I have to tell you guys that I can't believe how good this little Sony HXR-MC50U has been for my TV show. We used it last night in and out of the rain to shoot our "Sanctum" review (I know, like the movie, we were "all wet").

I sync sound with my Zoom (using Plural Eyes), and in the past have shot with one of my two Canon T2i rigs that I outfitted with all the trimmings (Beachtek and the like).

But my experience with the 50U has been so positive, that I'm selling one of my T2is. But what do I do with the money?

I thought that I'd buy a NEX-5. The camera would fit nicely in the same bag as the 50U and offer alternate shot variations (I'd get the kit 18-55mm and the 16mm lenses).

The only concern would be the bit rate of the 1080 or full HD of the NEX-5. I shoot at 24Mbps with the 50U. The NEX-5 highest bit rate is 17Mbps. Will that be a problem?

I waded through the "why no focus assist" thread and from what I could gather from Steve's analysis is that the NEX-5 is more manual than the VG10. The aperture priority firmware upgrade was a big plus for shooting video with the NEX-5.

I was surprised by the ease of use of the NEX-5 when I handled it at a camera store. And that autofocus was a great add for my ENG stuff. And the camera is so darned small!

Can someone answer the bit rate issue? And can we discuss the virtues of the NEX-5 vs. the VG10? All in you seem to get a lot more with the NEX-5 that the much higher priced VG10. I'd like to know about battery life and any heat issues too. I've yet to find a side-by-side comparison.

My apologies for the "more manual" comment in my post. That was a poor choice of words. My video camera background makes me a bit dim I suppose.

After spending a little more time reading more closely, I have to say that I can't wait to get Steve's book on the NEX family. His site says February 1st, but there is no link to buy the ebook present on his website.

Anyone been able to buy it yet?

Sorry, I'm running behind. I took a few days out to look at the new cameras being released. While they have very nice features, they all are following the trend to cram about 15 MP in a 1/2" chip.

I'm proof reading it now. It's over 220 pages.

It will be ready before the end of this week.

Thank you for asking.

Great to hear! I shot another show today with my co-host after seeing the "Gnomeo & Juliet" movie and on the street, I missed being able to just tighten focus on us. I'm going to go ahead and pick up a NEX-5 and buy your ebook when it is done.

I feel for you doing your own editing. My first novel, "The Taster," was not edited very well and I wasn't happy with parts of it. But going forward with it warts and all was the publisher's decision. With ebooks you can self-publish and you have only yourself to blame.