PXW Z450 on the job.

[Charlie Harvey]

A brand new Z450 arrived yesterday as a replacement for my deceased PMW500.

First impressions are that it has exactly the same form factor as most other XDCams which is a good thing. Buttons are in the correct spot for muscle memory and you don't need to 'rig it up with aftermarket sleds , handles and monitors to get it to work' (My Zacuto shod FS7 please take note) ....

But on a completely serious note i will report back with real life experiences both good and bad.. The sensor being a single Exmor R 4K CMOS sensor may cause some problems with flashbanding at big press events but time will tell.

While the Z750 looks very nice I couldn't wait till next year to get shooting. I also considered shopping in the FS7 as well and getting an F55 but in the end ease of operation and the bulletproof design kept me in the XDCAM type family. The Z450 starts earning its keep tomorrow night.

Have paired it with the HDVF- EL20 OLED VF which seems a cracker.

If any out there have any real world experience with the Z450 please feel free to share as there isn't a lot of info out there on this model.

[Andrew Smith]

Looking forward to what you find. And, Doug Jensen is pretty good with all cameras in addition to being an awesome part of this forum.

Sony PXW-Z450 4K Demo Reel on Vimeo

Andrew

[Charlie Harvey]

Thanks Andrew.

Have conversed a little with Doug before I purchased.

Not a lot of real world reviews or info on the camera. There is such a diverse mix of options these days.

On another note a question for any super techs out there.

I have purchased the HDVF-EL20 with the round lemo connector that sony has had on their cameras for years. Seems a cracker so far but my question is this.

Does anyone know if there is an adapter available to go from the round lemo sony plug to the flat plug found on the FS7? Would love to be able to use the EL20 on my FS7 if I could rig it up to work. The Z450 has both type connectors on the body so in theory it should be possible to make an adaption cable shouldn't it?

Cheers

[Charlie Harvey]

So few days into the new run on the Z450. Been very happy with the viewfinder. For 5k it should be good and I'm happy to report it is.
Real world low light performance is impressive coming from the PMW500. I'm feeling at least a few stops better.
Was at Downing street (UK's Prime minister abode) tonight. Where as before with the 500 I had to light the door with a kicker tonight it was like someone had turned on the lights (literally)...
Depth of field was interesting. Pushing the Canon 14x4.3 HD wide lens fully open dropped the Door at NO.10 totally out of focus. Couldn't even see the number. Had to up the key light and iris down to ring it back in.
It's a bit like a halfway house between a traditional xdcam everything g in focus and a large sensor camera.
Finally very disappointed in the side screens colour. Having the OLED VF which is very true to reality the side screen has a strong green cast to it. My old 500 was much better and a new pXW X500 I used recently was also much better. May have a word with sony about it. Not the end of the world but for 20k I expect better.
Happy to report my SXS version 1 work fine in HD UDF 50mbs config. Will need PRO+ when stepping up to 4K and any slow motion stuff. .

[Andrew Smith]

Don't forget to post some examples of the footage etc. Especially if you get the cat.

Andrew

[Charlie Harvey]

so a few weeks in and the Z450 is performing well.
Only using in HD at the moment but very happy with the picture. Have changed a large chunk in the Menu Paint settings to create a scene file which match one of my main clients requirements.
Looking forward to trying out the 4K at some point soon. Im glad i went for the Z450 and not the X500 in the end. having the 4K for down the track when needed will be very handy.
On an operational note im using my original SXS cards in UDF mode @50mb and they work fine. Haven't tried XAVC yet with the cards. will need a few updated Pro+ Sxs for 4k and slow mo no doubt.
Oled VF is excellent. Just need to work out how to get it on my FS7 as well now?????
Was at a press event the other day and the flash banding wasn't too bad at all. It rared its head a couple of times but generally the sensor handled it very well.
Attached are a few screen grabs.
Oh and noise levels in the gain are very good. The police car below was with 6db.

[Steven Digges]

The shot of the police is a great shot from any video camera! BTW, two guys sitting in a BMW painted like that and looking like that would be arrested within minutes over here! HA.

Steve

[Simon Denny]

I loved my PMW500, I traveled all over Australia with that camera, in swamps, mud pits, snow, bush, rain the list goes on, then I had to sell it for a massive loss, one of my saddest days of owning a camera. Since then I've used every mirrorless camera that has come out and sold them all also, although I hung on to my A7iii and the little Sony Z90 which is friggen excellent.


I've been toying with the idea again of another ENG rig and this PXW Z450 has stirred my interest.

Cheers, Simon

[Simon Denny]

I forgot to mention the footage from Doug is excellent.

[Andrew Smith]

All things Doug are excellent. :-)

Andrew

[Simon Denny]

True that👍

[Charlie Harvey]

Originally Posted by Simon Denny

I loved my PMW500, I traveled all over Australia with that camera, in swamps, mud pits, snow, bush, rain the list goes on, then I had to sell it for a massive loss, one of my saddest days of owning a camera. Since then I've used every mirrorless camera that has come out and sold them all also, although I hung on to my A7iii and the little Sony Z90 which is friggen excellent.


I've been toying with the idea again of another ENG rig and this PXW Z450 has stirred my interest.

Cheers, Simon

I must say I was sceptical about the single cmos sensor but so for it's been fantastic. Headsb and shoulders above the PMW500 I had in regards to low light real world performance. Was running 12 db again the other night and the picture was excellent. Sure it's not full frame or super 35 excellent but as a trade off on the form factor and lens combo it's a no brainer.

I toyed with an F5 or 55 setup but (showing my age ) you cant beat the shoulder mount B4 set up for versatility and speed.

Haven't played with the z750 but I'm not sure the extra cost of that unit justifies the outlay. Happy to be proven wrong thou.