FX1000 has arrived - first impressions

Pedanes Bol · November 24th, 2008, 07:20 PM

film testowy Sony FX 1000e on Vimeo

Brooke & Jeff 11/22/08 on Vimeo

Greg Laves · November 24th, 2008, 07:38 PM

A friend of mine got an FX1000 last weekend and his initial impressions are that the images look awesome but he does not think they are quite as sharp as the EX1 he has been renting. He thought the low light performance was similar to his PD170 and FX2100 but he really preferred the image from the FX1000 to the PD170 under low light shooting conditions. He was amazed at the lens on the wide angle end and was really excited about that aspect. He thought the controls were much better than the VX2100/PD170/V1U/EX1. He felt it was much easier to use with full manual operation than any of the others. He was a little disappointed that the LCD was smaller than the EX1 he has been using. But he didn't realize that the EVF was actually higher resolution than the EX1. He usually doesn't use the EVF so that wasn't an important feature to him. Overall, he is extremely happy with his new toy.

Michael Wisniewski · November 24th, 2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedanes Bol

film testowy Sony FX 1000e on Vimeo
Brooke & Jeff 11/22/08 on Vimeo

Dziękuję Pedanes! I really like the colors in the footage you took. Did you do any color correction? Tweak any settings in the camcorder? Use a filter? Or is that the higher dynamic range of the CMOS chips showing through?

Paul Therrien · November 24th, 2008, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamie Roberts

I think that different people like different looks and Paul, if you dont think this cam will do it for you, then lash out and get yourself an EX1. If you can afford one (half your luck), then why wouldnt you get that model with its extra capabilities etc?? I would!

Cheers

Jamie

Well, I am hoping the Z5 will be enough to satisfy me. It's not as if I WANT to spend $6500. Let's be honest, we all want the best we can get for the cheapest we can pay.

The EX1 is a great camera but may not be the best for me. For example I was at 2 weddings this weekend, I tried to pay attention every time I went past 12-14 times zoom. It was often! I was surprised how much I rely on the 20x zoom on my A1. So the Z5 has some great features. better low light then the A1, better LCD to focus with, hybrid recording with the flash recorder, it now has the iris on the lens like the A1, and it has even a wider lens that comes in very handy at weddings.

It's not so cut and dry, plus the Z5 is a lot cheaper to get into. I have varizoom controllers that will work on the Z5 but not EX.

On the other hand, if the picture really was overly soft and it could not be fixed then I would have to lean toward the EX. I for one believe HD should look like HD.

The Z5 fits me better as an overall cam, the EX satisfies my quality wants.

So I am digging for info through Jeff to see example of the image it can create. I think the Z5 is a bit more flexible so it may be better for me. I do a lot of manual tweaking.

I have a few weeks before the Z comes out.

Thanks again to Jeff for keeping the info coming!

Paul

Pedanes Bol · November 25th, 2008, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

Dziękuję Pedanes! I really like the colors in the footage you took. Did you do any color correction? Tweak any settings in the camcorder? Use a filter? Or is that the higher dynamic range of the CMOS chips showing through?

I did not take the videos. I found the them on Vimeo and just posted the links.

Martyn Hull · November 25th, 2008, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedanes Bol

film testowy Sony FX 1000e on Vimeo

Brooke & Jeff 11/22/08 on Vimeo

The FX1000 footage looks good but i cannot see myself getting a larger cam than the FX-7 i find that one heavy lugging around on long walks with the tripod as well.For wildlife the loss of 158mm on the zoom would be a loss, add ons can be a pain,i know most prefer wide to zoom,yes it looks a great cam if only sony would bring out a real great preforming xm2 sized cam.One thing i would like someone cleverer than me is tell me why all vimeo films are jittery on my packard bell pc and vaio laptop.

Khoi Pham · November 25th, 2008, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

Dziękuję Pedanes! I really like the colors in the footage you took. Did you do any color correction? Tweak any settings in the camcorder? Use a filter? Or is that the higher dynamic range of the CMOS chips showing through?

The guy is using a 5600k light for indoor white balance, you can see the fleshtone is bluish when the camera is close enough for the on camera light to be the main source, look at footage when the bride just got to the chuppah or inside the chuppah, or any other shot that the camera is very close, I see this alot, using a led light, most led light are 5600k and they shoot indoor with the camera set to indoor or 3200K settings.

Jeff Harper · November 25th, 2008, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martyn Hull

The FX1000 footage looks good

I disagree. Brooke and Jeff's video looks fantastic to me.

He was using a light most all of the time, clearly, but still, the colors are excellent and the contrast was very good. It can be picked apart, etc., but all in all that is close to stunning footage.

