View Full Version : New EX Camera??


Docea Marius
March 13th, 2010, 11:17 AM
I found this information posted on another site,does anyone know anything exactly?I want to buy a ex1r,if there is a new camera, prefer to wait one months

Thanks




,,I just talked to a Sony Rep at a local video show. A new EX camera will be coming out at NAB. All he would tell me is that it will place between the EX3 and the 350. There will not be an EX3r nor will the EX3 be discontinued. He also would not tell me if it was going to be a shoulder mount or not. April 5th is the day the trade magazines will get the info for publication,,

Kelly Langerak
March 13th, 2010, 11:19 AM
Hmmm. There might be a new EX3 version coming out after NAB but I don't think a E1r is going to be replaced anytime soon.

I'd be curious to know this too, since I need to buy a camera soon.

Andy Wilkinson
March 13th, 2010, 01:06 PM
Interesting info - and it makes sense (at least to me) as this follows Sony's pattern of carving out lots of little incremental niches in a product sector such as professional cams. I did get a big hint from someone at Sony Japan late last year (at the EX1r launch) that something was coming in the EX3 "area" this spring/summer. I guess we'll know more in a few weeks! I expect Chris will move this to Area 51 until we get some hard facts.

David Heath
March 13th, 2010, 05:04 PM
Well - I've said right from the launch of the PMW350 and the EX1 upgrade to the R that it leaves the EX3 in a strange place. More expensive than the EX1R, better in a couple of regards - but lacking certain (important) features that the EX1R has.

The obvious question which has been posed to Sony has been "so when can we expect the same upgrade to the EX3", and their reply seems to have been "it won't happen".

In which case, a new model to replace the EX3 (rather than an upgrade) seems the most logical conclusion. The question that remains is about timescale. I suspect their marketing people are getting fed up with the question "why hasn't the EX3 been upgraded to an R yet?", so must be hoping the question does get resolved at NAB........

Craig Seeman
March 14th, 2010, 06:42 AM
My guess Sony is working on another form factor for a lower end camera with interchangeable lenses than the 350. It may be a shoulder mount 1/2" chip interchangeable lens camera or a lower end 2/3" camera than the 350. But why not either update or discontinue the EX3 except maybe they feel market demand should determine that since the new camera may be in a different price/market niche.

It could be such new camera might be in a bit higher price range so they can't really call it a straight replacement. The result might look like EX1R, EX3, 300, 350.

Gabor Heeres
March 19th, 2010, 08:18 AM
What about a S270-like fullsize shouldermount camcorder with 3 1/2" CMOS chips and with two SXS slots in stead of the MRC-1 CF recording unit? Hybrid in tape and SXS and HD and SD of course. If they can do that it may be an interesting camera for many people.

Tim Kolb
March 19th, 2010, 09:28 AM
I suspect the reason why Sony is saying that there won't be an EX3r is that they want to spread that increment a bit further than the gap between the EX1 and the EX3.

The EX3 had some nice feature adds, but I suspect they could introduce a camera with a more traditional ENG body profile (as opposed to the chainsaw) and add 2K to the price and appeal to a much broader market swath.

I think the EX3's basic market was EX1 users who wanted a better eye cup viewfinder and some better access to certain controls with the ability to interchange lenses (or, probably most often, just buy the lens they want for the camera). Most traditional ENG users probably passed on the non-traditional form factor and the overall body durability, and even mid-range EFP users would have to ask themselves how much space they're really saving in their travel cases over a standard, sturdy, more traditional camera body with the EX3's case footprint being nearly that big anyway.

For me, I actually prefer my EX1 for traveling work as it's incredibly easy to pack and I don't have to check a massive Pelican case without locks and hope that it all gets where I'm going.

I have no problem with the EX3...and I have no actual information on any of this...I've done some product management myself, and I'm just speculating on what I might do in their place...

I always reserve the right to guess wrong.

Sverker Hahn
March 19th, 2010, 10:06 AM
What does ENG and EFP stand for?

Craig Seeman
March 19th, 2010, 10:11 AM
ENG - Electronic News Gathering
Electronic news-gathering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_news-gathering)
EFP - Electronic Field Production
Electronic field production - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_field_production)

Basically since these people may need to go from tripod to non tripod, there's a preference for shoulder mount cameras as they may need to break away from tripods for extended times and often need to do so very quickly.

Shaun Roemich
March 19th, 2010, 10:12 AM
Sverker:
ENG - electronic news gathering (TYPICALLY a bit more "run and gun" style)
EFP - electronic field production (normally higher production values - lighting and such)

Tim Kolb
March 19th, 2010, 10:23 AM
What does ENG and EFP stand for?

