Sony FDR-AX100

[Ken Ross]

My thinking precisely, Cliff. That's why I hit 'pre-order' on Amazon!

[Cliff Totten]

I agree. I dont see myself "leaving" HD for a while. I have four HD cameras and they arent going anywhere. I also dont see myself losing a paying customers because I'm not shooting in 4K for a while either.

This new 4K camera is really more for "me" as a personal toy!. ;-)

However, the ability to shoot a wide stage of actors in 4K and then zoom/crop a tighter shot in post from the same camera? (for HD delivery) That is a very interesting plus as well.

I'm getting really excited about 4K but I'm not selling my HD gear yet.(Not until customers start demanding 4K from me)

CT

[Ozzy Alvarez]

Cliff,

I fully understand here. I recall that when HDV made its first introduction, there were many who didn't want to give up their VX2000s/VX2100s or PD150s/PD170s for a FX1 or Z1. I eventually made the first leap with a HVR-A1 and that little cam has been my trusty companion on every thing I do handheld wise and my cam of choice on vacations. I was planning to finally move on from my A1 and get either a NX70 or NX30 this year, now, I may have to wait to see if the pro version of the AX100 comes. If it doesn't or if it does and what if offers doesn't tantalize me or make me think it is worth whatever its price is, then, I'll go back to deciding between the NX30 or NX70. For now, I'll play the wait and see game.

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

I doubt it will ever do 4K at 50 or 60p, it only has a slot for an SDXC card, no high speed media here.

You don't need a much faster card for 50/60p - at least not in a long-GOP system, as XAVC-S is. (Just keep the I-frame interval the same - 1/2 sec say - and double the no of difference frames.) That's exactly why AVC-HD manages to record 50/60p of HD with only 28Mbs, not much more than the 24Mbs for lower frame rates.

What *would* need a much faster card is any I-frame only mode, and here doubling the frame rate does indeed mean doubling the data rate

[Cliff Totten]

If my math is wrong please correct me:

8 bits in a byte. 100 mega bits per second = 12.5 megaBYTES per second.

That is high but not out of the question for the fastet SDXC cards.

60 megabit is still 7.5 megabytes right?

I still think the imaginary NXCAM 4k version will have the card socket switched to XQD anyway.

[Paul Rickford]

I'm at CES today so spent quite a while with the AX100
It's a little bigger than I thought [ in a good way] think mini NX70.
To confirm, gain, aperture and shutter all work independent and all show in viewfinder at the same time.
You can also custom assign 3 'my buttons' which adds to the already good manual control.
The viewfinder also pulls out and tilts up.
Nd on or off symbol shows on screen.
Pre order will be going in!

[Kris Kohuth]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

As far as being a better deal, if you don't want the 4K ability, then the CX900 is a good choice. But if you do want 4K, then the AX100 is clearly the better choice. The only choice at that price point, for now.

"Zebra Pattern Display" isn't listed in the CX900 specifications, but IS listed in the AX100.

Everything else is identical (except the 4K stuff, of course.) Could that just be a typo or omission on the spec sheet?

Or did they really cripple zebra stripes on the CX900?

[Glen Vandermolen]

Here's a scenario where I can see the AX100 being a great tool:

1. You're payed to record a school or community function, like a play or orchestra. You set the AX100 far enough to get a wide shot of the entire stage. Lock it down, and let it roll in 4K mode.

2. Afterward, you can edit the footage and electronically zoom in to different areas of the stage. The zoomed in areas will still be in full HD detail. The camera now acts like a multi-cam shoot. You can get everybody's performance, even their close-ups, without touching your camera. This would work for weddings, as well.

3. Profit!

[Cliff Totten]

Originally Posted by Paul Rickford

I'm at CES today so spent quite a while with the AX100
It's a little bigger than I thought [ in a good way] think mini NX70.
To confirm, gain, aperture and shutter all work independent and all show in viewfinder at the same time.
You can also custom assign 3 'my buttons' which adds to the already good manual control.
The viewfinder also pulls out and tilts up.
Nd on or off symbol shows on screen.
Pre order will be going in!

Thanks for the great news Paul!!

Wow,...I can only imagine the debate that went on at Sony around the AX100 design table. I can see engineers and marketing people arguing back and forth about what features need crippling and what does not.

