooting excellent videos right away, but it also comes with manual settings that give professionals full control over the device and allow them to tweak the camcorder as they see fit. So, whether you’ve been shooting videos professionally for years or are still starting out, the GY-HM170U will definitely meet your needs.

Design & Features

The JVC GY-HM170U Ultra 4K HD 4KCAM is built with a powerful 1/2.3-inch 12.4 million-pixel CMOS sensor, which is paired with a 12x Ultra HD lens. This combination allows the camcorder to record clear, crisp, and sharp videos that capture all the details of your subject. The zoom can even be increased to 24x lossless zoom when you use Dynamic Zoom in HD mode, which means you can capture subjects that are located further away without losing video quality.

The GY-HM170U can record 4:2:2 HD signals at 50Mbps at 60p, along with the traditional 4:2:0 AVCHD recording. It can also record 4K videos, which allows you to take video recording to the next level. Just use SDHC or SDXC memory cards, and you can take hours of 4K videos without having to worry about running out of storage.

The GY-HM170U has similar features with JVC’s other camcorder GY-HM200. However, the two models are different in that the GY-HM200 is built with the latest IP communications engine (which allows remote control and monitoring from smartphones and other gadgets). It also has the ability to do HD-SDI video output and perform high-quality Live Streaming — something that GY-HM170U can’t do.

Pros and Cons

Just like anything else, the JVC GY-HM170U Ultra 4K HD 4KCAM has several advantages and disadvantages that you should weigh before buying the device. Here are some of the pros and cons that you should know about.

PROS

Relay recording

The GY-HM170U has dual SDHC/SDXC card slots and can do relay recording, which means it automatically switches to the other card when the first one is full. Since the cards are hot swappable, you can replace the full card with a blank card while the camcorder is still running, ensuring you can take virtually endless footage.

Removable audio handle

Beginning October 2015, the GY-HM170U is shipped with a handle that’s designed to make audio connections. This is great when you want to pair the camcorder with a high-quality external microphone. The handle is removable, so you can get it out of the way and make the device lighter and more portable.

Useful display and viewfinder

The GY-HM170U comes with a 0.24-inch, 1.56M-pixel color viewfinder as well as a 3.5-inch, 920K-pixel LCD display. Both of these come with a smart focus assist function and make shooting videos an overall easier experience.

CONS

Not so great with low light

Many users have complained that the GY-HM170U doesn’t perform well in low-light situations. However, there are also those who point out that the camcorder has several manual settings that you can adjust to get excellent videos even in dark environments.

Plastic case

The GY-HM170U has a plastic body that, according to several users, feel flimsy and weak, but it’s not a huge problem as long as you’re careful and avoid dropping the device. Many users state that the light plastic body is a plus since it makes the camcorder portable and easy to lug around.

Final Thoughts

JVC GY-HM170U Ultra 4K HD 4KCAM comes with several features that are useful for both amateur and professional videographers. If you can get past its few drawbacks, you’ll love using this compact camcorder and enjoy the functionality it has to offer.

Review: Sony NXCAM HXR-NX80 is a Surprisingly Versatile Camcorder

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 15:13:00 +0000

Chris Monlux

February 27, 2018

The Sony NXCAM HXR-NX80 offers all the features you want and need out of a camcorder. From hybrid autofocus to Hybrid Log-Gamma, the NX80 is feature-rich. Shooting up to 960 frames per second in Slow and Quick mode and up to 120 frames per second in HD, it shoots up to 100 Megabits per second in UHD 4K and offers SLog3/S-Gamut3 picture profiles. With its one-inch Exmor CMOS sensor, you get a 12-times optical zoom that captures to dual SD card slots.

The number of features offered in this camcorder should peak the interest of many. Sony says it’s been designed for corporate video, promotional video and film school students’ work, just to name a few. They state that because of XAVC S, the NX80 will work in just about any workflow for various applications.

When we were first introduced to the NX80, we learned that it’s just one of three camcorders released by Sony at the same time. Each model is built off the last, including more features the more money you spend. The NX80 sits in the middle of the lineup and we feel it is the most attractive camera for the price out of the three. Starting from the bottom, the Handycam FDR-AX700 is 1,900 dollars and is the least expensive of the three. The NX80 costs 2,300 dollars and lastly the XDCAM PXW-Z90 is 2,800 dollars. Check out the sidebar to read more about the differences between the three cameras.

Hands-on

If you are used to camcorders with a large form factor, the NX80 is going to seem small. The cool thing is that, although it’s small, it’s built well and doesn’t feel cheap. Include the long list of features and the NX80 is actually pretty impressive.

One of the first things we do in any camera review is to go into the menu to see how to execute the different functions. This is the first place where we saw an issue with the NX80. It was easy to find the menu button on the front left side of the camera, however the scroll wheel next to that button is not how you navigate through the menu. We have a new camera come through Videomaker every month, so we aren’t new to learning how to make a camera work. However, finding out how to control the menu was a real head scratcher. Placed where you’d expect navigation control, the scroll wheel on the left side of the camera is actually for the exposure control. After pressing every button on the camera, we finally stumbled across the joystick to control navigation on the right side of the camera where it can be operated by your thumb. Once we found it, it worked well.

Menu access and exposure control

Although this camera is full-featured and ready for daily use in the field, Sony made a few questionable choices. The monitor works well and is enough to get the job done, but it is on the smaller side. The questionable part is that this monitor also functions as the camera’s on/off switch. When you flip out the monitor, it automatically turns the camera on. Within the controls behind the monitor there is an on/off button, but if you turn off the camera, close the monitor and then open it again, the camera will turn on again. Additionally, if you want to use the electronic viewfinder (EVF), when telescope it out and close the monitor, the camera will stay on. However, if you lean in and accidently push the EVF in, the camera will turn off. If you are in the middle of recording, it will continue to record, but the EVF will go black. So far, the issues we have experienced with the menu navigation and powering are not issues that should prevent you from buying the camera. They are just design flaws for usability; your viewer experience change.

Outside of those issues, nothing else about the usability of this camera is a problem. Instead, what’s left is strong and very utilitarian. The handle is a good size and is detachable if its not needed. It comes off with two thumb screws. Built-in to the handle are two XLR inputs with input select, phantom power, low cut filter, gain control and attenuation. The audio inputs and controls have no external cables to connect to the camera. Instead, there is a built in hot shoe connection in the handle. Also found on the handle is a variable controlled zoom where you can have it set to a fixed speed or make it pressure sensitive. Lastly, you’ll find a record button that can be locked on or off, a shoe to replace the one the handle occupies and mounting threads for other accessories.

XLR inputs on handle

The NX80 has dual SD card slots that you are able to use to either extend your record time or record proxies simultaneously. Another function connected to the dual card slots is the ability to arm the two record buttons to record to different card slots. Consider shooting an event. You can use one button for capturing the moments and documenting the experience. Then, use the other button to capture all of your b-roll. When you are done, you will have your footage separated for you for easier organization when editing. You could use this function to meet many different needs — to put all of your different picture profile clips onto one card or maybe to separate footage shot at different frame rates. This was a function we stumbled upon when poking around in the menu. It goes to show you not all cool functions are used to market a given product; a bit of digging could get you more than you paid for.

The NX80 has built-in neutral density (ND) filters preset at 1/4, 1/16 and 1/64. If you have ever struggled to get the shot without ND, having them built-in will be a godsend. It is a four way ND with the fourth being clear, so you can shoot without any ND on.

Sony is forward thinking with the NX80, giving you the option to shoot in SLog3 and Hybrid

Built-in ND filters

Log Gamma (HLG). Both log and HLG will produce images with a better dynamic range and better color when graded in post. When shooting in SLog3, the NX80 has a minimum ISO of 1250, and when shooting HLG, it has a minimum ISO of 250. As a quick reference, to shoot in HLG use picture profile 10 and for S-Log3 use picture profile 7.

The NX80 offers Slow and Quick (S&Q) mode that allows for slow and quick capture from one frame per second (fps) up to 960 fps, played back at your desired frame rate. Say you choose 960 fps; it can play back at 24 fps, giving you 40 times slow motion. On the other side of that, you are able to choose one fps and capture one second of video for every 24 seconds of record time. When played back, it will be quick motion timelapse. The best part of S&Q mode is the ability to see your shot played back at the desired playback rate in-camera. You can preview your slow-mo shots as they are when conformed to a given frame rate. You are able to shoot up to 120 fps at 100 megabits per second (Mbps) in HD without S&Q mode, but you will have to change the frame rate in post to get slow-mo playback. When using higher frame rates in S&Q, you lose picture quality to gain higher frames. And when it comes to 960 fps, you also get a significant crop in your viewable area. When it comes to high frame rates, consider how slow you need it to be because a two second capture at 960 fps will be 80 seconds long when slowed to 24 fps. You might not need it to be that slow. Additionally, before using S&Q mode consider that it has a maximum bitrate of 50Mbps.

IF YOU WANTED TO USE THE AF TO DO A RACK FOCUS, YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GO FROM FOCUS POINT TO FOCUS POINT.

The NX80 has Hybrid autofocus (AF), which combines contrast and phase detection autofocus. Contrast autofocus is fast and phase detection autofocus is accurate. When combined you get the best of both worlds. On top of that, you can adjust the speed of any focus change. If you wanted to use the AF to do a rack focus, you can choose how long it takes to go from focus point to focus point. When using the autofocus in the field, we found it to be quite useful depending on what type of shooting you’re doing.

Because of the fixed lens form factor, you get a 12 times optical zoom with a good maximum aperture of f/2.8. However, when zoomed all the way in, the maximum aperture is f/4. The 35mm equivalent focal range is 29mm to 348mm. The best part of a fixed-lens camera is the amount of zoom you have at your fingertips —o need to worry about changing lenses.

Picture Quality

It’s easy to get wrapped up in what large sensors can do, but with a fixed lens, the glass and sensor are designed for each other, optimizing what you can get from a small sensor. Picture quality is a subjective feature. However, we can speak to what we see and what we don’t see. For having a fixed lens, getting a shallow depth of field (DOF) isn’t terribly difficult. To get the most out of the shallow DOF the NX80 captures, combine it with space compression to get a more noticeable blur. When zoomed in, the space between the background, the subject and the foreground will be compressed, exaggerating any shallow DOF being captured.

When it comes to color, this camera looks great. Shoot without a picture profile and get a solid picture with vibrant colors. If you want to get the most dynamic range, shooting in SLog3 will be key, but it will require applying a LUT and color grading in post-production. The last thing to consider is Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG). HLG is Sony’s high dynamic range (HDR) profile and is the only backwards compatible HDR format. Unlike true HDR, HLG will benefit your video regardless of what it’s being viewed on. On standard dynamic range (SDR) monitors, HLG will appear normal, whereas HDR won’t look right. That means HLG isn’t going to give you the best HDR experience when producing for such, but it will be better than shooting SDR.

Tests

To test the low light performance of the NX80, we pointed it at a DSC color chart starting at its lowest ISO of 160, doubling it till we reached it maximum ISO of 10,000. We saw noise right out of the gate. Not terrible, but it would benefit from light denoising. The interesting part of the noise of this camera is that it doesn’t change significantly from ISO 160 all the way up to ISO 2500. By ISO 5000, the noise is bad enough not to use for professional purposes. We used Red Giant Denoiser III and were able to simply remove the noise from everything ISO 2500 and below.

Like with any rolling shutter camera, rolling shutter will be experienced when either quickly panning the camera or when the camera is moving, like when mounted on a car, and when what is in frame is moving quickly past the camera. The NX80 does not suffer from bad rolling shutter; in fact it’s barely noticeable.

The last test we did was for moiré. We looked at the image from the NX80 when panning and tilting and when locked down. The moiré on the NX80 isn’t considerable. If looking at fine line details, noise in the picture will be more noticeable than the moiré.

Marketplace

Sony set up the three cameras so that no matter what your needs, you can pay up for more features or go with the budget model for only the basics. With that said, let’s take a look at what brands other than Sony are offering in this space. Let’s look at Panasonic, JVC and Canon.

First up is the Panasonic AG-UX90 at 2,300 dollars. It also has a one-inch CMOS sensor and shoots up to UHD 4K at 30 fps. Its highest frame rate is 60 in HD. It’s more substantial in size, but with that comes three separate control rings for the aperture, zoom and focus.

Next is the JVC Y-HM170UA for 1,750 dollars. Its CMOS sensor is smaller at 1/2.33 inches, and it shoots up to UHD 4K at 30 fps. It will capture up to 4:2:2 in HD at 60 fps and has dual SDXC SD card slots. It has a two position ND filter and a 12-times optical zoom.

Last up is the Canon XC15 for 2,200 dollars. It’s a bit of a different form factor, but it’s still a fixed-lens camera. With its one-inch sensor, it can shoot up to UHD 4K at 30 fps. It has the C-Log picture profile and XLR input via its MA-400 mic adapter. Lastly, it has a built-in waveform monitor.

Final Thoughts and Recommendations

The Sony NX80 has more usable features than most other camcorders. We experienced a few strange design choices that caused some confusion, but once we were accustomed to using the camera, they became just little quirks. With its ability to shoot up to 960fps, SLog3 and HLG, its overall usability is strong, delivering good quality images. We really like the ability to assign the different record buttons to capture to different SD cards. The NX80 is a solid camera that gives lots of value for its cost.

Sidebar – What camera does what?

The XDCAM PXW-Z90, NXCAM HXR-NX80 and Handycam FDR-AX700 differ in price by $900 dollars across the line. However, they are all essentially the same camera with more features the more money you spend. That means the $1,900-dollar FDR-AX700 is the base model, so to speak, in the line. All three cameras are built off the FDR-AX700. There is only one difference between the FDR-AX700 and the HXR-NX80: the grip. With the grip comes XLR inputs and mic preamps. So, if you require them, you’ll pay $400 to get them in the NX80. Moving upward to the PXW-Z90, you gain 5GHz Wi-Fi and SDI output. Additionally, you’ll gain XAVC (HD 4:2:2 10bit, QFHD 4:2:0 8bit), and the camera can be optioned with MPEG2 HD for an additional cost for the license. To get those features, minus the extra license, you’ll pay $500 dollars more than the cost of the NX80.

The XDCAM PXW-Z90, NXCAM HXR-NX80 and Handycam FDR-AX700

Panasonic Introduces AG-CX350 4K Camcorder with 4K 10-bit 60p

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 15:11:00 +0000

Panasonic has announced the AG-CX350, a 4K 1.0-type handheld camcorder that offers both creativity and connectivity for live events, IP Production, sports, and news gathering.

The Panasonic AG-CX350 is a handheld camcorder that is 4K in 10bit at 60p plus HDR recording which is a nice boost. The new camcorder is equipped with the RTMP/RTSP/RTP protocol for live streaming and NDI | HX-ready IP connection. The camera is fairly lightweight at only 4.2-lbs. (body only), Panasonic states the AG-CX350 is the lightest 4K 10-bit fixed-lens camcorder in its class.

Panasonic he 1.0-type MOS sensor (approx. 15.03-megapixels in UHD/FHD) will give you pretty good shallow depth-of-field however that really isn’t the strength of a smaller 1.0 type MOS sensor.

The Panasonic AG-CX350 can capture in UHD (3840×2160), Full HD (1920×1080), HD (1280×720), and SD (720×480). Like the EVA1, the CX350 offers 10-bit 4:2:2 color sampling with ALL-Intra (400-Mbps) and LongGOP (150Mbps) and can be recorded in UHD up to 29.98p/25p and FHD up to 59.97p/50p. It also supports the 10-bit HEVC codec at UHD up to 59.97p/50p with a low bit rate of 200Mbps. The HEVC 10-bit codec can be natively decoded and played by computers with 7^th Generation (or later) Intel Core i7 chips. All of these formats and compression rates can be recorded internally to lower cost SD cards.

The CX350 offers multiple forms of IP connectivity. It is the first handheld camcorder with in-camera NDI | HX compatibility (requires license purchase of $299 USD from Newtek), allowing for high-quality IP video connectivity with live production switchers, including the Panasonic AV-HLC100 Stream Studio. The CX350 contains the RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol) function, which enables video streaming to key social platforms like Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Internal HD recording (MOV) while streaming content is also available.

The CX ROP app for iOS/Android tablets enables IP remote control of the CX350 with Gigabit Ethernet LAN connector (RJ45), or wireless module (AJ-WM50). With the app, you can control functions such as camera settings, picture quality adjustment, REC start/stop, menu settings and more.

The Panasonic AG-CX350’s integrated lens contains a wide angle of 24.5mm at the wide-angle setting with minimal-distortion. The 20x optical zoom lens covers the range from 24.5mm to 490mm (35mm film equivalent at 4K/HD). It also has the 35x(HD) / 24x(4K) Intelligent Zoom function. In both 4K and HD shooting modes, the CX350 uses 5-axis hand-shake correction that combines the effects of both optical and electronic image stabilization, providing a steadier image in unstable shooting conditions.

In addition to capturing conventional gamma modes (HD, SD, FILMLIKE 1/2/3 FILM-REC, VIDEO-REC), the CX350 now supports HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) to capture a wider dynamic range. The HLG standard was developed jointly by the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and is currently supported by both TV stations and streaming services. When shooting HLG, the CX350 can be set to HDR or SDR Color Setting on each output – LCD/EVF, SDI and HDMI.

Variable Frame Rate (VFR) recording can be set in the range of 1-fps to 60-fps (59.94Hz). In FHD mode, Super Slow motion can be achieved at 120-fps/100-fps (59.94Hz, 50Hz). The CX350 can also capture 720p AVCHD 8-Mbps, for a video analysis and compatibility with DV Sports and XoS Digital, plus an interchange format.

Additional key features of the CX350 include support for AVCHD, simultaneous SDI and HDMI output (UHD video via HDMI and output of HD video via 10-bit, 4:2:2 SDI), two audio channels from the built-in stereo mic, or two XLR audio inputs, and low power consumption at 17 W. Two toggle switches for GAIN and WHITE BALANCE are available, as well as two Accessory Shoes for additional versatility. In addition, the Panasonic AG-CX350 will offer future P2 capability (via a free firmware update).

The Panasonic AG-CX350 will be available in late February 2019 with a suggested list price $3,995.

By Erik Naso

Erik is an 18 time Emmy award-winning DP, with over 20 years experience in photojournalism, working in newsrooms all over the USA.

Canon 550D

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Canon 550D

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:24:00 +0000

The camera is a massive step up from the previous model and really challenges the 7D, certainly in movie mode. Be very interesting to do a side by side of these cameras! You don’t have a number of features of the 7D, like dual processor, faster still FPS, weatherproofing and many of the top notch still features that the 7D offers but for video users, especially students, hobbyists and people dipping a tentative toe into the HD-DSLR market this looks to be sure bet. The key thing is it has full manual exposure control from the get go. This is from the official press release in the video section… I love the way Canon still calls people who buy this camera all photographers, there needs to be a new word for the hybrid users! “Photographers can also take manual control over exposure settings, changing the depth of field and degree of motion blur to shoot more creatively”

It’s funny to hear people complain about the release of this camera. From 5dmkII owners who are waiting to the firmware (it’s coming!) but more from new 7D owners. Guys/ gals you will be able to afford a B camera so cheaply soon and every pro should have two bodies. Suddenly the idea of a second body for many is much more affordable!

Here are the main features including it’s still capture capabilities:
18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
DIGIC 4 processor with ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800)
Continuous shooting at 3.7fps
Full HD movie recording with manual control and selectable frame rates
7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD with 1,040k dots
iFCL metering System with 63-zone Dual-layer Metering Sensor
Quick Control screen to change shooting settings
Exposure compensation +/-5 stops.
Select maximum value for Auto ISO
External Microphone socket
Movie crop function
Oh and for a bit of a fun here is my third and final Downfall parody about Hitler always buying the wrong camera!

Hitler not happy about the 550d... from oliver walker on Vimeo.

Sony HXR-NX5E Camcorder review by Nigel Cooper

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:52:00 +0000

Back on 10th November 2009 Sony Professional UK invited me over to their HQ to see their new prototype of the first NXCAM branded solid-state camcorder. They allowed me to take the only prototype in the UK away with me so I could evaluate it and try it out for a few days.

Since then I’ve spent a few more weeks with the HXR-NX5E NXCAM camcorder. Actually I’ve been in the USA for 3 months so Sony were kind enough to FedEx an NX5 over to me in Hays, Kansas, where I have been shooting with the camera. After spending more time using the NX5, I’m now in the position to give you a more comprehensive review in full; so here goes.

WHAT IS NXCAM?

NXCAM is brand new so I’m going to give you a brief low-down on what it is. NXCAM is Sony’s all-new product name for their entirely new Sony digital video production system. It’s not DV or HDV, it’s not XDCAM EX, it’s something else entirely. NXCAM is Sony’s AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) camcorder system, but there’s a difference: this is Sony’s ‘Professional’ AVCHD camcorder system. Until now Sony haven’t had any serious-level AVCHD products; quite surprising considering Sony jointly invented the AVCHD codec with Panasonic. But all that is about to change with their first professional hand-held AVCHD camcorder; the HXR-NX5E, under the all-new NXCAM brand.

WHAT IS AVCHD?
If you’re not familiar with the new AVCHD codec I’ve outlined some of its technologies with some direct comparisons to the HDV codec.

Announced in 2006 by Sony and Panasonic, this new industry-standard format is now supported by more than 30 companies and implemented in numerous camcorders, NLE systems, and consumer HD playback devices. The AVCHD codec is considerably more modern than the older HDV codec. It uses a variety of techniques to achieve greater efficiency than MPEG-2, especially at low bitrates and when dealing with difficult material. AVCHD should be capable of delivering really amazing results but we’ll get into real world performance later on.

What’s beyond debate is that HDV has a resolution of 1440x1080 and uses the MPEG-2 compression codec, while NXCAM on the other hand uses full 1920x1080 HD with the more modern MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec (H.264 is what Blu-ray and Sky HD broadcasts use). And of course AVCHD’s efficiency makes it ideal for tapeless operation: it uses SD (Secure Digital) and SD/HC (High Capacity) cards, Sony Memory Sticks and other solid-state flash drives such as Sony’s dedicated HXR-FMU128 128GB flash drive.

AVCHD has twice the compression efficiency and considerably improved video performance, especially at lower bitrates, over the older MPEG-2 compression algorithm used in the HDV codec. HDV uses a “constant” bit rate of 25 Mb/s whereas AVCHD camcorders such as the NX5 use a more efficient “variable” bit rate, with a maximum quality setting of 24 Mb/s.

In contrast with MPEG-2 (HDV), in which inter-frame compression based on the correlation between adjacent frames uses fixed blocks of 16x16 pixels, AVCHD divides the blocks into multi-sizes as small as 4x4 pixels along with 4x8, 8x8 and 8x16 also, and every variation in-between using these block structures. With this method, it is able to use large blocks to process images that show only slight changes on the screen, and smaller blocks to process images that have considerable change. This raises the accuracy of motion compensation, which in turn, boosts the quality of fast-motion images while increasing compression efficiency.

The recording capacity using the Sony HXR-NX5E onto a single 32GB Memory Stick or SD/HC card is as follows:

HD/FX (24Mbps) 1920x1080 HD = 170 minutes.
HD/FH (17Mbps) 1920x1080 HD = 255 minutes.
HD/HQ (9Mbps) 1920x1080 HD = 385 minutes.
HD/LP (5Mbps) 1920x1080 HD = 605 minutes.

WHO IS NXCAM FOR?
So who is NXCAM aimed at and where will it fit into the current marketplace? Having got up to speed with NXCAM and the new NX5 camcorder I would say that it is aimed at a somewhat varied marketplace including those who are currently using cameras such as Sony’s own Z5 or Canon’s XH G1s for example, but who want to move over from tape to an affordable solid-state system, DVCAM users looking to move over to HD, those stepping up from consumer camcorders, event and wedding videographers, corporate video producers, SIV (Special Interest Videos) producers, independent low-budget filmmakers, and even TV ENG work and various documentary productions. With regard to image quality, the new NX5 has a very high quality Sony G-lens, superb Exmor ClearVid CMOS sensors, and of course the more advanced AVCHD codec, this trio of factors adds up to a very impressive image at this price range; more on this later.

HXR-NX5E CAMCORDER:
In a nutshell the NX5 is basically a Z5, but solid-state only. The cost is similar too; the NX5 cost £3,450 inc. There are three key differences. The body is slightly shorter and stockier at the back end due to the fact that the NX5 has no tape-drive mechanism. On the back of the NX5 there are two card slots for Memory Stick cards (these slots also accept SD/HC cards too: nice). Also, on the side of the NX5 there is an area that accepts the bolt-on HXR-FMU128 flash drive. The FMU28 is a solid-state flash drive with a capacity of 128GB. This drive is an optional extra. Without it, the camcorder simply comes with a heavy-duty plastic cover that locks securely into place neatly covering the socketry from the elements.

Other differences include an HD/SDI output and a GPS (Global Positioning System). From what I can gather, all the little buttons and dials are slightly larger and less fiddly than on the tape-based Z5. I suspect this is because there is no tape mechanism so there is more room on the body for a ‘neater’ and more ‘logical’ layout of switches. I’m glad to see that Sony has used slightly larger switches and buttons on the NX5. Low-light shooters will be glad to know that the NX5 is approximately 1.5 stops better (minimum illumination 1.5-lux) than the older tape-based Z1. Even though the physical ‘form-factor’ of the NX5 is only slightly different from the Z5, overall, the lines of the NX5 just look sexier with sleeker lines and nicer curves; she’s a modern girl; oh baby!

The NX5 is the very latest in camcorder technology; it’s bang up to date with some superb state-of-the-art technologies and features.

Depending on who you speak to, different people have different views on what makes a decent image. Some will say it’s all about the bit-rate, others say it’s all in the glass, while some might even tell you it’s all in the sensors. Well, they are all wrong. It’s actually an amalgamation of all three - and other things. Sony recognises this fact and this is why the NX5 is so darn good; especially at this price range. It has a brand new lens, Sony’s own in-house designed G-lens. This lens first hit the market with the Z5. Then it has the very latest Exmor CMOS Sensors with ClearVid technology. Then finally the very latest AVCHD MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec, which has the job of processing the images taken from the G-lens and onto the Exmor sensors. Add to this Sony’s fastidious circuitry and it all adds up to a great image that is simply untouchable by the competition at this price level.

Just to clear up the confusion with the two models on the Sony web site. There is an NX5E and an NX5M; the latter need not concern you as it is not available in the UK or USA. The only difference is that the NX5M has no ‘GPS’ system built in. The reason is simple, in certain countries like Syria and North Korea any device with GPS built in is banned; after all it is used in the military; think about it!

BUILD QUALITY:
The HXR-NX5 is ok with regard to build quality. Overall it feels lightweight – possibly because it doesn’t have the bulk factor of a tape transport mechanism - and a bit on the ‘plastic’ side. I’ve always said if I’m spending £3,500 on a camcorder I expect it to feel a bit more substantial than this. I feel that JVC are slightly ahead of Sony in build quality with their more budget priced camcorders. However, I feel that the NX5 is marginally tougher than the EX series; even though it is actually cheaper. But don’t worry; I’m just a fussy bugger when it comes to build quality. The NX5 won’t fall apart anytime soon and the plastics it is made out of are the tough polycarbonate type, which is designed to ‘flex’ as apposed to ‘crack’ when it takes a knock. It is in fact slightly better built than the Z1 and its replacement, the Z5; in my opinion. If you are used to using a Z1/Z5 you won’t be disappointed. As a comparison, the NX5 is far superior in build quality over Panasonic’s HMC151. Just to inspire confidence, I personally would buy an NX5 tomorrow and have no serious concerns with its build quality. Oh, the NX5 is ‘Made in Japan’; so expect reliability to be of the highest order.

THE SENSORS:
The NX5 features the very latest 1/3rd inch Exmor CMOS sensors with ClearVid technology. What is ClearVid I hear you ask? The ClearVid system optimises both resolution and low light sensitivity versus more traditional pixel-shift CCD’s. It does this by interpolating additional resolution from diagonally-set pixels, on each individual R, G and B sensor, rather than interpolating horizontally and vertically across the three sensors. This ensures maximum resolution, in a smaller sensor, whilst the larger rotated pixels give you that all-important sensitivity. The NX5 also utilises the revolutionary Exmor noise reduction processing, which is a highly advanced noise reduction system that gives a much cleaner image.

