An interesting read from Adam:

http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/awilt/story/three_three_letter_cameras_ex1_f23_red/

He didn't talk much about the EX1, but I was amazed, looking at the results, at how well it stood up, given what it was up against... The RED is more than five times the price of the EX1 (how much more depends on how the RED is configured), and the f23 is close to 50 times the price. I was especially amazed that the RED didn't have that much more usable resolution - about 30% (I would have guessed closer to twice)!Of course, this kind of thing has been happening in digital still photography for a while now - you can get surprisingly close to the state of the art with well chosen, moderately priced equipment - the last 20-30% more than triples the cost! I was pleased to see the EX1 with a dynamic range similar to the RED and not too far from the f23 - good dynamic range is hard to get, and many DV cameras are notably lousy (aside from the poor resolution, limited DR is what I've noticed when trying to mix stills and DV). I wish they had a sunny day to really test DR in the real world, rather than just with charts!

I'm getting real fed up with being told just how good this camera is when what I want from these great reviewers is hints on how to best use it in various situations (even though I'm slowly getting there)

Adam clearly stated he was showing us the data, not adding his thoughts on how the EX1 stacked up against the "big" guys. He offered a link to his EX1 review for his thoughts on the EX1 performance.

I believe the EX1 is quite the camera for $7K.

I love the EX1. My HD110 has become my B camera. The EX1 always gives me exactly what I ask of it. I don't understand those who are still trying to figure out how to use it. Guess they spend more time arguing about how to use it than actually using it....LOL

I was about to buy a EX1 but I think its ergonomics are the worst ever on a handheld camera. Button placement is not logical, buttons feel flimsy and there is a very big strain on the pulse. It also found it weird that there is an "airtunnel" trough the middle of the camera. I think the image quality of the EX1 is unsurpassed (price/quality) but the handling really stopped me from buying this camera. This camera really does not work for run-and-gun. It is nice to see that Adam notes the same in this article. You can't compare these cameras (because of huge price differences) but I feel that the costs of the PMW-EX1 are made in the sensor/tapeless/lcd department and have not been spend on the build quality and ergonomics. Which is wished they did.

Anyway, nice article and good information and descriptive images.

Bill,
I ended up selling my JVC HD100. I really liked the camera. I can't say I missed adjusting back focus with it all the time. That screwed me a couple times.

I recently have been working with some of my HD100 clips with a client that wants to work up a promo package. It's concert footage shot with a couple HD100 cameras a while back.

I sure wish I had the EX1 during this show. The noise levels in the footage are higher than I'd like. I'm using Neat Video in Sony Vegas 8b to help clean up the footage. Neat Video does a decent job without destrying the image. BTW, Neat Video is slooooooooooow to render...............

The EX1 would of been a lot better with the constantly changing light dynamics of the show. The HD100 has some over exposure issues that I could not recover in post.

yeah, the HD doesn't fare well with more than slight CCing...the image gets noisy as hell. Neatvideo is a lifesaver...but, I'm so tired of waiting for renders or previews as soon as I drop a filter on the timeline. I agree.

It's kind of sad that people spend $6500 on the EX1 and expect a $25K-200K level camera.

The EX1 clips I downloaded and burned within Liquid to SD DVD looks absolutely fantastic and while I thought I have seen too many things (as far as the image quality) as a director all of these years, I haven't.
After the theft at my home where I have lost a VX2000 a PC115 and HV20 with my 112p set and ME66/K6 I am struggling to buy this instead of a V1E or XHA1. The image I have seen is unbelievable.

I believe the air gap is to help prevent heat from the processing and memory circuits from warming the CMOS sensors which would lead to more noise.

The ergonomics aren't that bad. Sure the balance is off, but if you stick a hand grip on one side of a heavy object that's what will happen. Until we come up with a totally new way of holding and operating this style of camcorder this will always be a problem especially when you use a quality lens with large sensors and as a result a large prism which adds to the weight.

I think placing all the lens control buttons around the lens, using the industry standard layout for gain, white balance and shutter and placing the menu controls on the rear to be entirely logical. The manual/auto sliding lens ring is brilliant, the joystick for navigating around the LCD icons is great. It's not perfect, the menu scroll wheel is poor and the power switch is hard to use but then every camera has its foibles.

Until we come up with a totally new way of holding and operating this style of camcorder this will always be a problem especially when you use a quality lens with large sensors and as a result a large prism which adds to the weight.
But it's a comparable size and weight to the JVC HD100/200 cameras - why not simply style it in a similar fashion? That also reduces the length of the camera sticking out in front, puts it by the side of the head, which must help in tight locations.

Are EX1 users having issues with noise?

If so, how are you able to optimize the noise levels. Of course the obvious is using gain at -3dB. I have seen that some of the cine gamma curves are cleaner than others. Cine2 looked the cleanest under low light, but it also did not offer as bright as an image under the same lighting. The blacks were more crushed.

One thing for sure is the EX1 is a HECK of a lot cleaner than my JVC HD100 and the HVX200.

my ex1 is nowhere near as sensitive to noise in post as my HD110. Underexposure with the ex1 is VERY noise prone...that's pretty clear. The ex1 is considerably more tolerant to CC when the captured image is on the right side of the histo. It's a LOT more tolerant than the HD110 ever was. All this is somewhat to be expected since the very nature of HDv's 4:2:0 color depth does not lend itself to CC in post. Wish I could capture in 4;2:2, as I'm sure it would CC even better than the ex1 via SxS.

Bill, if I under expose, I'm not finding the EX1 very noisy. There's more noise, but I'm not sure if I 'd call it very.

