Just attended a Sony seminar yesterday and got the chance to have a few minutes of "hands on" with this incredible camera. I won't bother with technical bits as Alister has covered that very well in his review already. Just a few impressions...First, it's a beautiful, proper camera. I can't imagine news organizations not buying these by the truckload. The sensitivity is probably at least a full stop better than anything I've ever seen in my 27 years of shooting. Second, the viewfinder is AMAZING!!!! Forget anything you've ever heard about poor lcd performance from a viewfinder. I've used full Sony HD studio cameras whose viewfinders have nothing on this one.

Our office just took delivery of a Nanoflash. I think combining these two pieces of technology would satisfy any broadcast/production requirement imagineable. The days of mortgaging the farm to have the best are soon becoming a thing of the past. I agree with Alister that the detail coming from this camera is almost too much ( I can't believe I just said that) This may not be the camera to achieve a satisfying filmic look, time will tell as the hypergammas are sorted out. However, if HD to you is something that jumps off the screen and grabs you by the sensiblities then you must look at this camera.

Dave

p.s. I have no relationship with Sony at all.

Hi Dave,
Did you try the camera in SD mode?

Cheers

....the detail coming from this camera is almost too much ...... This may not be the camera to achieve a satisfying filmic look, .....
But if it's got a lot of REAL detail, that means it can run with little or no detail enhancement without looking soft, which is a long way towards a good filmic look.

I also agree about the sensitivity. With 24dB of gain it looks more like 12-18dB in a comparable 2/3" camera.

David,

Terrific point. The seminar host was quick to point out that in in test shoots he did he avoided extra enhancement and let the 2/3rds inch CMOS imager show its true ability.

Now that you've finished with it, maybe I can have a go!

Incidentally, Mr Chapman very accidentally left some footage in a card, and I also accidentally played it out through a native 1920x1080 projector.

It was rather nice. And lots of oohs and ahhs were heard from the viewing audience.

I'd like to think that they were as a result of viewing my EX3 footage. But unfortunately they rather liked the 350. Though they did wonder about how Alisters mind works and how he picks planes to follow during airshow flyby's since they were by all accounts very bloomin' smooth and accurate!!

Do we have any price points yet for this camera? With what lens and without?

Well Mr Wyndham..

I could say... I put myself in the pilots shoes, I think like an aviator and anticipate their every move.....

or

I've seen the displays so many times I know what they are going to do next. I've filmed motorsports and flying for over 20 years. In addition it wasn't all shot by me. There are some clips shot by Steve Connor in there too.

I really can't wait to get my 350 and take it up to the Arctic Circle to shoot the Northern Lights. It should do really well.

On another note, if I may Mr. Wyndham :)

Has the Skype icon by your name been put there automatically by this forum software, or have you embedded it yourself?

Umm, I don't know the answer to that one. I don't recall adding Skype, though I may have done years ago when I first joined the forum. I rarely use Skype now.

Alister are willing to share what you have use for PP on the 350? I am happy to test different PP setting to dial in what I need so the camera can get to work when it arrives in Jan.

I am hoping to publish a range of Scene Files for the 350 in early January. The 350 uses Scene Files which are very similar to those used on the PDW-700 and F900R etc as opposed to the EX picture profiles. They do the same thing, but have a lot of extra parameters that can be adjusted such as both detail and aperture settings, low mid and high black gamma stretch and colour multi matrix options which allows you to mix two sets of matrix settings.

For the airshow we had detail wound down to -25 and aperture at -10 with Hypergamma 4 with a bit of mid-black stretch. The camera was a pre-production unit and was incredibly sharp, I have been told that the detail levels may be reduced on production cameras to a more natural level. At first I was worried that it was too sharp and producing a lot of aliasing, but a quick session on the test bench at Sony with some Zone Plates showed it to be largely alias free, yet with remarkable resolution (even with the cheap kit lens). We put it side by side with an F900R and both were resolving around 1100 lines which is about the limit for a 1920x1080 camera. The great thing about this camera is that it is very high resolution with very low noise so detail correction will not be needed in many cases.

Very interesting - but one point has not yet been mentioned.
If you order the camera with the optionaly included lens the price is very good, no question about that.