THE LENS:
The new NX5 has the same Sony G-lens 20x Zoom, offering an amazing wide angle of view from 29.5mm (great for filming in tight spots) right through to a whopping 590mm (great for wildlife filming). The 20x zoom G-lens is a recently developed piece of glass coming from the Sony-acquired Minolta lens division; so it is developed and built in the house of Sony; and what a cracking lens it is too. The optics are super sharp with amazing colour reproduction. This new G-lens boasts not only a focus and zoom ring, but an aperture ring too. However, all three are of the ‘servo’ type, which have no end stops. They feel a bit vague when focusing and zooming. I found it easier to focus by hitting the ‘PUSH AUTO’ focus button. This lets the camera automatically focus as long as you hold the button down (though the camera is rather slow to do this), then when you release it, it retains that focus spot. The servo aperture ring is slightly more accurate in its ‘feel’ and I found it to be perfectly usable in full manual mode, which is the only mode to work with for any serious applications. If you want the camera to take a ‘best guess’ at the exposure for you, simply hit the ‘IRIS’ button and let the camera set the exposure, then hit it again to revert to manual and tweak with the aperture ring and the use of zebras (I set zebras at 95% and watch for blown-out highlights). The zoom ring (again, vague) works well enough for setting a new focal length, which (again in my opinion) is all it should be used for. I tend to treat a zoom lens as a set of primes and not for horrible nauseating so-called zoom shots.

The lens hood is Sony’s usual nice design with built in lens cap that is opened and closed via a little lever on the side of the hood. This is far better than the competition’s affairs that have to be physically removed from the camera and stuck in your back pocket. I also particularly like the fancy ‘Gold’ line painted around the lens, but then I do go a lot by nifty appearances like this. That’s about it for the lens, apart from it’s superb built-in optical image stabiliser; more on that later.

THE CODEC:
The NX5 uses the AVCHD codec, which is an efficient long-GOP codec using the MPEG-4 H.264 compression algorithm (as used on Blu-ray HD DVDs and Sky HD broadcasts), albeit at a much higher maximum bit rate of 24 Mb/s (variable) with Linear PCM audio ensuring great images and sound.

This AVCHD compression does end up offering better all-round picture performance over the older HDV codec, although there is an impact in the editing process as it requires a higher level of processing power and therefore you may need to upgrade your editing system! Also, as the AVCHD codec is so new, some editing systems don’t yet support it so we will have to wait for the software companies to catch up with the AVCHD technology. So far Sony’s Vegas Pro 9, Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 (for Mac and PC) and Edius Pro all support AVCHD natively. Apple’s Final Cut Pro and AVID MC do not. Final Cut Pro uses, don’t despair. Simply import using the log and transfer and transcode into Apple ProRes 422. Hopefully Apple will support AVCHD natively with a future upgrade.

RECORDING MODES:
The NX5 has more recording modes than you can shake a stick at. There’s plenty for everyone in both HD and SD; those shooting in the past, the present and the future, those who are hanging onto ‘interlace’ like grim death and those who are shooting their way ‘progressively’ into the future; that would be me then.

Recording options and frame-rates include:
AVCHD FX (24Mbps) 1920x1080/50i, AVCHD FH (17Mbps) 1920x1080/50i, AVCHD HQ (9Mbps) 1440x1080/50i, AVCHD LP (5Mbps) 1440x1080/50i, AVCHD FX (24Mbps) 1920x1080/25p, AVCHD FH (17Mbps) 1920x1080/25p, AVCHD FX (24Mbps) 1280x720/50p, AVCHD FH (17Mbps) 1280x720/50p, MPEG SD HQ (9Mbps) 720x576/50i, MPEG SD HQ (9Mbps) 720x576/50i (25p Scan)

So there you have it, virtually every recording mode and frame-rate you could wish for.

ADVANCED ACTIVE STEADY SHOT IMAGE STABILISATION SYSTEM:
The NX5 uses a brand new ‘Active Steady Shot’ system. This offers an extremely stable picture without blur. More powerful stabilisation is made possible by increased coverage of the optical lens and the improved motion detection with state of the art compensation algorithms. The new Super Steady Shot takes it to the next level. Sony claims that this new system removes the need for a body-mounted stabilizing system; I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it is pretty darn good and way better than anything else up to this point in technology.

Sony seems to have increased the coverage of the floating optical lens, which gives better hand-held stabilization; the optically damped lens compensates for hand movements. However, there is more. When you switch the feature in via the menus you also have the option to improve things further by switching in even more settings. With the second option switched in at the same time you’ll notice that the image on the LCD screen zooms in ever so slightly (by aprox. 5% or 6% as per my best guess). It then uses these spare pixels outside the recorded frame area to allow the system’s software to cleverly hold the central pixels still. It then ‘trims’ the wobbly bits off the edges. A very simple idea, but one that works very effectively with virtually zero loss of detail or image quality. Ok, if I have to nit-pick, this system might lose you 5% or 6% of picture quality; on paper at least, as I could not see any notable difference whatsoever. Having tried the Active Steady Shot system, I found it to be more effective than the lens damped version alone, but this isn’t going to be putting Steadicam operators out of a job anytime soon. You still need to hold the camera steady because it will only compensate for minor nudges and knocks and general wavy hand-held work. Any more than that and it will still show up on in your footage. It’s designed as an aid, not a replacement for a body harness stabilising system; a good move by Sony in the right direction none-the-less and one that produces far superior results to any other system built into any other camcorder currently on the market.

AUDIO:
Being a classical pianist at heart and a very keen audiophile I’m kind of fussy about audio. In fact I prioritise audio over the images. To me quality sound is more beneficial than quality images. Your eyes are a lot more forgiving than your ears. The NX5 uses Linear PCM 2 channel, 16bit, 48kHz top quality audio recording as well as Dolby Digital 2 channel, 16bit, 48kHz. This is superior to the HDV audio standard, which uses the heavily compressed MPEG 1 Audio layer II and has a bitrate of just 384 Kbps, not ideal for postproduction sound editing such as EQ adjustments and the like. The NXCAM’s audio format of Linear PCM 16bit, 48kHz is the equivalent in quality to DAT, which is what professionals are accustomed to. Recording rock or classical concerts no longer require a dedicated DAT recorder; yeah!

The NX5 has the usual small built-in stereo mic, which is only good for picking up iffy ‘wild track’, but the included ECM-XM1 XLR mic is another story. Don’t underestimate this mic. Sometimes videographers are all too keen to rush out and buy a Sennheiser K6/ME66 combo as it has the reputation as being the weapon of choice for low-budget filmmakers. But before you do, try the included Sony ECM-XM1 mic, it’s a budget mic for sure, but it packs a punch for the money. Personally, I think you will have to spend more than £350 for any serious worthwhile upgrade. I always find with mics like this, and the aforementioned Sennheiser that I always have to do post work on the sound using Apple’s Logic or Soundtrack Pro anyway; with the ECM-XM1 it’s possible to tweak and modify the sound in post resulting in excellent sound; considering the cost.

GPS (GLOBAL POSSITIONING SYSTEM):
The NX5 is the first camcorder in its class to bring to market the all-new GPS (Global Positioning System). That’s right, I’m talking the same GPS as that you use in your cars Sat-Nav system. Why would you want this in a camcorder you might ask? I’m sure people will be discussing the endless possibilities on the forums, but to name a few, you could for example be shooting documentary footage all over Europe or the USA, or just plain England perhaps, with the exact geographical location being essential to the programme. With the NX5’s built-in GPS system you will have extra metadata within the file that you can simply convert into Google Earth KML format, then type into Google maps; this will find the exact location to within approximately 25 feet of where you are standing with the camcorder at the time you shot the clip. This feature can be switched on/off via the switch at the back of the camera. The GPS system records time, latitude and longitude in local time or UTC (universal time coordinated) time. This data is recorded directly to the AVCHD stream for approx. 0.5 seconds. Other great benefits to this all-new built-in GPS system include: Location reconnaissance, Estimate travel time after reconnaissance, Identify location easily for re-shoots, Natural History shoots - animal sightings, Police & Intelligence Gathering - reconnaissance etc. I feel like nicknaming the NX5 the ‘CSI Camcorder’.

SLS FRAME ACCUMULATION:
It also has Sony’s superb SLS (slow shutter) function, like that found on the higher end XDCAM HD camcorders. Frame accumulation is also known as Slow-Shutter, or SLS. SLS is a variable setting on the NX5 that lets you decide how many frames worth of light you want to accumulate before it is laid down to the disc. 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/25 sec. can be accumulated using the SLS function. What effect will this have and what advantages are there? When shooting in low-light levels, SLS produces sharp and clear images with no picture noise whatsoever. For scenes with minimum movement this is a great alternative to switching in the gain. When shooting video with any sort of motion it provides a very artsy and out of this world ghostlike image that simply has to be seen to be believed. This is an amazing effect for music videos or haunting images. It’s quite hard to explain, and is easier to understand if you see it in action, but once you’ve used it and seen it you will find yourself looking for scenes or even writing scenes just for this effect. SLS at 1/4 produces the most dramatic effect. If you know anything about stills photography, think of a photo of a waterfall taken at ½ a second exposure from a tripod. The water has a neat soft blur to it. Well this effect is also produced with the SLS function when shooting waterfalls.

SOLID-STATE RECORDING:
We’ve established that the NX5 is a solid-state HD camcorder, but what are the options? The answer to that is “many”. You can record to a wide range of media. On the back of the NX5 you will find two card slots: A and B. In these slots you can put Sony’s own Memory Stick Pro Duo, Pro-HG Duo, Pro-HG Duo HX, any brand of SD/HC (Secure Digital High Definition) - class 4 or 6 are recommended, or even Sony’s dedicated 128GB flash drive (HXR-FMU128). This has been made specifically for the NX5, fitting flush to the side of the camera perfectly with no dangling FireWire cables either. This 128GB unit is about the size/weight of a compact mobile phone. It has two female sockets on the side, one to connect it to the camera, the other, a small USB receptacle, is to connect to a computer. Both are bus-powered so no battery is required.

If you chose to use SD/HC cards, I’d recommend the Class 6 type. They come in class 2, 4 or 6, which simply stands for MB/s per second transfer speed. Class 2 (i.e. 2 MB/s) simply can’t keep up with the camcorders data stream to the card. As class 6 are the same price as class 4, you might as well buy class 6 SD/HC cards as they will perform best and I’ve even heard that they don’t get warm as they have so much headroom in the data-stream capacity.

If you want full-on gigabyte capacity then Sony’s own HXR-FMU128 dedicated flash drive will give you a whopping 700 minutes in full FX 24Mbs 1920x1080 HD quality. The HXR-FMU128 costs £750 inc VAT.

A 32GB card on the other hand will give you 170 minutes recording time in full FX 24Mbs 1920x1080 HD quality and as there are two card slots on the NX5 two 32GB cards, this equates to 340 minutes of continuous recording time.

Cards are hot-swappable and when one card fills up, recording continues un-interrupted on the second card. However, once the second card is full you will need to change cards; the camera won’t go back to card slot A and start recording over your footage again. Remaining recording time is ever-present on the LCD screen and in the viewfinder.

There are some clever recording options on the NX5. For example, the camera has the capability of recording to both card and the Sony Flash Drive simultaneously; this means you can give your client the low cost memory cards at the end of the day’s shoot, then return to your edit suite with the flash drive to get on with your edit.

Another great option is that you can set the camera up to record to one or the other storage formats in numerous ways. For example, pressing the record button on the side grip will record to the card slots, while pressing the record button on the top handle will record to the flash drive: great! And you can set it up to record HD to one and SD to the other. I love it!

OTHER FEATURES:
The NX5 has a few other tricks up its sleeve. Unlike other similarly priced AVCHD camcorders the NX5 has an ‘Slow Motion’ feature; admittedly, it’s limited to 12 seconds maximum in any one take, but a slow-mo feature none-the-less. It shoots 200 fields per second with improved Smooth Slow Record (picture resolution is reduced during slow-mo recording). You can select 3, 6 or 12 seconds for slow-motion recording. During slow-motion recording the camera automatically sets the shutter speed to 1/215th of a second. The final footage is stretched 4 times. As for a Time-Lapse feature; there isn’t one, disappointingly, as this is something I personally use a lot.

There are the usual Sony Picture Profiles settings, which can be selected in the menus after pressing the ‘PICTURE PROFILE’ button on the side of the camera. There are six customizable settings with seven preset Gammas including STANDARD, CINEMA TONE1, CINEMA TONE2 etc. In each setting you can customize the GAMMA, BLACK GAMMA, KNEE, COLOUR MODE, COLOUR LEVEL, COLOUR PHASE, COLOUR DEPTH, WB SHIFT, DETAILS, and SKINTONE DETAIL. There are lots of options. If you are not happy with one of the six presets, simply go into any one and modify the various parameters; either way it should be easy to achieve the ‘look’ you want from the NX5.

The addition of a HD/SDI output can only mean that Sony is aiming the NX5 at professionals as well as prosumers. The HD/SDI outputs 4:2:2 colour space so if you wanted you could potentially attached a separate recording device like the Flash-Nano for example, and record 4:2:2 at 50Mbps variable bitrate for even more possibilities. The NX5 also has a HDMI output, which means you can buy any regular HDMI LCD monitor or TV and use that for low-cost monitoring options. Great!

The built-in LCD screen is nice and sharp and is certainly good enough for composition purposes and checking white-balance. It is ok for focusing with the aid of the ‘EXPANDED FOCUS’ option, which is a pre-set assign button (assign button 7) next to the zoom rocker on the side grip. The LCD is also a touch screen for making selections and changes. But don’t worry; if, like me, you don’t like getting greasy fingerprints all over the LCD, simply use the menu select buttons instead, which are neatly laid out under the LCD screen.

The HXR-NX5E is equipped with three built-in ND (Neutral Density) filters – 1/4, 1/16, 1/64 – which help to vary the depth of field with iris control as well as achieving perfect exposure in bright sunlight.

Now for a bad bit; a very bad bit. The NX5 cannot be set up to use one of its ‘Assign’ buttons to ‘last clip delete’ like you can on the EX1/3 and XDCAM HD cameras. This is a major pain in the butt as it really slows up productions, and the whole point of solid-state is to make things faster. People often think that solid-state only speeds things up in post. Not true. I shoot lots of corporate and SIV videos where the presenters are often not professionals and they often need several takes. With an EX1 I can set up one of the assign buttons to ‘delete last clip’. This means when the said presenter screws up his/her lines I can simply hit that button and the bad take is gone. Then when it comes to editing, I simply import ‘every’ clip, knowing that they are all good; no marking in/out points for hours on end like with tape. But as the NX5 does not do this, to delete a last clip you have to change ‘modes’ and go into the menus and mess about with several clicks of the menu wheel/button etc. This takes approximately 1 minute out of your production shooting time. If this has to be done 100 times during the course of a days shoot, well, you work out the maths: very slow and time-consuming and annoying. Sony seriously needs to fix this with a ‘fast’ firmware update.

PICTURE QUALITY:
Having now spent a good few weeks with the NX5 I can report my findings: they are everything that I expected. I did some brief filming in England, then some more in the USA. Overall, the image quality is pretty much identical to the tape-based Z5, only the NX5 shows ever so slightly better control over compression artifacts, which is due to the more advanced AVCHD codec I suspect. Moving shots over foliage also looked slightly smoother; but the difference is very small and you have to look really hard to see it.

With regular shooting i.e. on the streets, inside museums, in the park and in varying lighting conditions, the NX5 produces beautifully sharp (yet smooth) images with plenty of deep saturation in the colours. It’s a pleasing image and one that I am more than happy with at this price range. I did some brief filming of some Amateur Dramatics rehearsals in what can only be described as ‘just adequate’ lighting conditions hence I had to switch the gain in to 9db, even then I was working at full aperture. However, the final results were surprisingly smooth and virtually noise-free. Anyone looking to shoot event or wedding videography will be thrilled with the low-light capabilities of the NX5.

Shooting in low light with the gain switched in at 9db produced perfectly usable images with little noticeable noise. Even at 18db the noise was acceptable; not as smooth as 9db, but it could certainly be cut in with regular footage.

Overall the image quality produced by the NX5 is a ‘trifle’ better than the tape-based Z5, but it is not quite at EX series image quality; the latter producing nearly 1000 lines of resolution. The NX5 produces just over 800 lines: outstanding at this price.

Comparing the NX5 to the competition. It is way ahead of the Panasonic HMC151, which produces around 600 lines, and the JVC GY-HM 700, which produces around 700 lines. The NX5 also beats the Canon XL H1 in the resolution stakes, though only just. Image ‘feel’ is a personal thing. I personally like the ‘look’ of higher end Panasonic models such as the AJ-HPX3700 for example, as well as Sony’s own DigiBeta and HDCAM range. However, with more modestly priced cameras I have mixed feelings. Years ago I preferred the look of JVCs over Canons and Sonys, but these days Sony have really come into there own with their ‘PICTURE PROFILE’ settings. Sony has not only caught up with the competition with regard to picture ‘feel’, but they have overtaken. Considering the price of the NX5, it is incredible how you can fine-tune the ‘feel’ of the picture, and even the preset picture profiles are absolutely outstanding. Comparing the NX5 to the Panasonic HMC151 is chalk and cheese. I owned a 151 for a few years and I had some clips I shot from outside my house. I shot the same clips on the NX5. I know they were both shot at different times, but nonetheless, the difference is obvious. The said shot was a ‘wide’ landscape shot with a small cottage in the distance with some surrounding treas. On the 151 you cannot even see that the small window in the cottage has a large cross pattern as part of the frame. This cross is clear as daylight when viewing the NX5 footage. Also, the surrounding trees in the distance look like the entire trees were dabbed on with a thick paintbrush with the 151, whereas with the NX5 you can make out the leaves and individual branches. Overall, the 151 is soft, with no definition or detail at all. The NX5 on the other hand is sharp with plenty of punch and resolution.

Comparing the NX5 to the JVC GY-HM700 (though the JVC does have interchangeable lenses), the difference is not quite as obvious, but it is clear. The JVC suffers from lots of noise and serious compression artefacts. The JVC’s resolution is also notable with the same ‘landscape’ shot. The trees have no detail via the JVC and the foliage has way too much artefacting and ‘marching ants’. The NX5 is by no way free of artefacts, but it is way ahead of anything else at this price range.

There is also something else about the picture quality and ‘feel’ of the image of the NX5 that I can’t quite put my finger on. I just appears to have that extra “Je ne sais quoi”. Somehow, the images produced by the NX5 don’t appear to be quite so ‘digital’ in ‘look’, which I really prefer. Independent low-budget filmmakers will love this.

PLAYING BACK CLIPS DIRECT FROM CARDS:
For simple playback on many consumer devices and players (from computers and video game consoles like the Sony PS3 to Blu-ray players and flat panel displays with SD card slots), with AVCHD it is easier and quicker to view your footage on other devices without having to edit, burn, or plug your camcorder into the HDMI socket of your TV. Sony’s PS3 for example has a USB slot right on the front. Simply remove the card from your camcorder and pop it into a USB card reader, then into the PS3. Once the card is in the USB slot via USB/SD card reader on the PS3, you simply select ‘USB Slot’ from the PS3’s menu and hit play. You can then flick through clips and play them as you would a DVD. In this instance, the PS3 is acting like a regular solid-state playback deck. You can play back AVCHD footage off SD/HC cards or Memory Sticks on many other regular games consoles and domestic Blu-Ray players that have the SD or MS card slot.

EDITING:
I’m an Apple Final Cut Pro user, which means it is time to complain. Really complain. Apple’s Final Cut Pro does not support the NX5’s native AVCHD codec. FCP has to transcode the AVCHD codec into Apple’s own ProRres format, which takes a long time. Did I say a long time? Sorry, I meant to say a bloody long time. It’s long. Painfully long.

I took the opportunity to shoot my latest SIV (Special Interest Video) with two cameras; one NX5 and an EX3. Importing the AVCHD clips from the NX5 involves using FCPs Log & Transfer window. I had 76 minutes of clips, 30 clips in total ranging from 20 seconds to 14 minutes and everything in-between. Well, 6 hours later FCP was still importing clip 11; Hmm. It took over 12 hours to import just 76 minutes worth of clips. That’s about 10 times slower than real time tape. 20 years ago I could have got 8mm Cine Film sent off and processed and delivered back to me via courier bike in less time than that. This is a backward step, a very backward one indeed - and it is for this reason that I personally would not buy an NX5. It’s not Sony’s fault of course - this is an Apple issue, but I edit with Apple, which means the NX5 is out of the question for me as I refuse to pay ‘Adobe’ prices for the Mac version of Premiere Pro, which does support AVCHD on the Mac. Sony’s Vegas and Canopos Edius also supports AVCHD natively, but as I don’t have any of these Windows-based editors I could not comment on how long importing would take.

FINAL VERDICT:
I have to admit I’m quite enthused by this new NXCAM hand-held camcorder: it’s the hand-held camcorder that I’ve been waiting for! (Apple FCP update support for AVCHD permitting) Reasonably priced at £3,450 inc., with low-cost media cards, and outstanding picture quality for the money. It’s a real world-beater!

On a final note, the NX5 is not a replacement for the HDV tape-based Z5, it’s an entirely new system (the NXCAM System) designed to fit into a solid-state marketplace. There are still thousands of videographers out there who are committed to tape for various reasons and Sony fully intend to support the HDV tape-based system for as long as there is a market for it, as well as augmenting it with the new Hybrid system for recording to tape and/or CompactFlash. Having said that, I personally think, wait, let me rephrase, I personally ‘know’ that tape is dead. Once you’ve worked in a tapeless environment you’ll never turn back.

I believe that this is the best camcorder available for under £4,000. Nothing else compares. Sony has produced the perfect balance with the NX5. It has a superb G-lens, great ClearVid CMOS Exmor sensors, and the cracking AVCHD codec. These three ingredients all add up to one amazing piece of kit. The quality of the NX5’s images suggest a more expensive camcorder. Add to that the multitude of recording formats and options and the low-cost solid-state recording media and we have a real world-beater for just £3,500 inc.

I’d like to give the cute little NX5 top marks, but the lack of ‘last clip delete’ as an assignable button and poor native support for AVCHD from the likes of Apple (although this is no really fault of Sony’s) I’ll give the NX5 8 out of 10.

©2010 Nigel Cooper

Panasonic AG-AF101 HD Camcorder - Full Review

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:47:00 +0000

Please note that this review is based on a pre-production Panasonic AG-AF101, that was only 75% finished. I make reference to this on occasion throughout this review.

After spending four days shooting with this camera, I've decided that the Panasonic AG-AF101 film-like HD camcorder is absolutely, unequivocally the all-new independent low-budget filmmakers weapon of choice; it’s the camcorder filmmakers have been waiting on for 20 years. In fact it’s the camcorder we’ve ALL been waiting for; read on and I’ll explain why everyone including independent filmmakers, video production companies, music video producers, corporate video producers, wedding videographers and freelance lighting cameraman, can benefit from using this amazing new film-like HD camcorder from Panasonic.

For years now independent low-budget filmmakers have been forced to shoot their movies on VHS, Hi8, MiniDV, DVCAM, HDV and the like, with a few favorites such as Panasonic’s own DVX100b because of it’s 25p progressive shooting mode. However, all these camcorders have one thing in common, tiny little sensors, which made achieving narrow depth of field next door to impossible, crippling any attempt at getting artistic shots; until now! Enter Panasonic’s all-new AG-AF101 film-like HD camcorder.

Panasonic’s AG-AF101 is revolutionary, is the first ever portable HD camcorder in the world to feature a large film-size sensor, so for the first time in digital history filmmakers, video producers and lighting cameraman alike can now achieve a shallow depth of field, throwing that background out of focus.

But what about the Canon EOS 5D MK2 DSLR? I hear you shout. As Samuel L Jackson said in the movie Pulp Fiction “well, allow me to retort!” Please read the following three paragraphs.

WHY DSLR's ARE NO GOOD FOR HD VIDEO:
Many of you will know that I am one of the few people in the world of video who has not had anything good to say about the so-called Digital SLR revolution for HD video. I’ve used and tried some of them, including Canon’s EOS 5D MK2 and for video, it is next door to useless. It would appear that the world jumped on the 5D MK2 for video for one reason and one reason only; shallow depth-of-field; that’s it.

Although not strictly a digital video format, digital SLRs have made serious in-roads into the world of video since the launch of the EOS 5D MK2 in 2008. However, there are no DSLRs currently on the market that can produce the quality of video that could be considered for any serious applications. Due to the 'line-skipping' down-converting methods of cameras like Canon's EOS 5D MK2 where the method of downscaling to get a HD video picture size of 1920x1080 is achieved by simply deleting (skipping) lines on the large sensor. This, and other limitations such as a lack of decent low-pass video filtering, means that DSLRs like the 5D MK2 suffer from chronic aliasing, compression artifacts, bayer-type patterning, stepping and other retarded picture degrading phenomena. However, for soft rounded objects such as people's faces, with hard backgrounds thrown way out-of-focus by use of narrow depth-of-field, and little (or preferably no) movement in the picture, it is possible to achieve some interestingly artsy results. Hopefully, in the future, DSLR manufacturers will strive to fix the serious gremlins that the current first crop of DSLRs are riddled with. But even if they do, we will still be stuck with a tiny impossible to use form-factor digital SLR that is designed to be gripped in the palm of ones hand to enable taking of stills pictures, as for video work; forget it, even if you spend thousands of pounds more on clumsy rail systems and ridiculous add-ons and other expensive, unrealistic and unusual paraphernalia, DSLRs are simply useless for serious HD video work.

The world has gone shallow depth-of-field mad, everyone wants to throw that background right out of focus, in fact, people want to throw it so far out of focus that it positively knocks it back in time a few hundred years to a time before that background was even there. We all know that throwing the background out of focus will make the main subject stand out, there is more definition between subject and background. Using a shallow depth-of-field can also yield some very artsy shots. But more importantly, controlling the depth-of-field allows you to work cinematically by directing the viewer’s eye with clever use of depth-of-field. A camcorder with a large sensor also makes pull-focus shots more obvious and easier to achieve. We have wanted a camcorder that can do this for 20 years or so, but because there is no such camcorder (unless you can afford to hire a Panavision 35mm film camera), we have been forced to use camcorders with tiny sensors, or more recently and worse still, DSLRS; until now that is!

ENTER THE PANASONIC AG-AF101:
Enter Panasonic’s all-new AG-AF101 film-like digital camcorder. The AG-AF101 is a serious digital SLR killer. It is a PROPER HD camcorder. The big deal (and this is a very big deal) is that the AG-AF101 uses a full size 35mm MOS sensor, well almost 35mm size. It is in fact a 4/3” sensor, which is virtually the same size as a 35mm Hollywood film camera. Unlike Digital SLRs, Panasonic have put all the right technology into the AG-AF101camcorder to utilize this large sensor and the amazing shallow depth-of-field that can be achieved from it by using correct optical low-pass video filtering and proper downscaling technology, eliminating any aliasing and other nasty gremlins that DSLRs are riddled with.

The result, a proper HD video camcorder that works like a proper video camcorder with all the usual camcorder features like white-balance, zebra stripes, cine-gamma settings, time code recording, balanced XLR inputs with Phantom Power, 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel audio recording, HD-SDI out, HDMI out, headphone out for monitoring your audio, a Built in optical ND (natural density) filter wheel with 2, 4 and 6 stop so you don’t have to mess around dropping ND filters into a matte box anymore. You can shoot in bright conditions and use these ND filters to get the lens open for depth of field control with no need to change the shutter speed. You also have all the other usual video socketry and features, but on top of all that, you can achieve very shallow depth-of-field because of the large sensor. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the Panasonic AG-AF101 takes interchangeable lenses, in fact just about any interchangeable lens. Simply buy the adaptor you require and stick on your Canon EOS EF-S series lens, your Nikon AIS lens, your Olympus lens, your PL-mount lens, 35mm prime lenses; pretty much anything you like. Then go on out there and shoot proper HD video with none of the digital SLR gremlins or form-factor issues, but with all of the depth-of-field control you require, be it shallow or deep. That’s right, remember you don’t always have to open up that aperture to F1.4 to get a shallow depth-of-field of just a few inches. Sometimes (just like in Hollywood movies) the shot might require a deeper depth-of-field with much more of a shot in focus. You can still shoot regular video with a reasonable amount of depth-of-field by shooting at F8 or F16 for example; you don’t always want or need to throw everything out of focus, but at least we now have the choice; for the first time in the history of digital HD camcorders.

