Sony PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX camcorder: first impressions
July 4, 2008
A friend recently loaned me his Sony PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX camcorder for a few days so I had a chance to take this fascinating new camera for a spin. In this post I’ll share my first impressions. I’ll be taking the camera out for another spin next week for more shooting, so I’ll get into the details of camera operation and post-production workflow in subsequent posts.
The top seven things that stand out for me and thus make the EX1 the first camera I’ve taken a serious interest in since Panasonic’s introduction of the AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD camcorder include: 1. solid-state memory recording, 2. true HD (1920 x 1080) imaging using three 1/2-inch CMOS sensors, 3. no-fuss 24P and 30P recording, 4. a spot meter, 5. a flip-out LCD viewfinder that’s quite sharp and bright with an effective peaking circuit for razor sharp focusing, 6. a 5.8mm to 81.2mm, f/1.9 zoom lens with full-manual override, a real aperture ring, and a real focus ring controlling the optics directly, and 7. most of the controls and buttons you use most often are in relatively logical places with reasonable ergonomics.
In terms of first impressions shooting with the camera goes, the first thing I noticed is that while the camera is a bit on the heavy side for hand-holding in “handycam” mode, the adjustable handle with the ergonomics of a pro 2/3″ zoom lens handle made it easier to use as a handheld camera. Of course, on a tripod the camera is right at home. A camera’s handholdability is all relative, I’ve grown used to shooting with my HVR-A1 and a friend’s Sony HVR-V1 over the past year, so I find the EX1 to be a big change in terms of weight. But the extra weight is worth it, for the image quality is absolutely spectacular. Goodbye HDV (and good riddance to videotape), hello XDCAM EX!
The PVM-EX1 features a 14x zoom with pro-style controls
and real focus and iris rings. More photos available on Flickr
There’s lots of serious glass in this camera, as the 1/2″ sensor requires bigger glass. And while it’s still not providing the 2/3″ image sensor look of a professional camcorder, the 1/2″ sensors are a big improvement over 1/3″ sensors in most prosumer cameras. It’s easier to get separation between the foreground and background. I’d like to see Sony come out with an APS-sized single sensor camera (like a documentary form-factor Red) someday, but I digress. The EX1 is clearly not in the middle of the pro-sumer price range, it straddles between pro-sumer and low-end professional gear in terms of price. While the camera alone sells for $6,500.00, by the time you add a couple of 16G memory cards and extra batteries (which you’ll need), a wide-angle adapter, and a few other gismos, you’re looking at something hovering around a $9,000.00 purchase. That’s a serious chunk of change when you compare it to the HVR-Z1 HDV camcorder, but if you look at it another way, this camera does most of what the Sony PDW-F350 XDCAM HD camcorder does for much less dough. So it’s either a very expensive pro-sumer camera or an amazing price/performance breakthrough in professional level cameras.
Not all things are rosy, however. Audio was clearly a second-thought with this camera, with digital recording there is no reason why Sony can’t support four channels, but it only supports two. One of the features I’ve really enjoyed with the Panasonic HVX200 is recording camera mic audio on channels 3 and 4 while running audio from my mixer into channels 1 and 2. Having the ambient sound is a nice plus, as well as it often makes it easier to hear a director’s questions in an interview. Battery life is short, so you’ll have to buy one or two additional high-capacity batteries with this camera. In addition, for folks who shoot with a 35mm lens adapter, you’ll not be pleased with the camera’s inability to invert the viewfinder image. There is no ability to shoot in standard definition, so for those quick and dirty jobs that require standard definition deliverables, your stuck converting in post. But no camera can be all things to all people, and this camera seems to have most of the bells and whistles most people want.
Since I’m Macintosh and Final Cut Pro user, I found this camera integrated seamlessly with my Final Cut Pro workflow. I have previously worked with XDCAM HD and I found the workflow to be pretty much identical, except there is no need for a camera or deck. If you’ve got a MacBook Pro you’re all set, you simply slide the SxS card into the ExpressBus/34 slot. Otherwise, you can use the camera to transfer media via USB2 to your computer or use an external USB2 SxS card reader available from Sony. For all of this to work, you’ll need to download two pieces of software, the SxS card driver (from here) and the XDCAM Transfer Utility (from here). It was a snap to ingest footage, rename the clips, and bring them into Final Cut Pro. The much fast transfer time of the SxS cards was a welcome change from having to do HDV captures in real-time. And the footage shot in the HQ mode looks spectacular. Ahh, the beauty of real high definition progressive scan images, simply breathtaking. Some sample images and images of the camera can be found in my Sony PMW-EX1 Flickr set. I’ll be adding more images as I do more shooting, as well as links to motion images in a future post.
