Should i buy HDR-AX2000 or HXR-NX5U?

[Andrew Kiu]

I very interested to get new HXR-NX5U or HDR-AX2000 for use with corporate & wedding Video. Anyone can advice me which one to go & best for every penny? Should i invest few more bucks for NX5U or just enough for HDR-AX2000?

any comment ?

[Ron Evans]

Get the NX5U. It can shoot 720P, can attach the FMU128, HD/SDI, comes with shotgun mic to name a few advantages. Published price difference here in Canada barely cover the cost of the mic.

Ron Evans

[Buba Kastorski]

if I were you I'd try to find used EX1, there are plenty now from people switching to EX1r,
i shoot with both, the difference is huge.

[Richard Lacey]

Originally Posted by Buba Kastorski

if I were you I'd try to find used EX1, there are plenty now from people switching to EX1r,
i shoot with both, the difference is huge.

That's a good suggestion.
Had been looking at the NX5 but I'll keep an eye out for used EX1s.
Now that they do an official SDHC adapter for the EX1 one of my biggest gripes has been removed.

[Adam Gold]

But going back to the original question...

Never before have the prices of the two versions of a cam been so close, at least here in the States. For the added features I'd go for the NX5 if those are the two you want to choose between.

[Jay West]

Andrew --

I’ve just ordered an NX5 but I am not sure the answer will be as clear for you as it would be if you were buying the camera in North America.

I do not know what it costs to buy PAL versions of the NX and AX in Brunei, but a quick Google search indicates the Australians are selling the PAL version of the NX5 for about $1100 (Au$) more than the PAL version of the AX2000h. Here in the U.S., the NTSC-compatible NX5u costs only $500 (US$) more than the AX2000. Across the border in Canada, at Vistek.com, the price difference used to be only $200 (Ca$) but right now seems to be down to a mere $50 (Ca$). As best I can tell, the Australian dollar is currently valued at about 92% of the US dollar while Canadian dollars are about 98 or 99% of US dollars, so these price differences provide roughly accurate comparisons. Another thing is that Sony is offering $500 (US$) rebates on the optional flash memory recording units, FMU128, at least in the US and at least through April 30.

I know what you mean about trying to get the most out of every penny. I work in a rural area where funding is tight and wedding videos are usually a budgetary afterthought. Because of that. I have favored “prosumer” versions of Sony cameras over the significantly more expensive “pro” versions.

I’d probably get the AX2000 if I had to pay the equivalent of $1000 or $1700 more for the NX5/FMU combo

The FMU — or, more specifically, the capability for recording redundant data streams — is the main reason that I’m ordering the NX5. I’ve got MRC units for my tape cameras and I just need the peace of mind that back-up recording provides when making the multi-cam wedding and event videos that I do.

But, maybe I’m just paranoid? After all, aren’t other wedding videographers happily using tapeless single-media cameras like the EX1 mentioned above, and doesn’t the new EX1r even work with SDHC cards, too?

If you aren’t worried about dual media redundancy, I see three to six other features that may make the NX5 more useful than the AX2000 for wedding and event videography. Whether these differences are worth an extra $500 — or $1000 — is something you have to decide for yourself. For me, the six useful differences are:

1. External ECM-XMI shotgun microphone. Ron Evans indicated that it was probably worth about $200. This is added value for the NX5, but only if you do not yet have a good shotgun (directional) microphone. (Or, maybe you just want another mike.) In my case, I already have an array of good external microphones — purchased with the money I saved by buying prosumer versions of past cameras — so this “extra” did not figure in my purchasing decision.

2. More image adjustment control settings. While the AX2000 offers some image adjustments and presets, the NX5 offers a wider and deeper range of them, I want them. For example, the NX5 allows you to adjust color temps for white balancing in 100° K increments, a feature that I think will be useful in dealing with some of the weird lighting I sometimes see at wedding receptions. If you are not familiar with the extra adjustments such as gammas and black levels, there are DvInfo members who are very knowledgeable and who will probably be posting downloadable presets. If you haven’t used these kinds of adjustments before, check out the libraries of the ones posted in the Canon XH forum where people have been experimenting with them for the last four years. If you check out the samples, you can see what these kinds of adjustments can do for your video. (I found those downladable presets invaluable for understanding what all the functions do an how to use them with my Canon XH-A1). We’ll probably see similar postings in this forum. I’d guess that the people who will make those postings will be more likely to have NX5s because it has more adjustment capabilities, so there is likely to be more presets posted for the NX5 than the AX2000.