But the lens is just not wide enough. Shooting outdoors (and planes) this might be no problem.

But I've got an PDW-330 with the Fujinon 5.5x18 lens, and I wish even this was wider. (Same with my EX1) I would trade in my PDW instantly for the PMW-350, if would not have to spend another 15 - 20 thousand Euro for a usable lens. Too bad, Sony did not make the stock lens at least as wide as the EX1 lens.

Too bad, because everythíng else would have been perfect. (Starting with the V-mount-batteries, the slot for my Sennheiser receiver, wondering if the Fujinon-zoom-remote would work on this lens?)

Am I the only one regretting the lens not being wide enough?

Stephan

Too bad, Sony did not make the stock lens at least as wide as the EX1 lens.
They did (for all practical purposes). Are you making allowance for the differing chip sizes? An 8mm focal length with 2/3" chips corresponds very closely with 5.8mm and 1/2" chips.

Look at the Sony spec sheets - Sony : PMW-EX1R (PMWEX1R) : Technical Specifications : United Kingdom (http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowProduct.action?product=PMW-EX1R&site=biz_en_GB&pageType=TechnicalSpecs&imageType=Main&category=XDCAMCamcorders) and Sony : PMW-350K (PMW350K) : Technical Specifications : United Kingdom (http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowProduct.action?product=PMW-350K&site=biz_en_GB&pageType=TechnicalSpecs&imageType=Main&category=XDCAMCamcorders)

They list "equivalent to 31.4 mm to 439 mm on 35 mm lens" for the EX1 (5.8mm actual), and "31.5 mm to 503 mm on 35 mm lens" for the PMW350 (8mm actual).

The wide angle lens issue is interesting but I have a cunning plan when I purchase my 350 (which seems pretty likely now).

I also planning to buy a DSLR (5d/7d) with some wide primes for when I need to go wide. Better lens quality and a B cam if I need it and will save a ton of cash.

I think this would work well as I tend to use wide angle lenses for cut aways mainly so audio isn't such an issue. On the rare occasion that I need a wide on the main camera, I can rent.

Thank you Alister, look forward to and appreciate your input. I know you will setup for the widest latitude profile. Happy to discuss it here and on your site. And to do what ever testing is needed to help in any way. Will start putting the camera to work 10 days after arrival so that give some time for me to help dial this in.

David you beat me to it on the difference in chip size making the focal lengths the same. For the price the stock lens is worth it IMHO. But nice glass will make the camera shine.

Stephan this is one of the great features with the 2/3" camera the wide angle, long lens, stability lens, scope lens options are huge. So if you do need a wide lens for most of your shooting you will have a chance to rent for the job an pick the right one prior to purchase if you need to purchase. At 1100 vertical lines you do not want to use a cheap lens. Nice glass is always expensive and with HD-SDI out to the Nano you should not skimp on the glass.

I really was surprised by how well the kit lens performed. We briefly compared it against a Canon HJ11. I could not see any real difference in contrast or resolution, however it was not a proper test, just a quick lens swap. If you get the digital extender option on the PMW-350 then the 16x8 kit lens will cover most bases. A decent wide like the HJ11 would be nice to have, but they don't come cheap.

I am with you Thierry what is the Digital Extender options?

Digital extender option??? I thought it was part of the standard features set on the PMW-350.

Thierry.

Creative Video Canon Authorised Dealers > USED Canon J9AX5.2B4 IRS SD broadcast Super Wide Angle B4 mount zoom lens with 2X extender (http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/public/view_item_cat.php?catalogue_number=used_canon_j9x5.2birs)

What about this SD lens on the PMW-350? Stupid idea? How will it perform on the PMW-350 as long as running it in SD-mode? How will it perform if you run in HD occesionally? Although it is second hand, it's a not too expensive allround workhorse in ENG-work.

They did (for all practical purposes). Are you making allowance for the differing chip sizes? An 8mm focal length with 2/3" chips corresponds very closely with 5.8mm and 1/2" chips..

If I was wrong - great!

Anybody out there who can approve (by looking through the VF/LCD) that the kit-lens is about as wide as the EX1-lens?

That would be realy good news!

