New Sony PXW-Z150

Doug Jensen · July 4th, 2016, 06:02 PM

Jack, I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not. Are you saying that the battery type is the only significant difference? Because if that is what you are saying then you are dead wrong. The differences between the XDCAM family and the prosumer NEX family are huge. They have almost nothing in common. Everything from the overall menu structure, clip naming, timecode displays, scene file naming and management, paint menus, user menus, all files, gamma modes, quality of zebras and peaking displays, menu navigation, number of audio channels, and much more is totally different and inferior on the NEX cameras.

A camera like the Z150 is very good for what it is, but it would be twice as good with the XDCAM family DNA inside. I'd happily pay over $6K or more for a camera that merged the best parts of the Z150 and X200 into a hybrid. A 4K X320 would be even better.

John McCully · July 4th, 2016, 06:14 PM

Doug, lovely footage, very enjoyable to view, as good as it gets, I reckon. Yet again you demonstrate that you are a master-shooter and a master-editor. Most impressive to my eyes however I must say the slow frame rate judder for me definitely detracts from the otherwise excellent viewing experience.

Almost sold me on the PXW-Z150 but I am waiting for the competitively priced 1" sensor version (Panasonic or Sony) that shoots 4k 60p (all else being more or less equal) which I know is just around the corner. That's the goods that will get my next gear splurge dollars.

Many thanks for sharing.

Cliff Totten · July 4th, 2016, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

I'm very impressed with the Z150 so far and I think it is fantastic bargain at $3200. I also agree with almost everything you have said about the EX1 in post #27.

I was (and still am) a big fan of the EX1 and I still own my original EX1 from 2007, but I must say that the Z150 beats it on almost every count except for the speed of the lens. No comparison at all in my opinion. Just the quality of the viewfinder alone is huge. The EX1 will probably go up for sale now if it is still worth anything on the used market.

I also think there are a lot of people who are struggling with cameras like the FS5 who would be much better served with a camera like this. It is exactly the right tool for the kinds of shooting some people are unsuccessfully trying to adapt an FS5 or FS7 for. Seriously, the Z150 will now be my go-to camera for run & gun shooting. This is a super easy camera to shoot with on full manual and still get great results no matter how experienced you are. After the FS7, I think the Z150 offers the most bang for the buck of any camera I've shot with. I just wish it was part of the XDCAM family instead of NEX so we'd have all the professional menus and features of the EX1, X200, etc.

It's ironic that you say this about the Z150 vs. the FS5. Because, I have been thinking what you have said here for a couple in my on head!! I have used the FS5 in "run and gun" situations here and there and I'm NOT enjoying it for that purpose at all. In fact, after a couple of hours of shooting handheld, I literally ONLY use it on a tripod today. I dont know, I'm just not sold on the idea of "large sensor" and "run and gun" wrapped together.

When I'm in "run and gun", fast paced gorilla shooting mode, 80% of the time, I DONT want to fight a shallow depth of field. Generally speaking, I want quite the opposite. I prefer a deeper focus plane in those situations. (with some exceptions)

If I was shooting footage for an episode of "COPS" and I'm running behind a SWAT team that is raiding a crack house, breaking down the front door and rushing into bedrooms...believe me, I'm taking my Z150 for that and absolutely NOT EVER my FS5.

To me, the FS5 is for beauty shots where you can relax and take your time. Setup your Shogun and record FS raw to ProRes. Shoot Slog and have a nice relaxing day with your favorite primes wide open with that lovely electronic ND filter. Get home and play with LUTs, and spend time shifting and fixing that wonderful Sony SLOG green channel that tends to give us all that nuclear / radioactive looking grass color we all hate so much. Right?..... lol

Sony L batteries? Perfectly fine with them. They are cheap and last forever on the Z150.

Glen Vandermolen · July 4th, 2016, 09:32 PM

Why do some of you say it's not an XDCAM camera? It's marketed by Sony as an XDCAM, it even says it on the side of the camera. Best of all, it has HD422, 50mbps. That's a broadcast codec, one I wish my FS5 had.
I've never used one, but it does seem to be a good run-n-gun camera.