3. Smooth transitioning gain and white balance adjustments. These functions seem useful for places with abrupt changes in lighting. For example, when panning from a well lit stage to the dimly lit audience, I could flick the gain switch from low to medium (or high) without having it look like I switched on a light. For me, the smooth transitioning functions seems a definite plus.

4. Rear-mounted cold shoe kit. A nice amenity that I’ll use. For example, I’ll mount the small receiver for a wireless lavalier mike on the rear shoe where it will not interfere with the LCD screen the way it would if I put it on the front shoe, and the weight will balance better for handheld shots with the camera. Of course, with an AX2000, you could probably do something similar with hook and loop tape (aka “velcro”®).

5. The NX5u can shoot 720p/60 (or 720p/50 in PAL countries). This combination of frame rate and resolution seems to do a particularly nice job with fast motion video such as sports and dance performances. However, with my multi-cam shoots, my other cameras only shoot 1080i/HDV, my customers mostly want regular DVDs and, in any event, it doesn’t look like any of my software would allow me to burn a Blue-Ray disk at 720p. (Is that even part of the Blue-Ray specs?) For me, 720p/60, like the extra microphone, is not something I would use very much.

6. The NX comes with an NP-F770 battery which is added value; the AX comes with the shorter-lived NP-F570. The NP 570 is not enough for most weddings or events. However, with my now-retired VX2000s, I shot some weddings and receptions on single NP-F750s. Since the AX and NX don’t have the power-drain of tape-drives, I suspect they’ll get even more run-time out of batteries. (But, do note the postings about abbreviated low-battery warnings and abrupt shut-downs with the NX5). Currently, NP770 batteries cost about $70 (US$) and NP970s are $100. (Online prices may be less, but you usually have to pay shipping.)

There are other differences that I’ve gleaned from reviews (like the excellent one by Adam Wilt) and comparing the manuals. While I have concluded that these do not matter to me, other folks may find these additional features are very useful or even crucial to what they do. Here’s my list:

* High-speed zoom: Both the NX and AX have adjustable zoom speeds, but the fastest NX setting is 1.5 times faster than the fastest setting for the AX. I’m dubious about the value of this in wedding videography. Even though multi-cam shooting allows me to cut away during zooms, I’ve always tried to shoot as though my primary cam was the only one, and that means slow zooms.

* GPS, timecode setting, & date recording. Truly cool stuff but with no apparent application in the paying jobs that I have.

* Cine-camera controls— Numerical Zoom Display, Focus Distance Display in Feet or Meters, Shutter Angle Display, and a Black & White EVF mode. Seems likely useful for cinema-type shooting but would get in my way in my work.

* "Focus Macro" switching: It’s there if you need it. I don’t.

* "World Upgrade" capability: Important if you need to shoot both PAL and NTSC formats on the same camera. I don’t.

* SDI/HD-SDI Output Port: you would not be seriously considering an AX2000 if you have or are planning to get SDI equipment (monitors, i/o cards, decks). SDI is another level of expense and expertise up from what I do.

* TC LINK and Remote Timecode Rest: If you have several NX5 cameras, this would be useful for synching for multi-cam shoots. I’ll probably only have one NX5 so I’ll keep using still-camera-flashes as synch pulses.

* Extra Viewfinder Markers: Both the AX2000 and NX5 provide LCD/viewfinder "guideframes" but the NX5 provides additional options including “safe zone” markers.

* Colorbars with Tone: Maybe broadcasters want these?

* Individually Switchable Front & Rear Recording Lamps. The AX and NX have little red lights on the front and rear of the camera to signal to other people that the camera is recording. Most theater groups in my area and some wedding officiants want them shut off. I don’t use them at all, so I do not care about the ability to shut only one of them off.

* Hour Meter: Some folks need this. I don’t.