Sorry...acronyms are so easy to type. I probably should have said "news gathering applications" and "long form production."

The categories are so blurred these days that these designations may actually create more confusion than they eliminate.

Nathan Swinn
March 19th, 2010, 11:10 AM
I'll ditto the comments of Craig and Tim.

I originally wanted a shoulder mount camera because that's what I was trained to use for news gathering. The feel of a camera like the HM700 is almost identical to most big ENG cameras - though much lighter than anything I used - and it almost sold me. For doing things like streeters or bouncing around a meeting doing multiple short interviews, a shoulder mount cam is hard to beat, especially if you're using your free hand to point a wireless shotgun mic.

But I've switched to a smaller cam because I couldn't find a suitable ENG style unit. And because a "backpack" journalism style means a smaller camera is better.

I'm slightly surprised that Sony hasn't come up with a direct competitor to the Hm700 and the Panny 300.

Jim Stamos
March 19th, 2010, 09:48 PM
you have to think that it will be a less expensive 1/2 inch shoulder mount. i for one am used to shooting with my dsr300 . wanting to go hd, i in no way can afford the 350 so i was going to make the adjustment to the ex1r. ive shot with it and its amazing on all levels except for the viewfinder being lousy. i am working on an adapter better than the only thing out there, the hoodman loupe, which is better than nothing ,but not much. the one im working on kinda mimics the ex3 vf.
its taking some time, but i will get it done.
back to original subject, on april 5th, we will all know what the new cam is, id bet its a cheaper shoulder mount as mentioned above that will be affordable to alot of people.
hope it is.

Marty Welk
March 19th, 2010, 11:34 PM
What about a S270-like fullsize shouldermount camcorder with 3 1/2" CMOS chips and with two SXS slots in stead of the MRC-1 CF recording unit? Hybrid in tape and SXS and HD and SD of course. If they can do that it may be an interesting camera for many people.

Cool, and 4 channel audio . so get over to sony and suggest what we Really want :-)

Gabor Heeres
March 20th, 2010, 09:37 PM
The S270 has 4 channel audio so they know how to produce it.

The other option is a very lightweight fullsize shouldermount camcorder with SXS but without interchangable lenses. Years ago Sony did push the DSR-250 into the market side by side with the PD150. The PD150 at that time was the standard handheld/camjo camcorder in the professional broadcast world. The DSR-250 was definitely based from the PD150's basics. Same glass, same electonics, same picture quality, same lowlight result.

What if Sony would do that trick again? Nowadays the EX1R is the standard as handheld/camjo camcorder in the professional broadcast world. Put the EX1R's technical values into a very lightweight fullsize shouldermount camcorder, add $1K - $1,5K on the price of an EX1R and there you go.

That one wouldn't surprise me.....

David Heath
March 21st, 2010, 05:18 AM
What about a S270-like fullsize shouldermount camcorder with 3 1/2" CMOS chips and with two SXS slots in stead of the MRC-1 CF recording unit? Hybrid in tape and SXS and HD and SD of course.
I doubt there would be any tape. That would only be capable of 25 Mbs working, so only of use in SD (DVCAM) mode or HDV. If you have 1/2" (presumably full 2 megapixel?) chips, shouldermount design etc etc, it would hardly be worthwhile to then shoot HDV to tape when the camera will do a better codec to solid state.
.....on april 5th, we will all know what the new cam is, id bet its a cheaper shoulder mount as mentioned above that will be affordable to alot of people.
Unless you know something we don't, I think it's only speculation whether there will be any such new camera at all announced at NAB. Personally, I think something is quite likely, but my thoughts are based purely on wondering why the EX3 wasn't upgraded at the same time the EX1 was - so a guess that it will be discontinued before long in favour of a new model.

If so, then I'm with the general concensus. What I'd want is something between the EX1R and the 350, with an ergonomic lesson learnt from the JVC cameras.

Barry J. Weckesser
April 6th, 2010, 06:55 AM
,,I just talked to a Sony Rep at a local video show. A new EX camera will be coming out at NAB. All he would tell me is that it will place between the EX3 and the 350. There will not be an EX3r nor will the EX3 be discontinued. He also would not tell me if it was going to be a shoulder mount or not. April 5th is the day the trade magazines will get the info for publication,,

Anyone have any contacts with the "trade magazines" or know anything more about the new camera (or if there is going to be one at all)?

