NX70 Test -- Wet Day in Antrim at DVinfo.net

Mike Beckett · June 13th, 2011, 11:28 PM

My first sample video:

There's no live sound on this. As per my post in Open DV Discussion, the 28 Mbps 50p PCM audio format seems to cause problems, as it is not universally supported yet.

Compressing the video for the Vimeo was challenging, I was struggling to get the compressed version smooth but also a reasonable size. It's a wee bit jerky in places, but the original video is butter smooth, rest assured.

* Footage is straight from the camera, no colour grading or any other processing other than adding titles and a few fades between shots.

Troy Moss · June 14th, 2011, 10:40 AM

Mike, I'm very impressed with this footage! I feel like I've just visited Antrim today! Thanks for getting the sample video on the forum. I'm expecting delivery of my Sony NX70 Wednesday or Thursday!

Mike Beckett · June 14th, 2011, 11:15 AM

Thanks Troy - it's a great little camera, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Not every day in Antrim involves pirates, thankfully!

Adam Palomer · June 16th, 2011, 10:30 PM

I was browsing vimeo, searching for sample videos from the NX70. One video had a comment that claimed NX70 videos all had blown highlights, soft edges and severe chromatic aberrations.

Would you say that there is some truth to that, or have you found that it all depends on the settings the operator uses?
Does the NX70 have custom adjustments for sharpness, saturation, or gamma?

Mike Beckett · June 17th, 2011, 02:33 AM

Adam,

Yes, I saw the somewhat sour-grapes comment on the other video.

First of all, the comments I read about the other fella's test video are unfair - first day with the camera, he won't have worked out all the nuances and handling of the thing. Also, I looked at it and it wasn't actually too bad! I didn't pixel-peep and might've missed a few seconds of it. But anyway.

In answer to your questions...

Adjusting the picture:
- There is no adjustment of sharpness, gamma or saturation that I have found (either in camera or in the manual)
- The only gamma-adjustment is the option to turn Cinematone on/off

So there are no picture profiles. This isn't a huge thing to me, I've never used them on my previous cameras, but other people may have different feelings about this.

Exposure/Chromatic Aberration:
This is a problem with all small camcorders that I have experienced in recent years. Some are worse than others.

If you have the Iris almost closed (f9.6 on this camera), the camera at telephoto, and have bright white contrasting with a dark background (e.g. the leaves of a strongly backlit tree), you will see purple fringing, or Chromatic Aberration.

This happened on my Panasonic HMC40, and my Sony V1E. It is common with small camcorders with small lenses. These cameras are really designed for up-close documentary work, not shooting black birds sitting on TV aerials with the sun behind them just to stress the pixel-peepers among us.

The solution is to keep the iris wider. You will need to either bump up the frame rate (which I don't like), or add ND filters (which I do, but it is of course awkward). I am getting a fader ND soon for this, so I can just carry one ND instead of a whole stack of them.

I do not know if the NX70 has an integrated ND like other small cameras (e.g. HMC40). I do not think it does, but it is hard for me to tell.

I threw away some shots from my test footage that were over-exposed. It's a learning thing, once you get used to the new camera you can work around it.

June 13th, 2011, 11:28 PM	#1
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	NX70 Test -- Wet Day in Antrim My first sample video: Sony NX70 Test - Wet day in Antrim on Vimeo There's no live sound on this. As per my post in Open DV Discussion, the 28 Mbps 50p PCM audio format seems to cause problems, as it is not universally supported yet. Compressing the video for the Vimeo was challenging, I was struggling to get the compressed version smooth but also a reasonable size. It's a wee bit jerky in places, but the original video is butter smooth, rest assured. * Footage is straight from the camera, no colour grading or any other processing other than adding titles and a few fades between shots. Last edited by Mike Beckett; June 14th, 2011 at 02:01 AM.

June 14th, 2011, 10:40 AM	#2
Troy Moss Major Player Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA Posts: 253	Re: The new SONY HXR NX70 “Water & Dust proof” Mike, I'm very impressed with this footage! I feel like I've just visited Antrim today! Thanks for getting the sample video on the forum. I'm expecting delivery of my Sony NX70 Wednesday or Thursday!

June 14th, 2011, 11:15 AM	#3
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: The new SONY HXR NX70 “Water & Dust proof” Thanks Troy - it's a great little camera, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Not every day in Antrim involves pirates, thankfully!

June 16th, 2011, 10:30 PM	#4
Adam Palomer Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Summit, NJ Posts: 169	Re: NX70 Test -- Wet Day in Antrim I was browsing vimeo, searching for sample videos from the NX70. One video had a comment that claimed NX70 videos all had blown highlights, soft edges and severe chromatic aberrations. Would you say that there is some truth to that, or have you found that it all depends on the settings the operator uses? Does the NX70 have custom adjustments for sharpness, saturation, or gamma?

June 17th, 2011, 02:33 AM	#5
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: NX70 Test -- Wet Day in Antrim Adam, Yes, I saw the somewhat sour-grapes comment on the other video. First of all, the comments I read about the other fella's test video are unfair - first day with the camera, he won't have worked out all the nuances and handling of the thing. Also, I looked at it and it wasn't actually too bad! I didn't pixel-peep and might've missed a few seconds of it. But anyway. In answer to your questions... Adjusting the picture: - There is no adjustment of sharpness, gamma or saturation that I have found (either in camera or in the manual) - The only gamma-adjustment is the option to turn Cinematone on/off So there are no picture profiles. This isn't a huge thing to me, I've never used them on my previous cameras, but other people may have different feelings about this. Exposure/Chromatic Aberration: This is a problem with all small camcorders that I have experienced in recent years. Some are worse than others. If you have the Iris almost closed (f9.6 on this camera), the camera at telephoto, and have bright white contrasting with a dark background (e.g. the leaves of a strongly backlit tree), you will see purple fringing, or Chromatic Aberration. This happened on my Panasonic HMC40, and my Sony V1E. It is common with small camcorders with small lenses. These cameras are really designed for up-close documentary work, not shooting black birds sitting on TV aerials with the sun behind them just to stress the pixel-peepers among us. The solution is to keep the iris wider. You will need to either bump up the frame rate (which I don't like), or add ND filters (which I do, but it is of course awkward). I am getting a fader ND soon for this, so I can just carry one ND instead of a whole stack of them. I do not know if the NX70 has an integrated ND like other small cameras (e.g. HMC40). I do not think it does, but it is hard for me to tell. I threw away some shots from my test footage that were over-exposed. It's a learning thing, once you get used to the new camera you can work around it.