Jack Zhang · July 4th, 2016, 10:59 PM

I think what Doug means is the menu system is based off of NXCAM and not XDCAM, so there's less options than in a fully featured X180, FS5 or FS7.

Doug Jensen · July 5th, 2016, 07:40 AM

Yes, that is what I'm saying. It's great that the Z150 offers the XDCAM HD422 codec onboard, but that doesn't make it an XDCAM because it still lacks all the pro features and functions that come standard with cameras in that family.

Comparing the Z150 to something like an X200 is roughly equivalent to comparing an FS5 to an FS7. Totally different from top to bottom with almost nothing in common.

Cliff Totten · July 5th, 2016, 07:49 PM

It seems to me that Sony has been "watering down" the XDCAM brand and moving it downward into the lower cost market for years. Just look at the XDCAM PMW-100. I think it REALLY bottomed out with that camcorder. Sure, it had the 4:2:0 8 bit MPEG-2 CODEC which was nice for it's day. But,...look at the terrible image sensor that was in the front end of the camera! Sony installed an older CMOS chip in that PMW-100 that was already superseded by next generation Sony Hanydycams with newer back illuminated sensors of that day.

Funny right? A Sony "pro" XDCAM with awesome CODEC combined with an old (top wired) image sensor that many Handycams and NXCAMs left behind two years earlier.

I thought it was a terrible piece of junk and I guess that's why the PMW-100 didn't last too long. (Sorry to any PMW-100 lovers out there)

But, yeah....Sony seems to be widening the "XDCAM" brand into models they might have called "NXCAM" before.

Hell, the FS700r is an "NXCAM" that has incredible 12bit raw output that can rival ANY Sony model....

Sony marketing department. Inconstant, they just make it all up as they go!

Go figure.... Ha!

CT

Doug Jensen · July 19th, 2016, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff Totten

If I was shooting footage for an episode of "COPS" and I'm running behind a SWAT team that is raiding a crack house, breaking down the front door and rushing into bedrooms...believe me, I'm taking my Z150 for that and absolutely NOT EVER my FS5.

You better hope that it's a daytime raid and that they finish before dusk because I rate the Z150 at only ISO 320. And with an f/4 lens, you're gonna have a tough time shooting for COPS after dark.

Cliff Totten · July 19th, 2016, 07:08 AM

True, but have you noticed that noise reduction Sony has on it? As an EX1R owner I have learned to hate gain as much as anybody. (Because the EX1 can't shoot over +3db max)

I dunno about 1080 but in UHD the Z150 is pretty impressive and when you take that UHD and deliver it in 1080, the noise gets even finer. You can shoot in +15db on the Z150 and it really not bad at all.

Yeah, you are right though, that's the Achilles heel on the Z150, it's slow lens. It's nicely sharp on the edges and on for most of its range but it ramps its iris quick. Also, the endless spinning fly by wire rings are.....uggg. Y'know, something we all hate.

I'm 100% sure they have a constant fast aperture lens model in the works for the next higher model to the Z150. We know Sony built a nice f2.8 constant zoom on the RX10 series for 1 inch-type sensors. Maybe if they make those optics larger they can get it to f2.0?

Who knows but I don't see Sony stopping with this lens.

If they can find a way to get the beautiful EX1 Fujinon styled lens for this size sensor, Sony could bring in a $6000+ EX1 price tag for this camera.

CT

P.s. I do see PLENTY of noise in episodes of COPS. In fact, I might even say that it's the "noisiest" show you will find on broadcast TV. It's prolly the most wildly under and over exposed show too! ;-) "COPS" could be one of the worst gorilla run and gun TV shooting situations you could ever be asked to shoot in.

Nathan Buck · July 19th, 2016, 09:22 AM

A quick quote from a friend of mine:

"It has the dyanmic range of a wet fart and no slog mode."

Cliff Totten · July 19th, 2016, 03:12 PM

I know the "no SLOG" part is a bad thing....and I agree when you consider a cheap RX10-II has SLOG-2 with the same image sensor.