Stephan

The Digital Extender will come as an upgrade option via the 50 pin expansion slot in Autumn 2010. It is not a standard item.

SD lenses will be fine for SD and in many cases acceptable for occasional HD use. Actual lens performance is difficult to predict and will vary from lens to lens even within the same product line. I've found that some top end SD lenses will often out perform a low end HD lens, best thing is to try before you buy. To take advantage of the ALAC (auto lens aberration correction) you will need a recent model HD lens.

The kit lens is 8mm fully wide which is the 35mm equivalent to a 31.5mm lens. The EX is 5.3mm fully wide which is equivalent to 31.4mm. So the short answer is pretty much the same at the wide end.

The kit lens is 8mm fully wide which is the 35mm equivalent to a 31.5mm lens. The EX is 5.3mm fully wide which is equivalent to 31.4mm. So the short answer is pretty much the same at the wide end.

Thank you Alister,

do you then then see any reason not to trade in a PDW-330 with the Fujinon 18x5.5 lens for a PMW-350 with the kit lens?

Do you have an idea in terms of a price, that I could ask for my camera?

Thanks

Stephan

There are three things to consider before you trade in an F330.

1: Do you need to hand clients rushes directly from the camera?
2: Do you shoot under strobe lightning or flash photography regularly?
3: Have you considered the initial outlay on SxS cards etc and looked at your end to end workflow.

1 can be got around, possibly by shooting on Memory sticks, but some clients will want to walk away with a disc.
2 flash band/Partial frame brightening can be a problem, you can sort most problematic clips out in clip browser, but you do need to be aware of the issue.
3 has to be considered, but over 2 years of using EX's I have saved money on recording media. My end to end workflow is fast and efficient and backups are just a regular part of my workflow.


Other than that I don't think you will look back. It is a quite considerable leap in picture quality, sensitivity and usability from a F330 to PMW-350. You'll love the viewfinder, the light weight and low power consumption too.

Thanks a lot Alister,

now I know that you are NOT (sorry - that was a typo!) "owned and run by Sony" ;-)

It is as you said, after becoming friends with EX1 I developped an archival method proving to be quite efficient. (working for XDCAM HD too) And indeed, I have spend lots of bucks (Euros) on XDCAM-Disks.

And I did spend another two tons of Euro on an additional 2" 16/9 VF for my PDW-330.

I don't need to rush my disks to my clients.

I did not have flash-problems in the past. But I thought those were cured by the recent Sony clip bowser anyhow? (Of course this might lead to a time problem, if you were working as an ENG-team)

May I dare to repeat my question: Do see a chance that I can sell my PDW-gear for a reasonable price?

Stephan

And: Does the Fujinon-zoom-remote for broadcast lenses work on the PMW-350-kit-lens?

Alister did I read you archive your EX to Blu-Ray? I read Blu-Ray has a short shelf life 7-9 years. Why don't you archive to Sony Optical Disk since you use it on your 700? I am going to start this method since I will have the option to delivery a XDCAM 422 50Mbps timeline on the disk and also use Clip Browser to load Nano files. The disk are similar price to two hard drives which we know is not the way to go.

I use a mix of medium for archive. Initially everything goes on to a pair of USB hard drives and most of the footage stays on hard drives which I beleive should in most cases be good for 4 or 5 years. Anything that I need to keep for longer goes on Blu-ray discs and the footage that goes in to my stock footage library or I consider valuable or need to keep for a long period goes on to Sony Professional Disc (XDCAM discs).
Good quality Bluray discs should last for 10 years or more, the key is to finding a good brand.

In the UK it is difficult to get good money for PDW-F330/F335 etc. Many dealers still have stock of these cameras which they are selling for as little as 8,000 euros, used F330's are being sold for as little as 4,500 euros. F350/F355's get around 10,000 euros new and 6,000 used.

Thanks Alister makes sense the footage that counts is on the Sony Optical disk. I have had three Blu-Ray disk fail i the last two years so I don't trust them. They were Verbatim 25GB 4x.

I´ll have a face-to-face date with the pmw350 tomorrow. Hope not to fall too much in love, my bank account will not like a new love affair... ;-)

Uli