Sony FDR-AX100

[Ron Evans]

I have both the AX100 and the AX53. Handheld with Active ON the AX53 is visibly better. I can even hold at close to full optical tele ( 20 X ) and pan following sail boats and it is still good. All this shot 60P HD. The BOSS system does work well. Don't shoot UHD with either so cannot say how it works then.

Ron Evans

[Rob Hargreaves]

I had the AX-53 and was frustrated with the lack on simultaneous manual control of shutter, iris and gain, as well as a of external function buttons so I returned it and got the AX100 which is superior in everything except stabilisation and size.
If handheld telephoto zoom recording is important and you can live without proper manual control of basic recording functions and less external buttons, then get the AX-53, otherwise the AX100 is superior.

[Mark Watson]

The high frame rate mode of the AX53 is 1920x1080, whereas the AX100 is 1280x720.
AX53 has timecode. AX100 has ND filters.
AX53 is 20x zoom, AX100 is 12x.
They use the same batteries, but I think the BOSS system on the AX53 drains the battery faster, I know the AX33 does.

[Ron Evans]

I use both the AX53 and the AX100 the same way. Set WB, a gain limit, set shutter speed and control with AE shift. Using AE shift you can effectively choose what you want fixed and let the camera control 2 of the parameters. I prefer the camera to control gain and iris within a range I have preset since if the light is good it will then only control iris. I am sure the Sony engineers have the relationship well designed for best performance with lens. It works very well and I have done this for a long time with the Sony cameras. If you use the "exposure " control you let the camera choose everything ( WB, gain, iris and shutter speed even ND for the AX100 ) and you are only telling it how bright or dark. This however will fix the exposure whereas AE shift will maintain the brightness. Without setting shutter speed you will then loose control of image blur if you want to mix with other cameras. But I agree that if you want to fix the exposure under your full manual control then the AX100 is the camera to get. Of interest is that the AX53 not only has timecode but also data code when recording XAVC-S. Something neither the AX100 or my AX1 has !!! I like to look at data code and missed this with the AX1 and then the AX100 so hope there will be a firmware update for those.

Ron Evans

[Adriano Moroni]

Hello, sorry for my stupid question but I'm lacking about technics. I read Sony AX100 records at 25p. Are 25p like 25 framerate (FPS)? Thanks for your reply.

[Noa Put]

Yes, they are 25 full frames per second.

[Ron Evans]

25P are full frames called progressive , interlace 25fps is 50 fields per second ( half the vertical resolution ) so motion is smoother than 25P since it has twice the pictures in the same time even though they are half the vertical resolution. . Interlace 25fps indicates the sync pulse rate to tell interlace equipment it is the start of a 2 field sequence and as such the frame rate for timecode is in sync with this sync pulse. Same thing applies to 30P and 60i for NTSC.( actually 29.97 and 59.94 real rates )

Ron Evans

[Adriano Moroni]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

25P are full frames called progressive , interlace 25fps is 50 fields per second ( half the vertical resolution ) so motion is smoother than 25P since it has twice the pictures in the same time even though they are half the vertical resolution. . Interlace 25fps indicates the sync pulse rate to tell interlace equipment it is the start of a 2 field sequence and as such the frame rate for timecode is in sync with this sync pulse. Same thing applies to 30P and 60i for NTSC.( actually 29.97 and 59.94 real rates )

Dear Ron, do you like more 25p or 50i?

[Ron Evans]

I am in Canada so NTSC, I shoot 60P most of the time( my NX5U only shoots 60i ) as I do not like the slower frame rates because of the judder to my eyes. You have to decide for yourself I think based on how and what you shoot. If nothing much moves then slower frames rates should be fine. Because of my needs the UHD on the AX100 and AX53 I have are extras I do not use. I bought the AX100 over the CX900 because I thought the resale would be better and the AX53 I got for the BOSS image stabilizer that I liked on my NX30U implemented in a newer camera. It does work well too. So I shoot HD , 60P on both of them XAVC-S 50Mbps.

Ron Evans

[Adriano Moroni]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

I am in Canada so NTSC, I shoot 60P most of the time( my NX5U only shoots 60i ) as I do not like the slower frame rates because of the judder to my eyes. You have to decide for yourself I think based on how and what you shoot. If nothing much moves then slower frames rates should be fine. Because of my needs the UHD on the AX100 and AX53 I have are extras I do not use. I bought the AX100 over the CX900 because I thought the resale would be better and the AX53 I got for the BOSS image stabilizer that I liked on my NX30U implemented in a newer camera. It does work well too. So I shoot HD , 60P on both of them XAVC-S 50Mbps.

Out of curiosity: do you like more AX100 or AX53? Then ... have they the same quality of picture?

[Paul Newman]

I have both AX100 and AX53 like Ron.

In my humble opinion, the AX53 makes better pictures - there is less noise, much better HD internal recording and timecode, user-bits and time lapse recording - but of course the AX100 has more manageable manual settings and a bigger chip.

I feel that the AX100 is now showing its age, it is still a very capable camera, but I'm pretty sure the replacement for the AX100 will be very strong, hopefully with UHD 50/60P

The touch screen on the AX100 has poor response, not great in a run and gun mode, whereas the 53 is really good.

Paul :-)

[Ron Evans]

Bit slow in responding as I was busy yesterday but I agree with Paul.

Ron Evans

[Lou Bruno]

I have both. The AX-100 has a better picture by virtue of the larger chip BUT both serve their purpose..

[Martin Archer-Shee]

Hi

Long time not being here but back...

Looking to discontinue use of my PD150 and move to the ax100. Can not justify going to a 4K similar to my old PD150. Am but a humble part time for fun video person... not my main life.
I do some theatre work for a dance school (My daughter is the owner and I am slave labour).
Up to now I have edited in Premiere on ibm and now an IMAC and prepared DVD's on Encore and a duplicator stack (7) for distribution.
Several questions, on assumption of buying a ax100 within a few days(good second hand deal)

1 DVD's I am told are passed. OK, but how to distribute to customers and still have product control?

2 ax 100 has no built in xlr. Sony have two VERY expensive ones.Anyone use any xlr "box" to connect to theatre system boards? Any recommendations?

3 4K sounds great, but how to distribute? Or does one drop down a level? Even Back to DVD's???

Help....

Martin

[John Nantz]

Martin - wth regard to question #2, an XLR “box”, one solution can be a JuicedLink unit. JuicedLink has a pretty good reputation for low noise so that is a plus. Also, there are additional controls available such as gain controls for each channel and the XLRs are the locking type.

Review: LVProductionsTools of the Trade: NEW! Juicedlink CX211 XLR Adapter...

This one is the CX211 and can be found used quite inexpensive. On mine, I use a small piece of an antiskid material between the unit and the bottom of the cam so the attach screw dosen’t have to be overtightened. This also protects the typical serial number on the bottom of the cam from getting all scratched up.

The JuicedLink pre really adds to the audio capability of the cam. Separate recorders are also an option but this addresses the question. The middle picture, on the right, is the writing on the bottom of the unit.