But the..."It has the dyanmic range of a wet fart....."

Is that a little or allot???

With my imagination, I can see it both ways. ;-)

CT

Jack Zhang · July 19th, 2016, 06:35 PM

If I remember correctly, the AX100 and X70 suffered highlight handling issues. Maybe that's what they're referring to?

Ron Evans · July 19th, 2016, 08:45 PM

I have an AX100 and the newer AX53 and they both have highlight issues if you expose auto. I tend to use AE shift of at least -0.5 or even -0.7 when in auto. It is much easier to bring up the shadows in post than loose the highlights. I have zebras at 85%. They both put my NX5U to shame even at 21db of gain in terms of resolution and noise level.

Ron Evans

Doug Jensen · August 22nd, 2016, 06:56 AM

The first chapter (42 minutes) of my new Z150 and NX100 training video is online for viewing.

Antony Tsioukas · August 22nd, 2016, 07:13 AM

I see chapter 1, very good job. Maybe before I decide to buy this camera to rent your video.

P.S. I laugh a lot when you said “event I won’t recommended, suppose that you lost your mind, and you want to run any of these three functions (gain, white balance, shutter) in automatic…" :respect:

July 4th, 2016, 06:02 PM	#31
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,442	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 Jack, I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not. Are you saying that the battery type is the only significant difference? Because if that is what you are saying then you are dead wrong. The differences between the XDCAM family and the prosumer NEX family are huge. They have almost nothing in common. Everything from the overall menu structure, clip naming, timecode displays, scene file naming and management, paint menus, user menus, all files, gamma modes, quality of zebras and peaking displays, menu navigation, number of audio channels, and much more is totally different and inferior on the NEX cameras. A camera like the Z150 is very good for what it is, but it would be twice as good with the XDCAM family DNA inside. I'd happily pay over $6K or more for a camera that merged the best parts of the Z150 and X200 into a hybrid. A 4K X320 would be even better. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

July 4th, 2016, 06:14 PM	#32
John McCully Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: South Island, New Zealand Posts: 609 Images: 2	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 Doug, lovely footage, very enjoyable to view, as good as it gets, I reckon. Yet again you demonstrate that you are a master-shooter and a master-editor. Most impressive to my eyes however I must say the slow frame rate judder for me definitely detracts from the otherwise excellent viewing experience. Almost sold me on the PXW-Z150 but I am waiting for the competitively priced 1" sensor version (Panasonic or Sony) that shoots 4k 60p (all else being more or less equal) which I know is just around the corner. That's the goods that will get my next gear splurge dollars. Many thanks for sharing.

July 4th, 2016, 09:32 PM	#34
Glen Vandermolen Space Hipster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,596	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 Why do some of you say it's not an XDCAM camera? It's marketed by Sony as an XDCAM, it even says it on the side of the camera. Best of all, it has HD422, 50mbps. That's a broadcast codec, one I wish my FS5 had. I've never used one, but it does seem to be a good run-n-gun camera.

July 4th, 2016, 10:59 PM	#35
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 I think what Doug means is the menu system is based off of NXCAM and not XDCAM, so there's less options than in a fully featured X180, FS5 or FS7.

July 5th, 2016, 07:40 AM	#36
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,442	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 Yes, that is what I'm saying. It's great that the Z150 offers the XDCAM HD422 codec onboard, but that doesn't make it an XDCAM because it still lacks all the pro features and functions that come standard with cameras in that family. Comparing the Z150 to something like an X200 is roughly equivalent to comparing an FS5 to an FS7. Totally different from top to bottom with almost nothing in common. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