Michael Liebergot · November 25th, 2008, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Ron, the WB switching on the FX1000 isn't smooth. There is a slight transition, but it's very short.

What is black stretch? I'll check it out in the manual, sounds interesting, whatever it is!

The FX1000 won't have Black Stretch. Sony only offers black Stretch in the Broadcast Division cameras. So it Black Stretch will be on the Z5U, but not the FX1000.

That said it looks as of Sony has added a lot of picture profile features in the FX1000, that they would have normally reserved for their broadcast cameras. Nice to see.

Jeff, BTW one question...
Can you nor use the "Focus Assist" feature while the camera is running, or do you have to be in stand by, like you had to be on the FX1/Z1?

Michael Liebergot · November 25th, 2008, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedanes Bol

film testowy Sony FX 1000e on Vimeo

Brooke & Jeff 11/22/08 on Vimeo

Nice clips, but did anyone else notice the "rolling shutter" in the wedding clips.

It's not that bad, but definitely still present.

Guess we have to accept this as the norm for a while when using CMOS sensors.

Khoi Pham · November 25th, 2008, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

I disagree. Brooke and Jeff's video looks fantastic to me.

He was using a light most all of the time, clearly, but still, the colors are excellent and the contrast was very good. It can be picked apart, etc., but all in all that is close to stunning footage.

Look at 1:19, both of them have bluish/purple skin tone, look at 1:22, the mother of the bride has good color but not the rabbie, that is because the light could not reach the MOB as much, the guy is using the wrong light I tell you.

Jeff Harper · November 25th, 2008, 08:36 AM

Michael, haven't used it. But it has an on/off setting in the menu, and there is no indication in the manual that you must be in standby. I will turn it on when I next get the cam out and play with it, but I feel certain the answer is no.

Khoi Pham · November 25th, 2008, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

Nice clips, but did anyone else notice the "rolling shutter" in the wedding clips.

It's not that bad, but definitely still present.

Guess we have to accept this as the norm for a while when using CMOS sensors.

Yeah I see it, wonder if I can live with it with clips in slomo.

Paul Therrien · November 25th, 2008, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khoi Pham

Look at 1:19, both of them have bluish/purple skin tone, look at 1:22, the mother of the bride has good color but not the rabbie, that is because the light could not reach the MOB as much, the guy is using the wrong light I tell you.

You are correct. He is either using the wrong light, or he forgot to flip the color corrector up out oft he way. It really gets in the way of the look.

On my monitor many of the shots look overblown, but if anything that tells me the cams light sensitivity is high and he just has to learn it.

I'm glad to see footage starting to hit the streets though.

Ron Evans · November 25th, 2008, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

The FX1000 won't have Black Stretch. Sony only offers black Stretch in the Broadcast Division cameras. So it Black Stretch will be on the Z5U, but not the FX1000.

http://www.docs.sony.com/release/HDRFX1000.pdf
This is the manual for the FX1000 and clearly states it has Black stretch etc. As I said it looks like it has most of what was only available in the Z series. There may be other controls that are missing but it has most of what I want. Shockless gain would be nice shockless WB is of no interest to me as most of what I do is in a theatre environment fixed. Maybe it is these things that are the difference this time to the Z series. Maybe Jeff can confirm it has Black stretch etc.

Ron Evans

November 24th, 2008, 07:20 PM	#46
Pedanes Bol Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boston MA Posts: 167	Sample Videos on Vimeo film testowy Sony FX 1000e on Vimeo Brooke & Jeff 11/22/08 on Vimeo

November 24th, 2008, 07:38 PM	#47
Greg Laves Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 640	A friend of mine got an FX1000 last weekend and his initial impressions are that the images look awesome but he does not think they are quite as sharp as the EX1 he has been renting. He thought the low light performance was similar to his PD170 and FX2100 but he really preferred the image from the FX1000 to the PD170 under low light shooting conditions. He was amazed at the lens on the wide angle end and was really excited about that aspect. He thought the controls were much better than the VX2100/PD170/V1U/EX1. He felt it was much easier to use with full manual operation than any of the others. He was a little disappointed that the LCD was smaller than the EX1 he has been using. But he didn't realize that the EVF was actually higher resolution than the EX1. He usually doesn't use the EVF so that wasn't an important feature to him. Overall, he is extremely happy with his new toy.

November 25th, 2008, 08:36 AM	#57
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Michael, haven't used it. But it has an on/off setting in the menu, and there is no indication in the manual that you must be in standby. I will turn it on when I next get the cam out and play with it, but I feel certain the answer is no.