Sony FDR-AX100

[Ron Evans]

If you do not need 4k or UHD why not look at the NX100. About the same price as the AX100 and has XLR etc with bigger batteries more professional look if that is important or even the new Panasonic UX90.

I have the AX100 and AX53 but for me unless there is 60P UHD I am not interested in slower frame rates and I use just as HD cameras. I think these cameras that are just 30P UHD is just a limitation of the technology for price and a nice marketing ploy. The higher resolution makes judder even more pronounced unless camera work is very well controlled.

Ron Evans

[Dave Blackhurst]

4K isn't that expensive to at least stick one's toe into the water - and the AX100 can still shoot 1080p. The judder or stutter or shimmer can be reduced to a significant degree by keeping shutter speeds down so a natural motion blur avoids the "series of very sharp stills" jumpiness.

I just saw UHD Blu-Ray players at a warehouse discount store for under $200 ("half off" the $400-ish retail). 4K delivery on disc may be affordable sooner rather than later, but you'll find that the enhanced detail trickles down even to an SD DVD as well as giving you pan/crop options in post. BR discs might be an option as well? Of course we live in a "streaming" era, and other "digital delivery" options. Protecting one's end product continues to be a challenge, short of physical discs... 1's and 0's can be copied if the incentive to do so is sufficient....

[Adriano Moroni]

A friend of mine has just made an extension of the cable, from jack to XLR. I never used it yet. Do you think it is good or do I have to worry about using this extension?

[Martin Archer-Shee]

Thanks John and others for the responses. I think a xlr box sounds good.Still have not pulled the pin... Too many questions. How to edit 4k, Premier? External add on mike?

Martin

[Martin Archer-Shee]

Well, pulled the pin and now have an ax100. Cute little thing!!! Now trying to get familiar with it. By luck I was able to get a Beachtek DXA SLR active xlr box on eBay from Paris. Came in days and looks like it was hardly used. I have just updated the ax100 firmware and am ready to go. Will try this afternoon with grand daughter's gym class.
Any clues from those using this camera are appreciated. Also items about editing with Premier cs6 on my iMac. Best practices etc.

Thanks
Martin

[Adriano Moroni]

Hello, I have a Sony AX100E and I have just noticed its firmware is v. 3.00. I know now it is available the v. 3.10.
1) What benefits can I get if I do the update?
2) My AX100 loses the memory. In fact when it doesn't work for 7 days every time I have to enter into the settings and to configure, language, date and hour. I think I have to change the small battery inside the camera. But is it easy to do it? Can I make it? Thanks for your info.

[Ron Evans]

https://esupport.sony.com/CA/p/swu-d...&os_group_id=6

This is an old update from April of 2016. I have not bothered updating my AX100 as I always use 128G SDXC U3 cards anyway.

Seems the update just allows recording on a SDHC card though why anyone would want to do this I do not know !!!

Also you just need to leave a battery on the camera to retain all the settings. I leave a spare battery on all my cameras to make sure the settings do not change. When I shoot I use larger batteries anyway.

[Adriano Moroni]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

Also you just need to leave a battery on the camera to retain all the settings. I leave a spare battery on all my cameras to make sure the settings do not change. When I shoot I use larger batteries anyway.

Thanks for your news. I'm sorry, I don't understand fine your writings. But is not the problem the small round shape discharged battery that is inside the camera? Why are you telling about larger batteries for shoting?

[Ron Evans]

Originally Posted by Adriano Moroni

Thanks for your news. I'm sorry, I don't understand fine your writings. But is not the problem the small round shape discharged battery that is inside the camera? Why are you telling about larger batteries for shoting?

The normal camcorder batteries keep the internal battery charged. Then you do not have the problem. I have used the smaller NP-FV50 series batteries I have to just keep the settings on the cameras and normally use NP-FV100 or FV70 series batteries when I shoot. You do not need to replace the battery it is very small and needs to be recharged frequently. That is not a defect it is by design. The easiest is just to leave a battery on the camera. The main camcorder batteries will last with the camera switched off for months and I just remove and recharge before a shoot. I believe these instruction are in most of the Sony camcorder manuals.

[Martin Archer-Shee]

Any suggestions as the best editing software for 4K with an ax100 for mac?

Thanks
Martin

[Eugen Brinzoiu]

I use FCP X.
But you need a good computer and some very good external hard drives also.
4K will drain all your resources fast.....very fast.

[Martin Archer-Shee]

Here is some useful information found on another site. Hope this helps all around.
https://www.sony.ru/res/attachment/f...7492960962.pdf
Martin

[Lou Bruno]

I am not a big fan of the 30p judder, especially fast motion that can't be helped at times.


What shutter speed to you utilize for 30p UHD? And.....60p XAVC 1920x1080p. ?

Thank you

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

4K isn't that expensive to at least stick one's toe into the water - and the AX100 can still shoot 1080p. The judder or stutter or shimmer can be reduced to a significant degree by keeping shutter speeds down so a natural motion blur avoids the "series of very sharp stills" jumpiness.

I just saw UHD Blu-Ray players at a warehouse discount store for under $200 ("half off" the $400-ish retail). 4K delivery on disc may be affordable sooner rather than later, but you'll find that the enhanced detail trickles down even to an SD DVD as well as giving you pan/crop options in post. BR discs might be an option as well? Of course we live in a "streaming" era, and other "digital delivery" options. Protecting one's end product continues to be a challenge, short of physical discs... 1's and 0's can be copied if the incentive to do so is sufficient....

[Dave Blackhurst]

I run in shutter priority mode on my "30p" cams, try to keep the speed under 125(ish), preferably 60 or 90.

The easiest way to explain it is... the slower the shutter speed, the more motion blur you'll get in each "frame", so while you lose some sharpness potentially, motion looks more natural than it would with a series of super sharp stills.

My first shooting with the camera was a shock after shooting 1080/60p, since I was just running auto first time out... it was setting the shutter at 350 or so...very sharp, very shimmery in high detail shots, and jarring when there was motion in or through the scene. The super sharpness of 4K sort of works against you with the lower frame rate, and you have to run manual to reintroduce enough motion blur so moving objects look like they are actually moving, not jumping from frame to frame!

[Martin Archer-Shee]

Hi Dave
Your recounting of shutter speeds is good information. I only recently got an AX100 and just ran test of dancers with it set for 4K at 30 frames and 1/60 and gain and iris and focus in auto. Impressed by the clarity and noticed the frame to frame in sharper images. Whole new ball game from my
old pdf150. Lots to learn. But wow what clarity.
Now how to edit and distribute...

Martin