NX70 First Impressions

Troy Moss · June 30th, 2011, 06:00 PM

Is it the camera or the person holding the camera? (No disrespect to any of the current post). I can only say one thing "Look at Mike Beckett's video sample"! Moving leaves, etc. It all looks good to me! Sorry I didn't get my sample footage up yet, but I'm very impressed with my footage too. Sometimes, it's definitely the person using the camera! So far, so good for my Sony NX70! (click on the link below).

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxc...ple-video.html

Mike Beckett · July 1st, 2011, 02:00 AM

Thanks Troy... I don't even consider that brilliant work, it's just what we call messing around. The camera does have its limitations, and doubtless it will not suit everybody's requirements, but it's fine for me.

Yes, there are problems with chromatic aberration/purple fringing (mainly at full telephoto with extreme contrast), and pixel-peepers may find this distressing. I had to drop a couple of good shots that were spoiled by this, but when I show the footage to what I call "normal people" they just don't see things like that.

Bart Walczak · July 1st, 2011, 07:00 AM

Troy, it's definately the camera or more likely the codec. The video you posted exhibits the same loss of fine detail that I saw in our footage. I guess it's just a matter of what you're accustomed to.

Mike Beckett · July 1st, 2011, 07:06 AM

Bart,

If you mean my video - the original video is fine, I don't see any issues. The .mp4 download (on the Vimeo page) loses some resolution, probably due to my inexperience with 1920x1080 50p encoding, and the Vimeo streaming version has been mangled in a few places.

I'm not arguing against you here, there is some loss of detail in very busy scenes, it's a matter of whether or not one can live with it. I think it's a limit of the codec.

John Rakis · July 6th, 2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

Remember the standard definition is MPEG2 just like a DVD. It's not DV so editing will be just as if you were editing files from a DVD and recompression will introduce artifacts. They will go straight into an authoring program. Dave , in auto, with auto intelligent switched on , the camera will switch to low lux mode if it thinks it will get a better picture. In manual this has to be switched in manually. Low lux will give a picture that is almost see in the dark with full colour.

Ron Evans

I decided to film the interviews and the conference video in high definition (standard high definition mode) and will render them to MP4 (the final products will be viewed on the Internet). The conference video was filmed in a room with poor lighting (the overhead lighting was not functioning and they needed to throw some spotlights on the subjects who were speaking). It worked, but I have no doubt that my VX2100 would have required less gain to film the same scene. I have not finished editing the interview videos, but have the sense that I need to increase the wattage of the lamps that I use.

Jean Philippe Stuart · July 6th, 2011, 03:15 PM

I need the camera to connect to a DVD recorder like the Sony MC10. The instructions say it will. It also says "Note: Cannot burn HD PS and FX to DVD or AVCHD disc). That's OK, I'll use the image quality FH (17 Mbps) 1920 x 1080/60i.

But question, before I did this direct transfer to DVD from a Sony FX1 using the tape player on the camcorder. The DVD would stop burning when the tape would be done. How will this work with the NX70? Can I control the time I record with the camcorder? 1 hour per memory stick and it's be the same as for the DV tapes on the other camera?

What about if I record 3 hours on a memory stick or on the internal memory of the NX70? How can I do a clean work?

Note: I will not use a computer and double/triple the work time.
Thank you

John Rakis · July 9th, 2011, 11:17 PM

I took some outdoor shots today using a lightweight tripod. Because of the bright sun, I used the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen. The viewfinder proved very adequate, but I was frustrated when I tried to frame the footage using the power zoom lever. It was impossible to control its speed sufficiently to make fine adjustments. The manual ring was much better suited for that task.

John Rakis · July 11th, 2011, 10:48 PM

I took some more test footage outdoors, this time using the intelligent auto feature:

YouTube - ‪Sony Test 3‬&rlm;

I'm very impressed by the active steady shot feature which allowed me to walk and shoot at the same time. It's like having a steady cam. The macro feature is also excellent. Even with some practice, the LCD touch menu can be difficult to use, especially in bright sunlight. All in all though, the convenience of its small size and the functionality of its auto features makes up for this.