The nice people at Panasonic UK were kind enough to send me one of two preproduction prototypes of the all-new AG-AF101 HD camcorder. I’ve spent four solid days shooting with this camera and seeing what it is capable of.

To say I’m impressed by the AG-AF101 would be a gross understatement; the AG-AF101 is quite simply one of the best HD camcorders I’ve seen in many years. Everything this camcorder stands for is incredible; it is totally revolutionary, the large sensor, the HD viewfinder and LCD screen, uncompressed audio recording, interchangeable lenses, solid-state recording to low-cost SD/HC and SD/XC media, over-crank and under-crank at full 1920x1080p up to 60 fps, time-lapse, the list is endless; and all for £4,295 plus vat; it is expected that the AG-AF101 will ship with a budget lens, this remains to be seen. What is there not to like; this camcorder is totally freaking awesome. Oh, and the picture quality, well that certainly has the ‘wow’ factor too!

OPENING THE BOXES:
I eagerly unpacked the two boxes that arrived from Panasonic UK. One contained the AG-AF101 camcorder itself, while the other contained two lenses, an Olympus lens and a Panasonic lens, a lens adapter, batteries, charger, and various leads etc. My first impressions of the camcorder body itself were very good, it felt tough enough and all the switches, dials and controls are logically laid out, easy to get to and chunky enough to be able to operate while wearing gloves. I instantly fell in love with the oversized handle on top and the chunky handgrip to the side; both of which are removable via two large screws, allowing you to strip the camera down to a small body size. Once the two handles have been removed they reveal hot shoes underneath, which not only aid in holding the handle and side grip in place, but you can also add accessories to them.

The HD viewfinder is also reassuringly large and chunky, making for easier viewing. To the side of the viewfinder at the top are the two balanced audio XLR inputs with LINE/MIC select switches. The only other functions on the right side of the camcorder is a START/STOP record button and a USER-3 button. On the other side of the viewfinder you’ll find the MENU button, another START/STOP record button, controls for AUDIO volume monitoring and playback controls for when you want to preview the thumbnail video clips.

On the other side of the camcorder is a fold-out HD LCD screen, again, with a reassuringly solid feel to it. Located behind the LCD screen and buttons for: BARS, ZEBRA, OIS (optical image stabilizer), EVF DTL (electronic viewfinder detail), WFM (waveform monitor), COUNTER, TC SET, and audio controls for CH1 SEL, CH2 SEL, INPUT 1 and INPUT 2. Below the LCD screen you’ll find the usual controls for PUSH AUTO-FOCUS, a FUNCTION mini joystick, USER 1, DISP/MODE CHECK, POWER ON/OFF, CAMERA/MEDIA MODE, IRIS with a dial wheel, GAIN, WHITE BALANCE, USER 2, AUDIO CH1 and CH2 level wheels.

Around the back of the camera is where the removable battery is housed, just above this you’ll find two slots for SD/HC or SD/XC solid-state cards with a neat cover. To the left of the battery is a SLOT SELECT button, a DIAL SELECT button and a SHUTR/F.RATE dial allowing you to change the frame-rate, shutter speed for over/undercrank right on the camera without having to dig around in the menus; nice one Panasonic. To the right side of the battery are inputs/outputs for AV OUT, USB 2.0, HDMI, INDEX, CAMERA REMOTE, HEADPHONES, HD/SDI.

On the front of the camera just below the lens you will find a button for setting the white balance, and just above this there is a button for releasing the lens, and above this an ND filter wheel with four strengths.

Just above the ND wheel on top of the camera is a very ingenious feature indeed; independent filmmakers who employ a focus puller will love this. At first glance it looks like a metal hook to attach a camcorder strap, but no, it is in fact a hook for focus pullers to attach their tape measures to; this is further indicated by the small ‘sensor is here’ icon next to it.

In the second box there were two lenses, one Olympus F2.8 zoom lens with an adaptor and one Panasonic Lumix zoom lens, which needed no adaptor as the AG-AF101 has the same 4/3rd micro lens mount. So with battery charged, camcorder and two lenses in hand, and obligatory tripod, it was time to go out and put the AG-AF101 to the test.

IN USE:
Using the AG-AF101 was an absolute pleasure. Although I spent four days shooting in various locations with this camera, I instantly felt at one with it. Although the camera is brand-new and it was the first time I picked one up, it somehow felt familiar; kind of like a long lost brother. All the knobs, levers, and dials are all logically laid out, easily identified with commonly used video terms in bald white lettering next to the dials. They were also surprisingly chunky with all the switches having a reassuring and positive feel to them; up to a point they can even be operated with gloves on. Handholding the camera using the side grip is somewhat tiresome due to the physical dimensions and weight; though this is no more awkward than other similar size/weight camcorders from other makers. However, with heavier and longer lenses it would become very front-heavy. For lower shots, holding the camera by the top handle is much easier, with a nice balance and feel to it. However, I would imagine this camera would spend most of its time mounted on a tripod. Balancing the camera on the Vinton Vision Blue tripod required the tripod plate to be mounted towards the front of the camera, with the camera then set quite far back in the tripod head; this was due to the heavy glass lens I had mounted on the front, but perfect balance was still easily achievable.

The foldout LCD screen is a relatively standard affair, giving good visibility outdoors in bright light. The 3.45-inch LCD screen has very good definition with vibrant colours making it easy for setting white balance and other basic colour adjustments. The foldout HD LCD screen also displays a very cool waveform monitor for exposure tools with the usual two levels of zebras, coloured peaking focus assist with red/blue outline, and if that isn’t enough, there is also a spot meter, and a vector-scope. This makes achieving perfect focus and exposure a breeze. The waveform and vectorscopes are absolutely fantastic, this makes judging exposure so much easier; and it still has zebras too. The 1,1cm (0,45") viewfinder was not that great, but it is still in the pre-production stage and it will be considerably improved by the time it is released in December; it will certainly come in useful for those days when the sun is just too bright to clearly view the LCD screen.

The AG-AF101 has a whole string of very cool tricks up its sleeve, many of which have never been seen before on a digital HD camcorder. One such feature is the automatic focus tracking. The AG-AF101 can automatically track somebody’s face and constantly adjust the focus on them as that person moves around the scene or moves towards the camera. This is achieved by setting the camera to recognize the subjects face using the small joystick on the side of the camera (or should I say thumb-pad-stick as it is quite small), then shifting the small spot meter box on the LCD screen and positioning it over the subject’s face; one set, simply hit the record button and step back in amazement as the camera tracks focus on the person’s face as they walked towards the camera. Of course it goes without saying that you have to have an autofocus lens for this feature to work. I never got to test the Facial tracking system as that is part of the 25% that is missing, so too is white balance so I was stuck with auto-white-trace.

While I’m on the subject of focus, focus pullers or DoPs who hire them will totally love the AG-AF101 for many reasons, but one such reason is the nifty little hook that Panasonic have positioned on top of the camera for focus-pullers to attach their tape measures to; this focus-pullers hook has a ‘sensor here’ icon next to it, confirming this is what it is for.

Independent filmmakers will also love the fact that this camera has under-crank and over-crank, and unlike pretty much every other camcorder out there, the AG-AF101 does over-crank (slow-motion) in full 1920x1080p from 12fps up to 60fps in NTSC or 50fps in PAL, with most other camcorders out there the resolution drops to 720p. From what I can gather this is a first! I could record 1080p 25p at 50FPS or 60FPS in 24p mode! Wonderful, no more limited to 720p mode here!

The AG-AF101 also has a time-lapse function, however it can only record single frames at preset intervals as opposed to multiple frames. For me personally this doesn’t create a problem, as when I shoot time-lapse I only ever record single frames at preset intervals anyway as I’ve never found a use for recording several frames together at predefined intervals.

I particularly like the SHUTTER/FRAME-RATE wheel on the back of the camera, this allows you to change your shutter speed and frame rate, and other functions, right there on the camera using the dial and the DIAL SELECT button, as opposed to having to dig around in the menus.

If that’s not enough, the AG-AF101 also has a pre-record cache function of 3-seconds. This means that when this function is turned on, the camera is always recording a 3-second loop, then when you press the record button (either by hand or using the included remote control) the AF101 will put the 3-seconds preceding the moment you pressed the record button at the head of the clip that is being recorded post pressing the record button; how cool is that!

Overall, I found using the Panasonic AG-AF101 very easy, I felt at home with this camera straight away. Is comfortable in the hand, especially using the large handle on top, and all the buttons, knobs, and dials are logically laid out and feel good to the touch. All the various inputs and outputs on the back of the camera are easily accessible and clearly marked.

The Natural Density filter wheel on the front of the camera is a necessity considering the large sensor and interchangeable lenses. That ND filter wheel is a big help when it comes to controlling depth-of-field i.e. if you want a shallow depth-of-field with a wide aperture, you can prevent overexposure by dialing in one of the four ND filters on the wheel.

The menus are logically written and it is easy to navigate around them to find the various options and settings. There is a multitude of settings for adjusting picture parameters, including Panasonic’s famous Cine-like gamma curves. In the menu is where you assign various functions to the assign buttons on the camcorder body. Setting the recording quality, format and all the usual zebra, pre-set white balance and the many other options are self-explanatory. But there is another really cool menu option that digital filmmakers from a celluloid background will absolutely love. In the menu you can switch from VIDEO CAM mode to FILM CAM mode. In VIDEO CAM mode your gain is viewed in the usual db i.e. 16db gain, and shutter speeds are laid out in the usual 1/50th for example. But switch over into FILM CAM mode and the entire menu system turns to film, so your shutter speed is now displayed in degrees and your gain is now displayed in ISO i.e. 200 ISO for example; how cool is that. Another advantage of this is in FILM CAM mode you an set the shutter to 180 degrees, which will give you perfect film motion, and even if you change the frame rate, the shutter remains at 180 degrees regardless; nice!

IMAGE QUALITY:
The AG-AF101 has a beautiful large 4/3rd MOS sensor that is virtually the same size as a 35mm film camera; this should mean the picture quality produced by it should be absolutely breathtaking, however, we’ve all seen the images produced by the Canon EOS 5D MK2 complete with aliasing, artifacts, and other gremlins due to its nasty line skipping and other hideous attempts at downscaling to a 1920x1080 HD image. But the Panasonic does no such thing, instead the AG-AF101 implements the correct optical low-pass video filtering that eliminates alienating, as well as proper built-in software implementation and other hardware electronics; all of which add up to a superb 1920x1080 HD image that is free of aliasing, artifacts and other gremlins.

During the four days I had the AG-AF101, I shot numerous objects including buildings, swarms on a pond, landscapes and foliage, cars, and various mid-shots and close-up shots of general objects indoors; All of which I shot both locked-off on a tripod, as well as moving shots with a combination of pans and tilts. I also filmed the obligatory Chroma Du Monde CamAlign res-chart. Although Panasonic UK made it clear to me that the camera I had was in fact a preproduction unit and it was not 100% complete i.e. there are still a few tweaks to be made. I told Panasonic UK that I would not publish my technical findings from the Chroma Du Monde CamAlign res-chart. However, the results are so good I’m going to share them with you now.

For reference, Panasonic’s own HMC151 produces 600 lines resolution with moderate signs of aliasing. Sony’s EX1 produces 800 lines with breakup showing in the 1000 lines area with very little visible aliasing. Sony’s NX5 produces 800 lines with breakup showing in the 1000 lines area with obvious signs of aliasing. Panasonic’s 301 produces 600 lines with breakup showing in the 800 lines area with no visible signs of aliasing. JVC’s 700 produces 600 lines with breakup showing in the 800 lines area with obvious signs of aliasing. Canon’s EOS 5D MK2 DSLR produces a very retarded 600 and 800 line area, with a nightmare of rainbow moiré at 1000 lines with so much aliasing it is difficult to even see that there is a resolution chart there at all; it is hideous. Now for the good bit. Panasonic’s all-new AG-AF101 film-like HD camcorder with it’s 4/3rd MOS sensor produced 800 lines of resolution with a little breakup in the 1000 line area with little signs of aliasing and absolutely zero rainbow moiré effects. Considering this is a pre-production prototype that is still being worked on, this is quite incredible for a HD camcorder of this price range with such a large sensor. If Panasonic are still tweaking and working on the AG-AF101 I can’t wait to see the improvements as I’m totally blown away with these results as the camcorder stands in it’s current state. It is also worth noting that these results varied considerably depending on whether I had the Panasonic Lumix zoom, or the Olympus zoom, and at which aperture and focal range; neither of these lenses are what I would call high quality. I know for a fact that better quality prime lenses will resolve 1000 lines of clear resolution and improve other areas also.

In the real world, all the footage I shot indoors and outdoors looked very vibrant with punchy colours, yet very smooth and film-like images with beautiful tonal ranges with a huge dynamic range of about 10 stops.

It’s possible to totally customize the picture with Panasonic’s famous Cine-like gamma curves. There are various pre-sets that you can chose, and once chosen, you can dig into the menu and tweak and customize them even further as you see fit.

For those interested in the AG-AF101's low-light capabilities, I shot some stuff with the ISO (gain) cranked right up to 3200. The ISO ranges from 200 to 3200. Footage shot at 3200 ISO looked incredible with hardly any noise at all. Panasonic UK told me that the 3200 setting was in fact 2000 as it is a pre-production unit; 3200 will be working on the final product. When in FILM CAM mode, the gain switch on the camera switches to have LOW GAIN ISO200, MID GAIN ISO800 and HIGH GAIN ISO3200. This would be 0db, 8db, 32db of gain in VIDEO CAM mode; these settings can be customised to different ISO/db values.

Another thing worth noting is that the AG-AF101 has a 'black & white' shooting mode. If you shoot in this mode the picture quality is increased as all that data that is been saved from the colour channels is pushed into the black & white. The codec doesn't have to work or be so aggressive as there is no colour for it to churn through. So if you are shooting an artsy black & white movie, or intend to do some post-production sepia toning work, shoot in the AG-AF101's black & white mode to get even better picture quality.

AUDIO:
The AG-AF101 just gets better and better. Instead of using the nasty 348Mbps compressed-to-hell audio codec that HDV uses, the AG-AF101 uses uncompressed linear PCM 16-bit audio, which is the same quality as DAT (digital audio tape) and CD. Independent filmmakers will love this as there sound recordists can now go straight into the camera via their monitoring mixer, instead of to a separate DAT machine, which leads to tiresome syncing up issues in post-production. Being something of an audiophile myself, I put audio quality higher than the video images, so the AG-AF101 with it’s uncompressed audio gets a massive thumbs up from me. The great thing about the Linear PCM uncompressed 16-bit audio is that it does not interfere with the quality of the video when it is set to AVCHD 24Mbps variable maximum data-rate. The PCM audio has it's own track, thus it is separate to the video.

INPUTS/OUTPUTS:
The AG-AF101 has all the inputs and outputs you are ever likely to need on a camcorder like this. Apart from the usual A/V in/outs, twin balanced XLR inputs, headphone input, lanc remote input, USB 2 socket, the AG-AF101 has two other outputs that will get you very excited. One of which is a HDMI output, this is superb as it means you can pop out and buy a low-cost HDMI monitor (or TV) of any size you want (personally a nice 18-inch is good) and use it for monitoring. No longer to you have to spend a £995 on a tiny little 7-inch Marshall or Teletest. Instead, think big, and spend £150 on a 18-inch LCD HDMI TV from Argos. Your Director can now view your production from the touchline on a big monitor. Or you could even buy an 8-inch or so and mount it on the handle of the AG-AF101 and use the camera TV pedestal style.

The next big deal is the HD/SDI BNC-socket output. If you are one of those cameramen/women who are constantly ‘pixel-peeping’ screen grabs from your footage in Photoshop and wondering how you can improve the image quality slightly over the standard AVCHD codec, well now you can. Simply attach an external recording device like the NanoFlash (£2,700) and plug it into the HD/SDI output on the AG-AF101 and record at a superior 50 or 100Mbps codec in 4:2:2 colour space. Or use Panasonic’s own AG-HPG20 and record AVC-Intra. For your information, you can record out of the HD-SDI, HDMI digital outputs simultaneously. The SDI outputs 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 1080/30p, 1080//24p, 1080/25p, 720/60p, 720/50p and even 1080/24pSF (Segmented Frame).

Although the HD/SDI only outputs 8-bit, who cares. You can only see the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit if you put your production through several (3 or more) ‘digital washes’ i.e. transcode into a different codec during import, then transcode again, then again before authoring to DVD. Most of us will simply import and keep the same codec from camcorder-to-computer, then the only digital wash we will do is when we down-convert to standard-definition and MPEG for DVD; that’s it. So 8-bit is just fine for me thank you. If you are a very serious filmmaker you might want to invest in a NanoFlash as it will improve the image over the standard AVCHD codec used when recording to SD/HC cards in-camera. Most people wont’ see much difference between the AG-AF101’s built in superb AVCHD codec when compared to recording to a better codec via an add-on recorder, especially if you only do 1 digital washes with minimal post-production grading. AVCHD falls down when it comes to colour grading and pushing and pulling the picture all over the place. For me, good quality glass on the front and good lighting and camerawork are much more important than trying to faff around fine tuning a mediocre picture shot under mediocre lighting conditions by a mediocre cameraman; and it’s usually these guys who spend all day pixel-peeping; professionals don’t concern themselves too much.

THE SENSOR (IT’S BIG):
The sensor in the Panasonic AG-AF101 is a very big deal; in fact the sensor is what this camcorder is all about. There is a massive 4/3rd inch MOS sensor inside the AG-AF101, and it is this massive sensor that will allow you to control your depth-of-field like never before. It’s four times bigger than a 2/3rd inch sensor. Independent low-budget filmmakers will know what I’m talking about here. In the past filmmakers have had to suffer the tiny little 1/4th, 1/3rd, ½ and 2/3rd imagers of yesterdays camcorders such as High-8, Mini-DV, DVCAM, HDV and the like. Achieving depth-of-field can be done with a little thought on the larger 2/3rd inch cameras, such as DigiBeta, but it was next door to impossible to achieve a shallow depth-of-field with Mini-DV and HDV, with the latter pretty much everything from 3 metres to infinity was sharper than Johnny Depp; well, maybe not quite that sharp, but sharp. A few years ago Canon started the shallow depth-of-field revolution with their infamous EOS 5D MK2 digital SLR. This essentially a stills camera, had a last minute thought HD video recording capability, which means with that massive 35mm sensor, video makers could achieve a shallow depth-of-field if they liked; and they liked. But, the image quality was/is absolutely hideous, full of aliasing, artefacts and other retarded gremlins due to the line-skipping technology (and a bloody crude technology it is too) and lack of optical video low-pass filtering. Did I mention the unusable ‘form factor’ of DSLRs yet? Hmmm. Hardly shoulder-mount camcorders are they. But now, thanks to Panasonic’s amazing AG-AF101 HD ‘CAMCORDER!!!’ the days of DSLRs are well and truly over as the AG-AF101 is not riddled with those DSLR gremlins. The AG-AF101 has proper optical low-pass video filtering and decent down-conversion software and electronics, all of which do the massive 4/3rd inch sensor total and beautifully glorious HD video justice. But don’t worry, if you where one of those who bought a Canon EOS 5D MK2, you can still use it as it does take a lovely stills photograph.

From the footage I shot I found the Panasonic MOS sensor (CMOS technology basically, as apposed to CCD) performed incredibly with no visible artefacts, rainbow moiré or stepping. The images where very clean and film-like in quality. On pans, both gentle and vigorous there was minimal ‘jelly wobble’ off the MOS sensor, nothing worth mentioning anyway and no worse than anything produced by Sony with CMOS sensors. Unfortunately any MOS/CMOS sensor suffers from jelly-wobble; it is just a case of how much or how little. This baby inside the AG-AF101 is as minimal as I have seen and about as good as you will get. I don’t hear people complaining about Sony’s superb EX1R and EX3 so I don’t expect anyone to complain in the Panasonic Pub either. I’m not sure what the heat situation is from this MOS sensor, but the AG-AF101 is so quiet I don’t even know if it has a fan inside; I couldn’t hear anything anyway. Either way, the technology inside the AG-AF101 is incredibly innovative and state-of-the-art. This large 4/3rd MOS sensor is what gives us this new depth-of-field control and a field of view reminiscent to that of a 35mm film camera like those used to shoot Hollywood movies i.e. Panavision.

Some people think that the 4/3rd imager in the AG-AF101 is exactly the same imager as the one in Panasonic's stills camera the GH1, fact is, it is not; it is a bran new sensor. Although the AG-AF101 uses a CMOS sensor (MOS), there is no 'skew' (jelly wobble effect/rolling shutter) as it scans the chip incredibly fast. I tried really hard to get the AG-AF101 to skew with various pans, both fast and slow and I found it virtually impossible to get it to skew. Although there is still flash-banding (all CMOS sensors suffer from this no matter who makes them), as usual, it can be fixed in post. But if you are a filmmaker, you will be in control of that anyway so it doesn't really matter; simply don’t allow anyone to fire off a flash-gun on set. Wedding guys will have to fix those frames in post, no big deal.

Just to visually clarify any confusion over the size of the AG-AF101's sensor and that of a 35mm movie frame, or stills photographic sensor, see the three diagrams below.

LENSES:
If you don’t know by now, the Panasonic AG-AF101 has a 4/3rd Bayonet Micro Mount for interchangeable lenses. This is a digital photographic stills camera standard lens mount established by Panasonic and Olympus. This 4/3rd mount is the same one found on digital SLR stills cameras such as Panasonic’s own Lumix models. This means that you can attach virtually any lens to the AG-AF101 you like. Chose from any of Panasonic’s Lumix 4/3rd mount lenses; they just bayonet right on. Or if you have a stack of Nikon AIS or Canon FD lenses from the 1980s, just buy an adaptor (literally a mechanical adaptor with no optics so no loss in quality) and use those. Or any modern digital SLR auto-focus lens from Nikon, Leica, Olympus, Pentax or Canon and buy the appropriate adapter and away you go. Canon EOS users with a bunch of EOS EF-S lenses will be happy as you can buy an adaptor that retains all electronics from the lens, the aperture is controlled using the scroll wheel just to the bottom/front of the AG-AF101’s body, and get this, the focal length and aperture appear on the AG-AF101’s fold-out LCD screen and in the viewfinder; how cool is that for knowing where you stand.

35mm filmmakers will be glad to know that you can also fit C-mount Cinema lenses and Professional PL mount lenses and other 35mm primes to the AG-AF101; again, with the use of an optic-free adaptor. So as you can see, the world is your oyster when it comes to lenses and the AG-AF101. Just imagine the possibilities. Sure, independent feature filmmakers will love the depth-of-field control, but so can everybody else. Corporate video producers can simply attach a 1980’s Nikon AIS 105mm F2.8 and film that interview of the CEO at there desk and achieve beautiful portrait-style footage with that background thrown nicely out of focus.

There is no doubt that to take full advantage of the super shallow depth-of-field that the AG-AF101 has to offer, you will have to buy some fast prime lenses or a very fast zoom, as regular zooms along the lines of a 70-210 F4.5 won't give you a shallower depth-of-field over a regular 2/3rd inch sensor camcorder. Something along the lines of a 105mm F2.5 prime or a 50mm F1.4 prime would be much better. The Canon EF-S or Nikon AF 70-210 F2.8 will be great as they are F2.8 throughout the focal range i.e. fast at 70mm and still F2.8 at 210mm also; these latter two lenses cost just under £1,000 each, but remember the crop factor so the focal length will become 140-420mm.

If you use stills photographic lens that have full auto-focus, you will have full auto-focus and auto-iris when using them on the AG-AF101; all auto features are retained as the adaptors and the AG-AF101 have all the recognized electronic contacts.

One issue I found with photographic lenses in auto-aperture mode is that the on-board microphone pics up the mechanical/electronic noise made by the aperture as it opens up and closes down. Unlike professional video lenses, photographic lenses open up and stop down in half-stop or one-stop increments so there is a definitive click between each stop. Because of this you can hear the iris continuously clicking in auto-iris mode. This could be a problem if you are using the built in microphone, or an on-camera microphone. Personally I rarely if ever use auto iris so it would not be an issue for me, or others who work in manual iris mode all the time.

The AG-AF101 also does face detection auto-focus; the camera will track somebody’s face as they walk towards the camera, maintaining and automatically pulling focus at all times.

The 4/3rd sensor size means that 35mm lens are a bit on the telephoto size; with a 2x crop from a full frame 35mm sensor. So a regular 50mm lens will give you a field of view of 100mm. On the other hand if you are a wildlife videographer, that 300mm F2.8 will become a 600mm lens. For regular wide work, simply buy a standard 4/3rd lens like one of Panasonic's Lumix lenses for example.

SOLID-STATE RECORDING:
The Panasonic AG-AF101 is a solid-state HD camcorder, recording to solid-state memory cards. On the back of the camcorder are two card slots for SD/HC or the newer SD/XC cards. SD/HC cards are available in capacities up to 32GB, which currently cost around £50. 16GB cost around £30.

The recording capacity of the AG-AF101 in full 1920x1080 HD resolution at the highest recording quality mode (PH mode) of 24Mbps variable is 90 minutes onto a single 16GB SD/HC card, or 3 hours onto a single 32GB SD/HC card. So you can achieve 6 hours of continuous recording with two 32GB SD/HC cards in the camcorder (they are also hot-swappable).

The latest SD/XC cards are available in 32GB and 64GB, with1TB and 2TB (terabyte) becoming available in the future. A 64GB SD/XC card currently cost around £195 for a Sandisk Ultra, on which you can record 6 hours, that’s 12 hours continuous onto two 64GB SD/XC cards. As for the 2TB cards that will become available; I’ll let you do the math, but I suspect if you have two 2TB (that’s 2000GB in total) SD/XC cards in the AG-AF101 you will be able to lock your camcorder off on a tripod, point it at a suitable subject, then hit the record button and hop on a plane to Bayreuth to enjoy Wagner’s Ring Cycle, fly back and still have time to spare to read Gone With The Wind out of the 94 hours recording time that you would have. For all you wedding videographers, you need never worry about those boring best man speeches running over 60 minutes of tape again.

RECORDING FORMATS:
Here is the low-down on the recording formats that the AG-AF101 supports: 1080/50i, 1080/25p, 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p, 720/50p, 720/25p, 720/60p, 720/30p, 720//24p AVCHD recording options: PH (21 Mbps - Max. 24Mbps), HA (17Mbps), HE (6Mbps), HA, HE only for 1080/60i and 1080/50i

Be aware that you an only shoot one format on any one card. If you switch between say 50 and 59.97 Htz, you will need to use one card for 50 and another card for 59.97.

SUMMING UP:
The Panasonic AG-AF101 is quite simply revolutionary. It is unequivocally and without a doubt the new and first kid on the block with such incredible capabilities at such an incredibly low price. It is the HD camcorder that independent filmmakers, as well as every other video producer and lighting cameraman has been waiting on for 20 odd years or so. At £4,295 plus vat, what is there not to like. The AG-AF101 takes all goodness of DSLRs i.e. depth-of-field and light sensitivity, but gets rid of all the bad stuff such as aliasing, rainbow moiré and other workflow issues, and all encapsulated in a perfectly formed professional video camcorder.

There is nothing like the Panaasonic AG-AF101; it is a brand new concept. Those who have got used to shooting HD video on DSLRs and having to piece together clumsy workarounds, been forced to use a Zacuto Z-finder because DSLRs don’t have a viewfinder need not worry anymore as the AG-AF101 has a HD viewfinder built in, as well as a fold-out HD LCD screen. Or if you had to use a separate sound recorder because you could not get good audio from your EOS 5D MK2, worry no more as the AG-AF101 has two built in professional balanced XLR inputs with uncompressed Linear PCM 16-bit audio.

The Panasonic AG-AF101 is the most promising camcorder to arrive in over twenty years. It is very exciting times for cinema shooters and independent filmmakers.

In a nutshell the Panasonic AG-AF101 is a professional HD video camcorder just like many others such as Panasonic’s own HPX171 or Sony’s EX1R, but the AG-AF101 now gives us that last missing piece of the jigsaw; total depth-of-field control combined with interchangeable lenses, with that cinematic look that we have all been waiting for.

