Sony FDR-AX100

Ken Ross · June 11th, 2014, 12:40 PM

Noa, I'd strongly suspect that the AX100 shooting in 4K and down sampled to 1080p will look better than the 900 shooting in HD.

That's one of the major advantages of shooting in 4K. Personally I've never seen HD look so good, let alone what the camera looks like in true 4K.

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 12:43 PM

120 mins on a 64GB card? Really?

The manual states can record 2:10 mins using a Sony card, can there really be a difference?

Does anyone know if cam will accept 128Gb card?

Edit: Feel a bit silly, forgot to format card! Still curious whether cam will take a 128GB card. Manual only mentions 64GB.

Ken Ross · June 11th, 2014, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

The menu is very difficult to operate, it seems almost defective. I will play with it more later, but it's not the same as my CX900, it takes a lot of pressue to acitvate things on the screen. I suspect I have a lemon.

Jeff, just a tip, try using the tip of your fingernail when selecting the various menu elements. I find it's more responsive and accurate than trying to select menu items with your finger alone.

Ken Ross · June 11th, 2014, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

120 mins on a 64GB card? Really?

The manual states can record 2:10 mins using a Sony card, can there really be a difference?

Does anyone know if cam will accept 128Gb card?

Edit: Feel a bit silly, forgot to format card! Still curious whether cam will take a 129GB card. Manual only mentions 64GB.

Yes, I've been using a 128 gig card and it works just fine.

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 12:46 PM

thanks Ken, I'll try that. I've got a CX900, this cam just seems different that way.

Wow, cool, I'll order a larger card immediately! $$$

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 12:55 PM

The detail is incredible. I want to send back my CX900 and get another AX100.

Footage plays back perfectly fine in Vegas alongside three other cameras. I am officially in love. It's the CX900 (which I love) on steroids.

Edit: I probably will send back the CX900. I have to find time to edit some footage and play with it to make sure, but it's like butter on the timeline so far. I reformatted the card and lost what I shot and am terribly busy with customers today, but will find time tonight or tomorrow.

Will give you a report Noa.

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 01:44 PM

Noa, couldn't help myself. I videotaped my couch, the pillow, etc. and rendered it out to 1080p, detail is very, very good. I'm sure it's better than the CX900 would be. I don't even feel compelled to compare.

Look at screen shot to see how much I cropped the clip and see how much detail is still present. This is a low rez .gif screenshot of a videoclip shot handheld in active steadyshot mode in relatively low light. It's insane.

Ken Ross · June 11th, 2014, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

The detail is incredible. I want to send back my CX900 and get another AX100.

Footage plays back perfectly fine in Vegas alongside three other cameras. I am officially in love. It's the CX900 (which I love) on steroids.

Edit: I probably will send back the CX900. I have to find time to edit some footage and play with it to make sure, but it's like butter on the timeline so far. I reformatted the card and lost what I shot and am terribly busy with customers today, but will find time tonight or tomorrow.

Will give you a report Noa.

That's what I've been trying to tell everyone. :)

Glad you're enjoying it.

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 02:18 PM

Haven't seen your posts. Ken if you've been trying to convince others, you can stop. 4K is going to catch on extremely quickly!

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 02:29 PM

Ken, how fast does card need to be?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/992493-REG/sandisk_sdsdxs_128g_a46_extreme_sdxc_uhs_1_80mb_s.html
I like Extreme Pro cards but in this size they are expensive. Your thoughts?

Noa Put · June 11th, 2014, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

4K is going to catch on extremely quickly!

Remember, in 4K every mistake you make will be magnified, your couch won't mind but your client will :) Just kidding, looking forward to seeing some more samples from you and especially a weddingvideo. I"ll wait until the storm passes and until Sony gives a 50% discount when they announce yet a other model. :)

Jeff Harper · June 11th, 2014, 02:44 PM

True Noa, closeups will be brutal!

Dave Blackhurst · June 11th, 2014, 04:27 PM

I said when they announced the AX100 and the CX900 that the CX didn't make a lot of sense... even if the 4K was highly flawed or hard to work with (it's not, with the right computer setup and patience!), the additional "feature" seemed well worth the additional cost.

IF Sony had simply priced the AX100 at the CX900 price and offered a single model, they could have saved a lot of hassle in the marketing/stocking department. I'm sure they had their reasons, but since the AX100 can be set to shoot "HD" with a couple taps of the touchscreen IF it's desirable (and I argue there are times when it IS), it's sort of silly not to have the 4K option... at least that's MY opinion!

I stuck an "SDHC" card in mine, rather than the "SDXC" they spec, seems to work fine... of course faster is always preferable for headroom and download speeds.

I see no problem with cropping 4K to produce a 1920x1080 frame, in fact it looks sharper to me than a "native" 1080 frame - although the higher bitrate 1080/60p/50Mbps is quite nice.

@Noa -

Keep your eyes open for an open box return type deal (so you can still write it off and have warranty), 50% is a bit much, but if you can find 25-30% discount... I really doubt you'd regret it.

In a year you may be able to find larger markdowns/discounts, but I've noticed that because there is NO "consumer" market for videocams anymore (thank you cell phones and tablets)... "professional grade" cameras hold their value much better and "screaming deals" don't show up as often. The market for "consumer" (and the AX100 is the "flagship consumer cam") has changed rather substantially in the last 2-3 years.

It HAS been an adventure getting a 4K capable computer system "mostly" working (still some "bugs", nothing serious!), but once you've looked at video and stills on a 4K screen, your perception is forever altered... in a good way! Those who are saying 4K is a gimmick and/or won't catch on have either not seen it "working", or need to see the eye doctor (psychiatrist?!)... there is certainly nothing "wrong" with good "HD" by a long shot, but once the 4K panels and content come down the pipe at reasonable prices, it will catch on quickly. I'd expect much faster adoption than HD...

