View Full Version : Is The Sony EX1 Good For making Music Videos ?


Jide Obi
April 12th, 2009, 04:48 AM
I intend to make music videos and I am seriously thinking of getting the ex1.
I love the image quality of this camera .
Would this be a wise move ?
I have heard that the ex1 is not great handheld has rolling shutter issues and other cmos artifacts.
Please I would some advice from anyone that has used this camera to make music videos on whether this is a good camera for making music videos
Thanks

Daniel Alexander
April 12th, 2009, 05:30 AM
its an excellent choice for music videos, however you should know that camera flashes may cause you a problem and you will need a 486 ir filter to fix the well known 'blacks to reddish brown' problem under certain lighting. The camera is heavy but doesnt ever stop me getting the hand held shots i want and besides the other 2 problems ive mentioned i have no problems doing music videos.

Peter Rixner
April 12th, 2009, 07:56 AM
I agree that it's the right choice.
I never had visible problems with rolling shutter or flashlights.
Besides that I don't think there are photographers when You are shooting the video :)

I don't knwo why Daniel thinks that it's heavy. To me it's much to light to get good handheld shots. But thats probably personal taste :)

The timelapse and slow motion abilities are the icing on the cake and are somehow indispensable for music videos.

I further strongly recommend a 35mm adapter to get a shallower depth of field.
Although the ex1 alread has a nice one for that pricerange of cameras that can help when wisely used.

Of course the 35mm adapter and accessories makes it at least double as heavy.
But I still think that's good.

Cheers

Peter

Marcos Luger
April 12th, 2009, 01:30 PM
Go on Vimeo and search with keywords like EX1, PMW EX1, XDCam ... There is a few of them, just be sure to check if there is an DOF adapater on it, the "look" can be totally diferent.

This is the last one I did with my EX1 (stock lense) Wahala - Lo Importante on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/3611023)


enjoy

Simon Wyndham
April 12th, 2009, 01:53 PM
No, it's useless ;-)

Kalunga Lima
April 12th, 2009, 03:12 PM
First you need to define the look you want, only then can you determine if a particular camera if any particular camera is "good"... Danny Boyle shot "28 Days Later" with a Canon XL1.

The final result you obtain from any given camera in this price range has probably much more to do with the operator and post than with the camera itself.

If you" love the image quality of the EX1", you may want to find an operator who has one, rather than trying to direct while also operating an unfamiliar camera.

Getting the most out of the EX1 means not getting to know your camera (which takes time), but also learning the craft of operating a camera (which takes even more time).

If the purchase of the EX1 is meant as an investment, you may also want to consider the EX3.

If you purchase an EX1 now (or any otehr camera for that matter), accept that something better will come up sooner or later (DSLRs?)

Despite the enormous improvement in the last 15 years in image quality (especially in sub $10K cameras), people have not been making significantly better films. In the end, the bottom line is still artistic vision.

Having said all of the above, I do have an EX1 and I absolutely love it, not only because of image quality, but also other factors like work flow.

best of luck

Peter Mykusz
April 15th, 2009, 10:53 AM
The image quality of the EX cameras is amazing and it's the best value in terms of image quality of any video cameras out there. You can argue all you want about the slight differences in image detail compared to the full size HD cameras but music videos are not about that. It's the look and the feel of the music.
This is a video shot with 2 EX cameras, 5 DJ type of lights and 2 smoke machines in a club. YouTube - Sear Azizi, Negina video (HD version), Directed by Javad Ahmadi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTk_-UvnB-I&feature=related)
It was not a big budget shoot. I want to give credit to Joesutherland.com for giving me a good deal on the camera rental. You can see the detail in the blacks and the image quality is excellent. ) Db and 3 Db were used in this all day shoot. There are several sites that have this video and they get thousands of hits. Please look at it from a technical point of view. Does it do the job? You will get amazing quality outdoors but this is an example of low light shooting. Get the camera or wait for NAB to see what is new

Bob Jackson
April 15th, 2009, 11:18 AM
Very nice video.
Thanks for sharing.
i can only aspire to a music video that nice.
Was it filmed and aired in Canada?
CAn this video be shown in Afganistan?
Bj

Vincent Oliver
April 15th, 2009, 01:21 PM
Danny Boyle shot "28 Days Later" with a Canon XL1.



I have this movie, and it is no recommendation for the quality that the XL1 can produce.