Sony has posted this beauty 4K video from the PXW-X70.

https://youtu.be/DWFVlfoVAWs

That was impressive; especially with the low bit-rate that is YouTube. I was only able to watch in 1440p. Insane amout of crisp detail.

With youtube settings set to 4K, and surely without a 4k monitor, I got a lot moire in this video. Also, a fair number of artifacts.

With youtube settings set to 4K, and surely without a 4k monitor, I got a lot moire in this video. Also, a fair number of artifacts.

Why set to 4K if you do not have a 4K monitor ? I can see no moire or artifacts on my system. I can display 1920x1080 which is how I set for playback from youtube. Just to try, I also set to 4K and also see no artifacts or moire. I expect it is your playback PC that is introducing the issues you are seeing.

Ron Evans

Very interesting, when I drop down to 720 the moire disappears... Could be my system, could be my screen.

I too watched this on my tablet at 1440p. No moire, no aliasing to be found. IMO at least at this level of downscaled resolution, there's not much more you can ask for in terms of detail considering the cost and the portability of the equipment involved. There's some weird white balance in a number of limestone hill shots but that's probably just me. It should be easily corrected to taste in post, however.

I am getting it in the rigging of the sailboats, on top of the videographer's camera, in the sign above the cheese, lots of places, when at higher resolutions.

I just watched again at several resolutions and cannot see any moire. The only artifacts are slow frame rate motion that I am not too fond of but not sure if that is the source or Youtube. Downside for me is I expect the X70 4K will be only 24P and 30P and if its like its big brother the PXW-Z100 it will be 8bit 4:2:0 not 60P which is what I want in 4K. They could of course do 60P 8bit 4:2:0 at 150Mbps which is what my FDR-AX1 does. Then the X70 would be really interesting to me.

I watched on my mail/browsing PC which is an i7 3770K with 16G RAM, WIN7 64bit with Nvidia GTX560 GPU and Dell 24" monitor ( 1920x1200 ).

Ron Evans

So, am I right in assuming this was shot with the 60Mbps 4K codec the X70 will get, not the 100Mbps 4K codec the AX100 has just got?

Looked pretty good to me - watching on a Full HD 24-inch Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP - and then I watched it again on a higher res (but still sub 4K) 27-inch Dell Ultrasharp U2713H monitor - driven by my old and new Mac Pros respectively.

There's not a heck of a lot of motion in there... I mean some, sure, but not a ton.

The most dynamic looking shot was the one where the guy quickly runs the camera over the table full of pots (1:01). But then we don't actually get to see the shot he captured! What's up with that?

There's not a heck of a lot of motion in there... I mean some, sure, but not a ton.

The most dynamic looking shot was the one where the guy quickly runs the camera over the table full of pots (1:01). But then we don't actually get to see the shot he captured! What's up with that?

That's because if he was shooting in 24P or 30P it would be a juddering mess. Maybe that is why there is not a lot of motion either.

Ron Evans

That's because if he was shooting in 24P or 30P it would be a juddering mess.

Are you referring to the low bitrate...? How does 24p or 30p come into it?

Are you referring to the low bitrate...? How does 24p or 30p come into it?

He is moving the camera too fast for a slow frame rate like 24P or 30p so close to the subject. The end result will be a juddering image whatever the bit rate. The closer you are and the faster you move the faster the frame rate has to be to get a smooth image.

Ron Evans

The Mbps indicator may indicate that they may add the AX100's 100mbps in a later upgrade, albeit, there is no way we're able to get 60p out of this camera or correct it's skew issue.

You can download a 1080p version of PXW-X70 4K Beauty Image 1080p @ 3500kbps here:

http://goo.gl/y3oiZY

I also have the 3840 x 2160 UHD version at 15000kbps and it does look very, very clean but I can't afford to chew up too much bandwidth on my account by uploading it as it's the best part of half a GB.

Interested in anyone's thoughts!

Chris Young
CYV Productions
Sydney

I know it's a beauty reel, but the hyper-disciplined nature of the shooting bothers me a bit. I'm tempted to think of the X70 as a manual-only camera; as in, it looks stunning when you're there to prevent that weird clipping, bounce in some fill, or shoot on a heavily overcast day. Which is what I'm seeing here. (Or am I being unfair?)

What I'd like to see from a 4K-enabled X70 would be a project along the lines of that "Battle of Ages" short done on the new Canon. Something with rapidly changing conditions and over-the-top movement.

I'm starting to think that if I want detail, I buy an X70, but if I want dynamic range, I buy an XC10 (and pay a small fortune in media.)

I'm starting to think that if I want detail, I buy an X70, but if I want dynamic range, I buy an XC10 (and pay a small fortune in media.)

The XC10 may have a stop or two more DR than the X70. If using the cams to record HD, I think you may be able to push Sony's footage more than the XC10 (10-bit vs. 8-bit). So perhaps final footage DR would be more on par? I've ready that you can increase the black level a bit on the X70 and underexpose by a stop. Then increase levels in post; that should allow you to deal with the highlights better.

Also note that while the XC10 has a built-in ND, I believe it's more automatic (may only engage at say f/4 or narrower like their consumer offerings). Having choice of 2, 4 and 6 stops of ND on the Sony (and independent of iris) is ideal.

I'll be getting my X70 later this week so will begin shooting in various conditions. And then testing how much I can push the footage in post. Although, will only be shooting in HD (not updating at all to 4K).

XAVC 2160/24p 60

Chris,

I downloaded the 1080p clip you linked to and viewed it on both 1080p and UHD displays and here's what I saw:

- no moire or noticeable aliasing on both but noticeably soft on the UHD screen (as expected)
- The 4K YouTube version looked decidedly sharper on both though there were some slight, maybe compression, artifacts on the UHD screen. On the 1080p screen it looked gorgeous and no noticeable moire or aliasing.
- Fine details on some subjects like tree leaves in the opening shots and texture of fabrics in many shots were a little smeared in your 1080p clip when viewed at 100% on the 1080p screen. Those same details were more defined on both screens in the 4K YouTube clip.

I think the benefits of 4K resolution and color sampling headroom are undeniable at 1080p. What I don't know yet is whether the 4K coming out of the upgraded X70 will be better than or only the same as 4K from my AX100.

I think it will be pretty much the same as the AX100 but in a mxf wrapper just like the long GOP of the PXW-Z100. The camera has the advantage of the picture profiles though. The PXW-Z100 UHD long GOP is 8 bit 4:2:0 I think the X70 will be the same but limited to 30p . Hardly think they would give a better long GOP spec than the PXW-Z100 that costs over $2000 more. The FDR-AX1 and the PXW-Z100 have the advantage of 60P with the PXW-Z100 also an intra frame mode with ridiculous data rate !!!


Ron Evans

Hi friends, I don't understand fine if Sony PXW-X70 can rec 50p in 4K. My Sony AX100 can rec 25p only. What a pity!
Thanks

Hi friends, I don't understand fine if Sony PXW-X70 can rec 50p in 4K. My Sony AX100 can rec 25p only. What a pity!
Thanks

Where did you see that the X70 can do 50P in 4K ?

Ron Evans

Hi friends, I don't understand fine if Sony PXW-X70 can rec 50p in 4K.

Sony stated clearly that 4k will be 23.98FPS, 25FPS, and 29.97FPS only:

News Shooter | Newsshooter At BVE 2015- Sony Announce New Upcoming Firmware Release For The FS7 (http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/02/24/newsshooter-at-bve-2015-sony-announce-new-upcoming-firmware-release-for-the-fs7/)