July 5th, 2016, 07:49 PM	#37
Cliff Totten Trustee Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 1,197	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 It seems to me that Sony has been "watering down" the XDCAM brand and moving it downward into the lower cost market for years. Just look at the XDCAM PMW-100. I think it REALLY bottomed out with that camcorder. Sure, it had the 4:2:0 8 bit MPEG-2 CODEC which was nice for it's day. But,...look at the terrible image sensor that was in the front end of the camera! Sony installed an older CMOS chip in that PMW-100 that was already superseded by next generation Sony Hanydycams with newer back illuminated sensors of that day. Funny right? A Sony "pro" XDCAM with awesome CODEC combined with an old (top wired) image sensor that many Handycams and NXCAMs left behind two years earlier. I thought it was a terrible piece of junk and I guess that's why the PMW-100 didn't last too long. (Sorry to any PMW-100 lovers out there) But, yeah....Sony seems to be widening the "XDCAM" brand into models they might have called "NXCAM" before. Hell, the FS700r is an "NXCAM" that has incredible 12bit raw output that can rival ANY Sony model.... Sony marketing department. Inconstant, they just make it all up as they go! Go figure.... Ha! CT

July 19th, 2016, 07:08 AM	#39
Cliff Totten Trustee Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 1,197	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 True, but have you noticed that noise reduction Sony has on it? As an EX1R owner I have learned to hate gain as much as anybody. (Because the EX1 can't shoot over +3db max) I dunno about 1080 but in UHD the Z150 is pretty impressive and when you take that UHD and deliver it in 1080, the noise gets even finer. You can shoot in +15db on the Z150 and it really not bad at all. Yeah, you are right though, that's the Achilles heel on the Z150, it's slow lens. It's nicely sharp on the edges and on for most of its range but it ramps its iris quick. Also, the endless spinning fly by wire rings are.....uggg. Y'know, something we all hate. I'm 100% sure they have a constant fast aperture lens model in the works for the next higher model to the Z150. We know Sony built a nice f2.8 constant zoom on the RX10 series for 1 inch-type sensors. Maybe if they make those optics larger they can get it to f2.0? Who knows but I don't see Sony stopping with this lens. If they can find a way to get the beautiful EX1 Fujinon styled lens for this size sensor, Sony could bring in a $6000+ EX1 price tag for this camera. CT P.s. I do see PLENTY of noise in episodes of COPS. In fact, I might even say that it's the "noisiest" show you will find on broadcast TV. It's prolly the most wildly under and over exposed show too! ;-) "COPS" could be one of the worst gorilla run and gun TV shooting situations you could ever be asked to shoot in. Last edited by Cliff Totten; July 19th, 2016 at 09:44 PM.

July 19th, 2016, 09:22 AM	#40
Nathan Buck Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 134	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 A quick quote from a friend of mine: "It has the dyanmic range of a wet fart and no slog mode."

July 19th, 2016, 03:12 PM	#41
Cliff Totten Trustee Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 1,197	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 I know the "no SLOG" part is a bad thing....and I agree when you consider a cheap RX10-II has SLOG-2 with the same image sensor. But the..."It has the dyanmic range of a wet fart....." Is that a little or allot??? With my imagination, I can see it both ways. ;-) CT

July 19th, 2016, 06:35 PM	#42
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 If I remember correctly, the AX100 and X70 suffered highlight handling issues. Maybe that's what they're referring to?

July 19th, 2016, 08:45 PM	#43
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 I have an AX100 and the newer AX53 and they both have highlight issues if you expose auto. I tend to use AE shift of at least -0.5 or even -0.7 when in auto. It is much easier to bring up the shadows in post than loose the highlights. I have zebras at 85%. They both put my NX5U to shame even at 21db of gain in terms of resolution and noise level. Ron Evans

August 22nd, 2016, 06:56 AM	#44
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,442	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 The first chapter (42 minutes) of my new Z150 and NX100 training video is online for viewing. Doug Jensen’s Sony PXW-Z150 & HXR-NX100 Master Class - CHAPTER ONE FREE! on Vimeo __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

August 22nd, 2016, 07:13 AM	#45
Antony Tsioukas Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Greece Posts: 53	Re: New Sony PXW-Z150 I see chapter 1, very good job. Maybe before I decide to buy this camera to rent your video. P.S. I laugh a lot when you said “event I won’t recommended, suppose that you lost your mind, and you want to run any of these three functions (gain, white balance, shutter) in automatic…" :respect: