Has anyone edited Sony AX100 footage in Vegas?

[Jeff Harper]

If you have, how badly does the 4K footage slow down your PC? I am thinking of getting the camera but am concerned about the potential slowdown of my workstations on a multicam edit.

[Marco Ba]

I did using Z100 footage. Way to slow for my note- and netbook but the auto-proxy feature of Vegas Pro 13 helped a lot.

[Ron Evans]

Z100 XAVC is much easier on the PC than XAVC-S. Using FDR-AX1 files Vegas 12 (don't have 13 ) is much slower than Edius Pro 7 but with reduced resolution to draft will work fine on my i7 3770 PC . Long GOP XAVC-S takes a lot more compute power than intraframe XAVC.

Ron Evans

[Jeff Harper]

And of course I just let the promo deal expire for Vegas 13, didn't know about the auto proxy feature.

[David Johns]

Vegas 12 may not have the automatic proxy but you can still select the files in the project manager window manually and make it create and use a proxy (mpeg-2 1080 files)...

Dave

[Marco Ba]

The hd proxies Vegas Pro creates conform to XDCAM EX 1280x720 compression with frame rate adopted to the source frame rate.

[Jeff Harper]

Thanks David and everyone, had forgotten about the proxy feature, how it is used according to your preview setting. Just tried it on a short 1080i clip, but my god it was slow!

Can't even imagine how long it would take for 4k footage!

If I buy the camera I'll test out he proxy feature immediately so I can decide whether to keep it.

[Marc Salvatore]

I've worked on a few things with AX100 4k footage. It plays back fine but feels like the early days of AVCHD (sticky) when editing. For certain things it's ok but I may try the proxy feature so it handles more like my EX1 footage as I find it a bit cumbersome.

[Jeff Harper]

Thanks Marc, good to know! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I'm encouraged.

[Jeff Harper]

It edits just fine, very happy.

[Gerald Webb]

Didn't think one question was worth a new thread so ill tack it on here.
Could anyone who owns an AX100 confirm that you can assign zoom to the manual ring?
Thanks.

[Mark Watson]

Yes you can, with the slide switch near the lens; FOCUS or ZOOM.

[Gerald Webb]

Thanks Mark,
Much appreciated.
While we're here. Any downsides to the camera?
Most reviews seem pretty positive.

[Mark Watson]

I've been using the camera lightly for the past couple months. Visited Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea, hoping to get something great and only got about 6 days' of shooting done. The rain and very high humidity dampened my spirits. Korea wasn't as bad. Problems? Here're my main ones:

1. There's a problem with the high speed 120fps mode which makes the footage unacceptable for me. I am not sure it does it every time, or what might be causing it. I need to test that more. When I drop the clip on the Vegas timeline and then stretch it out x4 to get the slow motion playback, I can click through the clip one frame at a time and see that there is a repeating pattern of 3 out of focus frames and then 1 in-focus frame. This looks like a shimmer on highly reflective surfaces and just a bit blurry on more dull/low detail scenes. Still investigating it. I've shot with steady shot in different modes and with manual and auto-focus. I need to contact Sony once I get a few more answers myself though. If this is something they fix with a firmware update (I have v2) or if I send the camera in and they fix it, great. If this is just the way the camera is, then this will likely be my one and only Sony camera. Totally unsat.

2. The on/off mechanism is just cumbersome. Nothing else I have works like this one does and I just don't need this "feature" in my gear. To turn on the camera, you either pull out the EVF or open the LCD. There's no simple power switch on the outside of the camera to just turn it on or off as you please. There is a power button, but to access it you have to open the LCD. If I have the LCD open, and want to use the EVF (too much glare for the LCD or want the additional contact point), I have to close the LCD or the EVF won't come on, even though I see a sensor in the eyecup area. The menu is via touch screen on the LCD, so it would be nice to be able to just leave it open so I could go back and forth between them. I call miss-fire on that part of the design.

3. The hot shoe. What can I say? It's buried in the top of the camera, under a cover flap and doesn't play with anything I currently have in my small arsenal of dSLR or video camera accessories. Why?! Why?! If I find I'm using this camera a lot, I am thinking of permanently attaching some sort of cold shoe adapter either in front of or behind the existing hot shoe. 5-minute epoxy and done.

4. Location of the magnify button. I like this function, but have to restart my recording whenever I use it since it's so hard to reach, I mess up the framing. This is a much higher priority function (in my opinion) than the photo button or the photo/video selector button, which are both more accessible while recording. Seems like it was an afterthought to be honest.

5. The menu system. It can become a bit tedious to make menu changes. That's because if you want to make more than one change at a time, you have to keep going back into the menu since it kicks you out after you make a selection. Changing record formats and going to high speed mode is a prime example. I'm getting better at it, but when I get going too fast, the camera sort of becomes unresponsive and won't acknowledge my finger pounding on the screen. Waiting a few seconds and trying again will get it moving again.

6. The zoom rocker is not slow enough on the start or stop end to be much use for me in non-action scenes. In an action scene, it's okay to do a crash zoom, there's action to look at. In a lazy scene, that damn abrupt start/stop is distracting. Okay, I'm being picky here, I'll give you that.

I'll leave it at that for now. Editing in Vegas was going good at first, but just this past week, my computer acts like it's really bogged down when I'm previewing on the highest settings, like I have always done. Also, Vegas crashed a few times when running the stabilize effect. Gets to 87% and has a seizure. I must have changed/downloaded some update which is causing this. Not the camera's problem. Might be time to upgrade the laptop.

I better throw in a few things I like: The weight and size is nice for the quaility it puts out. The HDMI outputs clean video in all modes except 4K, whichis still nice for a consumer rated camera. It can go a long time on a battery. I've just bought a higher capacity battery but have not tried it out yet. Looks like it will stick out as far as the EVF in its stowed position. Even though the Lanc is sort of half-assed, it's there. I am able to get more zoom speeds and remotely start/stop the camera. Having to buy two different adapter cables to use my Canon remote, and also use one of those even with a Sony remote is workable. But can't help but wonder WHY? Why have a port that does composite (or component, can't remember which) video output and Lanc. Give them their own ports. But Lanc capability is a good thing. The manual controls are good. You can have some control over what your camera is doing vs going full auto. The 4K image is very apparent in its higher resolution. It's just great. When using a tripod, I find that if my pans aren't perfect, those little goofs really show up. I gave up trying to get perfect for now and generally have adapted the technique of shooting wide and then cropping and panning in post, super smooth pans it what people see. Also, it has ND filters, which is a big deal for a consumer-rated camcorder. In low light, my limited testing against my Canon 7D did not blow my socks off, but did look like it is better than anything I currently own, and that was a weakness in my Canon 1/3" video cameras.

Hey this is a Vegas thread! So back on topic, Yes I have edited 4K in Vegas. Why not? They even have a template all set up for it.

Hope this helps.
Mark

[Gerald Webb]

Thanks Mark for the detailed report.

The slow mo glitch is a real downer. Can anyone else confirm this as a bug or is it maybe a fault with Marks cam?

I share your anguish over the accessory shoe. Why o why can't they just use a standard shoe/ One of the benefits of a more pro camera I suppose...

Menu system- i can relate. My JVC GY HM100 is same, throws you out after every change. Maddening after every change to go all the way back in....

Ive gone a bit cold on this cam now.
Im looking for something compact that performs as well/better than my Z5.
Probably wishful thinking.

i can hack my GH2 and get amazing footage in good light, but in lower light it gets very dirty. And zooming with 14-140 loses focus through the zoom.
Overall the GH2 cant replace my Z5...

NX3 maybe? The search continues...