Just a short film to test the new Sony HX9v. A camera that fits in your pocket and gives an amazing 1080p 50 frs. The Harbour (Sony HX9 test) on Vimeo

Awesome, amazing footage from this Cybershot compact

The sensor they are using in this camera is quite impressive... and when you consider a number of these "point & shoot" cameras also do 60p at full HD resolution, on top of pretty good stills, it's sure a compelling proposition for cheap image acquisition!

That is very impressive coming from a $350 camera. How are the stills? May consider getting something like this for my wife so she has both video and stills available for the kid's functions.

I agree, very impressive!

The stills should be excellent - Sony has a winner with this new 16.2Mpixel sensor that is used throughout their line, so there's a camera style for everyone! A couple cameras with this sensor are barely over $200 (WX9)! There are even some modes where these incorporate the old "dual shot" where you can shoot video at a slightly lower bitrate AND shoot stills at reduced rez while "rolling".

I snagged a WX10 (which is strangely already discontinued in the US...), for the "wifecam"... uses the same sensor, won't do 1080p, but the 1080i looks great and it's surprisingly much better in low light than the prior two sensor generations - I was very impressed from the minute I fired it up, so far am very happy with both the video and stills . Hoping a TX100 I purchased shows up soon for my "pocket rocket" (really want that 1080p!), the HX100 also has 1080p and an incredibly high range zoom lens, although it's not as "pocketable", looks like a winner as well.

With three "compact" cameras with 1080p this year (TX100V, TX9V, HX100V), and the rest of the line doing 1080i using the same sensor, there's lots of options for "video on the cheap" from Sony - availability has been spotty due to the Japan disasters, but they seem to slowly be filling the supply chain.

Thanks Dave

can you tell me what the record time limit is for these cameras in 1080. Also, what happens when the file size reaches the 4GB limit?

Thanks,
Garrett

The manual for the WX10 says "approximately 29 minutes", and refers to a 2Gb limit for MP4 files, I'll have to try a continuous shoot to see how it handles large AVCHD files, but with earlier models I found the battery was usually running out before the memory was (BN1 battery in a TX series). Safe to say it shouldn't be a problem like with DSLR's, I've run Sonys up to the 29 minute mark, then restarted just fine. Not 100% up to speed on the latest models, since these new ones have been tough to come by!

Please allow me to post next to Jeen's marvelous video some hand held footage I took slowed down on a 25p timeline. (more info on the Vimeo related page)

"LOVE". A Sony HX9V test on Vimeo

Thanks for watching!

Johnnie

Very interesting! As far as I know there is no 25p with this (or any other compact) but presumably if I filmed 50p and added that to my 25p timeline (via FCP) I have slow motion capability?


Ron

Still experimenting with a TX100V, but yes, based on some testing, putting 60P on a 24P timeline (Vegas Pro) and time stretching it resulted in some pretty nice slo-mo.

Still trying to sort ot some macroblocking/banding issues that are probably related to over-stressing the codec, but overall, the TX100 (similar innards to the HX9) seems pretty impressive.

This is a video using the TX100, which uses the same video engine as the Hx9v. The video illustrates some of the great quailities of these cameras, but also one of the issues - the inability to control shutter. You see a manifestation here in the portrayal of the water fountains in bright light - rather than smooth blurs of shooting water, you get something, well, odd.

A plus feature of the TX100 that is not on the Hx9v is the touch screen. This enables you to focus by pointing with your finger, and specifically to carry out a focus pull during a shot - just change the focus point by fingering another subject while shooting.

The video shows two "focus pulls."

Columbus Circle, NYC Quick Video Using the Sony TX100v on Vimeo

The raw 108060p video is downloadable, if you want to play slow-motion tricks with it.

Hi Mark -
Looks pretty good to me... if you wanted smoother streams, try the 60i mode - this is exactly what you want with 60p - should be able to "freeze" fast motion, and it does. It's easy enough to switch modes, and you should see more "blur" from my experimentation so far.

I really need to get mine out in some good light - my "low light" tests had some pretty odd macroblocking and banding, but your video looks pretty good overall (looked like maybe there was some strangeness in the surface of the water, but overall quite nice.

I'm concluding that Sony is doing some slightly different CODEC "tweaking" between models (since their entire P&S line is using the same sensor this year, everything from a $200 model up to $479, just differing feature sets). I'm getting no macroblocking/banding and getting a slightly sharper picture with a TX10 in some of my tests under identical conditions, yet I'm also seeing much lower low noise in certain low light conditions that typically have LOTS of noise - the TX100 is doing much better vs. the TX10.

All these small new Sonys offer a lot of possibilites for high quality video clips at a low price and with high convenience factor...

Just curious what your workflow is for the 60p - that seems to be where I'm hitting the snags - my video just doesn't look as clean as I know it should from the samples others are posting!

FWIW, both the TX10 and the TX100 seem to be getting great results for me, certainly as good or better than a higher end "consumer" HD cam from say 3-5 years ago... really a bargain for casual shooting!

Thanks for the tip Dave.

When I put together this video I wanted to preserve the original quality, with no recompression. The downloadable file thus has maximum quality that the camera can put out. I am not sure that every software package that "smart renders" can handle 108060p. Two that I know will:

The included software with the camera, Sony PMB, will allow you to trim individual clips and merge them. Because there is no re-encoding, the process is quick and has full quality.

Another software package is Final Mate that does the same thing.

I know that Sony Vegas Pro can handle 108060p, but it always re-encodes. Obviously, you can do a lot more with the video in that editor (transitions, titles, color grading, etc.) But there is some loss in quality. It can work with and output 108060p, though.

...The video illustrates some of the great qualities of these cameras, but also one of the issues - the inability to control shutter. You see a manifestation here in the portrayal of the water fountains in bright light - rather than smooth blurs of shooting water, you get something, well, odd.


This is similar to all the Sony's as the shutter speed increases rather than have multiple ND filters. At least on the camcorders one can use a ND filter. On my CX700 in bright light I use a variable ND filter that works well as setting the shutter too.

Ron Evans

This video was taken at an American Ivy-league football game, with all the trimmings - cheerleaders, bands, mascot (real), and football play, including kick-off returns, field goals, fake punts, sacks, passes, touchdowns.

Here is what it tell us about the Hx9v:

1. The bright sun was behind the camera, yet the LCD screen could be readily seen. Football is about deception, yet it was easy to watch who had the ball via the screen, despite many play-action passes and runs.

2. Many of the shots were at 400mm (35-mm equivalent), handheld. The active steady shot really worked here.

3. The 108060p video should make for good, smooth action. Vimeo only displays in 30p. To see what the action really looks like, you can download the original video from the site. The video is straight from the camera, and edited in PMB with no re-rendering.

4. The audio is straight from the camera, and captures reasonably well the aural experience of being at the game, including music and cheers.

Sony Hx9v Action Video: Ivy Football on Vimeo