Sony launches PXW-Z100 4K Handheld XDCAM

[Douglas Call]

I must have missed the info but is there a plugin I would use to view the sample PXW-Z100 clips using Premiere Pro CS6. I'm only use to editing FS700 (AVCHD) files and the DVCAM types files. So I'm not sure where to find the 4K XAVC codec for the PXW-Z100 in PP CS6.

[Alister Chapman]

Rovi produce a rather expensive plugin for XAVC in Premiere CS6 (PC Only). There is a watermarked demo version.
TotalCode for Adobe Premiere
Otherwise you will need Premiere CC which has XAVC support built in.

I really quite like the Z100. The colorimetry is very good and noise levels remarkable low when the light is reasonable. After shooting with S35mm cameras almost exclusively for the past couple of years it was really nice to get back to a camera with a 20x zoom. It isn't as sensitive as the new PMW-300 or an EX1 etc, but that is to be expected, it's about a stop less sensitive. In addition it doesn't have the dynamic range of an EX1, I would estimate 10 stops. For this reason the Z100 does not have Cinegammas.Like the PMW-300 it's nicely built and feels very solid in the hand. My biggest gripe is that the focus and iris response in manual is a little sluggish which is annoying and takes a little getting used to. I found it harder to precisely focus the Z100 than my F5 with a DSLR zoom as the deep DoF means that it doesn't snap in and out of focus as a camera with a shallower DoF does. The focus tools are OK with coloured peaking and image magnification which is just as well as you really do need both to ensure your 4K is sharp. I did end up with a couple of shots very slightly out of focus. With a bit more use I'm sure I could improve my focus technique with this camera.

It was quite shocking to fill a 32GB XQD card in just 15 mins when shooting at 4K 24p, although I'm kind of used to that with the F55 in 4K.

I have both a PMW-300 and a Z100 for a week and I'll be reviewing both in some depth as well as creating some picture profiles over Christmas.

[Jack Zhang]

Tested the latest version of VLC and it can play XAVC from the MXF file.

At 100% crop, I'm still not convinced about the noise levels, and the codec brings out the noise that is hidden by more compressed codecs. Specifically I looked at Clip0031.MXF and I'm very impressed by how the codec held up, but am very unimpressed by the grain.

[Alister Chapman]

But VLC's XAVC playback is not optimised. It does not include the DPPS processing. Dynamic Picture Parameter Set, which alters the interframe encoding profile and decoding algorithm based on the scene and meta data stored within the stream. VLC uses a generic AVC decoder without interfame variable decode parameters, which is unique to XAVC and makes quite a difference to the image quality.

[Douglas Call]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

Rovi produce a rather expensive plugin for XAVC in Premiere CS6 (PC Only). There is a watermarked demo version.
TotalCode for Adobe Premiere
Otherwise you will need Premiere CC which has XAVC support built in.

I have both a PMW-300 and a Z100 for a week and I'll be reviewing both in some depth as well as creating some picture profiles over Christmas.

First of all thanks for the pointer to the TotalCode plugin for PP CS6. I did in fact visit the TotalCode website and went directly to their purchase plugin page and noticed their blurb about supported codecs didn't mention XAVC so I downloaded and read their TotalCode fact sheet but it also didn't mention support for the XAVC.

However that could have been an oversight so to make sure I wrote them directly asking for an updated spec sheet for the PP CS6 TotalCode plugin that does state it has support for the 4K XAVC.

After reading your very informative article on the merits of using FS700 with the Sony AXS-R5 recorder I'm thinking that might be a better route for me to go for right now. I would just purchase the HXR-IFR5/AXS-R5 RAW combo and use that till the new Sony 4K style run and gun sized 4K cameras mature a little bit more.

However the PMW-300 looks like an awesome camera so I can't wait to see what you say about that unit. Perfect 1080p run and gun. I still want to be able to drop 4K XAVC files from the new Sony 4K handycams into PP CS6 so I will continue to pursue getting a solution there.

PS Alister if your ever in South Florida and need access to a Sony F65 for one of your various tests and comparisons I have a fully outfitted F65 available.

[Alister Chapman]

Douglas: Given the choice between an FS700 + R5 or Z100 I would go for the FS700 every time. It's a much more capable system, even though the ergonomics are less than desirable. Where the Z100 fits for me is as a companion camera to a large sensor camera for pick-up shots where you really need that 20x zoom and a deeper DoF.
For example I'm looking at the Z100 for my storm chasing shoots to act as a grab camera for the times where I only have seconds to get the shot. It would not replace my F5, just work along side it.

[Douglas Call]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

Douglas: Given the choice between an FS700 + R5 or Z100 I would go for the FS700 every time. It's a much more capable system, even though the ergonomics are less than desirable. Where the Z100 fits for me is as a companion camera to a large sensor camera for pick-up shots where you really need that 20x zoom and a deeper DoF.
For example I'm looking at the Z100 for my storm chasing shoots to act as a grab camera for the times where I only have seconds to get the shot. It would not replace my F5, just work along side it.

That sounds like a great plan!

[Alister Chapman]

Total Code is somewhat flakey with XAVC, so I wouldn't get too excited by it.

[Michael Warren]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

Total Code is somewhat flakey with XAVC, so I wouldn't get too excited by it.

It looks like it costs about 10 months of Adobe CC access. Doesn't seem worth it if CC supports XAVC.

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Any place to download an Z100 I-frame 50p (or at least 24/25p) 4k clip, to give it a run in Vegas Pro 12? Or PP CC?

[Michael Warren]

Originally Posted by Piotr Wozniacki

Any place to download an FS100 I-frame 50p (or at least 24/25p) 4k clip, to give it a run in Vegas Pro 12? Or PP CC?

Assuming you mean the Z100, Phil Goetz posted some clips shot by Alister Chapman earlier in this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-...ml#post1824317

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Yep, sorry for the typo - corrected.

Unfortunately the file is not available under that link any more :(

[Michael Warren]

Yes it is. I just checked. :)

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the block of text under the words "Sample Footage".

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Thanks Michael. Just downloaded using IE; my Chrome somehow couldn't see the archive.

The good news for me as Vegas Pro user is that those mxf play well enough on my PC to be edited! I tried the same with the AX1 sample (the goose), and it wasn't possible (that could only be played back using the Mercury engine in PP CS, which I'm only trying out now).

PS. What may be the reason those mxfs crash my VLC? I updated it to the most recent version recently, and it plays fine with my 220 Mbps I-frame nandFlash files... Any special settings required?

[Mark OConnell]

Am I the only one who thinks this footage from Austin looks noisy? At 50% it looks pretty good but at 100% that fine grain moving around gets really annoying.