With the price in mind I simply have to give the AG-AF101 a massive recommendation with 5 out of 5 stars.

©2010 Nigel Cooper

Sony announces the PMW F3K! By Philip Bloom

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:41:00 +0000

We have seen prototypes of this camera this year but today Sony officially revealed the name and the full specs and it’s pretty damn good!

It’s essentially an ex1 mated with a 35mm cinema camera, having features from both.

Key things are a super 35mm CMOS image sensor (close to APS-C), it comes either body only with PL lens mount or with 3 T2 lenses, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. They plan on introducing lenses specifically for this new F3 mount…details to follow…

It records in 23.98, 25p and 29.97p in full HD ad 50/ 60p in 720p mode. It records on SxS media like and EX1/ EX3 and offers the same overcrank as the EX1. So you can overcrank from 1 to 60fps in 720p mode and up to 30fps in full HD. It records in the same 35mb/s XDCAM long gop format. I am assuming it’s the same 4:2:0. You can record uncompressed 10bit 4:2:2 out of the SDi socket.

It’s good news for EX owners like myself who already have stacks of media!

Looks awesome to be honest. The key questions is price…how much?

Tentative pricing from Sony Europe is €20,700 (US$28,850) for F3K (with lenses) or €14,500 (US$20,195) for the F3L (without lenses) model – no where near as cheap as the AF100. Estimated shipping date is January 2011. So not cheap am afraid! Which will price it out of most people’s pockets… Cheap in the old days but in today’s aggressive market is it too expensive?

I am very curious about the whole including the PL lens mount as standard, this alone is positioning at the much higher end of the market as very few of us can afford PL lenses. I am certain we will be able to use other lenses with adaptors, whether made by Sony or not. XDCAM 35mbs is pretty damn good. Certainly better than 5Dmk2 54mbs H264 as it’s much better encoding and more video orientated despite the lower number. It’s certainly not going to be appeal to the low budget DSLR indie crowd at that price but it will to the higher end…

I will try and get my hands on one as soon as I can to see just what this camera is capable of. This is a serious camera and definitely aimed at the cinema/ higher end broadcast market despite the lowish bit rate in camera which with Nanoflash type gear can be unlocked into VERY high bit rates. It’s not going to be a consideration for the indie 5Dmk2/ 7D owners as the price point is way way higher and much higher too than the AF-101…Let’s see where all this goes…exciting times..

Review da JVC GY-HM100

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Fonte: Philip Bloom
I first saw this camera at BVE at Earl’s Court earlier this year and thought it was very tasty. Small form factor, a little larger than the Sony A1e but lighter, shoots at XDCAM EX compatible 35mbps full HD on nice and cheap SDHC cards in native FCP quicktime, a nice feature. Downers were the slightly fiddly controls and only 1/4″ ccd chips. But I still was itching to get my hands on it.
I emailed JVC before I even saw it at BVE saying I would love to review it, as an owner of a JVC HD201 and a fan of it, was really keen to try out the new 700 and 100.
Eventually when there was one available I did a review of the 700 which you can see here and when I met with JVC I said would love to review the 100 as well. To be honest I was more excited about the 100 than the 700 as I already own a Sony EX3 and EX1 and the 700 wouldn’t be something I would really need. But the 100 looked bloody interesting. A really small camera with broadcast quality images totally compatible with my EX3.
Yesterday I finally got my hand on it and guess what? I love it! This was a pre-production model so maybe the production one will be even better?

My gear reviews have been evolving somewhat over that past year since I did my first one almost a year ago for NAB, that was the EX3. Since then I have tried to make them more interesting and less static. The last one I did, for the JVC 700, had two other people helping me. Dennis Lennie shot the Letus Elite PTCs and Mark Dawson shot the behind the scenes stuff of my in Battersea Park. This time it was just me, well almost just me, my friend Joe Shaw, him of “The Echo” popped over for 20 minutes to help, you will understand once you have seen the video!
I recently did a blog about filming in public places so I thought I would try and take the JVC to some places where permission was needed and see if I could look like a tourist but film like a professional…So I took two 16gb cards, one lone little battery as it was all JVC had, a small camera bag, a baby cinesaddle (the large Cinesaddle is the single most useful piece of camera gear I can recommend to anyone!) and my Macbook Pro in case I overshot and needed to dump down. No tripod, no car, no 35mm adaptor, no lenses. Basically travelling really light! Image stabiliser was good once zoomed in a little.
It was a lot of fun, all done guerilla style, I got away with filming everywhere I wanted to and wasn’t looked at or questioned once. Such a pleasure and the camera is so light…the only heavy thing was my laptop! I had to stop halfway through the day and popped into Soho House to recharge the battery for an hour, bit of a pain, but the Hendricks and Tonic went down a treat.
Two other cameras were used to shoot this review. 90% was shot on the JVC HM100, a very small section was shot on the HVX200 and the stuff in my edit suite was shot on the EX3. As you can see the JVC stood up pretty well compared to them and was certainly sharper than the HVX, sorry Joe (and thanks SO much for helping out!)
Likes…the picture quality is superb. The recording to SDHC is cheap and super reliable. Tapeless recording is quite wonderful. I actually seemed to find the image slightly less noisy than the HM700. So light and the full auto function and auto focus worked really well. I almost never use this feature but wanted to review it as I am sure many people will use it. It was quite subtle, especially the auto iris. There is no overcrank or undercrank but you can shoot in 720p 50/60p then use compressor to convert to 25p slow motion really easily and the results are excellent. The LCD and viewfinder were good. HDMI out is nice. Proper separate gain controls just like a full size pro camera, same with the WB. Nice menu options. Loved the ability to take handle off making camera VERY small.
Dislikes…The iris control should at least be at the front of the camera even if it can’t be a wheel. Having it at the back is a pain. Same with shutter. But at least you have full manual control over focus, iris, shutter and gain. 1/4″ chips do kind of suck in low light compared to 1/3″ but surprisingly it still performed OK, especially as I tweaked the gamma when it got dark to compensate meaning I didn’t have to use so much gain. No timelapse or interval recording. Shame. Needs a separate zoom wheel independent of the focus wheel which is switchable between zoom and focus. servo zooms are just horrible and I never use the. I wish I had shot with detail off, I normally always do. I found some of the edges to be too sharp. Don’t use details guys!
But mostly the camera is really really good. Whether you want it as an B camera for you 700 or your EX cameras or to be honest any camera. It has a terrific full auto mode so you can give it to producers to shoot with (oh dear) but you can control it fully yourself and get some cracking images out of it.
You won’t be surprised to know I want one. What a great little camera to take around!
No laws were broken during the making of this video and PLEASE don’t try what I did halfway through or you will be shot . I cheated on that one a little!! Obviously the parts where it says ungraded are the ungraded pics raw out of the camera. The rest are graded with Magic Bullet Looks.
Thanks so much to the band “Davito” for their kind permission to use their track “Disconnect”. Please visit their website here

JVC GY-HM700 solid-state HD camcorder review

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Yes I know that this new JVC GY-HM700 camcorder cost just £5,500 with a standard Canon or Fujinon 1/3rd inch lens, and that many might consider it not a true broadcast camera. However, most of you will be well aware that Sony’s EX1 and EX3 camcorders are making serious inroads into broadcast waters and many professional broadcast cameramen are being forced to work with these new smaller camcorders. The GY-HM700 is JVCs latest offering and it is in the same price range as Sony’s EX3. Both JVC’s GY-HM700 and Sony’s EX3 are solid-state camcorders with interchangeable lenses, but the JVC has one big advantage over the Sony; IT ACTUALLY LOOKS, FEELS AND WORKS LIKE A ‘PROPER’ CAMERA, that is, it is shoulder mounted, it has a proper manual focus lens and all the knobs and switches are exactly where you would expect to find them. Most of you will be used to shooting on camcorders such as Digibeta, HDCAM, Varicam and even 35mm. Those of you who do, and have been unfortunate enough to have been placed in the position that you have had to use a Sony EX1 or EX3, will know and understand just how frustrating these cameras are to operate. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing these Sony camcorders, they produce amazing picture quality for the money; but boy is it difficult achieving those pictures in the field. You will find yourself cursing your way through the shoot as you fiddle with those impossible to find miniscule buttons, or worse still, faff around in the menus as you try to find a setting that should be available via a dial or lever on the camera body itself; logically placed of course. Enter the JVC GY-HM700. This little beauty from JVC physically looks just like a professional full-size broadcast camera, albeit a baby one. It takes professional style1/3rd inch lenses and the White Balance presets, Gain presets, Zebra and Skin detail levers, User buttons, Zoom, Focus and Iris controls etc, are all exactly where you would expect to find them. As for the menus, they look slick, professional, and are incredibly easy to navigate, and written in the language that we all understand; and I haven’t even got to the best yet. The GY-HM700 is not only solid-state, but it uses the very affordable SD/HC card media (costing around £12 for a 16GB card), yet it records to the same (higher) 35Mbps variable bit-rate that Sony’s EX series do; JVC have also made an optional bolt-on SxS card recorder (more on this later). The GY-HM700 also takes regular V-loc (Sony type) batteries and a regular V-plate for tripod mount; fixing at both the front and the back for a nicely locked-down and secure fixing. So, now that I’ve whetted your appetite, what kind of image quality does this new JVC produce?

IMAGE QUALITY & USABILITY
Well let me tell you straight off that this new JVC is definitely not up there with professional formats such as HDCAM or Varicam, or even Digibeta, but it doesn’t pretend to be; it only costs £5,500 including a lens. What I’m aiming to do throughout this review is to establish the usability and image quality of this camera, with a little side-by-side comparison with Sony’s EX3, the latter already established in low-budget broadcast productions. I think it is totally fair to compare this new JVC with the Sony EX3, as both use interchangeable lenses and are of similar price, but most importantly, because Sony’s EX3 (and EX1) is the budget boy that everybody is talking about. So, can this new JVC knock the Sony EX3 off its perch?

JVC were kind enough to lend me a brand-new GY-HM700 along with three 1/3rd inch lenses; a Fujinon 16x5.5, a Fujinon 16.5 and a Canon KT20; the latter being the flagship £6,500 model, whereas the two Fujinon’s are around the £1,000 mark.
The GY-HM700 camcorder itself feels pretty robust and much more substantial in build quality than Sony’s somewhat plasticy EX series. The GY-HM700 smacks of a solid die-cast aluminium body with rugged plastic over the top. The metal levers for White balance and Gain feel just as they do on high-end broadcast cameras, the same can be said for the Zebra lever and various other controls such as VF Peaking, VF Brightness, Auto-White trace, User buttons, Monitor, Audio levels etc. As for the various sockets, most of these are professional BNC-type and they too feel just as rugged as those on cameras costing eight times the price. As for the lens, the Zoom ring, Focus ring and Aperture ring, these all feel just like those on professional 2/3rd inch lenses; perhaps slicker and obviously slightly smaller in size. The lens’s Zoom rocker lever, Record start/stop button, Auto/Manual iris switch, Rec preview button, Iris button and Macro and Flange-back levers all feel and function just as they do on professional 2/3rd inch lenses. On the whole, I found this camera to be beautifully crafted, cute and endearing. It’s almost like a high-end full-size professional broadcast camera gave birth to a baby one; I can’t get enough of the superb form-factor of this JVC camcorder.

The attention to detail on this camera is phenomenal. Little details such as the Gain lever having a square end while the White Balance preset lever next to it has a rounded end, make them easy to ‘feel’ your way around.

As I’ve already mentioned this JVC camcorder records to solid-state SD/HC cards. These little cards are available in capacities up to 32GB. I buy 16GB Transcend cards for just £10 each, on which I can fit 90 minutes of full HD 1920x1080 footage. Recording to these cheap SD/HC cards have a huge financial benefit compared to the solid-state offerings from Sony and Panasonic; SxS and P2. I haven’t even got to the best bit yet, this JVC camcorder records to the native QuickTime .mov file format at 35Mbps. This is great news if you edit in Final Cut Pro, as you can simply drag your files straight into your clip bin with no transcoding.

The GY-HM 700 still uses a 720 block just like the older ProHD HDV series such as the GY-HD101, but this time it uses ‘Spatial Offset’ to bring it up to full HD resolution. This helps somewhat and works ok, but it is never going to be as good as native 1920x1080. It is more half-way between SD and HD in terms of real resolved resolution. But, there’s more to life than resolution guys. I took the liberty of filming my Chroma-du-monde resolution charts and the JVC happily resolves approximately 800 lines; compared to the 940 or so lines that I could get out of Sony’s EX3 shooting the same chart. I guess what the big question is, will you notice this 140-line difference between these two camcorders in real world shooting?

Overall I was very happy with the quality and ‘look’ of the footage I got from the JVC. After some tweaking around in the menus adjusting black levels and colour gammas etc and setting the outdoor white-balance to 4300K as apposed to the default 5600K standard. For some reason only known to JVC, the default 5600K outdoor setting appears to have a horrible green spike in the colour spectrum; I mean ‘vomit green’ like that of fluorescent lighting. By reducing the setting to 4300K gives the picture a somewhat warmer and more neutral look, and it loses the ‘green’ tint. This default factory setting definitely needs fixing by JVC in the future firmware update. I shot everything in progressive 25P HQ mode. Overall I found the footage to look pleasing with decent colour, good detail, with some ‘filmic’ qualities. Compared to the Sony EX3 there are noticeable differences. The EX3’s images have more detail, richer colours, with virtually no colour fringing. The JVC (or at least the lenses on it) suffer from Green fringing; especially the Canon KT20 when zoomed in; it’s hideous. The cheaper Fujinon lenses didn’t suffer quite as much. In low light shooting situations, the Sony EX3 also beats the JVC, but this is to be expected as the Sony uses CMOS sensors, whilst the JVC uses CCD chips. CCD is not as good in low light as CMOS and the blacks in low light can be a bit noisy. However, CMOS chips suffer from the rolling shutter (jelly) effect and flash photography makes CMOS chips suffer too. Pro’s and Cons to both.

The JVC GY-HM700 is far superior in image quality to camcorders like the Sony Z1, Panasonic HMC151, Canon XLH1, and even JVC’s own ProHD tape-based HDV camcorders. But it is not quite as good as Sony’s EX range due to its 1/3rd CCD 720 block with special offset. But the JVC is a superb camera, and even though its image quality is not quite there with the Sony EX series, it simply wipes the floor with the latter in terms of build quality and usability. I have had extensive experience with Sony’s EX series, and I have to admit, although they produce nice images, they are an absolute nightmare to use and if you don’t treat them tentatively with kid gloves they will break; viewfinders, mic holders etc all have a tendency to break if not treated carefully. These are issues that you simply won’t have with the JVC. Also the JVC’s form factor is more like that of the larger Digibeta style camera; it is a breeze/privilege to work with. Personally, I would rather take the slight hit in image quality, and use the beautifully built and ergonomically friendly JVC any day. The button positioning on the JVC is sublime; especially the nice shutter select button. All are buttons and controls are primarily external and logically laid out, as opposed to the horrible menu-driven systems found on your usual handycams. The LCD is much larger and higher definition than before, though still hard to see in sunlight.
The viewfinder is a totally redesigned affair compared to JVC’s previous ProHD camcorders, where it had a tendency to crack on the corner if knocked. This new viewfinder is a lot tougher. However, if you are use to larger viewfinders on full-size broadcast cameras you won’t like this one as it is smaller in comparison. But focusing is still incredibly easy via the viewfinder due to JVC’s very neat focus-assist button, which turns the viewfinder and LCD black-and-white, and a blue (or red, selectable in menus) outline appears on high contrast areas when they are bang in focus; this works really well. Whilst on the viewfinder, this one is totally removable; great when travelling as there will be less chance of breakage and it allows the camera to fit into a smaller case; we all know what airport baggage handlers can be like.

There is a variable Frame-rate function, but in large step increments. But there is no ‘Time-Lapse’ feature on this camera, which is a shame; this is a feature I’d really miss if I were using this camera all the time.
Unlike the Canon XLH1, which is something of a ‘half-shoulder-mount’ design. The JVC GY-HM700 is a ‘proper’ shoulder-mount design, although not full size, it sits on your shoulder in the correct way just like a full-size camera would. Although the JVC is light, it has a reassuring weight to it and it balances perfectly on the shoulder, the ergonomics are superb. The JVC also takes professional V-lock batteries; just like full-size professional Sony shoulder-mount camcorders.

The GY-HM700 has two professional balanced XLR audio microphone inputs, HD/SDI, Remote and Component BNC sockets as well as FireWire and USB outputs. The DC input is a professional 4-pin affair; thank god. There are two headphone sockets on the back, one for the built in/removable earpiece and a spare just above it. There is a professional D-tap max 50W output on the back of the camera for use with on-camera lights etc as well as bracket adaptor for wireless mic receivers and the like. There are two SD/HC card slots so you can have two 32GB cards in there for over 360 minutes of continuous HD recording at max HQ quality setting. There is also an audio RCA output.
On the other side of the camera you’ll find the Focus assist button, VF peaking, VF bright, audio monitor volume, User 1, 2 and 3 buttons, all of which are assignable in the menus. ND filter switch for ¼ and 1/16, Gain L, M and H, White balance Preset and A/B, Audio record level for right and left channels, display mode for LCD, which switches to the largest ‘time-code’ readout you have ever seen. On the front under the lens there is a white-balance button and a Zebra on/off select, which doubles as a Skin area detect or Spot meter; nice.
The camera mounts to a tripod by way of a professional Sony style V-plate, which locks the camera at both the front and the back for a solid fixing to the tripod.
I totally love this camera, especially the ‘form factor’, sure the image quality is not quite there with Sony’s EX series, but as I’ve already mentioned the build quality and form factor of this JVC camera is simply light years ahead of the EX1/EX3 camcorders. I like the secure feeling I get from the JVC, trust me on this one, I’ve manhandled this camera and given the viewfinder, microphone holder, and various other parts of the body some moderate bashing with the palm of my hand in an attempt to crack or break something, but the camera withstood my moderate punishment; and I’m glad it did otherwise I would have had to have blamed the couriers.
The GY-HM700 costs just £4,250 plus vat for the body only so don’t expect a full-on broadcast picture. If you want broadcast spend £30,000 plus, or hire something. This JVC has a market - corporate, weddings, SIVs, event work, and to be perfectly honest, certain types of broadcast work for certain Sky channels or news, factual. But not big-budget blue-chip stuff.
On a final note (JVC, if you are reading), I’d like to see JVC bring out a GY-HM700 version 2 model that uses the same CMOS 1/3rd native 1920 chips that Panasonic use in their 301 camcorder. If JVC did this and ditched the somewhat Jurassic period low-res CCD ones that they currently use with all their pixels-shifting, lack of resolution and noisy images in low-light, they would have a winner; a real winner. This camera is ‘good’, but with decent chips it could be ‘amazing’. For me personally, I’d rather use a camera like this JVC that is well-built and works like a proper camera and take a small hit in image quality, as opposed to working with a non-form-factor nightmare that produces slightly better images. Horses for courses.
Fonte: DVUSER

The Art of Shooting Progressive

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:49:00 +0000

I get so many e-mails from cameramen complaining about the poor results they get when shooting in progressive scan mode with their camcorders, that I thought it was about time I wrote a tutorial on the subject. The usual complaints are about flickering or strobe-like footage, or images that look blurred and un-sharp when compared to interlaced shot footage.

First, let me give you a little bit of background information as well as a few other snippets that might surprise you.

Interlace is a technique for transmitting signals to our television sets that has been around since 1936. For the record, the progressive scan system has also been around for the same amount of time in the form of John Logie Baird’s 240-line mechanical progressive scan system. At the time there wasn’t enough bandwidth to broadcast and transmit progressively, so the interlaced system had to be used. In a nutshell, an interlaced frame is basically a progressive frame that has been sliced up into lots of lines, and each set of alternating lines are transmitted at different times, but so fast it gives the illusion of one frame. Interlaced technology was designed for CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions, not LCD HD TVs or LCD computer displays. Interlacing causes problems on modern LCD TVs and computer displays. Although a lot of modern programmes are shot progressively, there is an even balance of progressive and interlaced footage being shot these days.

Interlaced footage introduces all kinds of issues including ‘ line twitter’ and ‘interlace tearing’. These picture defects show up in certain circumstances more than others, for instance, somebody on TV wearing a shirt with fine dark and light stripes, on TV these stripes would appear to be ‘twittering’.

Basically, interlaced technology is a very old and dated way of transmitting signals to our television sets, and it will soon be dead. These days, most of us own modern LCD HD television sets (all of which are progressive by their very nature), and most modern programming is shot on progressive scan HD camcorders. Progressive scan HD footage and progressive scan broadcasting is the future. If you want to ‘future-proof’ (whatever that means) your footage, it must be shot in HD and in progressive mode. However, the future will be 1080p progressive scan at higher frame-rates such as 48p and 50 and 60p. Footage cannot be truly future-proofed. You could shoot 720p at 50 or 60fps, and it will be good. But 1080p at 25p would not be good future-proofing. Whether to use 24, 25, or 50 and 60p or 50 and 60i is currently an artistic decision.

This short tutorial is to re-educate those who are used to shooting on interlace formats. Those who are used to brandishing a Sony PD170 around like they are on their last line of cocaine are going to have to seriously re-think their shooting techniques. Flitting a progressive scan camcorder around handheld with aggressive and jerky movements simply won’t cut it.

You’re probably aware that most Hollywood movies that you see at the cinema as shot in either 24p or 25p as in 25 frames of film per second. So you’re probably wondering why all those movies look great at the cinema and don’t have the so-called ‘judder’ or ‘flicker/strobe’ effects that your progressive scan camcorder appears to be riddled with. The simple answer is because Hollywood production companies hire in a professional DoP (Director of Photography) and pay him/her a colossal amount of money to get it right. The DoP knows exactly how to ‘Block and Stage’ every shot in such a way that prevents any judder or flicker in the final footage.

You have to shoot more like a professional DoP, as opposed to a testosterone-driven teenager on a mission. This means smooth, slow, and very steady shots.

Having said that, things do not have to be steady. Witness Bourne Identity, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers for example, and many other shots in big movies. Munich, Minority Report and 24 are other major examples, Spooks is yet another. The fact of the matter is that once the eye starts watching progressive footage it will fill in the blanks; this is persistence of vision. The problem of judder usually happens with medium speed objects. Slow movement and faster movement don’t suffer. If you go with the usual idea of an object taking five seconds to cross the screen during a pan for example, you will see judder. This may be why some TV guys had trouble with it.

I think one of the problems may be that people who are shooting in progressive scan mode aren’t doing enough ‘camera movement’. They may be locking the camera off on the tripod and letting objects pass through as opposed to actually moving the camera into and around the scene.

A few years ago somebody asked me what was the best camcorder shooting techniques course they could go on, I told him that he should get in touch with the NFTS (National Film & Television School) in Beaconsfield and do one of their Super16mm film camera short courses. He told me that he shoots on a digital tape formats and that he had no interest in film and couldn’t understand why I would recommend such a thing. I explained to him that if you have to pay for film stock and then pay for the developing and processing of it, you tend to think long and hard before pressing that record button. Just this one factor alone will improve the quality of your footage no end. Of course the other thing about learning to use a film camera is that you are disciplined in the art of incredibly steady and smooth shots, you have to, because at 24 or 25 frames-per-second your footage would suffer from judder and flicker; that’s right, it happens in the film world too.

So here goes. When shooting in progressive mode with your camcorder it’s important to ‘follow the action’. Here’s an example. If you were to ‘lock’ your camcorder off on a tripod and set the zoom to medium/wide in a street scene and film a car as it drove past, in progressive mode the car would enter the frame from the right (depending on which way the car was heading), then ‘judder’ or ‘flicker’ its way across the frame, and finally leave the frame from the left. There’s a better way to shoot this car in progressive mode. Instead of locking the camera off on a tripod, you would carry out a panning shot instead; panning the car as it drives past. This way the car won’t ‘judder’ its way through the frame because you are ‘following the motion’ of the car. But, the shops and buildings behind the car would now be moving across the frame, and they would start to ‘judder’ across the frame instead. So to alleviate this problem of background-building-judder, you would adjust the camcorder’s aperture by opening it up to make the depth-of-field shallower hence knocking the background out of focus slightly. Making the shops and buildings slightly out of focus will hide the fact that they are ‘juddering’ across the frame and the end result will be beautifully crafted footage that is crisp, sharp and luscious with that superb progressive look. However, at the distance you would need to be to follow the camera with a pan, the background will most probably be moving too fast to have any noticeable judder. Furthermore, the human eye will ignore the judder because it will be focusing on the object of interest; in this case, the car. And that is one of the main reasons why programmes like 24 and Spooks can do lots of handheld work without any issues. They compose the shot and follow the object of interest. Wide shots are steady; people do not walk across the frame, but into and out of it. Speaking of which, Steadicam shots should be a judder nightmare when shooting in progressive mode, but they aren’t because they use parallax. Movies will use jibs and dollies which use parallax. They NEVER EVER pan, and they rarely ever tilt. BBC documentaries do panning and tilting, but only very slowly or very quickly; nothing in between.

Of course, the above is just one small example of how to eliminate the so-called progressive ‘judder’ look; there is a whole school on the subject.

Basically, if you think ‘Hollywood’ you won’t go far wrong. By this I mean ‘follow the action’ and ‘move into a scene’ with tracks, dollies, Steadicams, jibs and other grip equipment, don’t just zoom in. Work out each individual shot carefully before carrying it out. Think about how you can avoid pans, zooms and erratic hand-held shots, all of which are ‘judder’ magnets. It is possible to hand-hold your camcorder in progressive mode, just don’t ‘flit’ the camcorder around like a lunatic. Be steady, smooth, stable and follow the action. Pans can be done slowly or quickly (nothing in-between), same for tilts. Handheld can be done, I do it all the time, and purposefully move it around erratically sometimes with no issues. Follow the action, manage the movement. With handheld you need to keep it smoother on the wides than you do at the telephoto end.

How about this, remember doing the ‘egg and spoon’ race at school? Well gaffer-tape two desert spoons to the underside of your camcorder with one spoon sticking out either side. Then place your camcorder down on a table (or other flat surface) and take two eggs out of the fridge and place them on the two spoons. Now hit the record button, pick your camcorder up and go for a walk around your house, up and down the stairs and then around the garden. Film a 2 or 3 minute shot both with and without the eggs, and then compare the footage. Be sure to do the first take with no eggs, and then do the second take with the eggs. You’ll be surprised at the results. Then in future, just pretend that your camcorder not only has two eggs balanced on spoons, but also pretend that there is a reel of 32mm film bolted on the back and you are paying for the film stock and developing and printing, and the whole process of this is costing you around £65 per minute. This combination of thoughts will leave all your progressively shot footage totally judder and flicker free and above all, professional.

When shooting in progressive mode don’t forget to turn the shutter on and set it to 1/50th. This is the equivalent of a ‘double gate’ effect of a projector i.e. sharpening up the look of the footage. With no shutter the footage will have a slight ‘blur’ about it.

Shooting in progressive mode will also give you more of a ‘film look’, which is ideal for creative productions such as music videos and films, either short or feature. Overall shooting in progressive has a more ‘expressive’ look about it. A woman walking along the beach with a long flowing dress will make her movements (arms, flowing dress etc) look much more expressive, this will totally transform and bring the scene to life distinguishing it from that horrible ‘news look’ of interlaced footage. However, this also depends on the project. I find that pop concerts for example look weird in progressive scan 25p but look outsounding in 1080i and 720/50p

Shooting progressively is all about re-educating yourself, you have to go back to school and learn to shoot all over again.

As a progressively shot frame is one complete/whole frame (just like a picture taken on a digital stills SLR camera) it is easy to take a frame grab off the timeline and import it into a photo manipulation programme like Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture for example, and re-scale it to 300dpi (from it’s default 72dpi) and print it out or publish it as a still photo on the web. Because the still is free of interlacing lines it will be crisp and clear with zero interlace ‘tearing’. You could see a progressive scan camcorder as a digital stills SLR camera taking 25 photographs per second; only lower resolution of course. Years ago I was a stills photographer and I owned many stills film cameras, one of which was a Nikon F3. At the time you could buy a high-speed motor-drive for this camera that was capable of shooting 13.5 fps (frames-per-second), there were other high-speed stills cameras that could do 25 fps, which is the same as film. Of course you had to attach a ‘bulk film’ back onto your camera and buy your film stock on rolls as opposed to a 24 or 36 exposure cartridge.