Bill Hollinger · July 12th, 2011, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Rakis

I took some outdoor shots today using a lightweight tripod. Because of the bright sun, I used the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen. The viewfinder proved very adequate, but I was frustrated when I tried to frame the footage using the power zoom lever. It was impossible to control its speed sufficiently to make fine adjustments. The manual ring was much better suited for that task.

HXR-NX70U Test on Vimeo

Thanks for that thought! I’ve been using it for the aperture adjustment. It is smaller and lighter than the EX1R, but more difficult to use because I’m not familiar with it yet, and everything is done via the LCD menu. It is too bright outside to use the LCD, but I did notice that a small zoom icon appears in the viewfinder when the zoom lever is depressed far enough to activate the zoom. The problem I find with it is the pressure and depth it has to be depressed before it is activated, and then when it starts to zoom, it takes an incredibly sensitive touch to zoom slowly. Generally this results in the zoom leaping ahead, far past the point I ultimately want to reach. Is this something that can be changed in a software update?

Bill

Bill Hollinger · July 12th, 2011, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Rakis

I took some more test footage outdoors, this time using the intelligent auto feature:

YouTube - ‪Sony Test 3‬&rlm;

I'm very impressed by the active steady shot feature which allowed me to walk and shoot at the same time. It's like having a steady cam. The macro feature is also excellent. Even with some practice, the LCD touch menu can be difficult to use, especially in bright sunlight. All in all though, the convenience of its small size and the functionality of its auto features makes up for this.

John,

Was everything set to auto? Even the WB? Also, were you using the normal stabilization mode or the active mode? This is very nice footage which covers many areas. Thanks!

Bill

John Rakis · July 12th, 2011, 07:21 AM

Bill, - Yes, everything was set to auto including white balance. Stabilization was in the active mode for all the clips. With regard to the zoom lever, some users believe it can be fixed with a software update because they don't experience the problem when using a remote controller.

Glenn Baren · July 13th, 2011, 09:45 PM

@John nice footage Looks soft to me but might be the encoding. I'm sending my NX70 back...for nearly $3000 the main rocker should work! Sad,I had high hopes for that cam.

Bill Hollinger · July 14th, 2011, 05:46 AM

I tried the IA setting, and noticed it was choosing fast shutter speeds - for example the aperture was f2.8 and the shutter speed 125th and 180th at 60P. Maybe there is a way to set the shutter speed and have the camera adjust the aperture?

60P plays smoothly in Premier Pro on my new Apple laptop, but it is jerky in FCP and Quicktime on my old Mac Pro Intel desktop - hopefully Apple releases a new version soon. Also, thanks to Mike, I have sound at 60P!

June 30th, 2011, 06:00 PM	#16
Troy Moss Major Player Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA Posts: 253	Re: NX70 First Impressions Is it the camera or the person holding the camera? (No disrespect to any of the current post). I can only say one thing "Look at Mike Beckett's video sample"! Moving leaves, etc. It all looks good to me! Sorry I didn't get my sample footage up yet, but I'm very impressed with my footage too. Sometimes, it's definitely the person using the camera! So far, so good for my Sony NX70! (click on the link below). http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxc...ple-video.html

July 1st, 2011, 02:00 AM	#17
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: NX70 First Impressions Thanks Troy... I don't even consider that brilliant work, it's just what we call messing around. The camera does have its limitations, and doubtless it will not suit everybody's requirements, but it's fine for me. Yes, there are problems with chromatic aberration/purple fringing (mainly at full telephoto with extreme contrast), and pixel-peepers may find this distressing. I had to drop a couple of good shots that were spoiled by this, but when I show the footage to what I call "normal people" they just don't see things like that.