[Chad Whelan]

Andrew

Jay perfectly defined the differences in his post. You need to ask your self are you going to use these extra features that come with the NX5? I went back and forth with this decision myself for a while and ended up buying the 2000. The only thing that really appealed to me about the NX5 were the extra image control settings. You will probably find most people will tell you to buy the NX5 because of the price proximity and you get a lot more features. The 2000 is still a very nice camera so if you are not going to need these features then save the cash and buy more toys! I just received mine yesterday and have not had a lot of time to play with it yet. I will say that a side by side comparison to my Z1 in low light is a huge difference! I am a wedding videographer as well and cannot wait to get this camera in the field this week.

[Jay West]

A correction to my overlong post. 720p/60 is apparently a Blue Ray format and Encore CS4 does seem to burn to that format. I just had not looked at the right menu.

[Jay West]

One more oversight. I forgot something else that favors the NX5, at least for me, and that is the availability of Linear PCM audio (LPCM).

The AX2000, as well as the ZR/FX1000 and pretty much every HDV cam records compressed audio streams, which are either a form of AC-3 or MPEG Layer 2 Audio. “Uncompressed” PCM is what it gets turned into when it hits the timeline in your NLE. Uncompressed PCM is also what we get from DV cameras, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes was not. The good thing is that PCM seems somewhat more forgiving; it seems less prone to clipping and drop-outs than compressed audio from HDV. On the other hand, the preamps in DV cams like the VX2000 seemed to have hiss and other noise that was noticeable in quiet passages. I think the preamps in the Z5 and FX1000 are noticably “cleaner.” I’m guessing that this goodness carries over into their corporate cousins, the AX2000 and NX5. But, do not mistake what I am saying here. I am not saying that compressed audio is evil. It often can be just fine, especially for conversational and speaking voices. However, when I do have to tinker with audio — by applying filters or effects, maybe trying to tone down HVAC noise or getting rid of hum from florescent light ballasts, trying to balance out oddities in the room — I seem to have an easier time with natively recorded PCM than with audio that has been de-compressed into PCM. I mean simply that editing native PCM audio is less likely to produce unexpected artifacts, blips, glitches or other such oddities. (And, for the audio purists out there, I do work with audio professionals whenever I can, but most of my gigs just do not have room in the budget for it.) So, to me, having having LPCM audio is another benefit to getting the NX5 instead of the AX2000.

[Cristian Adrian Olariu]

Originally Posted by Jay West

Andrew --

...there are DvInfo members who are very knowledgeable and who will probably be posting downloadable presets.

Unfortunately NX5 and AX2000 don't have the capability to export presets on memory cards, unlike the Z5. This is one big drawback in my opinion. You have only six slots wich you can store the custom picture profiles, and they can't be renamed. So, the only way to share the profiles on the forum is to write the settings manually, one by one.

[Jay West]

"Unfortunately NX5 and AX2000 don't have the capability to export presets on memory cards, unlike the Z5. This is one big drawback in my opinion. You have only six slots wich you can store the custom picture profiles, and they can't be renamed. So, the only way to share the profiles on the forum is to write the settings manually, one by one."


Well, that's disappointing.

I thought that it would work like the Z5, but it sure is not in the manual.

[Charlie Steiner]

can an NX5's TC be synced to another camera (free run)? I just did a 2-camera shoot with a Z5 and Z7 and TC sync was easy. recorded tape on the Z7 and card on the Z5 and it was so easy to line them up on the timeline, even with different stops and starts. was thinking to exchange the Z5 for an NX5 and don't want to give up this ability... charlie

[Adam Gold]

Yes, pages 44-45 of the NX5 manual tell exactly how to do this.

But the point may be moot as most NLEs do not properly transfer over the TC of file-based clips. Tape, no problem. This seems to be true with not only the NX5 but also with the Z5 when using the MRC1k CF recorder, and holds true with Premiere, Vegas and Final Cut. Edius, from all reports, works fine.

You got TC to come in with card and Z5? Really? Which NLE are you using?

[Charlie Steiner]

it works fine in media composer. you just transfer to the computer with sony's utility and then drag the files into a bin --- they fast-import and show up with the original free run tc.
- charlie

[Adam Gold]

Good to know there are at least a couple of NLEs that properly support the TC.