Just wanted to share that i got my EA50's today. 3 of them and 1 NX30. The EA50 so far, the little time i have had with them seem fantastic but that's not what i am the most excited/ impressed with. The NX30 is really the WOW for me. Such a tiny little cam with a HUGE punch!

The EA50's will be used for a multicam live event shoot that i produce weekly for broadcast. The NX30 will travel all over the world documenting world relief missions, Haiti in 2 weeks.... Zambia and South Africa (Soweto) in May.

http://drmichellecorral.com/other/jpeg/cams.jpg

JC

Hi Joel

That's quite an arsenal of cameras there!! My second EA-50 arrives tomorrow ..I am most satisfied so far with the performance and functions.

Let us know your thoughts once they have had a few hours on them!!

Chris

Great stuff! Congratulations. Got enough outlets to charge the batteries :)

Cheers.

Wow, Sony overload! :)

Yeah, I"ve got the cx730 which has the same performance as the nx30 and it's a wonderful camera indeed with very good low light performance, as long as you don't zoom in. I"d be interested to know about your experiences when you do event shoots with the ea50.

Damn ... Lovely collection!

That's one of the reasons I don't want to get rid of my VG20, small enough to take anywhere but also packs a punch like my EA50 does.

Cool!
I'm dreaming of being able to afford even a Sony NEX-5 or something as a secondary camera...

I just dont have enough work coming in to justify owning more than 1 unit to be honest. And being a solo operator, unless I hire other people I hate leaving cameras un-manned.

As jealous as I am seeing people buying three units at a time, 1 is good enough for me :D

I will definitely post my thoughts after tonight's shoot. Coming off from the FX1 for the last 8 years i am inspired again and a little "gitty" about my work. Just hope my camera guys are ready!

I will definitely post my thoughts after tonight's shoot.

You are already putting them into production? Did you spend sufficient time getting to know them? My cx730 I put into production one day after I got it but that was because I have a sony xr520 which has basically the same functionality, the ea50 however is the type of camera I use on several personal projects before I use it on a paid production, just that I know all it's strengths and weaknesses. It is not the same camera as your fx1.

yes, been working (practicing) with them all day! And yes very different camera than the FX1. Tonight's shoot is actually very simple. 2 of the EA50's will be mounted on a tripod centered to the subject/speaker, one tight & one wide. The third will be placed on a jib/crane. I am most concerned with the crane shot and how the flyby's will look. Never used a servo before. I am not going to use any picture profiles and keep it simple. match the iris, WB, gain and shutter and i should be ok....crossing fingers though.

JC

Sorry, but when I read my comment again it almost looks if I"m implying you don't know what you are doing and that was not my intention :) I was just trying to say that the ea50 is different in many ways compared to your fx1 and for me at least, it takes some time getting used to that, especially when I"m doing non repeatable events with it. You also have to watch out when you lock focus and zoom in and out, it has been reported that the camera doesn't hold focus.
There also have been complaints about the powered zoom lens and I"m particularly interested how you feel it performs when filming a performance on a stage.

I have to film and stage performance of a gymnastic club next week and I"m a bit nervous as normally I use small handicams which perform fine but I like to add the ea50 to it as well, but because I probably will be filming alone I can't afford any mistakes. I can use the camera during rehearsals next week Friday so I can see how that works out.

That will also be an interesting one Noa!!

Are you using primes for that shoot or the stock lens?? I find the the stock lens in AF finds and corrects focus pretty darn fast. Let us know how it goes?

My second EA-50 arrived this afternoon too so I am doing an all Sony wedding on Saturday ...the Panasonics have now gone to their new owners ..I just have to build another bracket for the second cam so it will take two receivers behind the shoulder pad. We shall see how it goes this weekend!

Chris

I think best is to use the stocklens so I have enough zoom capability, I was planning to use 4 camera with 2 unmanned, the 2 unmanned (2 sony cx730 because they are closer to the stage and can shoot wide enough) will be focus locked but exposure and whitebalance will be in auto, one will be placed on the left, the other on the right and set to wide so they cover the whole stage.

I will be standing center with a sony xr520 and my ea50, those will be used for medium close and to follow the action, then I can set one of the 2 cams to a fixed position and follow the action with the other and I plan to take turns when using the camera's so I have footage from both. I am pretty close to the stage so I don't have to zoom in that much which is important as the stage is not so well lit, it's more some kind of "mood" they create, looks nice, but requires light sensitive camera's.

During the rehearsals I plan on trying the digital zoom vs the optical one as well to test, see what that gives.

Damn ... Lovely collection!

That's one of the reasons I don't want to get rid of my VG20, small enough to take anywhere but also packs a punch like my EA50 does.

Same here - the footage from my VG20 edits in lovely with the footage from the EA50 - also the VG20 is better on my Steadicam Merlin :)

Joel,

Are you doing a live internet broadcast? I do a lot of them so I would be interested in hearing how you do it? What switcher are you using?

Chris, Congrats on the second. Don't forget to add it to the owners thread :)

Steve

well,

My first production work with the EA50's is complete and not sure if it will make it to post. My initial feelings are a little mixed. Overall I most certainly need more time with the cameras before next weeks shoot.

