VG2O Questions Answered- Footage coming.

[Paul Rickford]

'I have a good mate buying the VG-20 in around a month. He used a VG-10 for a little while and shot some excellent stuff on that. I'll get him to report back on it when he has it sometime in December.'

Please do, the more user reports the better!
Has anyone found the VG20 manual on line yet by the way?

Stu- sent you a pm

Regards

[Bumki Cho]

Chris,

Any thoughts you can share on aliasing, moire, and rolling skew would be great.

Thanks,

Bumki

[Will Vazquez]

It would be crazy, not to mention false advertising, if the VG20 doesn't have "6 Creative Style Settings" as they mention in their specs of the camera on their website, not to mention it also says so in the description on BH's website product page. It doesn't specify that the settings are just for stills, so there has to be a way to access them.

I just ordered the camera and can't wait to test it out. I'm already in love with the NEX-5n and find the image more cinematic than my FS100. Sure the FS100 is cleaner and sharper, but it looks a little video-like, as does the F3.

[Chris Barcellos]

I had it out at a golf course today to try 60p, and outdoor shooting. With a lot of sun, and trying to keep shutter at 1/50 while shooting 24p, I had to shoot with iris closed down pretty low. I am also learning some new things about interface that weren't obvious.

Hopefully, I will uncover 6 "creative styles". I thought I had seen that some where too, but wondered if I had gotten it confused with another product. I dont' see it in index of manual. I am attaching manual for all to read. Maybe some of you VG 10 users can dig it out. Meantime, that is what the rest of my Friday night will be about.

[Will Vazquez]

Chris, thanks for attaching the handbook. You're right. There is no mention of the Creative styles, but it is clearly in the VG20's specs mentioned everywhere.

This is a HUGE deal! That might mean that Sony got scared it might cannibalize the FS100 sales and deliberately handicapped the VG20 last minute. If this is the case, then we must let the news out as soon as possible in order for all the Blogs to make it public. This way we may try to force Sony into updating it via firmware. There is no way that the NEX-5N has more creative control over video filming that the VG20.

I sure hope you uncover the setting somewhere. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Steve Mullen]

TRY THIS:


Use the Brightness/Color menu to go to Creative Style. You can now select one of the Styles.

Press the Options (soft-button) to gain access to three image quality items: Contrast Adjustment, Saturation Adjustment, and Sharpness Adjustment.

* All three settings are controlled in the same way.
* Roll the Dial to increase a setting.
* Roll the Dial to decrease a setting.
* Tap the Dial to exit from the image quality items.
* Tap the Dial again to exit from the Creative Style menu.

The maximum setting is +3 and the minimum is setting –3.

Use the Contrast control to increase or decrease contrast.
When contrast is increased, minimum signal values (black level) are lowered while maximum signal values (white level) are increased. Increasing contrast when shooting in a high-contrast situation forces whites to be recorded as a very strong signal—well above 100 IRE.

When contrast is decreased, minimum signal values (black level) values are raised while maximum signal values (white level) are decreased.

If this works you might want to get my NEX eBook. There's a lot to learn! :)

[Chris Barcellos]

Steve:

These are all unfamiliar terms from the Menu system I have on board. I am guessing they have rearranged this whole menu system ? Have you actually seen the camera yet ??


Here are items I have been trying to figure where they are, as posted in Sony's Features ad for this camera:

Eight White Balance Modes:

These help you get the shot by optimizing the camera for specific shooting situations. Select from Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash, and Custom modes.

Only 4 settings i can find- auto, custom, incadescent, daylight..


Six Creative Style settings

Control how the camera processes your images with six finishing styles: Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset and B&W. You can even fine-tune contrast, saturation, and sharpness to your personal taste.

Cannot locate it.

Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO):

Dynamic Range Optimizer improves results with backlit subjects and recovers details hidden in shadows while maintaining highlight detail. Settings include Auto, Level with a choice of five operating levels and Off.

Unable to locate in book or on menu system.

[Jeff Hinson]

Originally Posted by Will Vazquez

It would be crazy, not to mention false advertising, if the VG20 doesn't have "6 Creative Style Settings" as they mention in their specs of the camera on their website, not to mention it also says so in the description on BH's website product page. It doesn't specify that the settings are just for stills, so there has to be a way to access them.

