I sold my Ex1 today. It went, with more than a bang than a whimper, on Ebay a couple of days ago. The chap that won the auction was the perfect ebayer, sticking the winning funds into my bank account yesterday and off the EX1 went this morning to start a new life in bonny Scotland. The guy got a great camera. Latest firmware and never a problem with it, original box and even threw in a spare 8Gb SxS card. Plus changed the Silver Support ownership so he gets the remaining year left on the warranty.

So I am currently camera-less. Why did I do it? Am I mad? Yes and no. The guy got a great camera in near perfect order. He got a good deal, but so did I. The camera "cost" me £550 for the year I had it. So £10.50 a week. A bargain. Now I purchased the camera under Sony's buy now pay nothing for 12 months. At 12 months, the full amount has to be paid, or you get stuffed with 29.9% interest. Not even a mug would want to go there. So its pay up time. Tomorrow I am going to pay all of the bill off, a week before the 12 months is up. So basically I get a new camera every 12 months for waht is basically very cheap rental, covered by Silver Support.

Was the camera worth £550 for the year? It sure was. It made me a lot of money. And as one of the first second hand EX1's on Ebay, the price they currently fetch on the used market will never be better. I had 74 people watching it by the last day, started it at 99p with no reserve to get the juices flowing for those crazy enough to think they could get it for £40, then sat back and chilled.

So, what am I going to do now? Upgrade to an Ex3. I would like to step up a bit more but what is there in the market at £10-12,000 inc decent glass? Nothing. I love the SxS workflow, I love the image of the EX1 and I am sure I will love the EX3 even more because compared to the EX1 it looks a joy handheld.

Now, on the downside, the prices of the Ex1 and EX3 have risen at Sony dealerships in recent weeks due to the pathetically weak pound. Best deal I have seen is currently Proactive. They are several hundred cheaper than Creative and H Prestons, but the others have on ther sites they will price match. So has anyone seen a better price for an Ex3 than £5,295.00 +VAT ( £6,089) If they have in the Uk could they let me know.

Now I just hope the credit crunch and me paying off the Sony agreement early doesn't mean they won't give me the same crdit deal again!!!

Waffle over.

I think Jigsaw24.com price beats that - but they don't seem to be showing any in stock when I looked. Maybe worth a call to them to see if stock is about to arrive?

XDCAM EX Camcorders - Jigsaw Systems Ltd (http://www.jigsaw24.com/default.aspx?t=ITEMS&p=3WG_CAMSC_XDCAMPL_CAMEXFC&v=&vbc=&vc=)

Andy, I just checked and they are £5795 +VAT, so much more expensive.

Wow, that's weird! - I've just rechecked (and made sure I refreshed my browser) and I get this price of £5807.50 INCLUDING VAT. (EX3 but with No Cards). 8GB SxS cards can be had for about £99 + VAT now (and falling all the time) so it depends how many SxS the others are offering etc. In the past Jigsaw have also given me a better price than the on-line price if I phone them and "discuss" it.

SONY PMW-EX3 NO CARDS 1/2" 14X 3 CMOS XDCAM EX CAMCORDER - Jigsaw Systems Ltd (http://www.jigsaw24.com/default.aspx?ITEM=JIGSX054ATA&IP=3WG_CAMSC_XDCAMPL_CAMEXFC)

OK thanks for that. I was looking further up the page! ( The usual 2 8Gb card deal)

Thats a good benchmark to use as a bargaining tool. Its a buyers market and these companies must be feeling the pinch. Time to bash out a good deal.

I purchased my EX 3 from these guys

Sony PMW-EX3 (http://www.provisiondirect.co.uk/Buy-Online/Sony-PMW-EX3-HD-Pro-Camcorder/132) £4870 + VAT

The camera was delivered within 3 days - very helpful guy. I also purcahes it on the day it went up by £300, which I didn't realise at the time, but the dealer split the difference with me and I only paid £150 of the price increase. Now that is what I call good customer relations.

Did that price include the Silver Warranty?

Not sure about that, give them a ring.

If there is no Silver Support Pack (normally on the outside of the box) then it is probably not a European unit and getting it serviced could be problematic as it may have to go back to the country it came from.

They are not Sony broadcast UK dealers so no silver support there. If I was going that way I would go to ebay where a new one is £5549 inc VAT.

However I have just done a deal with Stuart Weir, who is a member in this forum. Thanks to George Kroonder who told him I was buying an EX3 and offered me his which was originally purchased at Proav in the UK. It's only a few months old with about 3 hours on the clock. Plus of course the two year Silver Support.

Purchased it here in the UK. I have no information about Silver Warranty, Support Pack, in fact this is the first time I have heard of it. What is it? and what benefit does it offer.

All European model XDCAM cameras come with Sony's Silver Support. It is a 2 year return to base warranty service. There is a helpline and if the camera needs repairs due to a failure (as opposed to damage or abuse) Sony arrange collection and delivery. If the repair takes more than 7 days they are supposed to provide a loan unit. It's basically a 2 year warranty. As I said there should be a small pack with a booklet attached to the outside of the box if it is a genuine European unit.

Thanks Alister,

I just purchased the EX3 from Provision UK and assume that it will be covered by all warranties etc. I hope that I won't learn the hard way. In my past experience with extended warranties, they usually end up costing far more than any repair would have done.

Keeping fingers crossed - for the next two years. :-}

I spoke to Provision yesterday. They do not include Sony Silver Warranty in their EX1/3 prices - it costs an additional £800. I was assured that their own service channels would cover problems including upgrades. Presumably their people have access to Sony firmware as it is developed.

Thanks Bruce, I never knew anything about Silver Service when I made my purchase, nor was anything mentioned. I doubt if I would have spent the extra £800 even if I knew. In my last 30 years as a professional photographer I have never had any problems with any gear that needed top be repaired under warranty. Although, my Mamiya 67 did develop a fault 5 days after the warranty ran out. You can't always win. No doubt there will be some smart employee who will try to find a reason why your fault won't be covered under the warranty terms -

Yes, I am getting more cynical with old age.

Interesting. If you buy from an approved dealer Silver Support is included free and there is no option to buy without it. As Sony will not release the firmware to anyone and normally only do the upgrades via Silver Support, I'm not sure how Provision will deal with issues such as updating the firmware to the just released version that fixes the intermittent manual focus issue some users are experiencing.

From what I have read on the EX1 postings regarding Firmware 1.11, it seems that some users are having to pay for the upgrade, others have installed it themselves.

Under the sale of goods act, any user will be covered for at least one year against any faults.

I guess I will just have to deal with any problems as they arrise.

Although, I did get an immediate response from Sony when I asked about the HD to SD conversion, they rang me back and gave the solution - which does work and I am in full flow with my next DVD production. I guess I should have looked into warranties before purchasing.

Just as a footnote, Provision do provide a two year warranty with the camera

Sony PMW EX3 (http://www.provisiondirect.co.uk/Buy-Online/Sony-PMW-EX3-HD-Pro-Camcorder/132)

"Supplied with a Vision two year warranty"

Maybe is hasn't got the Sony Silver badge, but it will do.