(2 camera operators manning the tripods Myself on the crane)

My biggest problem was focus for the fixed shots. I really didn't know what to expect with the stock lens. Every time my subject moved slightly focus was lost. The shallow depth of field is great but very hard to keep focus. I knew focusing would be an issue just not to this degree. I am hoping that AF will be able to maintain focus and will experiment with it today.

Secondly,
It seems as though my old FX1 had better light sensitivity. FX1 is rated by Sony as 3 LUX and the EA50 is 1.7 LUX. With the same lighting environment I had to boost the gain to 15db! (FX1 @ 3db) Ea50 was decent maybe for some at 15db but a bit too noisy for my liking and not what I expected. Modifying the settings in the picture profile helped, although i didn't want to dabble into those settings yet i was forced to.

Setting the EA50's to Gamma ITU709 & Color Mode ITU709 Matrix along with a few other tweaks allowed me a bit more light sensitivity but in the end i still had to boost the gain to 15db. :(

Matching the EA50's naturally was a synch. The colors are fantastic deep & rich. skin tones soft and lovely. The flyby crane shots that I shot came out fair with no noticeable focus issues and power zoom mode was silky smooth....

I want to love this camera and I am confident that I will overcome the Focus issues with practice but the light sensitivity is a concern. I expected more light sensitivity than my 9 year old FX1's.

Help on any settings to make the EA50's more sensitive to light would be greatly appreciated.

JC

Joel,

Are you doing a live internet broadcast? I do a lot of them so I would be interested in hearing how you do it? What switcher are you using?



Steven,

No live internet broadcast & no switchers. I shoot live then edit multicam for Television broadcast on 2 networks. CTN and Word Network. Yes, a televangelist!

JC

When you where at 15db gain, was the lens zoomed in a lot at that moment?
Have you tried the factory standard pp3 preset?

When you where at 15db gain, was the lens zoomed in a lot at that moment?
Have you tried the factory standard pp3 preset?

yes, the main shots were basically locked down one tight & one wide of course the operator panned to follow subject. The subject is trained to stay in "box" due to lighting issues. i would say a 10' x 7' area or so. the tight shot was zoomed about half way i would say, not sure of the distance but i believe the cameras are about 9 feet from the subject...

JC

Steven,

No live internet broadcast & no switchers. I shoot live then edit multicam for Television broadcast on 2 networks. CTN and Word Network. Yes, a televangelist!

JC

Brea.....I had already guessed televangelist......not sure why Brea helped tip me? Having a switcher in line going out to hard drives might cut your editing time dramatically. I record a switched feed, as well as each cameras ISO to hard drives. Then in post I only have to "clean up" the program feed that was switched live. Just food for thought.

Steve

Joel,

My standard method of focus with servo lenses and stage work (I have done a lot of it) is to use manual focus along with the button that temporarily puts it into auto until you let go. I also, ALLWAYS have a good external monitor for me and other operators. I would never make them count on a viewfinder or LCD.

I have not done stage work yet with my EA50 but that technique worked well with my Canons.

Steve

You have to consider the stocklens on the ea50 is slow, especially when you start zooming in as it ramps fast meaning you have to compensate with even higher gain. The only way to prevent this is to have a fixed f2.8 zoom lens but then you"ll loose the powerzoom option.

I also think that the stocklens requires sufficient light if you are filming events on a stage, next week friday I"ll also know more as I have to do a stage performance and will be taking my cx730 with me to shoot side by side, Friday is rehearsals so I can do some trials. I am quite close to the stage so then I don't need to zoom in that much.

Regarding the focus issue, you could consider using the peaking option which can help but it needs sufficient light but the magnify button is also a great option to quickly check during recording. Focus is indeed much more critical on large sensor camera's then on small ones.

I also found that the pp3 preset gives the most "low light" performance as it is very flat but gives most latitude and is a good starting point if you want to do your own colorcorrection.

Brea.....I had already guessed televangelist......not sure why Brea helped tip me?

Steve

LOL! yes i have considered a switcher many times, I am ok with multicam editing in fact i enjoy it! I feel if I am not broadcasting live then I would rather multicam edit and add the switch with fades to my liking..

JC

Joel,

My standard method of focus with servo lenses and stage work (I have done a lot of it) is to use manual focus along with the button that temporarily puts it into auto until you let go. I also, ALLWAYS have a good external monitor for me and other operators. I would never make them count on a viewfinder or LCD.

I have not done stage work yet with my EA50 but that technique worked well with my Canons.

Steve

Great tip i will see if i can get my guys to "think outside the box" ....

What about if i set up "wider" and use digital zoom instead of power zoom to frame the shot. That way the lens is more open i can probably open at least 2 stops for more light and being wider may give a greater area of focus thus being more forgiving when the subject moves out of range?

Thoughts?

Almost....

Wider as in smaller MM# = more DOF

Opening up as in smaller F-Stop # (larger aperture) = less DOF

Your digital zoom idea is clever and might work if you do not "open up aperture".