I just ordered the camera and can't wait to test it out. I'm already in love with the NEX-5n and find the image more cinematic than my FS100. Sure the FS100 is cleaner and sharper, but it looks a little video-like, as does the F3.

______________________________________________________________________________________

I dont have my VG 20 yet....but I have the Nex 5N. What ever setup you use on stills in the 5N are used when switching to video. On the VG20, are the 6 creative styles available in a separate "stills mode menu"..... Just a guess.

new youtube video with clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTy0sTCvl6g
Jeff

[Chris Barcellos]

Just not seeing it. Anywhere.

Here is what menus operate like. See anything close to the 5n ?

Are There Missing Menu's in Sony Nex VG20H ? - YouTube

[Jeff Hinson]

Yes, the menu is different than the 5N...
The 5n has a "brightness/color" click on the main menu. This contains the "creative style presets" etc. This is NOT on the VG20 it seems. Try selecting "stills" mode to see if the brightness/color menu appears.

Look here........ Sony Alpha NEX-5N Touch Screen Menus - YouTube

Jeff

[Paul Rickford]

Reading the manual it's now clear that unlike the VG10 which was born out of the original NEX-5's identical firmware and still camera divisions take on video, the VG20 has been passed over to the traditional Video division who have based the firmware menu structure for video and stills on the CX700/NX70

That opens up a few interesting scenario's that might work for or against choices

1/ Keep or buy the original VG10 to match with the newer NEX5N or NEX7

2/ If you have the NX70/CX700 and want to mix footage Buy the VG20

One thing I would NOT do is buy the VG20 with the view that you will have a chance of getting a firmware update giving you creative control over colour/sharpness out of Sony, as the Video division has dumped that choice for quite a while now on the last few CX models

[Jeff Hinson]

Paul,
Good point..thanks.

I just noticed BH photo is changing their product description on the VG 20 with lens.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/818267-REG/Sony_NEXVG20H_NEX_VG20H_Interchangeable_Lens_HD.html
Jeff

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Steve:

These are all unfamiliar terms from the Menu system I have on board. I am guessing they have rearranged this whole menu system ? Have you actually seen the camera yet ??


Here are items I have been trying to figure where they are, as posted in Sony's Features ad for this camera:

Eight White Balance Modes:

These help you get the shot by optimizing the camera for specific shooting situations. Select from Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash, and Custom modes.

Only 4 settings i can find- auto, custom, incadescent, daylight..


Six Creative Style settings

Control how the camera processes your images with six finishing styles: Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset and B&W. You can even fine-tune contrast, saturation, and sharpness to your personal taste.

Cannot locate it.

Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO):

Dynamic Range Optimizer improves results with backlit subjects and recovers details hidden in shadows while maintaining highlight detail. Settings include Auto, Level with a choice of five operating levels and Off.

Unable to locate in book or on menu system.

DRO is stills only.

FLASH is only for stills.
 Set [White Balance] to [Auto] or adjust the color in [One Push] under white or cool white fluorescent lamps.


There are four camera "modes" it seems:

Press the MODE button to Photo or Still

Use the MENU soft key to select Photo or Still.

My best GUESS is that setting physical MODE to Still will get you a different set of menu options than if you select Movie.

My hope is that in Still MODE you'll find one of the six LCD menus will have Creative Styles sub-menu from which you can get to the adjustments you want. They should apply to movies.

ALSO, look closely at every menu. Sony "hides" EXTRA content selections that are related to the item you are working with here. For example, the +/- lets you trim a WB setting by using the dial. The Custom WB setting lets you define your own Color Temp in degrees or your own Color Filter (G to Mg).

You may find the "missing" WB options here too -- for stills only.

You will need a Vario ND filter to get shallow DOF in bright light at 1/60th.

[Paul Rickford]

Steve

It's not going to happen.

The NEXVG20 has clearly left the NEX family and moved over to the Video side.(firmware at least)

If it was available we would have found it by now in the manual

Sony USA has cut and pasted the VG10 and VG20 details, a bad mistake, but nothing new for them, check the UK site plus the eu press release, no mention of any of the 'missing' features, Spec just as Chris's VG20 apart from pal frame rates

[Jeff Hinson]

So how does the lack of preset/effects menu in the VG20, affect your opinion of the overall camera?
Will this keep you from purchasing the VG20 over the VG10?

Thanks,
Jeff