From a content producer viewpoint, your "HD" deliverables should look noticeably "better" while we wait for 4K to become more "common", and when it does, you'll already be "ready"!

Ken Ross · June 11th, 2014, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Ken, how fast does card need to be?

SanDisk 128GB SDXC Extreme Plus Class 10 UHS-1 SDSDXS-128G-A46

I like Extreme Pro cards but in this size they are expensive. Your thoughts?

Jeff, here's the one I'm currently using, but it's probably overkill. I just feel comfortable with it:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1044487-REG/transcend_ts128gsdu3_128gb_sdxc_uhs_i_u3_r95_w60mb_s.html

Jeff Harper · June 12th, 2014, 01:41 PM

Ken, the Transcend looks like a good value, thanks for sharing.

June 11th, 2014, 12:40 PM	#1381
Ken Ross Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New York Posts: 1,945	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 Noa, I'd strongly suspect that the AX100 shooting in 4K and down sampled to 1080p will look better than the 900 shooting in HD. That's one of the major advantages of shooting in 4K. Personally I've never seen HD look so good, let alone what the camera looks like in true 4K.

June 11th, 2014, 12:43 PM	#1382
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 120 mins on a 64GB card? Really? The manual states can record 2:10 mins using a Sony card, can there really be a difference? Does anyone know if cam will accept 128Gb card? Edit: Feel a bit silly, forgot to format card! Still curious whether cam will take a 128GB card. Manual only mentions 64GB. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described." Last edited by Jeff Harper; June 11th, 2014 at 01:37 PM.

June 11th, 2014, 12:46 PM	#1385
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 thanks Ken, I'll try that. I've got a CX900, this cam just seems different that way. Wow, cool, I'll order a larger card immediately! $$$ __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 11th, 2014, 12:55 PM	#1386
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 The detail is incredible. I want to send back my CX900 and get another AX100. Footage plays back perfectly fine in Vegas alongside three other cameras. I am officially in love. It's the CX900 (which I love) on steroids. Edit: I probably will send back the CX900. I have to find time to edit some footage and play with it to make sure, but it's like butter on the timeline so far. I reformatted the card and lost what I shot and am terribly busy with customers today, but will find time tonight or tomorrow. Will give you a report Noa. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 11th, 2014, 01:44 PM	#1387
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 Noa, couldn't help myself. I videotaped my couch, the pillow, etc. and rendered it out to 1080p, detail is very, very good. I'm sure it's better than the CX900 would be. I don't even feel compelled to compare. Look at screen shot to see how much I cropped the clip and see how much detail is still present. This is a low rez .gif screenshot of a videoclip shot handheld in active steadyshot mode in relatively low light. It's insane. Attached Thumbnails __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 11th, 2014, 02:18 PM	#1389
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 Haven't seen your posts. Ken if you've been trying to convince others, you can stop. 4K is going to catch on extremely quickly! __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 11th, 2014, 02:29 PM	#1390
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 Ken, how fast does card need to be? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/992493-REG/sandisk_sdsdxs_128g_a46_extreme_sdxc_uhs_1_80mb_s.html I like Extreme Pro cards but in this size they are expensive. Your thoughts? __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 11th, 2014, 02:44 PM	#1392
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 True Noa, closeups will be brutal! __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 11th, 2014, 04:27 PM	#1393
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 I said when they announced the AX100 and the CX900 that the CX didn't make a lot of sense... even if the 4K was highly flawed or hard to work with (it's not, with the right computer setup and patience!), the additional "feature" seemed well worth the additional cost. IF Sony had simply priced the AX100 at the CX900 price and offered a single model, they could have saved a lot of hassle in the marketing/stocking department. I'm sure they had their reasons, but since the AX100 can be set to shoot "HD" with a couple taps of the touchscreen IF it's desirable (and I argue there are times when it IS), it's sort of silly not to have the 4K option... at least that's MY opinion! I stuck an "SDHC" card in mine, rather than the "SDXC" they spec, seems to work fine... of course faster is always preferable for headroom and download speeds. I see no problem with cropping 4K to produce a 1920x1080 frame, in fact it looks sharper to me than a "native" 1080 frame - although the higher bitrate 1080/60p/50Mbps is quite nice. @Noa - Keep your eyes open for an open box return type deal (so you can still write it off and have warranty), 50% is a bit much, but if you can find 25-30% discount... I really doubt you'd regret it. In a year you may be able to find larger markdowns/discounts, but I've noticed that because there is NO "consumer" market for videocams anymore (thank you cell phones and tablets)... "professional grade" cameras hold their value much better and "screaming deals" don't show up as often. The market for "consumer" (and the AX100 is the "flagship consumer cam") has changed rather substantially in the last 2-3 years. It HAS been an adventure getting a 4K capable computer system "mostly" working (still some "bugs", nothing serious!), but once you've looked at video and stills on a 4K screen, your perception is forever altered... in a good way! Those who are saying 4K is a gimmick and/or won't catch on have either not seen it "working", or need to see the eye doctor (psychiatrist?!)... there is certainly nothing "wrong" with good "HD" by a long shot, but once the 4K panels and content come down the pipe at reasonable prices, it will catch on quickly. I'd expect much faster adoption than HD... From a content producer viewpoint, your "HD" deliverables should look noticeably "better" while we wait for 4K to become more "common", and when it does, you'll already be "ready"!

June 12th, 2014, 01:41 PM	#1395
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sony FDR-AX100 Ken, the Transcend looks like a good value, thanks for sharing. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."