VG10 / VG20 Various Topics

[Charlie Webster]

Was just testing tonite and there appears to be no vignetting at all with this one. Comes with it's own lens cap.

Threads are 72mm on the outside so it could take a screw on hood.

best to all

Charlie

[Steve Mullen]

I did some research on these and it seems they all introduce color shift as density increases. What have you found. The best way to check is use a color chart and AE. Dial it down slowly.

Then use the vectorscope in your NLE to monitor the position of the colors as luminance is lowered. The points shouldn't change phase or shift positions.

Try the same thing with a sheet of white paper. No position shift.

[Eduardo Romero]

I plan on buying the VG10 by April along with a good set of lenses to cover a wide enough range. I plan on shooting a feature film with this camera so my question is, what kind of lenses (dont matter which brand) do I need to get everything from stellar low light performance, super wide shots that dont warp and that also have a good depth of field, basically which lessen do I need to replicated the look of 35mm film? Also if someone could explain to me how to "read" a lenses specs (I have no idea what any of this:f1.8/35-160mm means) just a basic primer on SLR lenses in general and which I need to get the film look and how to use each type of lens to do so, I know this is a lot to ask but I am new to this world so Im trying to educate myself as much as I can before I buy buying a bunch of random lenses, thank you in advance.

[Henry Williams]

The f1.8 you mention is the aperture setting. This tells the camera how much light to let into the lens. Generally speaking the lower the number, the better the low light performance on that lens.

The 35mm-160mm you mention is the focal length of the lens. Basically put, this governs the size of the shot. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length eg. 50mm. The lens you describe is a zoom lens. It will go as wide as 35mm and zoom in as far as 160mm.

Some zoom lenses can have a constant aperture setting throughout their range. With others the aperture number will increase as you zoom in, letting less light into the lens. Generally prime lenses, because they are designed to work at one specific length, will give a sharper picture and allow you to use a wider aperture setting.

You CAN mount proper 35mm film camera lenses on a VG10 but it is scary expensive to even rent lenses like that, let alone buy them. I'd suggest sticking to either e-mount or SLR glass for now, and checking the excellent lens threads elsewhere on the VG10 sub forum to get a better idea of what range and type of lenses to buy. Because the VG10 multiplies the focal length of lenses by 1.6 a 35mm lens becomes approx. a 50mm lens, a 50mm lens an 80mm lens and so on. Generally speaking a basic setup would consist of a wide angle lens eg. the 16mm e-mount pancake lens, a 50mm (actually a 35mm lens) and some kind of zoom, for which the kit 18-200 lens would do fine. This is a bit of a generalisation, but the wide angle lens is for landscapes or big open shots, the 50mm is for portrait shots - mid range stuff through to close ups and the zoom lens fills in the gaps...

[Cliff Totten]

When I play back my video files on the VG10, I noticed that the camera keeps real time function information. (Changing Fstop, gain, shutter values... etc,...)

I have this same feature in my EX1R. I can play back files in my Sony XDCAM clip browser and watch all the mechanics metadata play out in real time as it was shot.

Question; Is that data saved in the video file container? Is it somehow preserved when you dump the files to your PC in the Sony Motion Browser? If not, can the motion browser at least display that info during PC playback or is it available only on the VG10's playback screen?

CT

[Colin Browell]

Don't know about SMB, but it might be worth trying the files in the demo version of DVMP Pro.

[Steve Mullen]

So here is JVC's GC-PX1 1080p60 camcorder/camera:

HD 1080/60p (UHR) <<<< H.264/AVC at 36Mbps!
HD 1080/60p (HR)
HD 720/60p
iFrame 960x540p30

10MP BACKLIT 1/2.3" so this should have nice big photocites! Uses up to 8MP for 60p video.

Image Sensors World: Sony CX-News Tells about New Products, 2nd Generation 1.4um Pixel

The FalconBrid DSP will interpolate 8MP down to 2MP rather than have the CMOS sensor skip column/rows. (Skipping cuts the data going into the DSP by 3X or 6X.)

Currently sensors can't run much faster that 10fps -- therefore a 3X or 6X reduction is necessary for them as well. Which means the Sony CMOS chip must be able to run at 60fps reading out a 16:9 8MP window on the chip. In turn this means the OLPF can be optimized for 10MP for both stills and FullHD so all the crap we get from the other cameras will be gone.

Coming soon.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

JVC never ceases to amaze...Their falconbird claims to even do a 4K/2K consumer. An interchangeable lens option would have made it really exciting though...

[Steve Mullen]

Below is a link to a page with a movie that may illuminate the relationship between the frame rate, which for NEX camera's is either 25fps or 30fps, and shutter speed.

ProVideo Coalition.com: FRESHDV by Matthew Jeppsen & Kendal Miller

1) For NEX owners who can't set shutter speed, pay special attention to where in changing the shutter speed slower the pix becomes over exposed until he dials the aperture smaller. This works in reverse. Had he set the aperture larger the pix would have become over exposed until the shutter speed was increased.

So NEX owner first decide shallow or deep DOF. If you want shallow, you open the aperture. Like in the movie, to get the correct exposure the camera will automatically make the shutter speed shorter. If you want deep, you close the aperture. To get the correct exposure the camera will automatically make the shutter speed longer.

2) He briefly comments on why 1/60th is correct for 30fps. The amount of motion blur, which you can see perfectly in his movie, enables the eye to see smooth motion.

