I know this has been bantered around before but has anybody heard anything recent about a replacement for the EX-3? It's been about 3 years and I would expect at least a make-over soon like the EX-1R. Does anyone think Sony would ever try to fit 2/3" sensors into the EX-3 body or would they stick with the PMW-350?
Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm not sure if Sony has a logical market motive to update the EX3 with 2/3" chips given the $8300 price (give or take) when the PMW-320 is 1/2" and $11,900. Given the work it took to manage 1/2" chips in the EX1/EX3 bodies I'd also doubt it's technically possible.

Tom, welcome to DVinfo.

EX3 has been on the market for exactly 2 years, not three (I know because I got one of the very first in late July 2008). Recently Sony announced a minor cosmetic upgrade (has some orange colours on the lens to help you see if the lens ring is in full-time manual or not) but it's essentially the same camera with a minor cosmetic paint job on the lens housing and with a new auto iris button on the slightly improved grip (all of which is part of the lens assembly). It's dubbed the EX3/2, see the thread here.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/479900-pmw-ex3-2-a.html

I think Sony missed a trick here, especially with strong, excellent new models from Canon that compete in it's price/performance area (except low light ability I think), and should have at the very least done "a EX3r job" - i.e. with some of the welcome features such as cache recording that the EX1 upgrade brought. That being said, the EX3 a fine, totally reliable workhorse and serves me very well producing stunning images that I and my clients appreciate, often in challenging industrial/factory conditions (320 is too big for my needs).

Bottom line, I'm almost relieved that I'm not tempted to upgrade for a while yet...especially in this economy!!!!

:-)

"I think Sony missed a trick here, especially with strong, excellent new models from Canon that compete in it's price/performance"


Hmmmmm............. I have the Canon XF305 here at this moment .............. Hmmmmmm

The big question, would I change my EX3 for the XF305?

Will publish a full review and comparison of the Canon on my video-i.com site - just need to finish off a DVD first.

"I think Sony missed a trick here, especially with strong, excellent new models from Canon that compete in it's price/performance"


Hmmmmm............. I have the Canon XF305 here at this moment .............. Hmmmmmm

The big question, would I change my EX3 for the XF305?

Will publish a full review and comparison of the Canon on my video-i.com site - just need to finish off a DVD first.

im very interested!

The big question, would I change my EX3 for the XF305?


Not if you wanted to change lenses!
I guess the current Canons are EX1 rivals, I wonder when they'll release an interchangeable lens version?
Here comes the cynic again - are they hoping to sell a boat load of the fixed lens ones first and then bring out an interchangeable lens one? This way they'll get sales for the new one, plus folks trading in their old ones for the new - double the money! No, sorry for even thinking such a thing. And before anyone says anything, yes I know Canon is a business and they are there to make money!
Steve

Andy I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is odd Sony would upgrade the EX1 and not do the same upgrade to the EX3. However, it would be silly for us to upgrade our EX3s at this point. The bar is going to be pushed up considerably next year as the competition is heating up with broadcast grade camera features trickling down to the $15,000 range and solid state recorders entering the market.

My next jump would be into a camera that offers 10bit 4:2:2 out of the box and in a form factor that rivals the utility of an ENG style camera. Willing to bet there are a number of EX3 owners that won't go near a camera with ergos like this ever again.

To all of you that replied; thanks for your input.

Sony really missed the boat with their so-called EX3/2 update by not FIXING the IR problem. Something I just realized is comparing the low light capability of the EX1 or EX3 to other cameras should tell the real story. Why? Because when using an IR filter, both cameras lose light; therefore, their low-light advantage is negligible.

I am really ticked off at Sony because I was planning on adding an EX3 within the next 2 months but I refuse to use an IR filter all the time.

The far red sensitivity is an intentional trade off to get better skin tones. All the high end cameras have the same problem under the same conditions, but it's considered worth it for the better gradations in skin colour.

Sallow skin, or the odd far red issue, that's the current technology limit whether you have an EX1, an F35 or an Alexa.

Regarding the IR problem. The Tiffen filter cures this but you have to add a touch of magenta in your NLE to bring the skin tones back to life. I have used it on several stage productions without any problem - well a slight loss of light maybe, but nothing that has stopped me from shooting.

...Something I just realized is comparing the low light capability of the EX1 or EX3 to other cameras should tell the real story. Why? Because when using an IR filter, both cameras lose light; therefore, their low-light advantage is negligible....

I wasn't able to verify this on the EX1R I used but according to Sony, the EX1R at least has the Red fix. I don't recall seeing anything about a fix in the EX3/2.

Yes, the EX1R has the IR issue fixed, and with my experience, the slow zoom was fixed as well. I rented an EX1R a few months ago for a multi-cam with my EX1. Something else I noticed with the 2 cams side by side was that the EX1R appeared to be 1/3 - 1/2 stop more sensitive.

Andy Shipsides at Abel confirmed that Sony did NOT fix the IR on the EX3/2 update.

I have the Tiffen T1 IR filter and I think its rated at 1 stop light loss (Alister confirms this on his site). The IR problem really shows up outdoors on sunny days. This problem is confounded because I prefer to use my polarizer outdoors but I can only use one of the filters at a time.

And thanks to Sony, if I want good blacks while zoomed full tele, I now have a max aperture of 4.0. This is due to Sony deceiving us with their specification of a constant f/1.9, but the lens stops down to f/2.8 at full tele. Then add in the 1 stop loss from the IR filter, and I'm left with f/4.0.

Never mind - posted in wrong thread!