New Sony NEX-EA50EH Announcement

[Noa Put]

Don't know if this has been shown here but eventhough it's not the same camera I"m wondering if it is representative to the nex 50, here the full frame nex vg900 was tested (see "https://vimeo.com/53821829") and it came out not that good, I can't imagine that the nex 50 will be that better?

[Craig Seeman]

James, my understanding of gain vs stops is the same as yours.

I also think he's a bit "zoom" focused (and the title of the article admits that intent). I don't think the article thoroughly deals with the advantages/disadvantages in the comparison (but that may not have been his intent).

Generally lenses made for photography aren't designed for live zooming (breathing and aperture). Certainly some lens manufacturers are a bit more conscious of the demand but do expect to pay the price for it.

If you're an "event" shooter dealing with night or indoor weddings you can pretty much skip the stock lens IMHO. You're going to want the fastest lens you can afford and consider the great plus having 2x (near) lossless zoom. Keep in mind 2x is fairly small. It's enough for reframing shots a bit. The advantage of a zoom lens for an event shooter (IMHO) is that one has the option of being fairly wide when needed and being at the other end when shallow depth of field is more important. Trying to do that with a live (servo) zoom through on a budget . . . (well one can fantasize).

Of course zooming in for shallow depth of field when your fast lens becomes slower is a problem but it's also the reality. At that point is when you have to consider changing lenses so you have the right tool (lens choices) for the job.

[Craig Seeman]

Noa, I don't see how you can draw that conclusion. The VG900 and EA50 aren't related in components or target market. The VG900 is certainly not an EA50 with a larger sensor.

[Noa Put]

it's not a conclusion, just a question.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

Although video footage is always appreciated it always seems to be in the "backyard" so it's pretty tough to judge a camera on footage done at home (I'm also guilty BTW!!)

This is an event camera so has anyone actually used it for an event??? I'd love to see a wedding shot with this using the stock zoom ...Is it going to skew badly if you pan ..is moire going to be an issue???
A real on-site test will be 100X more useful than carefully done static shots

I would love the form factor for wedding shoots (and the weight too) but I have my own doubts on how the sensor would handle an event??

If anyone already has an EA50 please take it out into the real world and use it in a real situation with people and movement ...I'd love to see genuine results.

Chris

[Shawn Lam]

Originally Posted by James Hobert

Fascinating comparison of the FS100 vs EA50. However, he mentions that the EA50 requires +9db of gain to reach the sensitivity of the FS100 which "equates it to 3 stops of exposure". I always thought that +6db is one stop so wouldn't that make it 1.5 stops less sensitive instead of 3 stops?? Forgive me, kinda new with some of this math.

James: You are correct and 6db = 1 F-stop. I've requested a correction in the original article. Thanks for pointing it out.

[James Hobert]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

If anyone already has an EA50 please take it out into the real world and use it in a real situation with people and movement ...I'd love to see genuine results.

Chris

Looks like the same guy has posted a more real world video using the EA50. Nothing special but there are pans, etc. Looks nice with "some" issues.

https://vimeo.com/53911957

I've seen better quality video done with an iPhone. That is the best he could do?

[Noa Put]

I'd like to see a side by side with a gh2 or gh3, just to see how it resolves detail, that seemed to be the bottleneck for the vg900 and I get the impression it is the same here.

[Chris Harding]

I really didn't see any people in that video at all...?? Just trains 'n planes and buildings!! That's about the same use as a backyard video IMO. I'd still like to see an event shot with it.

Noa?? Why a comparison with a GH2 ?? It's basically the same sort of sensor ... I would rather just see how the camera handles weddings and events ... Do we really want to say that yes the GH2 is better/worse ....I simply want to see if the cam is a viable wedding camera or not.

Chris

[Noa Put]

In the video I linked to the vg900' the image was very soft compared to the gh2 or 3, I"m not saying the nex 50 suffers the same problem, but I would be surprised if Sony can do that better with this large sensor camera. That's why I like to see how this one performs compared to a gh2 or 3 or even better a vg900.

It's also not the same sensor as the vg900 is full frame but that apparantly is no guarantee for a good image. It's like the vg20, I have seen many crap like looking wedding videos (refering to image quality) and just a few that look good, I"m not that convinced anymore about image quality when it comes to Sony's new large sensor videocamera's.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Noa

Couldn't agree more!!! I just thought BIG sensor great image awesome in low light...from what I have seen so far the little Panasonic AC-90 produces a far nicer image with it's tiny 1/4.7" backlit chips !!

Problem is I really like the Sony form factor and weight!! That's what sucked me in!!!

I have yet to be convinced !! The full frame of the new 900 in theory should blow everything away but it doesn't either !!! I can hadly see the EA50 being any better!

Chris

[Noa Put]

You also have to consider the nex50 is not a real schoudercamera, more like a semi one like the canon xl-h1. This means you have to carry all the weight in your hands, something to consider for longer continuous handheld registrations. In that way the Panasonic AC-90 might be even a better choice if you don't care that much about shallow dof.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Noa

Good point !! Unless the shoulder pad is almost in the middle you never achieve a balance anyway...I cheat on the HMC82's ..I have a sprung rod up front going into a waist belt and that takes all the weight of the camera. You can mod any cam that has a front mount LCD (That's all Sony have done!!) just with a simple rail underneath and a shoulder pad and then a loupe on the LCD.

It is, still easier to get it all in one like Sony have done!!

Are you shooting with any big sensors?? Do you have a moire issue??

Chris

[Noa Put]

Are you shooting with any big sensors?? Do you have a moire issue??

Yes and yes, I do have 2 videocamera's but also 2 dslr's (Canon 550d) and the moire on those can be very nasty if I"m shooting with a wide angle and deep dof and if there is fine detail (like rooftiles) in the background. I also think those first gen canon's are about as worse as it can get, every newer big sensor camera should be a bit better and some almost don't have any moire issues at all.