Is this the right camera for me?

Chris Harding · February 25th, 2013, 11:37 PM

Hi David

I have no issue with the stock lens at all. My old Panasonic had 1/4" chips but the lens was F1.8 ...With a middle zoom the stock lens only goes down to F4 BUT you have a massive sensor in comparison.

If you are doing general video work and not super creative stuff where tiny DOF is needed then the stock lens works perfectly. The advantage of interchangeable lenses is that you CAN, if you want to put on a super fast lens and be able to shoot in much lower light easily but remember your DOF and focus then becomes critical ...It's easy to manual focus a fast F1.4 prime on a stationary object/scene with the camera on a tripod but when there are people moving everywhere and distances are changing then you do need a smaller aperture like the stock lens.... A football game with the guy running across the field would be rather impossible to keep in focus manually with a fast F1.4 prime lens but easy in AF on the stock lens ... You use what suits the job!! I tried the 50mmF1.8 on a wedding dance floor with people gyrating everywhere and shucks you just cannot focus so I use the stock lens for lots of motion and constantly changing distance shots.

Chris

David Brandman · February 26th, 2013, 01:36 PM

Thanks Chris. Planning to pick one up possibly tomorrow. Looking forward to experimenting with the larger sensor and what it offers.

Tom Van den Berghe · April 23rd, 2013, 11:46 AM

have the same problem. The NEX-EA50 looks very interesting to me. I shoot a lot of handheld (run and gun) or a lot of stage events.

Now I have the sony HXR-NX5 but this camcorder is not mine (I can borrow it when I need it) The 20x zoom is great for stage events. The low light is good enough for me.

But the stock lens that comes with the NEX-EA50 has only 10 zoom? Or are there other lenses that works with the powerzoom on the NEX-EA50? I can't figure this out. I don't want to zoom manually on the focus ring for this
But if I want a lens with better low light I need a faster lens (like F 1.8) but these are not made for filming stage events?

Chris Harding · April 23rd, 2013, 06:16 PM

Hi Tom

It's officially 11X but I don't think the extra 1X will help you if you are looking at 20X zoom. If thats what you need then I would stick with an NX5 ..you can always put it on a rig for run 'n gun!

Chris

Noa Put · April 24th, 2013, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Van den Berghe

have the same problem. The NEX-EA50 looks very interesting to me. I shoot a lot of handheld (run and gun) or a lot of stage events.

If you never had any experience with large sensor camera's and you are used to shoot with a smaller sensor nx5 type of camera's I would say don't get the ea50, it will only give you a headache. the ea50 can be a handfull to handle in run and gun. Especially if you don't want to zoom manually on the ring then this certainly is not the camera you are looking for.

Tom Van den Berghe · April 24th, 2013, 09:49 AM

Thanks Noa and Chris! I will look and wait for another shoulder camcorder that's right for me. I liked where the LCD was positioned on NEX-A50. There aren't much shoulder cams where this is.

Thanks again for the input!

Tom Van den Berghe · June 17th, 2013, 12:52 PM

Still not bought a new camcorder. Now I have the budget so I could afford the NEX-EA50.
I read that the stocklens is good for general work.

But is the "slow" power zoom lens still the only lens that works with the zoomrocker on the EA50?
And are there prime (zooming manually) lenses that have more zoom (> 11x zoom) than the stock lens?

This camcorder looks for me very easy to use for run and gun, isn't it?

Noa Put · June 17th, 2013, 01:36 PM

Which part of Belgium are you from Tom? If you'd like you could drop by and check out my nex-ea50, I"m from Mol.

Tom Van den Berghe · November 26th, 2013, 01:24 PM

After buying the JVC GY-HM70 about 5 months I can say is a good camcorder but I want something better.
At that moment I doubted between the JVC and this sony NEX-EA50. Now I can say I mostly shoot from the shoulder.

The JVC is not well balanced for me on my shoulder and the 3 inch LCD is on a bad position for that use.
When I boughted the JVC I also tested the sony and the big LCD and balance was much better. But at moment my budget was limited because I needed to buy all the other gear to (tripod; bag, light, sd cards,...) Now I have the budget for a nex-ea50.

About 70-80% of my work is shot handheld so the sony will be good for this.
But sometimes I have to shoot a stage. I read the stock lens is slow and not the best in low light during the slow lens but has powerzoom with the zoomrocker.

My question is: Are there other lenses with much/more zoom that fit the NEX-EA50? or that can be used with the zoom rocker?

I can always use my panasonic HC-X920 for filming stage (close-ups) and use the NEX-EA50 for the "general" shot.
But I prefer to use the NEX-EA0 for close-ups.

I saw you can also buy the NEX-EA0 without the stock lens? Maybe is this a better idea?

Noa Put · November 26th, 2013, 07:00 PM

Quote:

The JVC is not well balanced for me on my shoulder

Remember, the ea50 is not balanced at all on your shoulder, all the weight is on your hands, you could add some stuff onto the shoulder pad that slides out and everything you put on there rests completely on your shoulder but not balanced in any way like a real shoulder camera.