July 1st, 2011, 07:00 AM	#18
Bart Walczak Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Warsaw/Poland Posts: 716	Re: NX70 First Impressions Troy, it's definately the camera or more likely the codec. The video you posted exhibits the same loss of fine detail that I saw in our footage. I guess it's just a matter of what you're accustomed to. __________________ Creative Impatience - The Solace of Simple Solutions. A few useful plugins for Adobe users, and my remarks on the tools and the craft in general.

July 1st, 2011, 07:06 AM	#19
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: NX70 First Impressions Bart, If you mean my video - the original video is fine, I don't see any issues. The .mp4 download (on the Vimeo page) loses some resolution, probably due to my inexperience with 1920x1080 50p encoding, and the Vimeo streaming version has been mangled in a few places. I'm not arguing against you here, there is some loss of detail in very busy scenes, it's a matter of whether or not one can live with it. I think it's a limit of the codec.

July 6th, 2011, 03:15 PM	#21
Jean Philippe Stuart New Boot Join Date: May 2011 Location: Beverly Hills Posts: 6	Re: NX70 First Impressions I need the camera to connect to a DVD recorder like the Sony MC10. The instructions say it will. It also says "Note: Cannot burn HD PS and FX to DVD or AVCHD disc). That's OK, I'll use the image quality FH (17 Mbps) 1920 x 1080/60i. But question, before I did this direct transfer to DVD from a Sony FX1 using the tape player on the camcorder. The DVD would stop burning when the tape would be done. How will this work with the NX70? Can I control the time I record with the camcorder? 1 hour per memory stick and it's be the same as for the DV tapes on the other camera? What about if I record 3 hours on a memory stick or on the internal memory of the NX70? How can I do a clean work? Note: I will not use a computer and double/triple the work time. Thank you

July 9th, 2011, 11:17 PM	#22
John Rakis Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 43	Re: NX70 First Impressions I took some outdoor shots today using a lightweight tripod. Because of the bright sun, I used the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen. The viewfinder proved very adequate, but I was frustrated when I tried to frame the footage using the power zoom lever. It was impossible to control its speed sufficiently to make fine adjustments. The manual ring was much better suited for that task. HXR-NX70U Test on Vimeo

July 11th, 2011, 10:48 PM	#23
John Rakis Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 43	Re: NX70 First Impressions I took some more test footage outdoors, this time using the intelligent auto feature: YouTube - ‪Sony Test 3‬&rlm; I'm very impressed by the active steady shot feature which allowed me to walk and shoot at the same time. It's like having a steady cam. The macro feature is also excellent. Even with some practice, the LCD touch menu can be difficult to use, especially in bright sunlight. All in all though, the convenience of its small size and the functionality of its auto features makes up for this.

July 12th, 2011, 07:21 AM	#26
John Rakis Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 43	Re: NX70 First Impressions Bill, - Yes, everything was set to auto including white balance. Stabilization was in the active mode for all the clips. With regard to the zoom lever, some users believe it can be fixed with a software update because they don't experience the problem when using a remote controller.

July 13th, 2011, 09:45 PM	#27
Glenn Baren New Boot Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Granada Hills,CA Posts: 12	Re: NX70 First Impressions @John nice footage Looks soft to me but might be the encoding. I'm sending my NX70 back...for nearly $3000 the main rocker should work! Sad,I had high hopes for that cam.

July 14th, 2011, 05:46 AM	#28
Bill Hollinger Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: McLean, VA USA Posts: 31	Re: NX70 First Impressions I tried the IA setting, and noticed it was choosing fast shutter speeds - for example the aperture was f2.8 and the shutter speed 125th and 180th at 60P. Maybe there is a way to set the shutter speed and have the camera adjust the aperture? 60P plays smoothly in Premier Pro on my new Apple laptop, but it is jerky in FCP and Quicktime on my old Mac Pro Intel desktop - hopefully Apple releases a new version soon. Also, thanks to Mike, I have sound at 60P!