The advantages of shooting progressive are endless. For example, if you are a low-budget independent filmmaker it’s much easier to do a digital transfer to film if the footage was shot progressively to start with. Shooting progressive is also a good way to ‘future-proof’ your footage; there is no place for interlace in the future. As I’ve already mentioned, taking still frames off the timeline and using them as still pictures is easy.

Other advantages are that progressive scan compresses much more efficiently for DVD etc. You can pan, zoom, and crop progressive scan footage far more easily than interlace. For example if you have progressive footage and want to intercut old 4:3 interlace footage, but you want to zoom into the 4:3 stuff to make it 16:9 anamorphic to match the rest of the programme; interlace shot footage will cause havoc.

Interlacing also causes issues for watching DVDs on computer monitors. LCD televisions have all sorts of jiggery pokery to cope well with interlaced footage, but computer LCD’s do not.

©2009 Nigel Cooper

Fonte: DVUSER

New Sony HDR-FX1000 & HVR-Z5 HD camcorders

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:18:00 +0000

Fonte: DVUSER

It looks like those not willing to give up on DV tape for their HD recording needs now have a pair of new options to consider from Sony, which has just introduced its HDR-FX1000 and HVR-Z5 camcorders at IBC. The HDR-FX1000 (pictured) is the slightly more consumer-minded of the two, with it boasting a not-outrageous price of £2,200, and some impressive specs all around, including a 20x optical zoom, both 24p and 30p modes, and Sony's G-series lens, which promises to deliver some top-notch images. The HVR-Z5E, on the other hand, offers some more specialized features like XLR audio inputs, PAL and NTSC compatibility, and support for the DVCAM format in addition to usual DV/HDV option. Look for it to set you back £2,995 when it lands in December, with the HDR-FX1000 set to slip out ahead of it early November.

Even if our new FX1000 keeps the same look as the previous generation FX, Sony decided improve their camera with some nice improvements like a new G Lens that provides better quality images also tuned by the Exmor image processor and the '3 Clear Bit CMOS sensor', and a 20x optical zoom, and the possibility to have a 24p and 30p mode.

It looks like these two camcorders will replace the aging Z1 and FX1 HDV models.

Sony Official Press Release Sep 10, 2008

New HDV Camcorder Offers Fixed 'G Lens' Native Progressive Recording and HYBRID Media Flexibility with a new optional Memory Recording Unit.

The HVR-Z5E offers excellent low-light performance
Sony today announced the latest generation of HDV production technology with a new compact camcorder, the HVR-Z5E and memory recording unit, the HVR-MRC1K. The camcorder features a new fixed “G Lens” system, native progressive recording capabilities, increased sensitivity for low-light conditions and an array of other features designed for general TV production, videographers, budget movie-makers and corporate video production professionals. The memory recording unit offers a CompactFlash™ recording option, not only for the new camcorder, but for all existing Sony professional HDV camcorders.

“Creating a product to rival the phenomenal success of the HVR-Z1E was always going to be tricky, but the fantastic feedback we got from our existing users has helped us do that with this new camcorder,” said Bill Drummond, European Product Marketing Manager. “Our engineers met target European customer groups, to understand where they could improve on the Z1E and today’s launch sees us deliver a product based on that feedback."

A natural upgrade for DSR-PD170P owners
The new camcorder uses Sony’s new 1/3-inch 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor system enhanced by the technology of Exmor. With its 45-degree rotated pixel layout, the 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor system offers sufficient pixel surface area while it keeps high resolution. The technology of Exmor features a unique column-parallel analogue-to-digital conversion technique and dual noise canceling, resulting in high quality digital signals with extremely low noise, similar to the imaging technology used in the PMW-EX1 camcorder. The integration of the two new technologies allows the new camcorder to perform significantly better in low-light environments with sensitivity of 1.5 lux (at 1/25 shutter, auto iris and auto gain).

Sony's all-new 'G Lens' increases shooting flexibility
The camcorder’s shooting flexibility is further increased through the addition of a brand new fixed 'G Lens'. This sophisticated lens incorporates Sony's unique optical design and quality control and has been optimised to complement the camcorder’s advanced image sensor and image-processing technology. This lens offers a wide 29.5mm angle lens and brand new 20x optical zoom, as well as three ND filters (1/4, 1/16, 1/64) and independent focus, zoom and iris rings.

The HVR-Z5E also offers 1080/25p Native progressive recording along with the usual flexibility to switch between HDV/DVCAM and DV recording (1080/50i, 576/50i). 60Hz operation will also be available via an optional service upgrade. The camcorder can down-convert material from HD to SD, and output the video signals through its i.LINK interface and other SD output connectors. HDMI output is also available.

The HVR-Z5E is equipped with the same new XtraFine™ LCD and XtraFine EVF as seen on the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E, which offers high-resolution and high-contrast images with remarkable colour reproduction. It can deliver more than 60 minutes of recording time on miniDV videotapes, and approximate recording times of 63 minutes (in HDV format) with Sony’s DigitalMaster cassettes (PHDVM-63DM).

The HVR-MRC1K will be available to buy in October
In addition at this year’s IBC, Sony will also launch the new HYBRID memory recorder, the HVR-MRC1K. Previously, it was supplied as an accessory with the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E, but strong customer feedback sees it launch as a product in its own right.

The HVR-MRC1K demonstrates Sony’s commitment to offering 'HYBRID’ recording options. The choice of media (Tape or CompactFlash), format recorded (HD&HD, HD&SD, SD&SD) and workflow (direct archive with tape or high speed NLE ingest with CompactFlash) can now be realised by all existing professional HDV users.

This unit captures the HDV1080i, DVCAM, or DV stream output from the camcorder and allows users to record HDV/DVCAM/DV files to a standard CompactFlash solid-state memory card, while users are simultaneously recording to tape. The recording times on an 8 and 16 GB CompactFlash card in HDV, DVCAM and DV format are approximately 36 and 72 minutes, respectively.

The HVR-MRC1K docked at the rear of the HVR-Z5E
The new HVR-Z5E has been designed specially for the HVR-MRC1K memory recording unit offering direct attachment to the rear of the camcorder, eliminating the need for cables. The unit automatically synchronises with the recording action of the camcorder and a special shoe connector inputs and outputs an HDV/DVCAM/DV stream and supplies power to the unit. For all other existing professional HDV and DVCAM users, the HVR-MRC1K comes supplied with a mounting bracket to mount the unit on the cold shoe of the camcorder. Connecting through the i.LINK connector couldn’t be easier with power being supplied via the readily available infoLITHIUM L series battery slot.

“The ongoing development of the HYBRID concept really excites me," added Drummond. "The ability to use any Sony professional HDV or DVCAM camcorder automatically gives customers the choice to move to tapeless on their terms. Backwards compatibility has always been a design goal for Sony, plus protecting customer’s investment in products. This product is a great demonstration that we are listening.”

The new HVR-MRC1K is planned to be available in October whilst the HVR-Z5E is planned for December. Further information on the HDV range and new accessories can be found at www.sonybiz.net/hdv

End of Press Release

More on the HDR-FX1000, HVR-Z5 & HVR-MRC1K
With the HDR-FX1000 camcorder, more adept consumer videographers gain access to cinematic features, including 24P scanning and advanced color settings for around £2,200. With the HVR-Z5E camcorder, professionals will appreciate its native 24P recording and other professional features—all for less than £2,995 as well as tapeless recording capability through an optional CompactFlash adapter.

“The HDR-FX1000 is appealing to the amateur videographer shooting weddings or the aspiring cinematographer,” said Kelly Davis, director of camcorder marketing at Sony Electronics. “The combination of film-like movie quality and advanced color settings makes it possible for prosumers to achieve the deep cinematic look they crave at a reasonable price.”

The HVR-Z5U camcorder offers a “step-up” solution for professionals who desire a more advanced set of features.

“Professionals need features like balanced audio, XLR inputs, timecode and more,” said Bob Ott, vice president of professional audio and video products at Sony Electronics. “They also need access to technical resources to help them with issues like integrating with non-linear editing systems. This is where a professional solution like the HVR-Z5U is an appropriate choice.”

Enhanced Image Capture
Both models use three of Sony’s ClearVid 1/3-inch CMOS sensor chips, which are designed to provide high sensitivity, deep resolution, high-speed reading, low noise and a wider dynamic range. The CMOS sensors capture full HD 1920x1080 resolution, resulting in better picture quality when recorded onto miniDV tape in the HDV format (1440 pixelsx1080 lines). Each of the three sensors is dedicated to one color—red, blue and green—for natural, more accurate color reproduction.

With a 45-degree rotated pixel layout, the ClearVid CMOS sensor system offers outstanding pixel surface area while maintaining high resolution. The Exmor technology features a unique column-parallel analog-to-digital conversion technique and dual noise canceling, resulting in digital signals with extremely low noise. The technologies combine to allow the new camcorders to perform significantly better in low-light environments with sensitivity of 1.5 lux.

Both cameras use Sony’s XtraFine LCD (3.2-inch, 921,000 dots) and XtraFine electronic viewfinder (0.45-inch, 1,227,000 dots) for high-resolution and high-contrast images with remarkable color reproduction.

Ideal For Aspiring Cinematographers
The HDR-FX1000 is Sony’s first Handycam camcorder to feature progressive scan at 1080/24p and 30p, giving video productions a film-like look. Using a two to three pull down, the 24P scanned image is converted to 60i for easy editing with user’s existing software applications. CinemaTone Gamma and CinemaTone Color settings complement the 24P capabilities to create a rich dreamlike picture processing while three built-in neural density filters provide exceptional light control even in extremely bright environments.

Equipped with a refined level of optical performance, the HDR-FX1000 and the HVR-Z5E models are the first camcorders to have a Sony G lens with a 29.5mm wide-end viewing angle, extra-low dispersion glass and 20x optical zoom. The fixed lens is optimized to perfectly complement the cameras’ advanced image sensor and image-processing technology.

The HDR-FX1000 model enables prosumers to define their own manual settings for iris, gain, white balance, shutter speed and focus for increased creativity and control. Use of any of the three manual rings for adjustments to zoom, focus and iris provides even more flexibility.

Professional Video Production
The HVR-Z5E camcorder offers the addition of several features specifically designed for professional video production, such as progressive scan shooting at 1080/24P and 30P, DVCAM recording, timecode support and two XLR balanced audio inputs.

Professionals can record the native 24P/30P signal on to the videotape used in the camcorder or to CompactFlash cards – simultaneously or separately – with the optional HVR-MRC1K recording unit. This unit attaches directly to the back of the camcorder, eliminates the need for cables and automatically synchronizes with the recording action of the camcorder.

The recording unit can be directly attached to the new HVR-Z5E camera, as well as to Sony’s HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E models. It will also work with other HDV camcorders using a supplied iLINK (IEEE-1394) cable and shoe adapter.

The camcorder, and the HVR-MRC1K adapter will be compatible with Sony’s Professional 306x CompactFlash card. The recording times on an 8 and 16 GB CompactFlash card in HDV, DVCAM and DV format are approximately 36 and 72 minutes, respectively.

Sony will also launch the new HYBRID memory recorder, the HVR-MRC1K for a suggested retail price of £600. Previously, it was supplied as an accessory with the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E, but strong customer feedback sees it launch as a product in its own right.

This unit captures the HDV1080i, DVCAM, or DV stream output from the camcorder and allows users to record HDV/DVCAM/DV files to a standard CompactFlash solid-state memory card, while users are simultaneously recording to tape. The recording times on an 8 and 16 GB CompactFlash card in HDV, DVCAM and DV format are approximately 36 and 72 minutes, respectively.

The HVR-MRC1K docked at the rear of the HVR-Z5E. The new HVR-Z5E has been designed specially for the HVR-MRC1K memory recording unit offering direct attachment to the rear of the camcorder, eliminating the need for cables. The unit automatically synchronises with the recording action of the camcorder and a special shoe connector inputs and outputs an HDV/DVCAM/DV stream and supplies power to the unit. For all other existing professional HDV and DVCAM users, the HVR-MRC1K comes supplied with a mounting bracket to mount the unit on the cold shoe of the camcorder.

The new HVR-MRC1K is planned to be available in October.

Availability
The HDR-FX1000 camcorder will be available in early November at authorized dealers nationwide, Sony Style® retail stores and online through www.sonystyle.com.

The HVR-Z5E professional camera is expected to be available in December for a suggested list price of £2,995. The HVR-MRC1K recording unit should be out in October for a suggested list price of £600.
In addition to switchable NSTC and PAL modes, the HVR Z5E can also be used with Sony’s CF card recorder unit, similar to how the Z7E works. It’s worth noting that the Z7E’s CF recorder can be used with just about ANY firewire-equipped camcorder, though I imagine the Z5E will be sporting a mount point for it’s solid-state unit to simplify things. The Z5 can also be configured to output multiple formats, like HDV to tape while also outputting DV to CF media.

UPDATE: A few differences between these models and the FX1/Z1E include a vastly upgraded LCD with 921K pixels vs 250K pixels, and the addition of a 3rd ND filter built into the lens. Options now include ND 1/4, 1/16, and 1/64 much like the Z7U offers. The lens is not a fixed aperture throughout, with a range from f/1.6 at full wide to f/3.4 at the telephoto end. That is just over two full stops of light transmission difference from wide to tele, and it shows some of the compromises made to get 20x range out of the glass.

HDR-FX1000 (preliminary) features:
3-CMOS image sensors (Exmor processing)
24p/30p/60i
Sony G-series lens
20X optical zoom
NTSC DV/HDV (1440×1080)

HVR-Z5E (preliminary) features:
3-CMOS image sensors (Exmor processing)
24p/25p/30p/50i/60i
Sony G-series lens
20X optical zoom
NTSC/PAL DV/HDV/DVCAM (1440×1080)
XLR Audio

Date: 09-09-2008

JVC Alliance with Sony to Support XDCAM EX

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:58:00 +0000

Fonte: Dvuser

JVC Announces Alliance with Sony to Support XDCAM EX
Professional Video File Format which Records on SxS Memory Cards. JVC SxS MEMORY CARD DOCKING RECORDER KA-MR100G to be the first product; out March 2009.

JVC Professional has announced it will support Sony’s XDCAM EX format that uses MPEG-2 video and SxS flash memory cards for storing high-definition video. JVC’s first XDCAM EX product will be the KA-MR100G docking media recorder, that will attach to current JVC Pro Camcorders. It is not sure exactly what models the KA-MR100G will work with, but it will work with the ProHD GY-HD200/250 series camcorders. This will allow the tape based cameras to record directly to SxS media. 100 series ProHD owners will have to upgrade if they want to take advantage of the KA-MR100G, which would be uneconomical and unrealistic in my opinion.

The KA-MR100G will be available to buy in March 2009, can a native XDCAM EX camcorder made by JVC be far behind?

This is good news for both Sony and JVC. Sony's SxS format will continue to grow and with any luck the very expensive SxS cards should start to come down in price as more camcorders and devices from JVC appear on the market.

While hopefully JVC will bring out more up-to-date ProHD camcorders with full raster 1920x1080 chips, larger ones than the current ProHD series with any luck. Personally I think bolting a KA-MR100G on the back of a current ProHD HDV tape-camcorder is a bit of a cop out and it won't match the image quality of Sony's EX camcorders which have larger and superior quality chips. JVC will have to bring out native SxS only ProHD series camcorders with larger chips to compete with Sony's EX1 and EX3 and give more choice to the buying customer; no tape-drives please.

Another reason that I think it is very important that JVC bring out dedicated SxS only camcorders is because there is already a better option to the KA-MR100G made by another company; though this other option does require your camcorder to have a HD/SDI output. Convergent Design already have the 'nanoFLASH' and the 'Flash XDR'. The nanoFLASH records using the same MPEG Long-GOP structure to Sony's SxS, only at much faster bitrates and a superior colour space. The nanoFLASH records at 50 and 100Mbps in 4:2:2 colour space, as opposed to Sony's SxS EX camcorders, which record at 35Mbps and 4:2:0 colour space in comparison. The flashNANO dosn't use expensive SxS cards either, it records directly to cheap CF cards. nanoFLASH has two CF card slots and cost £2,500. However, these two Convergent Design units don't work via FireWire or USB, they feed from the camcorders HD/SID BNC-type output. So if your camcorder has a HD/SDI output (like Sony's own EX1 and EX3) that outputs 50Mbps and 4:2:2 colour space, you should look very hard at the nanoFLASH and Flash XDR.

Details of flashNANO and Flash XDR at: www.convergent-design.com

I'm sure that JVC will recognize that there are products like the nanoFLASH and even more consumer oriented products like the FireStore already out there, including JVC's own version of the FireStore the DR-HD100E. A simple KA-MR100G will not be enough to kickstart an SxS range or products. If JVC don't launch a native SxS camcorder around the same time (or very soon after) the whole exercise of the KA-MR100G will be somewhat futile.

I'm not being negative here. I'm pleased that Sony have licensed their SxS technology to JVC. It will do great things for both JVC and Sony. Anyone who reads my reviews/articles on DVuser will know that I'm a massive fan of JVC's ProHD range. But, sales of these cameras are thin on the ground these days and JVC desperately need to bring the ProHD right up to date. I see the SxS technology as being the right vehicle for JVC.

Adding SxS technology to JVC's superbly built ProHD series of camcorders would be a serious force to be reckoned with. If JVC do go down this road and it actually happens, I personally would be right there at the front of the queue. JVC have a loyal following with their ProHD series. Current owner/users will be thrilled at the news of better versions of these camcorders coming out in the future, with superior image sensors and faster/higher quality bitrates over the aging HDV format. I am sure it will even hit sales of Sony's current EX range. Canon will almost certainly have to do something about their superb, but aging HDV XL series or they will be out of the market.

The future is now looking very bright and very good for JVC indeed!!

JVC's website is: www.jvcpro.co.uk

©2008 Nigel Cooper

Official JVC Press Release:

JVC Announces Alliance with Sony to Support XDCAM EX Professional Video File Format which Records on SxS Memory Cards.

KA-MR100G Media Recorder to be First JVC Native XDCAM EX File Based Device.

IBC, Amsterdam (September 12, 2008) - Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) announced today its alliance with Sony Corporation to support the XDCAM EX MPEG-2 professional video file format *1 and SxS (S-By-S) solid state flash memory cards *2. JVC is committed to develop products based on the XDCAM EX file format utilizing SxS memory cards to bring this high quality, high bit rate recording option to JVC professional video product customers *3. The compact SxS memory card provides high speed data transfer capability designed especially for professional video camera applications.

“JVC is committed to collaborating with world-class partners to provide the best solutions and the widest range of options for our professional video customers,” stated Hiroyuki Takekura, Managing Director, Professional Systems Business, Victor Company of Japan. “Our goal is to offer a variety of recording options including major video file formats and field-proven media. We are extremely pleased with our alliance with Sony Corporation to support the XDCAM EX file format and the SxS memory card and thereby expand our professional application capabilities.”

“Sony is very pleased to license the XDCAM EX file format to JVC. Sony and JVC are both well-established companies in the professional video market and Sony has enjoyed a strong relationship with JVC over an extended period of time,” said Yoshinori Onoue, Corporate Executive, SVP of Sony Corporation. “We see this announcement as a natural evolution of this relationship, which will help ensure the continued success of XDCAM EX."

JVC will launch the KA-MR100G docking media recorder as its first product featuring native XDCAM EX file recording and an SxS memory card slot. This device will record and playback XDCAM EX files on an SxS memory card. The KAMR100G will also attach to current JVC ProHD GY-HD200/250 series professional high definition camcorders via a specially designed adapter. Future products from JVC will attach directly to the KA-MR100G.

The KA-MR100G will be available in March 2009 with a suggested retail price of approximately £1,995.

*1: XDCAM EX
This is Sony Corporation’s brand name for its professional video camera series incorporating the SxS memory card as a recording medium and features an MPEG-2 Long GOP compression method.

*2: SxS memory card
SxS is a flash memory card designed for professional video cameras with a high-speed PCI Express interface. It conforms to the Express Card standard, and has a maximum recording capacity of approximately 70 minutes of High Definition (HD) video with a 16GB SxS memory card.

*3: Sony License
The development of file format compatible with XDCAM EX series is conducted under license from Sony Corporation.

HVR-Z5E Reviewed

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:50:00 +0000

HVR-Z5E Reviewed by IoV's Kevin Cook

The replacement for the Z1?
To me, it just didn’t seem logical. When they told me that this was going to be the replacement for the HVR-Z1E I thought it was even more bizarre. I mean, what was wrong with the Z1? And surely that's only been on the market of a couple of years itself? Are things really changing that rapidly? I guess age must be creeping up on me. On checking back I was a little surprised to discover that I first reviewed a pre-production Z1 in December 2004. Even though the Z1 won’t quite reach its 4th birthday, when you consider how other technologies have changed over that period then maybe it is time for a change. Having said that, I’ve never been one for changing things for the sake of change alone. There has to be good reason to replace what has become one of the most popular Sony cameras of all time. I was even more intrigued when it was revealed that the Z5 would also be pitched as a suitable replacement for the even older standard definition DSR-PD170 DVCAM camera. This camcorder has continued to be used by many videographers, as one of the biggest downfalls of all the early HD cameras was their underperformance in low light conditions. So, to replace both the Z1 and the PD170 with this new pretender it must be able to tick a lot of boxes at a price point to match.

The Z5E's lens is one of the biggest changes over the Z1E

What was wrong with the Z1?
Before the Z5 arrived I started to think about all that was wrong with my trusty old Z1. Sure, low light performance wasn’t the best in town – even though it performed better than some of the much higher priced HD cameras. It had a pretty extensive menu system, but there is the odd control here and there which are a pain in the backside to have to go into menus in order to change. And the other bugbear with the Z1 was the iris control wheel under the lens. The Z1 lens itself wasn’t too bad, though I’ve never been a fan of focus rings which spin endlessly making it difficult to judge physically where you were. Then there’s the weight of the Z1, which does not feel too bad when first picked up but after a short while of handheld operation soon starts to strain on the old muscles. Could the Z5 really address all the issues?

Open the box...
Having been sworn to secrecy pending its launch at IBC, Sony delivered the pre-production Z5 only a few weeks before its big reveal in Amsterdam. As is usual in these pre-market review situations, the usual words of caution were given about this being a pre-production model and that the actual market model may vary slightly. You also need to keep in mind that you are never left these review cameras for very long, so it was dropped off on the Friday before the end of August bank holiday and it had to be ready for collection first thing on the following Tuesday. I point this out because I never got to put the camera to any real-world tests, but I did get to measure it up against my Z1 as far as the shortcomings mentioned above. One of the first things to strike you is its similarity with the Z1. It’s pretty much the same size and shape on first inspection. The top viewfinder, though ever so slightly smaller, is in the same position covering various controls for the VTR section when folded away. I liked this when it first featured on the Z1 so was glad to see it had not been changed.

Significantly more comfortable to operate than the Z1E

On picking up the camera I had my one and only real disappointment. It’s pretty much the same weight as the Z1. Unlike its predecessor, the Z5’s main casing seems to be made from a plastic material as opposed to the cast alloy body of the Z1. I’m not saying it felt flimsy, but it did make me wonder where Sony had managed to pack out the Z5 to bring it equal to the Z1 in weight. This is when I started to get a bid nerdy. Picking one camera up and then the next, the Z5 definitely felt more comfortable to handle. The lens (which I’ll come on to next) was about the same size; the XLR mic connection block, though positioned underneath the LCD panel (as opposed to the Z1 where it sits on the side of the lens) was roughly in the same forward position; the on-board mic, though slightly smaller, did not seem to be enough to make the difference. It had me scratching my head for quite a while, but I eventually twigged it. The grip on the Z5 is ever so slightly further forward than the Z1, but more importantly the camera’s centre of gravity is a good couple of centimetres further to the back of the camera making it less front heavy (one of the common grumbles amongst Z1 users).

The Front End
The Z1’s lens was one of those from the Carl Zeiss stable, and whilst there were a few critics of it when it was hailed as being one of the first HD lenses on a camera of its size, it was undeniably one of the stronger points of the camera. The Z5 lens is significant as it’s the first lens to come about through Sony’s acquisition of Konica Minolta’s Digital SLR business – and from what I’ve seen it represents another step forward for Sony. Called the ‘G’ series, the Z5’s fixed lens boasts a 20x optical zoom – compared to 12x optical on the Z1. It’s also a lot quicker than the Z1 lens in going from fully wide (at 29.5mm) to fully zoomed. There are also three wheels on the lens giving you accurate control of focal length, focus and (hip, hip hooray!) exposure. Though these rings are all still the endless spinning variety, the iris control is so much better than the Z1. And, with the addition of three neutral density settings, from my limited tests it seems to offer far greater control of exposure.

Low-light performance
Whereas the Z1 had 3 x 1/3” CCDs, the Z5 utilises the same 3 x 1/3-inch ClearVid Exmor Technology Sensors as seen in the recently introduced HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E cameras. The Z1 was quoted as being a 3-lux camera, which was a somewhat backward step when compared to the likes of the PD170 at 1-lux. Though the Z5 has not quite reached the heady heights achievable by the PD170, it is rated at a much improved 1.5-lux. On my very rudimentary comparisons between my Z1 and the Z5, the difference is quite noticeable. With the cameras side by side, both set to completely auto everything, I turned the office lights off with only a small amount of daylight coming through the blinds. I think the pictures below speak for themselves, and it’s probably why Sony feel confident enough to say this is a suitable camera for PD170 users to make the move to HD with no loss of sensitivity. Sure, there’s gain being added to the Z5, but its generally a lot more sensitive to light than its predecessor.

Audio Features
The new directional microphone bracket which will hold the supplied ECM-XM1 directional mic has a simple quick release system. This is unlike the Z1 which you had to unscrew to release its grip on the mic. I had initially thought the mic bracket was not connected properly as it has a fair bit of play in it, but this was before I realised it has far greater rubber isolation mount between it and the camera body. I did say this was a pre-production model, so perhaps this floppiness is something that will not be apparent on the model released to market. Besides being able to record with both the on-board mic and external XLR input simultaneously, further improvements to the sound include the movement of the level control wheels from the back to the operator side of the camera. You no longer have to delve into menus to assign channels for XLR and internal mic – and between line-level, mic or phantom power - as they are controlled by nice little switches under a protective flap by the level control wheels and another by the mic bracket. Though I’ve never found this a problem on my Z1, apparently some users reported inadvertently switching the Z1s phantom power buttons so these protective flaps will be seen as another advantage with the Z5.

The HVR-Z5E with optional HVR-MRCK1 fitted at rear
Recording Modes
As with the HVR-Z1E, you have the option to record in either DV, DVCAM or HDV – but unlike the Z1 the camera can also give you 25p native progressive recording. However, the major difference with the Z5 will come with the addition of the optional HVR-MRCK1 CF Memory Recorder (as found on the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E) – making it a truly hybrid camera capable of simultaneously recording to tape and solid state media. With an anticipated price of around €725 when it comes out in October, I think the MRCK1 will be one of those ‘must-have’ accessories each time one of these cameras is purchased. It will attach directly on the back of the Z5 which explains why the battery connection point sits well into the body of the camera – enabling the CF memory recorder to sit flush with the camera body.

The same – but different
Getting back to what is similar to the Z1, I’m pretty confident that an existing Z1 user will pretty much instantly pick this up and start creating pictures. The buttons and knobs, white balance presets, trigger/zoom controls and menu configuration and navigation are all pretty much the same. The only thing you’ll need to worry about is what function you are going to assign the additional assignable button. There are now 7 in total! Other slight changes between the two are the addition of a second cold shoe which is suitable for attaching the likes of wireless mic receivers or other accessories. Though I’ve never had a problem with this, there is also an additional tripod pin-boss hole for additional rigidity when used on a tripod.

One feature which Z1 users will find odd is that the Z5 (along with the recently introduced Z7) will only be able to record in both PAL and NTSC unless you pay for an upgrade. I’ve got no idea what this will cost, but there are quite a few videographers out there who will shoot and edit in NTSC if they think there is a possibility that the client will want NTSC copies.