Ned Soltz
April 6th, 2010, 02:35 PM
Anyone have any contacts with the "trade magazines" or know anything more about the new camera (or if there is going to be one at all)?

Yes. I write for two of the trade magazines. No I have not heard anything but it does not mean that another of the editors may have received an embargoed release. And if I did know something and told you.... well, I'm from Jersey and folks have a habit of disappearing into the Meadowlands.

Barry J. Weckesser
April 6th, 2010, 04:07 PM
Ha!! and you are right in the backyard area of the big Sony Service Center. Well I suppose we will all know what is going on next Monday when NAB starts.

Bob Grant
April 6th, 2010, 04:25 PM
I'll take a gamble and say we'll see an EX 422 50Mbps camera. This is what's missing from the lineup. The SxS cards were designed for the data rate, it remains unused at the moment. The encoder chips have been available for quite some time now. Needless to say this will be a 2/3" camera at a higher pricepoint than the 350.
I believe Sony will transition all of their XDCAM HD cameras to XDCAM EX. The optical disk tech was openly stated by Sony to be a transition solution.

Jim Stamos
April 6th, 2010, 04:53 PM
bob, i think it will be a cam less than the 350. alot of shooters out there are screaming for a more affordable shoulder mount. dropping 20k now is a bit steep for alot of us.
and now that panasonic has improved the 300 to the 370, id be surprised if its not a 1/2 inch SM.
we will know monday for sure if not sooner

John Poipie
April 6th, 2010, 05:50 PM
I would say that we can expect camera's with a new breed of image sensors.
The best candidate for this is the "Quantum dot Sensor ( Quantum dots promise more sensitive sensors: Digital Photography Review (http://www.dpreview.com/news/1003/10032201quantumfilm.asp) )
It has a 4x better light sensitivity and a much larger dynamic range.
Probably it will close the gap between film and video.
An EX-camera with such a sensor will be a killer.

Ned Soltz
April 6th, 2010, 08:14 PM
Ha!! and you are right in the backyard area of the big Sony Service Center. Well I suppose we will all know what is going on next Monday when NAB starts.

Sony Service Center is walking distance from me...

I'll be at the Sony press conference on Sunday 4/11 and we'll see if anything is announced. I can tell you that we did not receive anything from Sony on Monday or Tues. But we do know where Jimmy Hoffa is and since you don't want to go there, I'd better not say any more.

Docea Marius
April 7th, 2010, 11:11 AM
Sony wear us with joy and the new EX1-R free to give us the opportunity to shoot with EX1 and EX1R 4.2.2 directly :-) 50 MBit/s,as the new canon cameras.
I just moved from EX1 to EX1R

Chris Hurd
April 7th, 2010, 11:56 AM
DV Info Net will be attending the Sony NAB2010 press conference
coming up this Sunday, and of course we'll be making a full report
from there, whatever it is they have to show. Stay tuned!

David Pryke
April 7th, 2010, 05:52 PM
I am the person that started this topic on another forum site. The conversation started with the inquire about an EX3r, and lead to what I posted. Since that time, I spoke with one of my clients today who is looking to get an EX1r. When he spoke to his Sony distributor about the new EX camera, he confirmed the new camera but said it might not be available until September. Just wanted to pass it along. My client is very good friends with the distributor, so he has no reason to lie. Maybe it's all a hoax, but I don't see why a Sony rep would say it.

Great site. At least you guys stayed on topic :)

Barry J. Weckesser
April 8th, 2010, 07:19 AM
Guess we will know for sure this coming Sunday with the press announcements. People keep speculating about anothe 1/2" sensor camera "shoulder mount". With the excellent third party adaptor solutions (e.g. Olof Ekbergh) and being able to use the EX1 and EX3 as shoulder mounts - I really don't see the advantage of another 1/2" camera luring people into selling their EX1-3's and buying the new camera or keeping their present rigs and springing for another camera which will essentially have the same resolution/color/specs as the current lineup. Is it really physically impossible to have a 2/3" camera a bit larger than the EX3 (somewhere between the EX3 and PMW 350) because of technical factors (like heat dissipation etc.)?

Gabe Strong
April 10th, 2010, 10:47 AM
Looks like this might be able to be moved out of area 51 now....

Sony Business Solutions & Systems - Featured (http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/ext/BroadcastandBusiness/minisites/NAB2010/pp_pmw320k.shtml)

1/2 version of the PMW 350 is what it looks like.....

Chris Hurd
April 10th, 2010, 10:54 AM
Thread closed now that it's real. Please pick up the discussion at:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-video-industry-news/476564-sony-pmw-320k-l.html

Thanks in advance,