3) What he didn't show was that as the shutter speed got shorter, the blade should have strobed. It didn't and that I can't explain. Perhaps that is why he didn't comment on the bad effects of high shutter speed.

4) Notice that when he uses 1/30th second for 30fps, the blur is so great that all detail in any kind of movement is lost. Goodbye to HD!

5) On the NEX camera you can't see the shutter speed before after pressing RECORD, but you can before. When it is too fast, you use an ND filter to make it slower. If it is too slow, you really have to add more light OR use a faster lens. (Or use more gain.)

In my experience, you need to own a F1.4 or F1.8 lens to keep gain low. An F2.8 is the slowest you can use which rules out using with of the zooms with less than 120 watts of light..

6) If you want a shallow DOF indoors, you can NOT use the 16mm wide! You need to buy a F1.8 50mm lens. You need magnification to help with decrease the DOF. Which means the camera needs to be placed further way for the same angle of view.

7) With a VG10 because you can set the shutter speed you can start there. But, I teach that it is usually best to set the aperture first. That's because doing so forces you to think first about DOF which is a CREATIVE choice.

Once you make this choice, its fundamentally just numbers.

And, that explains why the cheap NEX works because you can only set aperture. In fact, the NEX-3 with two lenses is practically being given away. The money you save can buy you a fast prime a long zoom. Which when I think about, means that when you buy an interchangeable lens camera you need to reserve the money to buy more lenses. The kit lens is not going to carry you far.

[Marcus Durham]

Anyone using this on their VG10 via an adaptor?

I'd been after a wide lens for a while after being seriously disappointed with the Sony 16mm (small size aside, it's totally failed to excite me).

I had an eye on a Sigma 10-20mm but I heard several reports that the build quality wasn't up to much. So I went for the Tokina 11-16mm X116 Pro DX (Nikon) which arrived yesterday after seeing some good reviews.

Took it out for a quick play today. Very impressed. It is wiiiiide and sports some lovely build quality. A proper focus ring which you can rack perfectly every time (are you listening Sony?) and at F2.8 it's faster than the Sigma.

OK so it's big and heavy but it's a nice piece of glass that opens up all sorts of possibilities. Line up an interesting shot and start panning and the movement is wonderful. Operation is unfussy, the only downside is that you have to make do with the aperture adjustment on your adaptor which in my case isn't terribly refined. But it works though.

If you get right up close to your subject you can get some lovely images. Although naturally the lens exaggerates perspective so it needs to be used with caution (it's easy to make things look very far away!).

There's no magnification with this lens so you get the full 11mm onto the sensor.

For me this lens is what the VG10 is about. It'll get me shots my other cameras cannot manage and really brings something to the party

Ken Rockwell has done a nice write up so I'll direct you there as he has all the technical info and seems to like the lens: Tokina 11-16mm Review

I won't post any images as the light was terrible today but there are loads of photos online taken using the camera and it acts in video mode exactly as you'd expect.

[Glen Vandermolen]

Does anyone have one of these a-mount lenses on their VG10? Specifically how it compares to the stock lens.
I'm thinking of getting one.

[Steve Mullen]

It's got a much nicer long-end than the Sony 18-55 at almost 150mm and a bit wider too. How fast is it? Hoe expensive is it?

55mm is simply too short for me. And, I found the 18-200 an unpleasant lens to use. Sony, IMHO blew it. The camera needs a 16mm to 96mm (6X) with a constant f/4 speed.

[Henry Williams]

I did a test with my VG10 and this effects lens at dusk. Results below. Not sure if the effect produced - the lens dosen't have an even focal plane - is for everyone, but personally quite a fan.

YouTube - sony nex-vg10 slr magic 35mm f1.7 video test

[Heath McKnight]

Sony NEX-VG10 HD AVCHD Camcorder

Rockwell, besides being a great photographer and writer, used to setup major studios' networks, especially for film editing on Avids and the like, so it's interesting what he has to say.

Highlights:

"The Sony NEX-VG10 is a large-sensor, interchangeable-lens HD camcorder. It can also stand-in for a 14MP DSLR for still shots. It's a real big-sensor HD camcorder, and an interchangeable-lens NEX E-mount still camera, all in one. Better than camcorders, zoom is direct with a zoom ring, not motorized.

"The funny thing about its sensor is that it is the same size as 35mm motion picture film! If you're shooting 1.85:1, you're shooting 24 x 13mm, and in 16:9, this camera shoots at 23.4 x 13.2mm. It's the same size as masked or 3-perf 35mm film.

"It records on SD cards, class 4 and faster. It makes great video without the panning defects common to DSLRs, and it makes still images handling like the Sony A55."

Lowlights:

"It does 29.97P only. It can't do 24P or 23.976P for serious cinematography. It doesn't do 60i for fluid motion for sports as most people expect from video.

"The NEX-VG10 has no instant manual-focus override, nor does it have a manual-focus mode switch. You have to flip-out the LCD, navigate menus and revert to the manual-focus-only mode the hard way!

"The NEX-VG10 offers no manual focus aids. There is no monitor zoom or anything else to help you nail manual focus other than by looking at the same monitor you always do."

Heath

[Dustin Moore]

Is it possible to get the LCD to display expanded focus while an NEX-5 is recording?

I searched all around but I can't quite find the answer. Thanks,