Conclusion
To answer my first nagging question of whether this really is a change for the sake of change, the simple answer is no! There are significant improvements which make the Z5 a natural choice for all those Z1 users whose cameras are coming to the end of their natural life – as is mine! Add the optional MRCK1 CF recorder, or even Sony’s HVR-DR60 portable hard disk recorder, and you’ll have a truly hybrid camera solution enabling you to shoot SD or HD - to tape, hard drive or solid state (or any combination of these), and always be able to adopt the best possible workflow for any given project. You’ll get the benefits of file-based ingest and access which comes with solid state; the peace of mind of additional hard disk archiving; and the familiarity, wide media availability and low cost of tape.

Sony have upped the ante once again
Other accessories en route include a 0.8x wide angle converter combined with a single 4x5.6” filter matte box. This will come along a couple of months after the camera, and it will be interesting to see how this compares to other third-party wide angle converters and matte box systems. The ‘G’ series lens is a great improvement over the Carl Zeiss in operation, speed and optical length - and that all important third control ring changes it from being a pseudo-pro lens into something that is much more akin to industrial and broadcast lens systems. I’m sure that Sony’s competitive manufacturers will hate me for saying this, but Sony seemed to have upped the ante once again. I’m also sure that when the HVR-Z5E gets its first UK airing at IOV2008 on 15th & 16th October, there will be more than one or two Z1 owners thinking about how they can justify the upgrade.

SONY FX1000 - REVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:34:00 +0000

An Exclusive Hands-on Preview
By David Speranza

Reaffirming its commitment to the HDV format, Sony has announced its newest top-of-the-line prosumer camcorder, the HDR-FX1000. This model replaces the HDR-FX1 and adds a substantial number of improvements, including three Exmor-enhanced 1/3" CMOS sensors, a wide-angle 20x G-Series lens, and—in a welcome first from Sony's consumer division—24p/30p progressive scan recording. Other new features include increased low-light sensitivity (down to 1.5 lux), dedicated zoom, focus and iris rings, 3 built-in ND filters, and a 3.2" Xtra Fine LCD with an impressive 921K-pixel screen.
Having just laid our hands on a preproduction model, it seems safe to say that this camera delivers on more than specs alone. About half an inch shorter than the FX1, the FX1000 feels exceptionally solid and balanced, with a more professional and robust build than its predecessor in just about every respect. Any part of the FX1 that felt plastic-y or hollow seems to have been ruggedized, from the internal lens cover, which feels less toy-like, to the grooved top handle, the focus ring, the inset control buttons, and even the eyepiece hinge—it all just says "professional." For a camcorder that's technically a "consumer" model, that's pretty remarkable.
And while the lack of XLR inputs keeps this fixed-lens camera from full professional status, its street price of $3,199 is $500 less than the FX1 and less than half the price of the pro-level HVR-Z7U (which adds an interchangeable lens to an otherwise similar feature set). This makes the FX1000 an amazing package for independent videographers and filmmakers seeking broadcast-quality, 24p film-like imagery.
Along with introducing the FX1000 and discontinuing the FX1, Sony also plans to reintroduce its previously discontinued HDR-FX7, drastically cutting its price from $3,500 to $1,999. While an unusual move, this effectively diversifies the company's prosumer line by positioning the FX7 as a credible bridge between the more consumer-oriented HDR-HC9 and the now-flagship FX1000. At the same time it gives Canon's and Panasonic's comparable products more price-to-price and feature-to-feature competition. Aside from the XH-A1's XLR inputs, the FX1000 provides far more bang for the buck, its new specs giving it a substantial edge over arguably any sub-$4,000 camcorder out there.
With only a preproduction model at our disposal, we were unable to properly test the quality of video output, but let's see exactly what all those new specs mean.
Image Quality
In switching from the FX1's three 1/3" CCD imagers to new 1/3" ClearVid CMOS sensors, Sony included the Exmor technology used in their more recent flash memory and pro XDCAM EX cameras. Adding this on-sensor analog/digital conversion to three CMOS chips—each dedicated to its own color in the red/green/blue spectrum—provides several important benefits. First and foremost are sharper, more detailed images (along with an extended battery life due to the CMOS chips using less power). But even more significant for HD shooters, many of whom still miss the great low-light capabilities of standard-def workhorses like the VX2100 and PD170, is the FX1000's ability to accurately capture images down to 1.5 lux. This is twice the ability of the FX1, Z1U or Panasonic's HVX200 (all at 3 lux), and compares even more favorably to the FX7, VIU, and Canon's XH-A1 and GL2—rated at 4 lux. This greater light sensitivity seems mostly the result of the improved noise reduction afforded by Exmor processing, along with what Sony claims to be a 30% increase in dynamic range (bringing greater detail to the image's dark and light areas).

At the same time, the FX1000 is the first camcorder to come with Sony's new G-series 20x zoom lens, replacing the previously standard Carl Zeiss lenses. These high-performance lenses, originally made for Minolta/Sony D-SLR professional still cameras, offer improved optics (aspheric elements, a circular aperture, internal focus, extra-low dispersion glass) and were designed to match the camera's sensor and image processor more precisely.
This particular lens also brings something else to the table: a wider angle. Its 35mm-equivalent 29.5mm–590mm zoom range makes it easily the widest lens in the Sony line—topped only by the 28mm on Panasonic's new AG-HPX170 and AG-HMC150 (but wider than the Canon XH-A1's 32.5mm). This is a real boon to filmmakers needing to shoot in tight spaces, as it avoids the inconvenience, expense, and reduced image quality that comes with wide-angle converter lenses. Sony also seems to have carried over the digital extender from its FX7, which further magnifies the zoom by 1.5x with minimal quality loss.
x.v.Color technology is the final element in Sony's bag of improved imaging. This provides the images with a widened color range—nearly double that of standard RGB—and offers more natural color reproduction when displayed on an x.v.Color HDTV or monitor.
Film-Like 24p Progressive Scan
Unlike Canon and Panasonic, the cameras from Sony's consumer division have historically offered either HD or 24p, never both. The FX1000 breaks that mold, dropping the FX1's CineFrame mode for true progressive-scan 1080/24p and 30p—allowing budget-minded filmmakers and videographers to achieve the much-coveted "film" look. Two CinemaTone Gamma and CinemaTone Color settings are also available, which together enhance the 24p's film-like motion by creating deeper blacks and colors while maintaining detail in the middle tones and highlights. Although the FX1000 does not offer native progressive recording, its 24p/30p progressive modes (along with standard 1080/60i) go a long way toward giving Sony's HD customers the widened image palette that Canon and Panasonic users have taken for granted. For anyone who was on the fence about whether they could sacrifice 24p for the sake of brand loyalty, that decision no longer has to be made.
Improved Control
Both the FX1 and FX7 offered a healthy amount of control over the image coming through the lens. But the FX1000 ups the ante on the degree of professional control in camcorders at this price point. The most obvious change is the new iris ring, which joins the focus and zoom controls where it rightfully belongs—on the lens. This brings a more reliable, intuitive feel to image adjustment, especially for shooters used to working with higher-end cameras and lenses. Also added is a third built-in neutral density filter, making the FX1000 the first prosumer camera to offer 1/4, 1/16 and 1/64 ND settings, giving greater versatility when compensating for excess light. Retained from the FX1 are color bars (for professional color alignment) and zebra display (highlighting overexposed areas), now joined by a live histogram display—an exposure tool that measures the distribution of light and dark within an image.
But it's the FX1000's Xtra Fine LCD that redefines monitoring and playback at the prosumer level. At a resolution of 921K pixels—versus the norm of 250K—the new display is a real eye-opener. The image clarity and sharpness this resolution is capable of brings a dramatic improvement to the critical focusing needed for hi-def capture. At 3.2" it's a tad smaller than the FX1's 3.5", but what it loses in size it more than makes up for in clarity and viewing angles. The accompanying .45" Xtra Fine viewfinder is likewise a significant step up, from 252K pixels to 1,226K, while the very useful peaking function—which broadens edges in the viewfinder to assist in focusing—has also been retained.
The standard complement of manual controls also remains in place—gain, shutter and white balance adjustments—along with settings for color (mode/level/phase/depth), sharpening and knee point levels, all of which are especially useful in fine-tuning cinematic looks. Other notable features include Minus Auto Gain, 2:3 pull-down to 60i for editing, a Memory Stick slot for 1.2MP still image capture, Smooth Slow Record, and HDV/DV switchability. An improved button layout repositions several functions to better advantage, including a more prominent and easily accessed audio control and recessed placement beneath the tape mechanism.
The only thing missing, it seems, are the fixed end points and lens barrel markings found on the FX1's zoom ring—an unusual and seemingly unnecessary downgrade on a camera that's otherwise all about one-upmanship. But given the FX1000's added iris ring and the impressive responsiveness of all three servo-controlled rings, it's hardly a deal-breaker. Assuming the image quality is up to Sony's usual high standards, this camera—and its forthcoming professional counterpart—is going to make a lot of shooters very, very happy.
Bundling Vegas
In a related announcement, Sony is now bundling a special version of its Vegas Pro 8 editing software, specifically for its photo channel retailers, with its two most popular consumer HD camcorders, the HDV-format HDR-HC9VBDL and the hybrid 120GB HDD/Memory Stick HDR-SR12VBDL—providing a $500 value to filmmakers looking to take advantage of Vegas' intuitive and extremely robust interface. For those who have never used Vegas, this is definitely a smart way to spread the word on a great piece of software that deserves to find its way into more professional environments.
The HDR-FX1000 and newly priced FX7 are scheduled to ship in November, with the pro version of the FX1000, the HVR-Z5U, soon to follow. It will be interesting to see how video makers—and the competition—respond.

Fonte: B&H PHOTO VIDEO PRO AUDIO

Panasonic AG-HMC150

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:05:00 +0000

Panasonic has announced the tapeless AG-HMC150 handheld camera, a competitively priced addition to the company's growing professional AVCHD product line that builds on the success of its popular DV-based AG-DVX100.

The AG-HMC150 provides enhanced HD production capabilities for budget-conscious operators desiring professional features, extended recording capability, and the fast, simple, and highly reliable workflow offered by tapeless, solid-state recording. The AG-HMC150 features three native 16:9 progressive 1/3-inch CCD imagers with an optical image stabilisation (OIS) function to ensure stable shooting and a 28mm Leica Dicomar wide-angle zoom lens (35mm equivalent). The AG-HMC150 handheld offers 1080i and 720p recording at 13 Mbps, comparable to current HDV compression formats with bit rates of 25Mbps. An additional, higher bit rate mode is incorporated for higher-level use. The AG-HMC150 supports a full range of HD formats including 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 1080/30p, 1080/25p, 1080/24p native, 720/60p, 720/50p, 720/30p, 720/25p, and 720/24p native and is 50Hz / 59.94Hz switchable.

The advanced handheld utilises the second-generation long GOP HD standard - AVCHD. Based on MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile encoding, AVCHD provides a near doubling of bandwidth efficiency and considerably improved video performance over the older MPEG-2 compression used in HDV formats. Announced by Panasonic and Sony, this industry-standard format is now supported by more than 30 companies and implemented in numerous camcorders, NLE systems, and consumer HD playback devices.

The AG-HMC150 offers professional HD performance with the simplicity of a digital still camera. And because the solid-state handheld camcorder records onto SD and SDHC memory cards, users can benefit from the reliability and random access of tapeless recording and capitalise on the cost advantages, widespread availability, and growing capacity of standard SD consumer cards. With the newly announced 32GB SDHC memory card and the camcorder's 6-Mbps recording mode, users can record up to 12-hours of HD video and audio on a single SD card.

"The AG-HMC150 is an exceptional camera combining leading-edge tapeless operation with a professional feature set at a very attractive price," said Carmen Mendoza, marketing general manager of Panasonic PBITS. "With the introduction of the AG-HMC151, Panasonic is making the enormous advantages of tapeless operation available to an even wider range of users."

Additional features of the AG-HMC150 include: professional XLR audio input connections; a wide range of data and signal interfaces including HDMI out, USB 2.0, component out (D-terminal), composite out and RCA audio out jacks; a 3.5-inch LCD monitor to display thumbnail images for quick viewing and playback; and a time code/user bits menu. The camera also has remote jacks for focus, iris and start/stop functions; a prerecord feature that allows the camera to capture footage occurring immediately before real-time recording begins; and a time/date stamp menu option for documentation purposes.

Panasonic's AVCHD camera line brings the benefits of solid-state recording to budget-conscious professionals. As with digital still photography, recording video onto SD/SDHC cards offers a fast and simple IT-compatible workflow with ultra-reliable performance and is resistance to shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, and weather. SD and SDHC memory cards are inexpensive, widely available, and can be reused repeatedly. As AVCHD records video as digital data files, content can be transferred and stored on affordable, high-capacity hard disk drives (HDD) and optical storage media - and transferred to future storage media as technology advances.

The AG-HMC150 will be available in the third quarter of 2008 at a price to be announced. More information is available at www.panasonic-broadcast.com

Features:
Extra-long record times - one 32GB SDHC card can hold up to 3 hours in the PH mode mode, 4 hours HA, 5.3 hours at HG mode and 12 hours in the HE mode.
Records in a full range of HD formats including 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p; 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p.
1/3" 3-CCD progressive image system with excellent sensitivity, superb colour reproduction and resolution.
Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) that ensures stable images, critical to high definition video display.
13X 28mm to 368mm (35mm equivalent) Leica Dicomar™ wide-angle zoom lens.
Superb Manual & Auto focus.
In camera Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope and two Focus assist displays.
A host of advanced video functions like Cinelike Gamma and Dynamic Range Stretch (DRS).
Professional level connections including HDMI out, Component Out (D Terminal), Composite Out and RCA Audio out jacks, XLR audio inputs, USB 2.0 for file transfer, remote control for Zoom, Iris, Focus, Start/Stop.
Features three neutral density filters and three user sets.
Two locking XLR inputs with switches for mic/line, +48V Phantom Power, Auto/Manual level, and internal/external assignment.
Useful time/date stamp feature for applications like legal depositions or surveillance.
Includes professional level assist functions like waveform monitor, vectorscope and two focus displays.
Variety of editing solutions (Render files to almost any format or media).
Free downloadable AVCHD Transcoder for conversion to DVCPRO HD available at www.panasonic.com/avccam
Built with a durable, die-cast magnesium chassis frame for reliable performance in tough environments.
Lightweight (under 6lbs.), handheld design similar to the popular AG-DVX100.
Three-year warranty program (One year + two year extension upon registration).

Extra-Long Solid-State Recording
Forget minutes! With AVCHD technology and high-capacity SD memory cards, the HMC151 provides hours of beautiful high definition recordings at professional bitrates up to 21Mbps. And it's as easy to use as a digital still camera, with simple playback on many consumer devices and players, from computers and video game consoles to Blu-ray players and flat panel displays with SD card slots.

AVCHD is currently supported by variety of editing solutions including: Grass Valley Edius PRO v4.5, Apple iMovie, Apple Final Cut Pro 6.0.1, Pinnacle Studio Plus 11, Nero7 Premium Reloaded, Ulead Video Studio 11 plus and DVD Movie Factory 6 Plus.

Stunning, full pixel HD resolution with these professional bitrate recording modes:

PH - 21 Mpbs (1920x1080) -- Highest Quality Setting
HA - 17 Mpbs (1920x1080)
HG - 13 Mpbs (1920x1080)
HE - 6 Mpbs (1440x1280) - Perfect for Long-form Recording

Fonte: Dvuser

HPX170 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:41:00 +0000

by Barry Green
The first functional HPX170 is now in the States, being prepped for its debut to the world at Chicago's HD Expo. I previously posted a "First Look" article that described all the physical/hardware changes that we could identify. Recently, I got a chance to spend a little time with the HPX170, next to the HVX200A. This is the first chance we've had to dig inside the menus and see what new goodies are offered or are in store.

DISCLAIMER: Just because it's talked about here, that doesn't mean it'll be in the production version! All camera manufacturers always say "features and specifications subject to change" and that applies here too. This is a preview of what we MAY get in the final version of the HPX170.

So, first, to revisit a few physical things: it's hard to describe just how ergonomically superior the HPX170 is, over the HVX200 (and embarrassingly superior for handheld work as compared to the reigning ergonomics nightmare, the EX1). The HPX170 really is about the size and weight of the DVX100; I even pulled out a DVX100 to compare. The HPX170 prototype is maybe half an inch longer, and half an inch taller, than the DVX100. And about the same weight. It's such a night-and-day experience, using an HPX170 handheld, vs. the HVX200 or EX1. There are subtle touches throughout, such as that you can open the LCD with one finger instead of as on the HVX200 where it takes pushing in a button and then manually pulling the LCD open. The power switch is a lot nicer, the buttons and switches have been a little re-organized to make things easier to find and more logically grouped, and the FOCUS-IRIS switch is probably the most pleasant surprise. (I'm on record as ragging on the silly FOCUS RING user-button feature of the HVX200, so I thought I'd think the FOCUS-IRIS switch on the HPX170 would be equally silly, but – I gotta tell you, you're gonna like it. More on that later.)

The HPX170 has the same absolute precision and repeatability to the focus ring as the HVX200 (thank you!) and the same manual zoom, it's got much better balance, it's thinner, it's way lighter, and its wide-angle field of view is significantly wider than the 200, and even somewhat wider than the 200A. And – oh, did I mention the LCD? Man, have they improved that! Now, it may be technically the same LCD panel, but it's so much improved that it's hard to describe. The image processing and EVF DTL are so enhanced that it's now very, very easy to know exactly when you're in focus. The HVX200A received some of this improvement but not as much as the HPX170. The HPX170 is so much better than the HVX200 in this regard that I say you really have to see it to believe it. Now, I didn't get a chance to take it outside to see how it performs in bright sunlight, but if it's a problem, that's what I've got a Hoodman for. Overall, I don't see the LCD as even being a problem anymore. It's seriously improved over the HVX200!

Other Physical Changes:

As mentioned in the First Look article, there's no s-video port, instead it has HD-SDI; the firewire port has been upgraded to a locking six-pin connector, and the SD card slot has moved to inside the P2 card compartment. In addition to HD-SDI there's a component video port, which uses a different connector; it uses a mini-D connector instead of the D-4. It's similar to, but not the same as, the connector used on the Sony EX1. It looks like the same basic design, but the Panasonic connector is bigger. Another change is that there's a new Slot Select button; instead of accessing SLOT SEL through a user button, it now has its own dedicated button on the back. The joystick from the DVX series is back, replacing the button pad of the HVX line. The thumbnail button is now called just "thumbnail" instead of audio dub/thumbnail. Obviously this is a change warranted by the disappearance of the tape deck; the "audio dub" function was only used for dubbing additional audio tracks onto the tape. Since the HPX170 has no tape deck, it has no need for the "audio dub" function. The HPX170 also doesn't have the gray and red VCR REC buttons. Instead, it repurposes the ZEBRA and OIS buttons to serve the same purpose. If you want to record an incoming firewire stream, you press and hold the ZEBRA and OIS buttons together (there's a text word and graphic saying "REC" over them to remind you). Or, you can use the remote control to trigger recording.

The RCA jacks, component video port, and SDI port are all output-only, no analog video input is possible. If you need to dub from external analog video devices, you'd need the HVX200A; the HPX170 can't do that. It can only input through the firewire (or the lens, of course).

The P2 eject buttons now are styled like those found on the HPX500 and the other larger P2 cameras, meaning that the buttons now fold over instead of just sticking out. The inside of the compartment basically looks like the inside of a P2 Gear's P2 compartment.
Okay, now, about that FOCUS/IRIS switch: the HVX200 had a similar kind of function, which was "FOCUS RING" that you could assign to a user button. This would determine whether the focus ring on the lens controlled focus OR iris. You could use that big ring on the lens to control your iris, but the drawback (and, dare I say it, the fatal flaw) of that arrangement is that it required you to be in autofocus mode. So that was of extremely limited value. Well, they fixed that on the HPX170: if you put that switch in IRIS mode, the ring works regardless of whether you're in autofocus or manual focus mode. After playing with it for a minute, I realized just how useful that is: if you put the camera in manual focus mode, and you put the switch in IRIS position, then you've done two things: you've DISABLED the focus ring, and you've gained a huge iris ring. Very useful for 35mm adapter users! Now you can forcibly lock the focus at one set position, and instead get a big huge iris ring. I bet this one feature alone is going to prove quite popular with 35mm adapter users.

The lens has a new focal length range, 3.9 to 51mm. In practical terms, the HVX200A is wider than the HVX200, and the HPX170 is wider than both of them. As for telephoto, the opposite is true: the HVX200 has the most reach, the HVX200A a little less, and the HPX170 a little less than both. The difference in wide angle is a lot more noticeable than the difference in telephoto though.

Wide Angle Comparison

Tele Comparison

PERFORMANCE TESTING

My performance testing was limited because ... well, it's almost pointless, really. This is a development mule, not a finished product, so anything is subject to change between now and final production. It could be more sensitive or less sensitive, cleaner or noiser, more or less dynamic range, anything could happen. So I plinked around a tad and I'll report what I found, but understand that these findings are ONLY related to this pre-production model and may have no bearing on the final production models due in September.

Sensitivity: I tested it for general sensitivity as compared to the HVX200A. We already know that the HVX200A is about 500 ISO with very clean noise performance. The HPX170 uses the same chipset, so the assumption has been that it will have comparable performance, and my brief testing confirmed that yes, they are approximately the same. Which means that they're both a huge improvement over the HVX200 (when factoring in both more sensitivity and less noise).

Dynamic Range Testing: I used a top-of-the-line DSC DX1-72dB 13-step grayscale calibration chart. This chart is a backlit chart with 13 shades of gray, each designed to be precisely one stop brighter than the next. This type of chart is far more accurate than a front-lit chart and you can really tell whether you're seeing a difference in terms of each f-stop without any complications arising from reflections or improper lighting of the chart. It's not exactly a Stouffer 42-step chart (which shows you 14 stops in 1/3-stop increments) but it is a precisely calibrated 13-step backlit chart, definitely in the same class as the Stouffer.

I used Cinelike-D gamma, which affords the widest dynamic range. I also turned DRS (Dynamic Range Stretching) to OFF. DRS doesn't do much for a grayscale step chart, it's much more useful for real-world scenes. For chart purposes I stepped through the options and decided that turning DRS to OFF gave me the most realistic and useful readings for purposes of chart testing.

With this chart, the HPX170 could clearly distinguish 10, maybe 10 and a half stops of dynamic range. You can count the steps on a waveform monitor, and you can even more clearly see the stops being resolved on an actual HD monitor. What looks like potential crushed dark tones are actually easily distinguishable on the HD display. And while it's normal to see extra stops down in the dark zone that aren't really usable because they're noise-limited, on the 170 that really isn't much of a problem. The 170's noise is really low and quite clean, so you're not having to "rule out" stops because of too much noise.

But how much of an improvement is this, and how does a chart test translate to real-world performance? The 200A has this same sensitivity and same dynamic range, and represents an increase from the HVX200 mainly in terms of cleaner distinction between stops in the darker tones. But is this a real-world 10+ stops? That seems optimistic. As far as real-world: consider that while the RED ONE has been tested at 11 1/3 stops on a Stouffer, many real-world tests place its actual latitude at maybe 9 to 10 stops. Using that same model, while the HPX170 tests at 10+ stops, it probably delivers a real-world 8.5. I'll have to wait for a production unit and a chance to test it in real-world circumstances with my spotmeter to know what can be discerned outside of chart testing. As it is, I'm seeing maybe a half-stop to one-stop increase in usable dynamic range, mainly due to the lower noise allowing us to see into the shadows better. That's without DRS though – wait until you read about that little surprise...

SOFTWARE CHANGES

Most of the physical changes were reported previously in the First Look article, so the rest of this article is about the changes "under the hood", the new software changes. And frankly, as far as this article is concerned, that's where the party's at.

First, check out this little nicety: the thumbnail data display can be set to show clips by user clip name! How cool is that?
Of course, that's not all that cool unless you have user clip names assigned to your clips, right? On the HVX200/200A, that meant having to set the names in P2 Viewer and loading in through the SD card. Well, not anymore: on the HPX170, you have a software keyboard for entering metadata.
You can enter in-camera metadata, or you can enter per-clip metadata. That means you can set the metadata that will be automatically attached to all clips, or you can go into each clip and set the metadata for that particular clip. You can now basically change all the metadata, right in camera. (Of course, you can still load in metadata via the SD card too.)

All the buttons inside the LCD on an HVX200 are there on the HVX200A, but there are three new buttons: EVF DTL, WFM, and LCD. The EVF DTL button may have moved from the back of the HVX200, but that's not the big change: the big change is that it's now much stronger. The peaking is just wonderful. It's now incredibly easy to tell when something pops into sharp focus. On the HVX200/200A, the EVF DTL was tuned to be very mild, and it was one of those functions that you'd turn on and never disengage. But on the HPX170 the difference between on/off is huge. The improvement in EVF DTL alone should go a long way towards silencing critics who complain about the quality of the LCD panel. The LCD may be unchanged, but with the improvements in the focus assists and the EVF DTL, it's now much, much more usable. The HVX200A looks to have improved EVF DTL as well, but somehow it doesn't appear to be quite as strong as the HPX170's. Whatever they did, it works – the HPX170's LCD looks noticeably sharper than the HVX200A's and significantly better than the HVX200's. I would buy one just for the improvements in focus alone.

The WFM monitor button has already been talked about, as has the Vectorscope; we talked about those in the First Look article. The Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope only show up on the flip-out LCD, not on the viewfinder, which is very nice indeed: you can monitor the full frame on the VF, and monitor exposure/waveform on the flip-out LCD. That's exactly how we'd hoped it'd be done.

The LCD button is a programmable button, with three options: LCD REV, OVERSCAN, and LCD BL (backlight).

1) In LCD BL configuration, pressing the LCD button results in it cycling through three levels of brightness, so as you press it the LCD goes brightest-medium-darkest and then back to brightest.

2) In LCD REV mode, pressing the LCD button toggles between normal, and 180-degree rotated (for 35mm adapters). When in flipped mode all menu items are hidden, as are the waveform and vectorscope and, sadly, the focus assists too (at least, in this pre-release preproduction version). Only the LCD flips, the EVF does not, which is great: the menus are all displayed on the EVF regardless of the flip status. You do get the focus bar and the EVF DTL in the viewfinder, but nothing on the LCD.

3) OVERSCAN toggles between showing you the full frame, and showing you an overscanned image (such as is likely to be shown by most HDTV sets). On the HVX200 we had the option of displaying a 90% safe zone, with the idea being that anything outside that safe zone would probably be cut off on an HDTV. With the HPX170 you still have that option of using a 90% safe zone, but you also have the much more useful ability to actually toggle between underscan and overscan. The camera shows a slightly zoomed-in display, with a white frame outlining it, to show you exactly what's going to appear within the overscan area.

You can exit out of most of the thumbnail menus by pressing the "menu" button, you don't always have to go down to "exit". You can also go into or out of the clip properties window by pressing the DISP/MODE CHK button, which I found to be very, very useful. You can now get into a clip's properties with one button press, instead of having to go through the menu system to PROPERTY->CLIP PROPERTY.

For Focus Assist, there are four total ways to get assistance with focusing: there's the magnified window (which now stays on as long as you want; it doesn't time out anymore); there's the "peaking" (aka EVF DTL); there's the Histogram/Frequency Distribution graph that first debuted on the HPX500/HPX2000 cameras, and there's a new Focus Bar.
The Focus Bar is probably the simplest focus assist to use: as the shot becomes more in focus, the bar gets longer; the more out-of-focus you are, the bar grows shorter. Pretty simple, and works surprisingly well. You can individually control which focus assists show up in any combination.

Oh, and three of the four Focus Assists now work in Standard Def! You don't get the magnified window, but the histogram, the EVF DTL, and the focus bar all work even in standard def.

The Color Bars feature now also optionally outputs a -12dB audio test tone, for calibrating with an external mixer or audio recorder.

The HPX170 also has the ability to burn the time and/or date of the recording right into the footage. This opens up a whole new market, legal videography.
Oh, another nice little update is the CLIP COUNTER mode. On the HVX you can choose to see the timecode or a counter (which counts the # of seconds you've been shooting). On the HVX it counts the total # of seconds since the last time you re-set the counter. But on the HPX170, it can do that as well as automatically resetting to zero every time you start a new recording (your choice, you can have it either way).