With stage lighting you are lucky to be able to define your batters box. But I always meter it when we are setting and focusing for a flat stage wash. If there is a dark spot the presenter or talent will find it every time and plant themselves there. With the control you have over your set it should be easy to get things right.

If you do not have a light meter here is one for $5.00 for I-phone or I-pad

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-video-industry-news/513612-iphone-light-meter-app.html

Most apps I have tried to replace expensive meters are junk. This one seems to be getting good reviews. I am going to try it.

Steve

Almost....

Wider as in smaller MM# = more DOF

Opening up as in smaller F-Stop # (larger aperture) = less DOF

Your digital zoom idea is clever and might work if you do not "open up aperture".

With stage lighting you are lucky to be able to define your batters box. But I always meter it when we are setting and focusing for a flat stage wash. If there is a dark spot the presenter or talent will find it every time and plant themselves there. With the control you have over your set it should be easy to get things right.

If you do not have a light meter here is one for $5.00 for I-phone or I-pad

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-video-industry-news/513612-iphone-light-meter-app.html

Most apps I have tried to replace expensive meters are junk. This one seems to be getting good reviews. I am going to try it.

Steve

thanks, wonder if they have one for android....?

If you do not have a light meter here is one for $5.00 for I-phone or I-pad


Do you use a lightmeter often? For the few stage performances I do every year just using the zebra's at 100% allows me to prevent blown out area's and I always do the exposure manually on 2 camera's simultaniously. Only not on the unmanned camera's where I might set the ev to -2 and keep those camera's wider, only when the the stage is pitchblack and they use a strong spotlight my unmanned camera's give clipped highlights but in those case I adjust accordingly on the 2 camera's I operate using those zebra's again. Not easy to do but it has worked out fine so far.

Hi Noa,

Yes I use a meter a lot, but not to set exposure. I use it to judge contrast range when we are setting the lights. This is more for corporate productions than theater and I often have control over the call so the LD will do what I ask. If we are going to video record the show it is often something like this.

Five or six different "looks" to the set. Maybe some movers maybe not. One of the set ups I make sure is there is a flat stage wash for the business presentations. That is when I use a meter. I find it is more accurate than me just walking around up there. I want that light EVEN.

Steve

Steven,

No live internet broadcast & no switchers. I shoot live then edit multicam for Television broadcast on 2 networks. CTN and Word Network. Yes, a televangelist!

JC Any relation to Dr. Michelle Corral?

All my stuff is theatre so have no control over lighting at all. I do like Noa, unattended small Sony's set iAuto ON and ev at -2. NX5U is full manual, zebras at 90% and with 2 buttons set for spotlight and ev -2 so that if the gain range goes outside the switch settings I can just hit the gain button to go into auto and these switch settings then take over in auto mode. Still have gain limit at 15 as the NX5U is noisy !!! EA50 should work the same way. My wife uses a CX700 for closeups set at ev -1 and this is clean all the way to 21db !! Much better than the NX5U.

Ron Evans

I use the 50 and vg 20 interchangeably. It took some time to get used to the size of the 50 but once that was done, that issue simply went away. The sleeper in the system is the DZ as it really leverages every lens I use. That alone is a game changer. Terrific camera without question. Only thine really needed is the ability to adjust the Gain/ISO as per the 10 and 20.

That all makes sense to me Ron.

Noa, how do you see anything with zebras set to 100? I can understand you taking a look at it that way in rehearsals but not shooting that way? I often run zebras at 80%, sometimes 90% it depends on the contrast of the light.

The $5.00 light meter for i-pad, i-phone during rehearsals can give you a very good idea of just how much of a F-Stop change there is when there are dramatic scene changes (i have Mac stuff and PC stuff, I prefer PC stuff). That way you can prepare for those "blow out" moments.

Lighting directors for theater and especially AV LDs set levels for the human eye. If they don't have any broadcast experience they could not care less about contrast ratios. The same look they are trying to achieve can often be done within reasonable contrast ranges but it takes more time and care. Talking to the LD in advance to let him know recording will be taking place might help a lot.

Ron, as a theater guy what experience have you had with lighting directors?

Steve

Noa, how do you see anything with zebras set to 100?

How do you mean? If I want to expose right I hardly get any zebra's in the frame. If they might interfere with setting my focus I turn them of by pressing the assigned button on the side. After a while I can pretty much set the exposure by feeling, like I have to do on my dslr's all the time, but if there are zebra's available I don't have to guess.

Ron, as a theater guy what experience have you had with lighting directors?

Steve

Video is a retirement hobby for me so I shoot in a range of theatres with professional as well as amateur groups. For the professional its mainly dance and I know them as its every year and they know that video is not too happy with pink/red mixed lights that may look good but sends the video cameras out of focus and leads to lots of work for me afterwards. Also does nothing for the costumes the parents have payed lots of money for !!! For the amateur groups I sometimes point out hot spots that are easy for them to see on the video monitor and they correct. The biggest recent change is lighting with a mix of LED outdoor temp, tungsten and spots different indoor temps, so setting a WB once doesn't work. I have taken to leaving my full stage camera ( unattended XR500) on auto WB and setting the others fixed indoor preset and just correct as needed.

Ron Evans