Sony launches PXW-Z100 4K Handheld XDCAM

[Piotr Wozniacki]

When contemplating the Z100 vs. the AX1, media speed and amount is not the only cost factor involved when building a complete solution (editing and delivery). Since the 10 bit 4:2:2 is probably the most striking differentiator of the Z100 vs. AX1's 8 bit 422, does anyone know whether the current UHD TV offering (Sony Bravia, Toshiba, or the cheap Seiki) offer the full 10 bit viewing? I doubt it, as they are so much cheaper than some smaller PC monitors from Asus, Samsung and others, which are said to cover 99% of Adobe RGB spectrum...

[Nevin Styre]

Isn't the AX1's codec 4:2:0?

[Ron Evans]

Yes the FDR-AX1 is 8 bit 4:2:0, Long GOP XAVCS

Ron Evans

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Of course - just a typo.

[Brian Rhodes]

Sony PXW-Z100 4K Handheld XDCAM Camcorder is avail. at Bhphoto for pre-order $5499.00


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1004182-REG/sony_pxw_z100_4k_handheld_xdcam_camcorder.html

[Buba Kastorski]

does anybody know what wired remote lens controller Z100 will have, can't find that info,
will it have one at all?

[James Hobert]

Originally Posted by Brian Rhodes

Sony PXW-Z100 4K Handheld XDCAM Camcorder is avail. at Bhphoto for pre-order $5499.00


Sony PXW-Z100 4K Handheld XDCAM Camcorder PXW-Z100 B&H Photo

Is it me or is that $1000 less than when they first announced it? That's awesome. Is that the street price vs. list price thing I always hear about? I never really knew what that meant for new cameras.

This is only one of two cameras that I know of under $10k with 1080p60 and a 3G-HDSDI out (other is FS700) which is what we need so I'm all in!

[Glen Vandermolen]

Originally Posted by James Hobert

Is it me or is that $1000 less than when they first announced it? That's awesome. Is that the street price vs. list price thing I always hear about? I never really knew what that meant for new cameras.
!

Yes, they did drop the price. It was listed for over $6,000. Much more tempting!

[Doug Tessler]

Can it shoot regular HD not just 4000 k ? Also 4k is not really being implemented yet in monitors and broadcast so how long do we have to wait for that . So is it really worth it to become an early adopter of this camera ?


Doug

[Uwe Boettcher]

Sony FDR-AX1 4K camera-First look

Sony FDR-AX1 4K camera-First look cinema5D

+

SONY PXW-Z100

SONY PXW-Z100 - YouTube

[Duane Adam]

Still waiting for footage that will make me pull the trigger. Not sold yet.

[Mark OConnell]

That was pretty much useless.

[Jack Zhang]

I regardless am not sold on the "consumer-grade" sensor. You can do all the DSP in the world, but if the pickup isn't up to snuff, it's like a Tube camera hooked to a Digital Betacam deck.

[Ron Evans]

I view the FDR-AX1 and PXW-Z100 as replacing the AX2000 and NX5U which are respectively a prosumer and low end Pro cameras. The prices are very similar as well. If you want a full pro 4K camera then its the F5 or F55 I think or maybe the FS100 + etc.

As to the sensors, technology improves over time a great deal. My Sony cell phone takes as good a video as the FX1 I had !!! I am sure that sensor in these 4k cameras is the same as the one in my Sony HX30V still camera which takes absolutely lovely video comparable to any of the video cameras I have all AVCHD with the same codec !!! Sensor and DSP are a unit, raw output from a sensor always needs to be translated and how this is done is part of the process. One can only measure the whole not just a part. Yes small sensors have small sites so will not be as good in low light as a large sensors. So if one needs to shoot 4K in low light these may not be the cameras especially if one needs to zoom as the lens ramps quickly, the same as my NX5U. I view these 4K cameras as an improvement over the AVCHD versions with 4K as a bonus !! Same lens, similar size sensor almost the same camera body much the same controls........ I will get the FDR-AX1 because I need long record times and view it as an improvement over the NX5U I have. If the PXW-Z100 already had the firmware update I might have got that as a real replacement for the NX5U.

Ron Evans

[Alister Chapman]

Actually sensor technology is one of the slowest developing technologies as we are already pretty much at the limits as to what can be done with silicon. Silicon has a finite efficiency at converting photons of light into electrons, current sensors are are around 70-80% efficient (QE = Quantum Efficiency). There are small incremental improvements such as back illumination or better micro lenses but the base sensitivity hasn't changed much in the past 10 years and it isn't going to change until we move to an entirely new substrate material and that means a new manufacturing process not yet available. That's why the new PMW-300 uses the same 6 year old sensors as the original EX1, because a new sensor wouldn't bring any real benefit. All the picture improvements come from a better DSP.

In a camera like the Z100 and most full size cameras the sensor and DSP are separate units as an on die DSP would lead to a heat build up that would increase noise levels over time. Some noise reduction is done on the sensor and the A to D is done on the on the sensor, but the real DSP work is done in a dedicated DSP chip, in most cases some kind of field programmable micro processor such as a FPGA. The Z100 probably contains multiple processors, each handling different tasks.

It is either simply sensor and thus pixel size or processing that is making the big difference in modern cameras. Bigger pixels means better sensitivity, lower noise and higher dynamic range. Better processing, primarily noise reduction, means a better signal to noise ratio and thus a cleaner picture. But NR comes at a price which can be image artefacts such as smear, ghosting or soft edges.
This shows very well with the Z100. A small sensor with small pixels = lower sensitivity and dynamic range than a camera like the EX1/PMW-200 with it's older but larger sensors. The Z100 processing on the other hand is state of the art and as a result the image noise is very well controlled at lower gan levels, however push the gain levels up and the noise starts to overwhelm the noise reduction and introduces smear and image softening.