There's also a one-stop MENU INIT button that resets all menu items and scene files back to factory default.

And, the LCD has a few selectable "safe zones" for 4:3, 13:9, 14:9, and 15:9. If you have to shoot for European television and protect for 14:9, well, now there's a cage generator. No 1.85:1 though, at least not on this preproduction unit.

Perhaps my favorite software/hardware change is when you're in P2 thumbnail mode, and you want to play back a clip, but the icon's number is in red (meaning, it was shot in a different format than the camera's currently set to). On the HVX200, that meant having to jump back to camera mode, going into the RECORDING SETUP mode, changing the recording format, then going back to the thumbnail mode. A little bit of a hassle. Well, I quickly found that on the HPX170 you don't have to do that, you can just turn the thumbnails off, bring up the menu, and change the recording mode there. What used to be a six or eight second process is now down to maybe two seconds, right? So I thought that was pretty cool until it was pointed out to me that you don't have to do that at all: you can change the playback mode right from the thumbnail screen. Just put the cursor over the clip you want to play, and hold the joystick down for a second, and it'll automatically swap to the right mode. This, my friends, is heavenly. You've got to see it to realize just how user-friendly it is. They've been listening! We thought this function was added at NAB but couldn't figure out how to make it work, but it's definitely functional now, and using it is just so addictive.

For image controls, all the same scene file settings are there, but there's a little bit more control in three areas:

1) MASTER PEDESTAL. On the HVX200/200A, you get a range of -15 to +15. On the HPX170 you get a range of -100 to +100. This means that not only do you get a tremendous amount more precision in your adjustability, but it also extends the range (i.e., -100 on the HPX170 is noticeably more crushed than -15 on an HVX, and +100 on the HPX170 is more raised than +15 on the HVX).

2) A.IRIS LEVEL: on the HVX you get a range of -4 to +4, on the HPX170 it ranges from -10 to +10. My quick evaluation shows that the HVX gave you control over about 1/3-stop increments, the HPX170 gives you control in about 1/6-stop increments.

3) COLOR TEMP is now split for Ach and Bch. That means you can set a different COLOR TEMP setting for each of your manual white balance channels; very cool.

Oh, and more frame rates! Did I forget to mention frame rates? There are now 20 frame rates instead of 11 as found on the HVX series. It still starts at 12, and ends at 60, but there are a lot more steps in-between. I don't know if the final list is set in stone so I'm not printing them here. I do know the question that many of you are asking though, and the answer is: I tested it, and yes, it worked. Heh.

Okay, and now for the biggie: the other image control they've added is DRS (Dynamic Range Stretching). This is basically an in-camera way to get High Dynamic Range images. It's a feature imported from the AJ-series HPX2000/HPX3000. This one feature greatly expands the appearance of dynamic range across the scene. I could attempt to describe what it does, but it's complex. Let me sum it up by saying that your shadows will be less harsh and your highlights won't blow out as easily, and then let me show you a few pictures:

DRS is very, very neat. It really appears to extend the dynamic range, compressing more tonal information into the scene. Unfortunately, it appears to be limited to 1080/60i mode only; I sure wish it was available in the 24P modes but something about the processing makes it limited to 1080/60i.

New user buttons:

1) D.ZOOM: Yes, this is a digital zoom feature. Don't know why we wanted that, but we got it. It magnifies the center of the image and ranges in steps from 2x to 5x to 10x. This feature is only available in 1080/60i mode, and also was inherited from the HPX2000. A digital zoom may not be all that useful for filmmaking purposes, but perhaps for newsgathering it would be handy (especially since it doesn't impact sensitivity, the way an optical doubler would; but it does degrade resolution).

2)LVL METER: This toggles the audio meter display between showing Channels 1 & 2, and showing Channels 3 & 4, so you can actually monitor the audio levels on 3 & 4 now!

3) LAST CLIP: This is the last-clip-delete function, and I figure I'll permanently glue this function onto one of my HPX170's user buttons. If you've just shot a clip you know you'll never use, pressing this button lets you delete it instantly.

4) PRE REC: This turns on (or turns off) pre-record mode. You can still do that in the menus, or you can now assign it to a user button.

5) F. RATE +, F. RATE -: these buttons let you change the frame rate you're shooting at. Can't change 'em during a take, but you can now change them inbetween takes without having to go into the SCENE FILE menus.

We lost the SLOT SEL user button, but that's no big loss since we now have a dedicated SLOT SEL button on the back of the camera.
The display has one more function to talk about: DOWNCON MODE. This function changes the way the downconverted SDTV display gets rendered. On the HVX200, when shooting high-def 16:9, the only way to see the downconverted video output was as a 16:9 squeezed image. On the HPX170 you now have the choice of sending out a 16:9 squeezed image, or an unsqueezed letterboxed 4:3 image, or as a center-extraction side cropped 4:3 image.
Oh, I also found a few new menu options in the thumbnail display:

1) EXCH. THUMBNAIL allows you to set a new thumbnail for a clip, right in-camera.

2) PLAYBACK RESUME (on/off): this is a choice as to how you want your clips to play back once you've stopped playback. In other words, if you're playing a clip and you stop playback, then when go to play that clip again it'll start over from the beginning. On the HPX170 you have the option of having it pick up where you left off and play back from there.

3) P2 CARD REMAIN lets you choose to show the available recording time as either ONE-CARD or TOTAL (both cards added together).

SUMMARY

I went back to Luis Caffesse's wishlist thread, where he was tracking all the requests that users had made for changes to be incorporated into the HVX's eventual successor. Most all of the changes that Panasonic implemented look to be direct responses to user requests. The HPX170 is now smaller, lighter, sleeker, wider-angle, cleaner noise, with more dynamic range, it's more sensitive, way better in low light, has more professional connectors (including SDI and a locking firewire port), more options (you can turn the built-in microphone off, and you can monitor the audio on channels 3 & 4, you have almost twice as many frame rates), more usable (much better ergonomics and greatly improved focusing off the LCD, software keyboard for metadata, shortcuts for deleting last clip and changing frame rate and pre-record mode, getting into and out of clip properties, and so many other nice little improvements.) In short, there are dozens of improvements across the board, in four main categories: ergonomics, connectivity, video performance, and ease of use. I look forward to testing the final version in September to see what else might have changed, but as it stands now, I will definitely be upgrading my HVX200 to an HPX170.
Fonte: DVUSER

Fluxo de trabalho da Sony HVR-Z1

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:48:00 +0000

A guide to the various shooting formats, workflows and other Z1 shooting tips.
by Nigel Cooper

Shooting in the Past, the Present and the Future
This short tutorial is aimed at those who are used to shooting in standard definition DV or DVCAM on the Sony VX2100 and PD170 camcorders; but who have recently bought a Sony HVR-Z1E HDV camcorder. This guide is designed to introduce newcomers to the Z1, how to use the camera in standard DV, DVCAM and HDV modes and how your SD and HDV workflow will be affected - now and in the future. At the end I’ve added some shooting tips and other things to watch out for.

There is a very good reason that Sony has three shooting modes on the Z1. I suspect the most relevant one is that at the time of writing this tutorial, Blu-ray DVD players and HD TV sets are rare amongst general UK households. It is going to be a good few years before we start seeing HD DVD players in domestic households that can actually play back DVDs that have been authored from a native HDV 1080i project. In fact, I don’t think the first HD DVD player has even landed in the shops yet. So, what you have to decide is how you are going to use your Sony Z1 as a shooting acquisition format in the immediate future. Lucky for us the Z1 is backward compatible as well as future proof.

There are three options open to you with the Z1.

Option 1 - Shoot, Edit & Author DVD in Standard Def:
This first workflow involves shooting in standard def (DV or DVCAM), editing in standard def and authoring your DVD in standard def; this could be in either DV or DVCAM shooting mode. The advantage with this workflow is that you are used to it and everybody can watch your finished DVD on their current standard definition DVD players and TV sets. However, the disadvantage is that you will be stuck with a standard definition project as your original footage was shot in SD mode, hence it will not be future proof.

Option 2 - Shoot HDV, Edit & Author DVD in Standard Def:
The second workflow involves shooting in HDV, then down-converting to standard def from the Z1 as you import the footage into your NLE computer system, then editing in standard def and authoring your DVD in standard def; this could be either DV or DVCAM. The advantage with this workflow is that you can edit in a way that you are used to and everybody can watch your DVD on their current standard def DVD players and TV sets. Although your finished DVD will be standard def, you will have the option of re-importing your HDV footage in the future when more people own HD DVD players and HD TV sets. When that time comes, you will import your native HDV footage with no down-conversion from the Z1. You can then edit in native HDV, providing you have a NLE computer system and software package that can handle HDV. Then finally you can author your DVD in native HDV and burn a HD DVD ready for playback on domestic HD equipment.

Another advantage to shooting in HDV and then down-converting to SD from the Z1 and editing and authoring an SD DVD is that the picture quality is said to be an improvement over shooting in standard def to start with; why is this? By shooting in HDV you are effectively recording a lot more information; 1440x1080 pixels as opposed to the 720x576 pixels of standard def. Because you have more information on tape to start with, when you carry out the down-conversion to SD from the Z1 you end up with more information in your final standard def edited programme. DVD's that have been created from HDV footage are superior in image quality than DVD's originating from standard definition video as HDV provides more pixel data to work with, so there is less reduction in quality in the MPEG-3 transcoding process. You will find that DVD's produced from HDV originated footage look stunning.

Option 3 - Shoot, Edit & Author DVD in HDV:
The third workflow involves shooting in HDV, editing in HDV and authoring your DVD in HDV. This option has the advantage of maintaining the highest possible image quality throughout the entire production process from shooting, through editing and finally authoring and burning off your DVD. It is an easy workflow to get used to and is not much different from what you are used to in a standard def environment. Some advantages include: taking still images from the timeline of your HDV productions during editing to use as photos on say the DVD cover will be superior due to the larger pixel count, and if you have a high def computer monitor there is nothing quite like editing in HDV – the quality is simply stunning. However, you will need to upgrade your NLE computer editing system to accommodate HDV, this will mean a lot more RAM, faster processing power and possibly new or updated software. The only major concern with the total HDV workflow is that your client and the viewing public will not be able to view your HDV-made DVDs until HD DVD players and HD TV sets are more commonplace; unless of course they own an Apple Macintosh computer with a DVD drive, in which case they can view your HD DVD using Apples built in DVD player software.
Setting up the various shooting modes on the Z1

Shooting in the Past, the Present and the Future

1: Standard Def 720x576 PAL 50i DV shooting mode.
The first option we will look at is for shooting in standard definition 720x576 PAL in regular DV mode. This is relatively straightforward and your workflow won’t be any different to what you are used to with your Sony VX2100 (or other Mini-DV camcorder).

To shoot in standard DV mode on the Z1 press the ‘MENU’ button on the rear of the camera, then scroll down to the ‘IN/OUT REC’ menu and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to select it. With ‘REC FORMAT’ highlighted press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to enter its sub-menu, then using the scroll wheel select ‘DV’ and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to enter that setting. You will now be returned to the previous screen. Scroll down to ‘REC MODE’, select it and choose ‘DV SP’ from the menu then press the SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button again to enter the setting. Then exit the menu.

2: Standard Def 720x576 PAL 50i DVCAM shooting mode.
The second shooting option is standard def DVCAM mode. The advantage of DVCAM over standard DV is basically down to tape speed and ‘track pitch’. It’s worth noting that if you use a standard 60-minute Mini-DV cassette in DVCAM mode, it will only give you 40 minutes of recording time, this is because the tape transport speed of the DVCAM format is 1/3rd faster than Mini-DV, which brings us to the next major difference between Mini-DV and DVCAM, ‘track pitch’. The DVCAM format has a track pitch of 15 microns whilst Mini-DV has a track pitch of just 10 microns. To give you an idea of how wide a micron is, a human hair is approximately 60 microns thick, so as you can imagine these tracks on the tape are incredibly small.

Basically track pitch is the width of recorded information on the tape. Because the tape transport speed is faster DVCAM mode the track pitch is wider, this yields a more durable tape system, for example in the edit suite footage shot in DVCAM mode will be able to withstand being thrashed back and forth in a deck as you shuttle around looking for specific clips on your tapes or whilst you mark all the in and out points ready for a batch capture, there’s also less chance of dropped frames, 50% fewer visual dropouts and artefacts. If you are used to using a Sony PD170 (or other Sony DVCAM camcorder) then your workflow will be no different.

To shoot in DVCAM mode on the Z1 press the ‘MENU’ button on the rear of the camera, then scroll down to the ‘IN/OUT REC’ menu and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to select it. With ‘REC FORMAT’ highlighted press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to enter its sub-menu, then scroll down to ‘DVCAM’ and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ to enter that setting. You will now be returned to the previous screen. Now scroll down to ‘REC MODE’, select it and choose ‘DVCAM’ from the menu then press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button again to enter the setting. Then exit the menu.

3: High Def 1440x1080 PAL 1080i HDV shooting mode.
The third shooting option is the high def HDV 1080i shooting mode. If you are used to using a standard Mini-DV camcorder such as the VX2100 or any Sony DVCAM camcorder then your workflow is about to change slightly.

To shoot in HDV mode on the Z1 press the ‘MENU’ button on the rear of the camera, then scroll down to the ‘IN/OUT REC’ menu and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to select it. With ‘REC FORMAT’ highlighted press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to enter its sub-menu, then scroll to ‘HDV1080i and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ to enter that setting. Then exit the menu.

To shoot in HDV 1080i mode it’s not actually that much more complicated; well not at the shooting stage anyway. When it comes to editing, things are a little different; you will have to refer to your NLE software instructions for this part and you might have to upgrade your hardware and/or software to a later version that can handle native HDV 1080i footage.

Down-converting to SD from HDV:
If you have shot footage in HDV mode and intend editing in standard def then you will need to down-convert your HDV footage to standard def as you import it into your NLE computer system. To do this you will have to make a few tiny adjustments in the Z1’s menu.

Press the ‘MENU’ button on the rear of your Z1, scroll down to the ‘IN/OUT REC’ option and select it by pressing the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’. Then scroll down to ‘i LINK CONV’ and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to enter into the menu. With ‘HDV-DV CONV’ selected press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ to enter the menu and select the ‘ON’ option then press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ again to save this setting. You will now be returned to the previous menu. Scroll down to the ‘DOWN CONVERT’ option and press the ‘SEL/PUSH EXEC’ button to enter the menu and choose ‘SQUEEZE’ if you want to down-convert for editing in native 16:9 widescreen mode for final viewing on a widescreen TV set. Choose ‘LETTER BOX’ for editing for final output to 4:3 TV sets with letter-boxing appearing at the top and bottom of your 4:3 TV screen, but retaining the 16:9 widescreen format across the central part of the screen. Choose ‘EDGE CROP’ for editing for final output to 4:3 TV sets, but with the right and left hand edges cut off to fit 4:3 TV screens.

Z1 shooting tips and things to watch out for!

There are a few things that you will need to be aware of with the Z1. If you are new to the Z1 and are not aware of them your footage might not be as good as it could be; read on.

Zebra Setting:
The first thing I would recommend doing is going into the Z1’s menus and changing the ‘Zebra’ setting from its default 100, otherwise it will be difficult to spot ‘burn’ on the Z1’s LCD screen when trying to judge exposure. This needs to be set to something more workable and realistic. I would recommend setting this to 70, or 85 if you are used to a Sony DSR500/570/400 camcorder.

Date Record:
In the menu there is a setting called ‘DATE REC’. By default it should be set to the ‘OFF’ position, but you should check to make sure it is ‘OFF’. If this menu setting gets inadvertently changed to the ‘ON’ position the time and date will be permanently burnt into your footage, rendering it unusable for anything more serious than holiday footage.

Auto Mode:
Use this mode only when image quality is not important, such as the recce of a potential shooting location or covert shooting. Otherwise, for the best quality footage set the ‘AUTO LOCK’ switch on the left-side of the Z1 to the middle position. Which brings me nicely onto the next VERY IMPORTANT part, ‘Exposure’. Read on.

Exposure:
The Z1’s exposure system causes a great deal of confusion for many. In very bright or very dark shooting environments it can adversely affect the quality of the footage. The camera will not allow you to adjust the exposure manually by adjusting the chrome iris control dial on the front-left of the camera; instead it will fight against you by using the electronic shutter, or worse still, the electronic gain.

Here is how you prevent this from happening and maintain superior quality footage. First, you must manually set the Z1’s gain to 0dB and the shutter speed to 50. To do this, press the ‘GAIN’ button on the left-side of the camera to switch the gain into manual mode, then move the little chrome gain lever to the ‘low’ (L) position. 0dB will be displayed on the LCD screen. Next press the ‘SHUTTER SPEED’ button on the left-side of the camera and set it to 50 (the default for UK PAL) using the scroll wheel on the back of the camera. The shutter speed of 50 and the gain of 0dB will be displayed on the LCD screen. It is very important to keep both these settings displayed on the LCD screen AT ALL TIMES. If you don’t, you won’t be able to make any manual adjustments to the exposure using the chrome iris wheel. If you try to make any manual iris adjustments when the shutter and gain are not displayed on the LCD screen the camera will simply compensate for your so-called manual adjustments by changing the shutter speed and/or increasing the gain electronically, which will lead to either unsightly grainy images or an annoying strobe-like flickering effect.

Focus:
For the best results it is ALWAYS best to set the ‘FOCUS’ control on the left-side of the camera to ‘MAN’ (manual), then when you need to focus press the ‘PUSH AUTO’ button just underneath it. This will totally eliminate any ‘focus hunt’ problems as the camera tries to automatically focus on a moving object that is in the same frame as your actual subject.

Expanded Focus:
To further aid you with focusing you can also use the ‘EXPANDED FOCUS’ button next to the zoom rocker switch on the lens. When you press this button the central part of the image will be greatly enlarged on the LCD screen for 5 seconds, before the camera returns the display to normal; this is more than enough time to check your focus.

White Balance:
A quick tip for the white balance settings on the Z1 is to set the A and B memories for the indoor and outdoor environment of your particular shooting location. Doing this will speed up your daily shooting schedule as you switch from A to B as you move from indoors to outdoors or vice versa. But remember, when shooting outdoors the colour temperature will change as the sun gets lower in the sky so you might need to take another white balance reading every couple of hours or so.

Fonte: DVUSER

Sony PMW-EX3 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Sony go after the low-budget independent filmmaker and wildlife filmmaker markets with the all-new PMW-EX3 solid-state interchangeable lens camcorder. Nigel Cooper spends the day with one in Belgium.

INTRO
It is no secret that I’m a massive fan of Sony’s XDCAM HD Optical Disc System and the SxS system. I personally own an F350 and have spent 4 months using an EX1 solid-state camcorder too. This review is not going to be incredibly long or extensive, simply because I’ve already done a very extensive review on the PMW-EX1 (see under the camcorder reviews section). The PMW-EX3 is the latest addition to the EX family, and it is basically an EX1, only in a new semi-shoulder mount design and with ‘EX-Mount’ half-inch interchangeable lenses. So for this review I’m basically going to concentrate on the differences between the smaller EX1 and this new EX3.

The PMW-EX3 uses all the same components as the PMW-EX1; same 1920x1080 half-inch CMOS chips, same circuitry, same 35mbps codec, same features. So the picture quality from the PMW-EX3 is identical in every way to pictures taken using the PMW-EX1. If you want to read more about the image quality of these EX series camcorders, read my comprehensive review on the EX1.

NEW SHAPE
The first thing you will notice about the PMW-EX3 is its shape. People (myself included) are comparing the shape to that of Canon’s famous XL series camcorders, with the wedge/chainsaw ergonomics at the back end. Sony has designed the camera in this way to help make shooting more comfortable. Due to the extra weight of this camera, as well as the extra weight of larger lenses, it has been designed and shaped as a ‘semi-shoulder’ mount camcorder, just like Canon’s XL H1. The EX3’s extendable shoulder rest sits at the front/top of your shoulder. This makes holding the camera much easier than the ‘out front’ method you would use with a Z1 or EX1. It takes away a bit of the weight, though you still have to firmly support the camcorder with your right hand. It also aids in stabilizing the camcorder too as it is not being held in mid-air. The shoulder rest/pad can be extended away from the EX3’s body by about 1.5”, this is done by pushing in a small metal device on the base of the camera toward the back. Once out, it locks in place. To push back in, simply push the metal device in again on the base of the camera.

Overall I found the semi-shoulder mount system of the EX3 to be much better than the Z1, EX1 ‘out in front’ design. Weight is better distributed and stabilization is greatly improved. However, I found my right forearm to be angled back at an angle so my hand was almost touching my shoulder. This felt a bit uncomfortable for me, but this is probably because I’m used to a full-size shoulder-mount camcorder were your forearm is more vertical. It’s been a while since I owned a Canon XL1 so I can’t comment on how they compare. But from my vague memories I think they are roughly the same.

UP YOUR NOSE
If you have never heard of the ‘up the nose’ look, you are about to be educated. We’ve all seen the 6-oclock news on the box. How many times have you seen a pack of journalists and cameramen flock towards the exterior courtroom steps on the street to get an interview with some famous, or infamous… probably hundreds. The camcorders used for these ENG events vary, Sony’s DSR570 and DSR450 are favourites, and at the low-end of the spectrum Sony’s HDV Z1 camcorder is even being used on occasion. When watching these news stories, it is blatantly obvious which shots were done on a Z1 (or other similar ‘out in front’ style hand-held camcorder). This is because most Z1 type shots suffer from what is known as an ‘up-the-nose’ look, when used in ENG shooting situations. Because the Z1 is a hand-held camcorder, cameramen often make the mistake of holding it at chest height when doing reporting jobs hand-held, this results in the up-the-nose look due to the camcorder not being on the ‘eye-level’ of the person being filmed, instead, because of the slightly lower shooting angle, the lens is looking slightly up the subjects nose, which looks amateurish, and just plain bad from a compositional point of view.

The reason for this short lecture in ENG journalism, is simply to let you know that the new PMW-EX3 does not suffer from ‘up-the-nose’ compositions, due to the fact that it is not held at chest height, instead, it is at the same level as full-size professional shoulder-mount camcorders so you are on the same eye-line when filming people in a standing position. So not only is the EX3’s image quality good enough for ENG broadcast, but the compositions are too.

INTERCHANGEABLE LENSES
We all know that the EX1 has fixed built in lens like the PD170 and Z1 models. The EX3 is the first EX series camcorder to feature an interchangeable lens system. Sony is calling this new half-inch mount the ‘EX-Mount’. Although it is half-inch, it is not the same half-inch mount that Sony’s full-size XDCAM camcorders use; however, Sony are including a half-inch B4 mount adaptor with the EX3 so you can still use professional half-inch lenses from full size half inch XDCAM camcorders if you choose. The EX3 comes with a standard lens, this is basically the same as the lens that is built into the EX1, only with the new EX-Mount on the back so it is interchangeable.

Sony has informed me that Fujinon are going to be manufacturing a wide-angle zoom lens in the dedicated EX-Mount specifically for the EX3. This will be good for corporate videographers and wedding videographers who often need to film in confined spaces.

35mm lens adaptor manufacturer Letus, are also making an adaptor to allow their Letus Extreme 35mm lens adaptor to be fitted directly onto the EX3 bypassing the lens altogether. This means the picture quality will be superior, as it will only be using the 35mm lens fitted to the front of the Letus Extreme.

So why would you need a camcorder with interchangeable lenses, as opposed to a built in lens like the EX1?

The chances are if you are a corporate or wedding videographer, or just a keen hobbyist, the chances are that you will be happy with the built in zoom lens of the EX1. However, if you are an independent feature filmmaker, or a wildlife videographer, or even a corporate or event videographer who wants variation, the interchangeable lens system will be indispensable. Independent feature filmmakers will need to use 35mm lenses for depth-of-field purposes, whilst wildlife filmmakers will need long telephoto lenses.

You will need to ask yourself what kind of productions you do and if you need extra wide-angle or extreme telephoto lenses, or 35mm lenses. If the answer is no and you are happy with a standard zoom lens, then save yourself £1,500 and buy an EX1 with a tripod and some lighting equipment instead. Or perhaps you will like some of the other features that the EX3 has over the EX1. There is a little bit more to the EX3 than just the interchangeable lens system; read on.

VIEWFINDER
Apart from the interchangeable lenses, the second most important thing you will notice about the EX3 is the viewfinder. Sony has decided to ditch the somewhat questionable quality viewfinder from the EX1 and do an incredible Monocular viewfinder conversion job to the LCD screen instead. The LCD screen on the EX3 is identical to the superb LCD screen on the EX1, only this one has a special coating on it to improve the viewing image quality even further when it is being viewed through the monocular lens. This design is what Canon use on their famous XL series, only Canon’s screen is microscopic in comparison and the resolution on the XL viewfinder is nowhere near that of the EX3, in fact the EX3 viewfinder is in a different league altogether. Sony has done what Canon should have done many moons ago.

When you flip the monocular lens out of the way the EX3’s LCD viewfinder can be viewed just like the fold-out LCD screen on the smaller EX1. The quality is just as superb and unlike most other fold-out LCD screens, this one CAN be used to adjust focus and even exposure. I found that viewing the LCD screen directly (not through monocular lens) it is good enough for focusing purposes, and you can press the ‘expanded focus’ button on the handgrip to aid further. The expanded focus option zooms in on the image on the LCD screen and stays zoomed for 5 seconds to allow critical focusing. It only zooms on the LCD, and does not affect the recorded image. After 5 seconds the LCD image reverts back to normal automatically, or you can press the button again before the 5 seconds are up to revert to normal beforehand. For the record, the monocular can be totally removed, as well as being flipped up and out of the way. You can even get a good idea of ‘white balance’ using the LCD also, not for critical white balance, but for a general check it is fine.

vWhen you flip the monocular lens down in front of the LCD you can then put your eye up to it just like a regular viewfinder. Viewing this way has to be seen to be believed, it is incredibly sharp and seriously high-definition. If you think the LCD screen looks great when viewed naked, the monocular takes it one step further, if that is possible, adding that extra ‘je ne sais quoi’.

Checking exposure on this new LCD/Viewfinder is also very possible indeed, something that was not really possible (not for serious applications anyway) in the past with LCD screens. The EX3’s LCD screen can be viewed from various angles with little change in contrast and brightness, making it ideal for setting/adjusting exposure. The EX3 (like the EX1) also has an exposure histogram that can be turned on/off. It shows up at the bottom/right corner of the LCD screen and can be used to aid when adjusting the exposure. The histogram works incredibly well. You aim to get the spike in the exposure to the general middle position as a rule of thumb, depending on the light. You will get used to how the histogram works after a few hours of shooting.

Another great feature of this newly designed viewfinder on the EX3 is that it has dials on the front for Peaking, Contrast and Brightness, as well as a Mirror Image switch, Display Batt Info and a Zebra switch. This design is more in keeping with that of a full-size professional viewfinder. Because of this, setting up and calibrating the viewfinder to ‘Bars’ is easy.

FRAME-RATE DIAL
We all know that the EX1 has an overcrank/undercrank variable frame-rate feature for slow and quick motion, but it has to be accessed via the menus, which can be time-consuming, and a bit of a pain if (like me) you use it all the time. The new EX3 has moved this feature out of the menus, and directly onto the body by means of a push button dial. Now all you have to do to change the frame-rate is simply push and hold the Frame dial in for 3 seconds (the 3-second system is done for safety reasons, in case you press it accidently), it will then light up with a funky blue ring light around it to inform you that you are now in variable frame-rate mode. Then it is simply a case of turning the dial and setting the frame-rate as desired, the frame-rate is displayed and can be checked via the LCD screen display. Like the EX1, the EX3’s variable frame-rate can be set from 1 frame to 60 frames per second in 720p mode, or from 1 to 30 frames per second in 1080p mode. The Frame dial cannot do ‘frame cranking’ like a proper film camera, that would be asking just a little too much, and it would probably put Super16mm film camera manufacturers out of business too.

OTHER DIFFERENCES
Apart from the semi-shoulder shape design, interchangeable lenses, new superb viewfinder design and variable frame-rate dial on the outside, there are a few other little differences also.