If you want you can drop by and I"ll show you some Sony footage on a big screen and you can try out the camera, I am just back from a business event where I used the ea50 to shoot the presentations on stage (with the stocklens), I needed the camera as I had 2 live audio feeds going into the camera through xlr and I also used it during some run and gun (and handheld) speeches with a big ledgo cnb160c light attached to it and a shotgun attached with a xlr cable, also used a unstabilized 24mm f1.5 Samyang "cine" lens. This video should be online soon and will send you the link.

About lenses, the stocklens is slow yes, I know there are some more possibilities with a speedbooster and some constant f2.8 zoomlenses but probably other users that have that combo will have something to say about it, then you have to shoot all manual but at least there are no low light issues like with the stocklens, I do like that lens a lot though, it has a butter smooth manual zoom operation and has good imagequality, as long as there is sufficient light.

February 25th, 2013, 11:37 PM	#16
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Is this the right camera for me? Hi David I have no issue with the stock lens at all. My old Panasonic had 1/4" chips but the lens was F1.8 ...With a middle zoom the stock lens only goes down to F4 BUT you have a massive sensor in comparison. If you are doing general video work and not super creative stuff where tiny DOF is needed then the stock lens works perfectly. The advantage of interchangeable lenses is that you CAN, if you want to put on a super fast lens and be able to shoot in much lower light easily but remember your DOF and focus then becomes critical ...It's easy to manual focus a fast F1.4 prime on a stationary object/scene with the camera on a tripod but when there are people moving everywhere and distances are changing then you do need a smaller aperture like the stock lens.... A football game with the guy running across the field would be rather impossible to keep in focus manually with a fast F1.4 prime lens but easy in AF on the stock lens ... You use what suits the job!! I tried the 50mmF1.8 on a wedding dance floor with people gyrating everywhere and shucks you just cannot focus so I use the stock lens for lots of motion and constantly changing distance shots. Chris

February 26th, 2013, 01:36 PM	#17
David Brandman New Boot Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 5	Re: Is this the right camera for me? Thanks Chris. Planning to pick one up possibly tomorrow. Looking forward to experimenting with the larger sensor and what it offers.

April 23rd, 2013, 11:46 AM	#18
Tom Van den Berghe Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: BELGIUM Posts: 402	Re: Is this the right camera for me? have the same problem. The NEX-EA50 looks very interesting to me. I shoot a lot of handheld (run and gun) or a lot of stage events. Now I have the sony HXR-NX5 but this camcorder is not mine (I can borrow it when I need it) The 20x zoom is great for stage events. The low light is good enough for me. But the stock lens that comes with the NEX-EA50 has only 10 zoom? Or are there other lenses that works with the powerzoom on the NEX-EA50? I can't figure this out. I don't want to zoom manually on the focus ring for this But if I want a lens with better low light I need a faster lens (like F 1.8) but these are not made for filming stage events?

April 23rd, 2013, 06:16 PM	#19
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Is this the right camera for me? Hi Tom It's officially 11X but I don't think the extra 1X will help you if you are looking at 20X zoom. If thats what you need then I would stick with an NX5 ..you can always put it on a rig for run 'n gun! Chris

April 24th, 2013, 09:49 AM	#21
Tom Van den Berghe Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: BELGIUM Posts: 402	Re: Is this the right camera for me? Thanks Noa and Chris! I will look and wait for another shoulder camcorder that's right for me. I liked where the LCD was positioned on NEX-A50. There aren't much shoulder cams where this is. Thanks again for the input!

June 17th, 2013, 12:52 PM	#22
Tom Van den Berghe Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: BELGIUM Posts: 402	Re: Is this the right camera for me? Still not bought a new camcorder. Now I have the budget so I could afford the NEX-EA50. I read that the stocklens is good for general work. But is the "slow" power zoom lens still the only lens that works with the zoomrocker on the EA50? And are there prime (zooming manually) lenses that have more zoom (> 11x zoom) than the stock lens? This camcorder looks for me very easy to use for run and gun, isn't it?

June 17th, 2013, 01:36 PM	#23
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Is this the right camera for me? Which part of Belgium are you from Tom? If you'd like you could drop by and check out my nex-ea50, I"m from Mol.

November 26th, 2013, 01:24 PM	#24
Tom Van den Berghe Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: BELGIUM Posts: 402	Re: Is this the right camera for me? After buying the JVC GY-HM70 about 5 months I can say is a good camcorder but I want something better. At that moment I doubted between the JVC and this sony NEX-EA50. Now I can say I mostly shoot from the shoulder. The JVC is not well balanced for me on my shoulder and the 3 inch LCD is on a bad position for that use. When I boughted the JVC I also tested the sony and the big LCD and balance was much better. But at moment my budget was limited because I needed to buy all the other gear to (tripod; bag, light, sd cards,...) Now I have the budget for a nex-ea50. About 70-80% of my work is shot handheld so the sony will be good for this. But sometimes I have to shoot a stage. I read the stock lens is slow and not the best in low light during the slow lens but has powerzoom with the zoomrocker. My question is: Are there other lenses with much/more zoom that fit the NEX-EA50? or that can be used with the zoom rocker? I can always use my panasonic HC-X920 for filming stage (close-ups) and use the NEX-EA50 for the "general" shot. But I prefer to use the NEX-EA0 for close-ups. I saw you can also buy the NEX-EA0 without the stock lens? Maybe is this a better idea?