The JVC footage I'm working on now I'd call that "very" compared to any under exposed EX1 footage. Well, in the HD100 camera's defense, it was low light concert footage

I was about to buy a EX1 but I think its ergonomics are the worst ever on a handheld camera. Button placement is not logical, buttons feel flimsy and there is a very big strain on the pulse. It also found it weird that there is an "airtunnel" trough the middle of the camera. I think the image quality of the EX1 is unsurpassed (price/quality) but the handling really stopped me from buying this camera. This camera really does not work for run-and-gun. It is nice to see that Adam notes the same in this article. You can't compare these cameras (because of huge price differences) but I feel that the costs of the PMW-EX1 are made in the sensor/tapeless/lcd department and have not been spend on the build quality and ergonomics. Which is wished they did.

Anyway, nice article and good information and descriptive images.

with the el cheapo shoulder mounter it is absolutely brilliant for run and gun. I have been shooting for long days with it all handheld and I barely got tired.

The El Cheapo is an amazing find.

Bill, if I under expose, I'm not finding the EX1 very noisy. There's more noise, but I'm not sure if I 'd call it very.

The JVC footage I'm working on now I'd call that "very" compared to any under exposed EX1 footage. Well, in the HD100 camera's defense, it was low light concert footage

I definitely agree with that with my EX-1.

I agree with Bill Raven's earlier posting. The EX1 is a cheap camera in professional terms, it should not be compared and then knocked down for so called failings. Sony have raised the bar for this type of camera.

I use the EX1 as a B Roll camera in conjunction with HDCam material and it stands up very well. But since the HDCAM's Fujinon broadcast lens cost more than double the EX1 what should I expect from the $7,500 spent?

On a daily basis the EX1 is superb. I feel guilty that for once in life I have a winner, a trouble free unit (so far) compared to others who have problems. But once you get a good one and just use the camera and forget its so called design failings you will be rewarded with fantastic pictures that your clients will be happy with.

After reading Adam's article I'm trying to figure out how to put a B4 mount on my EX1 so I can use those Digiprimes. That should cure the vignetting problem.

with the el cheapo shoulder mounter it is absolutely brilliant for run and gun. I have been shooting for long days with it all handheld and I barely got tired.

I fitted a Manfrotto MN-577 quick relase plate and adaptor to my el cheapo (i presume you're talking about the ebay £18/Prestons £65 plastic folding job)
shoulder mount,my manfrotto 503/hdv head uses the exact same plate (501 pl) so now i can swap from tripod to shoulder mount quickly,without unscrewing the mount and screwing on my tripod plate.
To me,the shoulder mount is now complete,mine has now cost me around £70 in total,rediculously cheap for what it does and how well it works.

Paul.

In my tests the Ex1 worked fine for hand-held use when fitted with a "mini-rover" bracket on the left side, which provides both better stablity and an extra spot for mounting accessories. I did have concerns about the autofocus performance and awkward shutter speed controls, but overall the EX1 seems like a decent camera for the price. Surprisingly, many event videographers are leaning toward the new Z7U as a more practical "run and gun" camera, for what that's worth.

Steve...

My definition of VERY noisy: If I have to use a noise reduction tool like NeatVideo, in post, to smooth over quantization noise and blockiness in the shadows, then it is VERY noisy. However, I agree that the noise is not as bad as what I've experienced with the HD110.

Could someone please remind me of the "El cheapo" ebay site for the shoulder mount. Thanks.

with the el cheapo shoulder mounter it is absolutely brilliant for run and gun. I have been shooting for long days with it all handheld and I barely got tired.

What shoulder mount did you buy Phil?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/camera-shoulder-support-fr-xl1-fx1-pd170-dvx100A-hvx200_W0QQitemZ310032167386QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item310032167386

This is the support that me and i think Phil are using. Copy and paste it into your address bar.

There's quite a few similar items in ebay now.
If you type in "shoulder support" in the ebay search bar you'll find them.

Paul.

There is also a very similar shoulder support available from Cavision, which I use. It's quite inexpensive, attaches to the standard 15mm rail system; and, by drilling 3 small holes, will easily mount a v-mount adapter and battery brick, which greatly improves the balance for run and gun. I'm now running my EX1 thru the 12v power port to an IDX battery brick. Anyone interested in a picture of the rig, I'll be glad to post one.

Yeah go on then Bill,let's have a look.

Here's mine with the Manfrotto adaptor fitted.
Manfrotto part number MN-577. It also comes with the plate for the bottom of the camera but obviously i just needed the reciever assembly.This fits the plate from my 503hdv perfectly.

paul

I use exactly the same setup. Works great.

here's my rig. after two hours of shooting, my arms aren't too tired...LOL...the rig balances quite well for one handed support while the second hand makes adjustments.

Any suggestions on how to do the "matching quick-release" trick with a Sachtler FSB-6? Sachtler doesn't seem to sell the release assembly separately. Does anyone know if it is the same size as one of the two Manfrottos (or something else readily available)? The plate I have is a fairly standard looking sliding plate that loads by tipping one side into the head then snapping the other down, although it looks like the side loading mechanism is part of the receiver, not a feature of the plate - the plate could also slide in to a different receiver from behind, or even drop in flat and clamp in place.

-Dan

sorry....impossible to get this image library to work..

here it is...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=859&c=2

You'll probably have to do what I do with my Cartoni - just stack the Manfrotto on top of the existing plate and ignore the existing one.

It's a shame because the Sachtler (and Cartoni) quick releases are so nice. But it's not that big a deal.

It does raise the camera a bit and so affects the counterbalance.