PDW-680 Released, but not in the USA. at DVinfo.net

Alister Chapman · April 19th, 2012, 04:53 PM

Sony have released a new XDCAM HD 422 optical disc camcorder. The PDW-680 is nearly identical to the PDW-700 except the optical block is the CMOS block used in the PMW-350 and the 680 will ONLY have the interlace modes, there will be no option to shoot progressive. Externally it is the same as the 700 with the exception of an "Exmor" badge on the side. The price (£18k???) is considerably lower than that of the PDW-700.

Luc De Wandel · April 20th, 2012, 03:09 AM

Sony gave us food for discussion with this camera, especially for those amongst us who predicted the imminent death of the XDCAM disk and the unstoppable rise of progressive recording...

Uli Mors · April 25th, 2012, 12:16 AM

I had the demo PDW680 with me the last week - looks totally like a 700 except it says "EXMOR" on the right side.

Seems a bit less noisy than the 700, lacks only very few features, probably suffers (didnt test) from rolling shutter (-> Flash lights) like all EXMOR do.

Probably its a clever move : some freelancers are trying to buy a used 700 - and the 680 exactly fits this price gap. Since 720p50 is not that important for TV (but for web it does...) , interlace is fine.
Also, deinterlace software got better the last years, so in worst case shoot i, convert to p.

NOT in USA? I asked sony and found that the announced cheaper PDW-HD1200 will not be sold in europe either (that would be my baby...)

hmmm...

uli

Tim Bradley · April 30th, 2012, 05:07 PM

Interesting move by Sony. I am glad to see that they are bringing out more XDcam optical disc cameras. So nice not to have to do a data transfer at the end of a long shooting day !

Uli Mors · May 13th, 2012, 11:12 PM

I dont see a new camera coming the next 12 months.

Remember: Sony has no 10bit codec in the broadcast range (HDCAM SR does, but thats another dog).

When announcing a new camera, Sony has somehow to widen the 8bit recording by another codec. And that would mean incompatibilty with the existing XDCAM HD (HD, EX, 422) line.

Lets see what will happen in the future...

April 19th, 2012, 04:53 PM	#1
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	PDW-680 Released, but not in the USA. Sony have released a new XDCAM HD 422 optical disc camcorder. The PDW-680 is nearly identical to the PDW-700 except the optical block is the CMOS block used in the PMW-350 and the 680 will ONLY have the interlace modes, there will be no option to shoot progressive. Externally it is the same as the 700 with the exception of an "Exmor" badge on the side. The price (£18k???) is considerably lower than that of the PDW-700. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

April 20th, 2012, 03:09 AM	#2
Luc De Wandel Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Knokke-Heist, Belgium Posts: 963	Re: PDW-680 Released, but not in the USA. Sony gave us food for discussion with this camera, especially for those amongst us who predicted the imminent death of the XDCAM disk and the unstoppable rise of progressive recording...

April 25th, 2012, 12:16 AM	#3
Uli Mors Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 565	Re: PDW-680 Released, but not in the USA. I had the demo PDW680 with me the last week - looks totally like a 700 except it says "EXMOR" on the right side. Seems a bit less noisy than the 700, lacks only very few features, probably suffers (didnt test) from rolling shutter (-> Flash lights) like all EXMOR do. Probably its a clever move : some freelancers are trying to buy a used 700 - and the 680 exactly fits this price gap. Since 720p50 is not that important for TV (but for web it does...) , interlace is fine. Also, deinterlace software got better the last years, so in worst case shoot i, convert to p. NOT in USA? I asked sony and found that the announced cheaper PDW-HD1200 will not be sold in europe either (that would be my baby...) hmmm... uli

April 30th, 2012, 05:07 PM	#4
Tim Bradley Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 48	Re: PDW-680 Released, but not in the USA. Interesting move by Sony. I am glad to see that they are bringing out more XDcam optical disc cameras. So nice not to have to do a data transfer at the end of a long shooting day ! __________________ Tim Bradley - DOP / Cameraman in Sydney Australia www.mindseye.net.au www.sydneydop.com.au www.sydneycameraman.net.au

May 13th, 2012, 11:12 PM	#5
Uli Mors Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 565	Re: PDW-680 Released, but not in the USA. I dont see a new camera coming the next 12 months. Remember: Sony has no 10bit codec in the broadcast range (HDCAM SR does, but thats another dog). When announcing a new camera, Sony has somehow to widen the 8bit recording by another codec. And that would mean incompatibilty with the existing XDCAM HD (HD, EX, 422) line. Lets see what will happen in the future...