New regulations regarding air travel with Lithium & Lithium Ion (including Lithium Polymer) batteries
March 25, 2008
Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will no longer allow loose Lithium & Lithium Ion (including Lithium Polymer) batteries in checked baggage. These recent revisions have added the inconvenience of having to carry-on all of your batteries, so this may impact media makers who travel with some of their equipment in checked baggage.
18th Annual Pro Video Show
February 14, 2008
The 18th Annual Pro Video Show (hosted by the Camera Company with the participation of the Boston FCP User Group, SMPTE/NE, and NPVA/NE) will be held Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, 2008 at Stonehill College (Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex) in Easton, Massachusetts. This popular annual event provides two days of informative workshops, seminars, and equipment demonstrations, with lots of opportunities to check out the latest gear. I will be presenting three seminars at the show you might be interested in attending:
Join me at the Web Video Summit in New York, Dec. 10-11, 2007
November 29, 2007
I’ll be participating in the Web Video Summit to be held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York on December 10-11, 2007. Check out the conference schedule, the event will provides a balance of technology and business topics. If your a web video practitioner or enthusiast and live in the Northeast, this is the not-to-be-missed end-of-year event. I’ll be participating on the Lights, Cameras, Sound: How to Get Great Results panel (1:00pm-1:50pm on Monday) where we’ll be discuss stratagies, tactics, and techniques for better video and sound that will not break your production budget. The session will be moderated by Asa Aarons (Columnist, NY Daily News) and my fellow panelists are Alex Lindsay (Producer, Pixelcorps) and Josh Wolf (Independent Journalist, The Rise Up Network, peralta.TV, Free The Media). Hope to see you there.
Interview Lighting (handout)
September 9, 2007
Here’s a handout I cobbled together from various sources while on the train ride back to Boston after attending and presenting at Podcamp Philly. It reviews the examples I discussed in the session and goes into more detail on some of the specific issues.
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Comparison of Camera vs. Boom Microphone
September 8, 2007
Here’s a quick comparison I did of recording dialog with an MKH60 Shotgun Microphone mounted on a camera vs. mounted on a boom.
Kino Flo DIVA and Kobold 400W HMI PAR
September 8, 2007
Here’s a little video I made with Steve Garfield to demonstrate the use of daylight balanced lighting in an outdoor interview situation, using the lighting to help create a better balance between subject and background. The instruments used in the video are the Kobold 400W HMI PAR and the Kino Flo DIVA 400.
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Canon TX1 Movie Test
May 8, 2007
OK, so the big question is, what’s the tiny Canon TX1 like as a video camera? To answer the question, I made a short video this weekend. I’m not much for testing with charts and side by side comparisons these days, image quality is only part of the camera equation, so instead I do some shooting and from the results, I ask the question, is the image quality reasonable given all the other aspects of the camera that come into play when making the decision of what camera to purchase or use, for example, handling, form-factor, weight, cost, features, image processing, media formats, lens, ease-of use, etc.?
Canon TX1 First Impressions
May 6, 2007
I’ve been shooting with a Canon S100 Digital Elph since 2000, and after seven years the camera was looking very long in the tooth, with dead pixels and starting to fall apart, it was time for an equally tiny replacement. For serious still shooting I’ve got a Canon 10D w/ an EF 24mm-70mm f/2.8 lens, and for video, a Sony HVR-A1U HDV camcorder, and even though the images from both of these puppies are spectacular, I don’t always want to deal with the weight and bulk of these cameras. I like having a small digital camera I can take with me wherever I go, that I can wear on my belt and forget it’s there. But I also would like to shoot short movie segments, so I’ve been waiting for something with at least 1280 x 720 (720p) video capability in the Digital Elph form factor. Finally Canon introduced the TX1 that fits the bill, so after years waiting and considering, yet not purchasing, many alternatives, I settled on the TX1.
Reel Now Online
May 1, 2007
I finally got around to moving my reel from DVD-R to the web. Of course, the DVD is still available, and the images look much better played off the DVD on a good 16:9 television, but the web is where it’s at these days. Special thanks to Colin Owens for the use of his music in several of the reel clips. The page was built using Jeroen Wijering’s Flash Media Player. I highly recommend this player for embedding video into web pages.