The audio dials have a plastic door cover, which prevents accidental change in audio levels. Other features over the EX1 include professional BNC connectors for timecode in/out and genlock in, as well as the usual HD/SDI out. There is also an 8-pin connector for studio operation camera contro. You can adjust shutter for instance, but no focus or zoom control (lens control is undertaken on the Fujinon lens connector as per the EX1). This 8-pin studio connector is meant for camera engineers to use in conjunction with a camera op, it does not have 'VTR' control though. this controls many features of the lens such as exposure and white balance etc. The rear end of the EX3 looks much more professional due to all these BNC connectors, as opposed to the rather bland rear end of the EX1. Other connectors have been moved to the side of the camera. The SEL/SET push/dial and the CANCEL button have been moved from the back and put in a more convenient place on the left side. The PICTURE PROFILE and CAMERA/OFF/MEDIA buttons have also been moved from the rear end of the camera to the left side. With the STATUS and MENU button also along this same row on the left side, all related buttons/dials are now on the same side of the camera making operation less fiddly than the EX1.

On the right side of the EX3 we now have a BNC MONITOR OUT, an S-video output connector and phono outputs for AUDIO OUT CH-1 and CH-2, as well as a COMPONENT OUT and USB; the latter is now very easy to get to, unlike the EX1, which requires some rather awkward fiddling around under the hand grip. The audio select inputs and audio level dials on the side of the camera also gives the EX3 a more professional feel. This makes the EX3 the most versatile HD camcorder in its class.

There is also an additional hotshoe mount to the rear of the handle of the EX3, as well as the one on top of the built in stereo mic. The rear one is designed for the PHU-60K SxS Professional 60GB HardDisc Recorder. While I’m talking about the PHU-60K hard disc recorder, I’ll also mention that the SxS card door works in a slightly different way to the one on the EX1. To open it you have to push it up a few millimeters, then open it out like a door on hinges; as opposed to the slide-only door on the EX1. This has been designed with the PHU-60K in mind, as the PHU-60K hard drive plugs directly into the rear card slot B.

BUILD QUALITY

I was surprised at how light the EX3 actually is. I thought it would be considerably heavier than the EX1, but it is only slightly heavier. The overall build quality of the EX3 is identical to the EX1. It is not as robust as the Canon XL H1, which for me is one of the better-built prosumer camcorders out there. The EX3 also doesn’t feel as solid and chunky as JVC’s ProHD camcorders such as the GY-HD111E. Both the Canon and JVC models are more ‘metal’ in build and feel, you can clearly see and feel the metal construction. The EX1 and EX3 on the other hand look and feel plasticky in comparison with no metal (externally at least, internally is a di-cast aluminum chassis) in sight. If the Canon XL H1 and JVC GY-HD111E produced the same image quality of the EX1 and EX3 I’d recommend them over the Sony’s any day, but sadly they don’t.

Having said that, it is no worse than Sony’s own Z1 or Panasonic’s HVX200. But if Canon and JVC can do it, why can’t Sony and Panasonic; after all, Sony and Panasonic are the leaders in the Broadcast sector. Considering that the EX3 comes out of the same factory as Sony’s professional DigiBeta models, I would have expected a little bit more in the way of external metal parts and overall build quality. That said, you don’t hear of that many broken Z1’s, so I’m sure there won’t be any issues with the EX1 or EX3 models in years to come. Like the EX1, the EX3 is built around a tough di-cast aluminum chassis so there should be no real problems using it in the field. I must confess to being the fussiest guy on the planet when it comes to build quality. If I pay £6,000 for a camcorder, I expect it to feel just a little bit more substantial than a Fisher-Price toy (though as any parent will know, Fisher-Price toys are indestructible and are made out of very good quality tough plastic; they just don't break). This is one reason I prefer my F350 XDCAM camcorder. Although the picture quality of the F350 and the EX3 are identical, at least when you pick up an F350 it feels like a serious piece of kit and you are inspired to get down to some serious shooting. Whenever I pick up a ‘Z1-type-Plasticam’ camcorder, it all feels very lack-lustre to me and I’d rather go back to bed.

If you own a PD170, VX2100, Z1 or a HVX200, you will feel right at home with the build quality of the EX1 and EX3, like I said, I’m just a fussy bugger.

NOT SO GOOD BITS
Although Sony has informed me that the Camera/Off/Media switch has been redesigned, it is still just as fiddly to use as on the smaller EX1 i.e it is too easy to turn the camera into Media mode when you think you have turned the camera off. The same applies to the ND switch on the camera body. Trying to set it to position 1 is a nightmare, it flicks straight past the 1 position into position 2, you have to grip it with your fingernails and try and ‘nurse’ it into the middle position. My tip here is to not cut your thumb and index fingernails for two weeks before a shoot; you’ll need them. The SEL/SET wheel is still way too small and sunk back into the camcorder’s body, making it difficult/fiddly to scroll through the menus; I’d much prefer to see a dial more like the ones Canon use on their EOS 40D and EOS 5D digital stills cameras. Most of the controls (with the FRAME dial being the exception) are too small and tricky to use; the words ‘Magnifying Glass’ and ‘Tweezers’ spring to mind with regard to some of the tiny switches; AUDIO SELECT switches for example. As for the BARS/CAM and PICTURE PROFILE buttons, you almost need a pen or pencil tip to push these buttons; that is how tiny they are. The ASSIGN 4 button is still impossible to find and use by touch, you have to flip the camera upside-down with the base towards you and lens pointing skywards; very awkward indeed, especially when there is in fact enough room to put this button next to the other 3, where it would make more sense. Finally, the buttons for ejecting the SxS cards are just too small and they don’t pop out enough. Again, you almost need the tip of a pen to eject the cards. Even when the SxS card does partially eject, it’s only by about 4mm, so you almost need a pare of tweezers to grab the tiny bit of card that is sticking out to be able to remove it, I often found that when trying to grab the SxS cards, I accidently pushed them back in by mistake.

SUMMING UP
At £5,995 inc vat the PMW-EX3 represents incredible value for money in terms of the superb image quality it produces, the same can’t really be said of the overall plasticky feel to the camera. When you pick it up, it doesn’t feel like you are holding a piece of kit that cost £6,000. If superb image quality for ‘full’ broadcast applications is what you are after, the EX3 makes the grade with ease. In fact the EX1 and EX3 are the only camcorders in their class (compact non-shoulder) that actually meet full broadcast requirements. Unlike the HDV format which can only be used for ‘no more than 30% of the total programme length using approved HDV camcorders, maximum 1 minute contiguous footage’ with Discovery HD (Silver Level) for example, the EX1 and EX3 can be used for 100% of the coverage of the programme (after some acceptance trials for Discovery the EX1 is accepted as Silver). This is a first for a camcorder of this small size and price.

Fonte: DVUSER

Sony amplia linha XDCAM EX

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:34:00 +0000

PMW-EX3 Solid-State Interchangeable Lens HD Camcorder

Well it would appear that there is simply no stopping Sony. Just a few short months ago they launched themselves into the solid-state HD camcorder market with the PMW- EX1. The EX1 has proved to be a formidable smash hit, so much so that Sony’s production line is struggling to keep up with demand.

Sony have just announced (NAB April 2008) something even more spectacular; say hello to the all-new PMW-EX3. The EX3 is basically an EX1, but with the option of interchangeable lenses. There are of course a few other slight differences, which I will come to later.

You’ll notice by the pictures that the EX3 is notably larger than the EX1; it is in fact what Sony refer to as a “semi shoulder-mounted” camcorder. At first glance the EX3 has a vague resemblance to Canon’s famous XL series camcorder, namely the XL H1; but that’s where the similarity ends. The EX3 takes half-inch interchangeable lenses, but with a different mount to that found on Sony’s professional half-inch shoulder-mount XDCAM HD camcorders. Having said that, the EX3 will ship with an included adapter to allow use of standard half-inch lenses (such as those currently used on Sony’s XDCAM HD full size camcorders such as the F330, F350, F335, and F355) to be used; standard B4 mount. And better still, this adapter incorporates the hot shoe contacts like those found on the dedicated Fujinon half-inch XDCAM HD lenses. This will allow information to be passed from the camcorder to the lens, e.g. exposure control. For use in a studio configuration the RM-B150/B750 remote controllers will adjust basic camera parameters such as gain, iris, white balance, pedestal, and gamma through the 8-pin remote connector on the PMW-EX3 camcorder. Why use a different half-inch mount, you might ask. In a nutshell it’s down to ergonomics and rigidity/strength. Due to the size and shape of the camcorder body, the lens mount had to be designed somewhat differently. Because the chips in the EX3 are half-inch there will be no change in focal length when using any other standard half-inch B4 mount lens from Canon and Fujinon. However, there will be a small increase in focal length when using standard 35mm film lenses.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The EX3 will ship with the same lens that is built into the EX1, with the main obvious difference being an interchangeable version. Sony have also decided to add an optical image stabilizer button on the lens, as opposed to in the menus like that of the EX1.

Another small difference (though to me, personally, this is a very big deal indeed) between the new EX3 and its smaller sibling the EX1, is the addition of a framerate dial set on the side of the EX3’s body. Before all you Super-16mm filmmakers start asking “Can I now do Varicam-style frame-ramping during a shot?” I’m afraid the answer is no, it only works when out of record mode. Sony have simply moved the over/under-cranking feature out of the menus and onto the body itself by means of manual push/dial; right where it should be. This new external Framerate button lights up with a cool blue ring-light around the outside when pushed in for 3 seconds, so you know you are in Framerate mode. Push again and hold in for a further 3 seconds to turn off. For me personally, this is the best thing Sony could have done. If you use over/under-cranking as often as I do you will appreciate the convenience of being able to push this button and dial in the framerate without having to scroll through the menus; thank you Mr Sony!

Like the EX1, the new EX3 records to exactly the same format i.e. three half-inch 1920x1080 CMOS HD chips at a variable bit rate of 35mbps. Similarly the EX3 also has two SxS card slots.

The next thing you’ll notice about the EX3 is what appears to be the biggest viewfinder you ever saw; allow me to explain. What you are seeing is basically the same fold-out LCD screen found on the EX1, only Sony have stuck a huge magnified eye piece on the front of it. Personally, I think this is a great idea as the LCD screen on the EX1 is quite simply the best on the planet. The same can’t be said of the viewfinder found on the EX1, with its rather questionable image quality; and that’s putting it nicely. Sony have decided to throw this viewfinder away (good choice) and turn the LCD screen into the ultimate high-definition viewfinder; eat your heart out Canon XL H1.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The EX3 also sports an ingenious fold-out shoulder-mount system. Though this does not balance the camera on the shoulder like a conventional full size shoulder-mounted camcorder, it is more akin to that of a shoulder support system hence the EX3 is somewhat front-heavy during hand-held/shoulder use. Not too dissimilar to that of Canon’s XL H1.

The EX3 is not available body only, it comes with a standard lens similar to that found on the EX1. However, Fujinon are also bringing out a dedicated EX3 wide-angle lens.

It could be argued that the EX3 is what the EX1 should have been, but this is not the case. The EX3 is aimed at a different market altogether. Corporate video producers and wedding videographers will be more than happy with the built in lens of the EX1, and its focal range capabilities. Hence they could put that money they save to buying a tripod and lighting kit etc. Independent filmmakers and wildlife videographers will prefer the EX3 and its interchangeable lens options, especially with 35mm adapters from the likes of Letus for example (whom I’ve been informed are making an adapter to fit directly into the EX3’s body), allowing the use of 35mm stills lenses for that film depth-of-field film-look. Wildlife videographers, on the other hand, will appreciate being able to fit telephoto lenses to film that far away leopard for example. EX1 is not redundant or deleted, far from it. EX3 is a different camcorder altogether, not a replacement. Think BMW 3-series and BMW 5-series, different size cars for different people's requirements. The EX3 is an addition to the EX family; expect a smaller (A1 size) camcorder to appear too. And finally, why EX3 and not EX2? simple, Sony don't do even numbers.

Other features over the EX1 include BNC timecode in/out, Genlock and remote lens socket for studio operation as it controls many features of the lens such as exposure and white balance etc. The rear end of the EX3 looks much more professional than the rather flat/bland back end of the EX1. The EX3 now has some new professional BNC type connectors, while other connectors have been moved to the side of the camera. On the right side of the EX3 we now have a composite BNC output, a phono out, and an S-video connector. This makes the EX3 the most versatile HD camcorder in its class.

The on/off switch is the same as on the, still very fiddly and it is hard to nock it into media mode when turning the camera off, but you do get used to it. Same for the ND filter switch, which is just as imprecise as before making it difficult to select NDs number 1 (middle position). Shame they weren’t improved upon for the EX3.

The SxS card slot is slightly different now as it opens in a slightly different way, there is also a 'gutter' at the top to allow the cable to run out when using the new PHU-60K 60GB hard drive, which attaches to the camera via the back (slot B) SxS slot instead of the unreliable FireWire method. EX1 owners will know there is no gutter for the cable, so I'd recommend putting the lead into the back slot (slot B) and closing the sliding door back until it buts up against it, at least this will leave majority of the internals protected from the elements as slot A will be protected by the sliding door, and slot B will be protected by the inserted card/end of the lead. Finally, a small plastic cover now covers the audio pots so you won't accidently move them anymore.

The recommended retail price of the EX3 will be £5995 inc. vat. This is approximately £1500 more than the EX1.

The PMW-EX3 is due to ship in July at a retail price of £5995.

PMW-EX30 XDCAM EX SxS Card Deck

Sony have also added a professional deck to the XDCAM EX family of products. The PHU-60K is a full size professional deck with two slots on the front for SxS cards. Unlike the EX1 and EX3 camcorders, the PHU-60K deck has a built-in DV down-convert feature. This means your high-definition footage can be converted to standard-definition directly from the deck and into your edit suite via FireWire. When using USB2 the deck acts as a card reader/writer.

In operation mode the EX30 is not too dissimilar to the EX1 or EX3 camcorders in the way it works e.g. thumbnail menu system. This deck also has an input so it can also record, from an HD/SDI source camera for example or Edicast HD recording. You can also dump clips from one card to another. The LCD display is 3.5 inches. Power is by means of DC operation, which means that it can be powered using V-lock batteries using a Hawk-Woods adapter. Other features include a HD/SDI input, which will be useful for in-car or helicopter recording. This can also be used to feed a non-linear system. The deck also has an HDMI output, useful for hooking up directly to your HD LCD television set.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The PMW-EX30 is due to ship in July priced at £3000

PHU-60K SxS Professional 60GB HardDisc Recorder
Although Sony has 8 and 16GB SxS cards, and the new 32GB card, there is still a need for a device that allows longer, continuous recording times. Sony has recognised this fact, so they are adding yet another device to the XDCAM EX family of products, by means of a new professional hard-disc recorder. This hard-drive recording device can also be used to back up your SxS cards in the field without the need for a laptop. The capacity of the PHU-60K is 60GB; hence the name. The key difference between this device and other similar hard-drive recorders is that PHU-60K connects directly to the EX1 or EX3 camcorders via an SxS lead i.e. the lead comes directly out of the PHU-60K and directly into one of the SxS slots on the camcorder. This is far superior to the somewhat unreliable FireWire method (the FireWire lead can easily be pulled out accidentally during recording. FireWire is an IT connection method and in my opinion is not suitable for use in the field when connected to camcorders) used on other similar devices. The recording capacity of the PHU-60K is 200 minutes at full 1920x1080 HD 35mbps quality, or 260 minutes at 25mbps. These long recording times now put professional HD solid-state broadcast quality recording into the hands of even wedding videographers; not that anyone would want to broadcast a wedding. Long recording durations will also come in handy for those long drawn-out corporate speeches; yawn. Having said that, the hard drive should have been much bigger in my opinion i.e. 500GB as two 32GB cards will give you 64GB anyway, which is bigger; come on Sony.

When attached to a camcorder, the hard-disk unit functions just like an SxS PRO™ card, with thumbnail views available on the LCD panel of the PMW-EX1 or PMW-EX3 camcorders or PMW-EX30 deck. A new “dumping” system is being used to protect the HDD from a 1.5m height drop, and buffer memory is being used to allow recording immediately after powering on. Also, a salvage function enables restoration of content damaged by battery/cable disconnection or accidental powering down during recording.

A 3-D G sensor and the buffer memory allow for stable recording. When the G sensor detects that the unit is being dropped, the head of the HDD is immediately parked to protect the HDD. The content is temporarily stored in the buffer memory and then restored in the HDD when it is operating again.

Another useful feature is the ability to transfer footage directly from SxS cards to the PHU-60K. This is done by simply inserting a card into one slot and the PHU-60K into the other slot and doing an internal copy from A to B. Again, this makes fieldwork a breeze when it comes to archiving as there is no need for a laptop.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The PHU-60K can also be used as a stand alone hard-drive with your laptop or other computer editing system via the USB 2.0 interface. So it is possible to edit your productions directly from the PHU-60K. Also, when using the U30 (smallest battery) you can achieve 10 hours of operation. The PHU-60K mounts directly onto the back of the camera using the included bracketery.

The PHU-60K is due to ship in July for £750

SPB-32 32GB SxS card
Sony have also announced a 32GB SxS card to complement the currently available 8GB and 16GB cards. The 32GB card will store 100 minutes of full 1920x1080 high-definition footage recorded at the highest quality of 35mbps and 140 minutes of 1440x1080 video at 25Mbps. Two 32 GB SxS cards will give you a constant recording time of 4 hours in full 1920x1080 35mbps high quality HD mode. This is more than what most of us will ever need for an entire day’s shooting.

The SPB-32 is due to ship in September. Price to be announced.

Clip Browser version 2
The current version of Clip Browser (1.1) does a perfectly good job, but the new version 2 has some phenomenal new features. The Clip Browser software will allow you to bring clips in to your edit system directly from the EX1 and EX3 camcorders, the PMW-EX30 deck, the PHU-60K hard-disc recorder, and of course Sony’s USB SxS card reader. You can also add meta-data in abundance. The new version 2 also has the ability to down-convert to standard definition within the software; a useful feature for those who don’t want to buy the PMW-EX30 deck. You can also “right click” and choose export to MXF, or export to DV. Version 2 of the Clip Browser software is available for both Mac and PC and will be available as a free download from the Sonybiz.net website when it becomes available later in 2008.

Clip Browser version 2 also allows direct import into AVID systems at full 35mbps in MXF format, something currently not available natively with AVID systems. Sony are also working with software plug-in company Main Concept, who are building some additional functionality for Clip Browser version 2. One such function will be the ability to take your 35mbps HD footage and using the Main Concept option you will be able to up-convert it to 50mbps in 4:2:2 colour space directly onto XDCAM HD Professional Optical Disc using the PDW-U1 USB Disc reader/writer. This is kind of a ‘transcoding’ process.

Another function of the Main Concept plug-in will allow you to take any clip from the Clip Browser and to export it as Windows Media, Apple QuickTime, PSP file, iPod file, and even YouTube files. This is a great way of saving video files for multi-media web purposes. No more need to learn the art of compression for the web; nice!

So, native SxS HD footage, DV out, AVID out, Transcode out, and a bunch of web/internet output options too.

Clip Browser version 2 will be available in June as a free download from the Sonybiz.net website. Also the additional option modules from Main Concept will be available at the same time, but they will not be available from the Sony website, they will be a purchasable option from the Main Concept website.

Blu-Ray

Using Blu-Ray discs, it is easy to archive/back up the SxS MP4 files. In Clip Browser version 2, it is simply a case of dragging the native MP4 HD video files directly onto a Blu-Ray disc. Or if you are using Adobe Premiere, you can author a native HD DVD using Encore, then export it directly to Blu-Ray DVD for a native HD Blu-Ray DVD disc in full 35mbps.

XDCAM HD Professional Optical Disc
If you own a PDW-U1 USB Optical Disc reader/writer, you will soon have some really super cool, and I do mean ‘SUPERCOOL’ writing options; Panasonic P2 users and Digital Stills Photographers read on. When the write capability is added to the U1 (imminently) it will be for standard XDCAM HD formats only i.e. 1440x1080 35mbps 4:2:0 and 1920x1080 50mbps 4:2:2. However, get ready for the supercool bit, later in 2008 Sony are going to release a further free firmware update for the U1 Optical Disc reader/writer that will allow you to back up and archive absolutely any type of file or folder your heart desires i.e. just like a conventional hard-drive or blank Blu-Ray disc. This is brilliant news not only for Sony XDCAM owner/users, who can store their native XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX MP4 files, but it is also brilliant news for Panasonic P2 owner/users, or anyone else who needs a cheap and reliable long-term back-up/archive solution. P2 owners for example can buy a PDW-U1 for £1595 and a bunch of blank 23GB or 50GB XDCAM HD Optical Discs from either Sony, TDK, Fuji or Maxell for approximately £15 each for the 23GB discs or £35 for the 50GB discs. You can then go ahead and drag/drop your P2 MXF HD video files directly onto Professional Optical Disc for safe future archiving (Sony’s Professional Optical Disc has a 50 year shelf life). Digital stills photographers can also use this method for archiving their digital photos, RAW, JPEG, or otherwise. This is a superior (and much safer) archiving solution than the somewhat questionable and risky use of standard computer hard-drives, which we all know can give up the ghost and die without notice.

Current XDCAM HD owner/users will already know that blank XDCAM discs have an allocated file space of 500MB. This 500MB (as you know) can be used for relevant production files such as Word scripts, photos, Photoshop files and other relevant files. Sony are basically bringing out a firmware update that will allow the entire disc to be mapped this way; as opposed to just 500MB, which is currently the case. To format the disc this way simply insert it into the U1 and it will be formatted automatically in a few seconds, just like the current formatting method when inserting a blank disc into an XDCAM HD camcorder.

So there it is, Sony has well and truly hit the professional solid-state HD market with a vengeance, making more noise than a Rhino in a glass Green House. The XDCAM EX range is now a true family of products consisting of two camcorders, a deck, an SxS USB card reader, 3 different capacity SxS cards in 8, 16 and 32GB, an SxS Hard Disc recording unit, superb free Clip Browser/Transfer software, and the U1 Optical Disc reader/writer for archiving. And it will only grow and get bigger from here.

JVC INTRODUCES NEW GY-HD200UB ProHD CAMCORDER PROVIDES DUAL LIVE 720p AND 1080i IEEE 1394 STREAMS

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Las Vegas, NV (April 14, 2008) – JVC Professional Products Company further expands its reach in the professional HD marketplace by introducing the new 720p and 1080i signal selectable GY-HD200UB ProHD camcorder. Since the introduction of the ProHD professional high definition system at NAB in 2004, JVC has continued to provide advancements in product technology and production efficiency.

The new GYHD200UB ProHD Professional HD camcorder provides selectable live transport stream output capability of either 1080 60i and 50i signals or 720 24p, 25p, 30p, 50p and 60p through the IEEE 1394 connection. The selected IEEE 1394 output signal can also be recorded into the ProHD DR-HD100 Hard Disk Recorder as either .m2t or .mov QuickTime™ files.

“The dual 720p and 1080i live transport stream capability of the new GY-HD200UB provides unmatched flexibility and efficiency in a professional shoulder mount HD camcorder,” states Craig Yanagi, National Marketing Manager, Creation Products, JVC Professional Products Company. “Combined with the DR-HD100 Hard Disk Recorder with Native File Recording capability, the GY-HD200UB camera system becomes the fastest and most efficient ‘shoot-to-edit’ professional HD camera system in the industry.”

The GY-HD200UB also offers full-frame 1280 x 720 progressive imaging and 720p recording as well as a 14bit A/D converter and a 14.4v power system standard. The selectable 60p and 60i acquisition capability of the GY-HD200UB is ideal for HD news and sports acquisition, while filmmakers and HD dramatic productions will appreciate the native progressive image capture and the “overcranked” recording for superb slow motion images during 24p final output.

JVC’s renowned line of ProHD cameras have been used in many television and film productions including America’s Most Wanted, 24, and The Inconvenient Truth, and by organizations such as The Miami Dolphins, Raycom Media, Scripps Television Station Group, and Waterman Broadcasting.

The GY-HD200UB is immediately available with a suggested list price of $5,995, including 16:1 Fujinon lens and Anton-Bauer battery system. A camcorder head only version, the GY-HD200CHUB is available for $5,695. For more information about JVC’s GY-HD200UB and other ProHD cameras, please visit JVC’s Web site at http://pro.jvc.com.

RED SCARLET

noreply@blogger.com (Durval) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:05:00 +0000

The Red Scarlet with some handles,
a mount, and an LCD attached.

Today at NAB, Red Digital Cinema showcased the long-awaited Scarlet, a compact model capable of shooting 3K video for under $3,000. Film and video enthusiasts flooded the show floor, clawing to catch a glimpse of the Scarlet's rectangular upright body and unconventional architecture. The Scarlet is equipped with a new 2/3-inch Mysterium sensor and supports 1-120fps with a 180fps burst mode. The Scarlet can capture video up to 100Mbps in REDCODE Raw format and RGB recording to dual compact flash.

"Considering the performance and the price of Scarlet, it's going to have a huge range of customers, from the soccer moms to the indie filmmakers," stated Ted Schilowitz, Leader of the Rebellion at Red Digital Cinema.

Red's latest compact addition has a 4.8-inch LCD screen, 8x optical zoom lens, and full Auto or Manual shooting modes. The Scarlet's connectivity includes HDMI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0. Many of the accessories from the Red One are compatible with the Scarlet.

On the higher end, Red also debuted the Epic camera (estimated at $40,000), capable of shooting in 5K video and equipped with a full frame S35mm new Mysterium X sensor. The Epic can shoot in 1-100fps and can support up to 100Mbps transfer in REDCODE RAW and RGB recording. The Epic has a full-size dual link HD-SDI interface, 2 XLR jacks, HDMI, Wi-Fi control, FireWire 800, and USB2. The Epic features a fully upgradable sensor, body, boards, and mount. The machined aluminum body weighs 6 pounds and is compatible with most Red One accessories.
The new Epic camera is significantly more expensive than the original Red One. The Red One debuted at NAB 2006, making waves with its 24.4mm x 13.7mm (Super35mm) 12-Megapixel Mysterium Image sensor with a gross pixel count of 4900 x 2580. The Red One shoots in 4K RGB (4:4:4), 3K RGB, 2K RGB, 1920 x 1080 progressive (RGB or 4:2:2), and 1280 x 720 (RGB or 4:2:2). The Red One is can also shoot in the following frame rates: 23.98, 25, 29.97, and 30fps (4K), 50, 59.94, and 60fps (3K, windowed), and 75 and 120fps (2K, windowed). Video preview can be attained via HD-SDI and HDMI at 1280 x 720 progressive with a 4:2:2 color space. The Red One utilizes the REDCODE codec and stores files as 12 bit 4K, 3K, and 2K RAW files. Connectivity on the Red One includes of FireWire 800/400, USB-2, e-SATA, and 2 XLR channels.

Interview with Ted Schilowitz, Leader of the Rebellion
Shooters can customize the Red One to whatever size, media, lens, and power options they want, whether shooting a feature film with full Rail system or stripping the features down for a more compact, handheld approach. The Red One ships as a bare bones camera unit, allowing shooters to add lenses, media, monitors, and housing systems. The $6,500 Red T3 Zoom lens can be added to the Red One, in addition to the Red-Rail system, designed to house the Red One using a series of steel rods and cradles. Red also offers an EVF and LCD for onboard monitoring. A number of Red storage solutions are available, including the 320GB HDD Red Drive, The 64GB Red Ram solid state Flash drive, which holds between 30 and 40 minutes of 4K video, and the Red CompactFlash drive, compatible with CF cards.

The Red Scarlet, stripped to its bare essentials

By contrast, the Red Scarlet is a complete camcorder system, with lens, processor, and recording medium (CF card). For more capacity, shooters can mount a hard disk drive or connect directly to a computer. Red Digital Cinema was not able to answer every question about the Scarlet. For instance, Schilowitz could provide no information on the battery. The workflow for video from the Scarlet could be similar to Red One's files, but that could not be verified. As with the Red One at NAB 2006, there was no working model of the Scarlet - merely a mock-up in a glass case.

The Red Scarlet is scheduled for a release early next year. The price point could only be confirmed as under $3000. And just so would-be owners of the Scarlet receive fair warning, the brochure handed out at the Red Digital Cinema booth states: "Sepcifications, delivery dates and design are subject to change... count on it."

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