It appears from the outside that Sony wanted this "Handycam" to actually be a "respectable" video camera! (in my mind any respectable camera MUST have full manual iris, gain and shutter)

Bravo Sony! You fought the traditionally strong instinct and urge to "dumb down" this new camera.

It seems the only "cripple" is the low bandwidth XAVC-s 60Mbp/s codec.

Does anybody have experience in XAVC-s 60 Mbp/s? How does it handle motion? That's only 15 Mbp/s per HD quadrent of the 4K frame. That's the last issue that concerns me.

CT

[Glen Vandermolen]

Originally Posted by Paul Rickford

I'm at CES today so spent quite a while with the AX100
It's a little bigger than I thought [ in a good way] think mini NX70.
To confirm, gain, aperture and shutter all work independent and all show in viewfinder at the same time.
You can also custom assign 3 'my buttons' which adds to the already good manual control.
The viewfinder also pulls out and tilts up.
Nd on or off symbol shows on screen.
Pre order will be going in!

It seems you are very impressed with the camera, Paul. How did the image look on the monitors? (I'm assuming there were monitors).

[Ron Evans]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

Here's a scenario where I can see the AX100 being a great tool:

1. You're payed to record a school or community function, like a play or orchestra. You set the AX100 far enough to get a wide shot of the entire stage. Lock it down, and let it roll in 4K mode.

2. Afterward, you can edit the footage and electronically zoom in to different areas of the stage. The zoomed in areas will still be in full HD detail. The camera now acts like a multi-cam shoot. You can get everybody's performance, even their close-ups, without touching your camera. This would work for weddings, as well.

3. Profit!

That is why I got my FDR-AX1 and it works great even with relatively poor low light performance. I have shot 3 shows with the FDR-AX1 in addition to the CX700 as a full stage camera with me using my NX5 as usual and my wife with NX30. Did not know how it would perform so used my normal setup as well. Shot wider than the CX700 and was able to crop as needed. So far the FDR-AX1 is not good enough in low light to compete with the NX5U as the closeup camera but the combination would be fine instead of the 4 I normally use. I did this approach back with my FX1 for several years before actually moving to a HD edit. My only concern with the AX100 is that it is limited to 30P. My intent was to move to all 60P so I think I will wait and see what comes. In this locked down mode the 30P may not be such a problem though.

Ron Evans

[Paul Rickford]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

It seems you are very impressed with the camera, Paul. How did the image look on the monitors? (I'm assuming there were monitors).

It looked very clean and sharp I'm not sure if the monitors were 4k or not, had a lot to take in today, the official video they were playing looked perfect to me.

Few other notes-
The Steady Shot is very good even without the magic eyeball, much better than the RX10.
The battery compartment is very shallow, all batteries will stick out and the largest V type will be level with the viewfinder.
It is very slow to power up when you open the LCD.

[Wacharapong Chiowanich]

For those of you who already have the Sony XLR-K1M (an XLR adapter+handle+shotgun mic+wind muffler) unit lying around I don't think the wait for the imaginary pro cousin of the AX100 is going to be worthwhile. It will really depend on the actual features but having XLR inputs sure won't add anything. Plus I have a feeling the premium will be huge.

[Ozzy Alvarez]

It's not the XLRs alone which make this theoretical pro version a much desired camcorder, it's that the pro versions of these Handycams have several added features which make them more desirable to their consumer cousins. Now, if this pro version does come to fruition, the question will become whether the camcorder is worth those added features compared to its much likely larger price tag compared to those of its consumer counterpart.

[Paul Rickford]

Originally Posted by Wacharapong Chiowanich

For those of you who already have the Sony XLR-K1M (an XLR adapter+handle+shotgun mic+wind muffler) unit lying around I don't think the wait for the imaginary pro cousin of the AX100 is going to be worthwhile. It will really depend on the actual features but having XLR inputs sure won't add anything. Plus I have a feeling the premium will be huge.

Yes, the KM 1 will plug into the multi shoe on top but you won't be able to mount onto the camera as there is not cold shoe as there is on the VG 30, so you have to use a bracket on the side.
Shame as in all other respects the camera really feels and works like the NX70