Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! at DVinfo.net

James Kuhn · November 24th, 2011, 09:37 AM

Very nice camera. It's a lot more 'solid' than I expected, I wouldn't want to spend a full day 'hand holding' this little pup. I haven't had a chance to 'test drive' it, yet. I'll do that this weekend.

Thanks Scott at TapeWorks Texas, Inc. for your help with my purchasing decision.!

Regards,

J.

Stelios Christofides · January 29th, 2012, 10:52 AM

I have never done so much research before on getting a second camera to the Z5 I have, and after spending hours on this column and others I finally ordered my NX5E. Arriving on Tuesday and can't wait...

stelios

James Kuhn · January 29th, 2012, 01:35 PM

Stelios...I also spent an inordinate amount of time deciding on the 'NX5'. In fact, I have spent a tremendous amount of research hours on all of my DV purchases. The 'NX5' seems to be a pretty good camera and it has a lot of capability for a <$4K camera. I use mine in conjunction with an Atomos Samurai field recorder, the quality of video it produces is pretty astounding. Of course, I'm no expert and I'm sure there are 'orders-of-magnitude' better cameras out there, just not too many for <$4K.

I'm sure you'll like the rig.

Best regards,

J.

Ron Evans · January 29th, 2012, 04:42 PM

I have had my NX5U since they came out in Canada and it took me a while to get the best from it. At first I was disappointed that it didn't look as good as my consumer XR500 in side by side!!!! It has taken some time to get profiles set up as I like, make sure flicker and macro are off etc etc and learn how to spend a lot of time focusing a shot. I am now happy only thing I wish it had compared to the little cameras is less video noise. I have the FMU128 and it is great.

For the money its a good camera and I am sure you will like it a lot.

Ron Evans

Michael Bray · January 29th, 2012, 06:29 PM

The NX5 is certainly a great camera that will produce some fantastic images...but as Ron mentioned, it needs to be "fine tuned" via the picture profiles. Straight out of the box, the colors are very dull and lifeless. Ron also hits the nail on the head with regard to video noise. IMHO, anything above +6db gain produces too much noise. YMMV.

Enjoy your new toy.

Mauricio Rodriguez Campos · January 29th, 2012, 10:17 PM

Can anyone recommend some pictures profiles?
Thanks.

James Kuhn · January 30th, 2012, 04:59 PM

Mauricio...do a search on 'picture profiles' or search 'Michael Johnston'. There is a thread with some very good picture profile recommendations. I use a 'modified' version of Michael's and it looks very nice.

Regards,

J.

Michael Johnston · January 30th, 2012, 09:54 PM

The station I shoot for uses EX3's. I went around shooting flooding on my day off with my NX5U and gave it to the station. They were so impressed and kept asking what camera I was using. Couldn't believe my "dialed in" NX5 looked better than their EX3's. It's an amazing camera once it's fine tuned and "dialed in". However, right out of the box using the default settings, you may get that sick feeling in your stomach and feel you just wasted $4k. I know I sure did.

Ryan Douthit · February 9th, 2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Bray

The NX5 is certainly a great camera that will produce some fantastic images...but as Ron mentioned, it needs to be "fine tuned" via the picture profiles. Straight out of the box, the colors are very dull and lifeless. Ron also hits the nail on the head with regard to video noise. IMHO, anything above +6db gain produces too much noise. YMMV.

Enjoy your new toy.

I try to avoid anything above -3db gain. Even 0 has noticeable noise compared to the negative settings. I also notice that its *really* easy to hit the gain switch in transport. Unless you're doing a ton of indoor, low-light shooting, I would suggest overriding the values with the maximum gain you can tolerate. In my case I have it set to

L: -6
M: -3
H: -3

November 24th, 2011, 09:37 AM	#1
James Kuhn Major Player Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Merritt Island, Florida Posts: 865	Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! Very nice camera. It's a lot more 'solid' than I expected, I wouldn't want to spend a full day 'hand holding' this little pup. I haven't had a chance to 'test drive' it, yet. I'll do that this weekend. Thanks Scott at TapeWorks Texas, Inc. for your help with my purchasing decision.! Regards, J.

January 29th, 2012, 10:52 AM	#2
Stelios Christofides Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Nicosia, CYPRUS Posts: 1,080	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! I have never done so much research before on getting a second camera to the Z5 I have, and after spending hours on this column and others I finally ordered my NX5E. Arriving on Tuesday and can't wait... stelios __________________ My Blog: http://steliosc.blogspot.com "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free" Nikos Kazantzakis

January 29th, 2012, 01:35 PM	#3
James Kuhn Major Player Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Merritt Island, Florida Posts: 865	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! Stelios...I also spent an inordinate amount of time deciding on the 'NX5'. In fact, I have spent a tremendous amount of research hours on all of my DV purchases. The 'NX5' seems to be a pretty good camera and it has a lot of capability for a <$4K camera. I use mine in conjunction with an Atomos Samurai field recorder, the quality of video it produces is pretty astounding. Of course, I'm no expert and I'm sure there are 'orders-of-magnitude' better cameras out there, just not too many for <$4K. I'm sure you'll like the rig. Best regards, J.

January 29th, 2012, 04:42 PM	#4
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,222	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! I have had my NX5U since they came out in Canada and it took me a while to get the best from it. At first I was disappointed that it didn't look as good as my consumer XR500 in side by side!!!! It has taken some time to get profiles set up as I like, make sure flicker and macro are off etc etc and learn how to spend a lot of time focusing a shot. I am now happy only thing I wish it had compared to the little cameras is less video noise. I have the FMU128 and it is great. For the money its a good camera and I am sure you will like it a lot. Ron Evans

January 29th, 2012, 06:29 PM	#5
Michael Bray Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Byron Center, MI Posts: 128	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! The NX5 is certainly a great camera that will produce some fantastic images...but as Ron mentioned, it needs to be "fine tuned" via the picture profiles. Straight out of the box, the colors are very dull and lifeless. Ron also hits the nail on the head with regard to video noise. IMHO, anything above +6db gain produces too much noise. YMMV. Enjoy your new toy.

January 29th, 2012, 10:17 PM	#6
Mauricio Rodriguez Campos New Boot Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Santiago - Chile Posts: 21	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! Can anyone recommend some pictures profiles? Thanks.

January 30th, 2012, 04:59 PM	#7
James Kuhn Major Player Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Merritt Island, Florida Posts: 865	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! Mauricio...do a search on 'picture profiles' or search 'Michael Johnston'. There is a thread with some very good picture profile recommendations. I use a 'modified' version of Michael's and it looks very nice. Regards, J. Last edited by James Kuhn; January 30th, 2012 at 05:01 PM. Reason: I changed 'Johnson' to 'Johnston'.

January 30th, 2012, 09:54 PM	#8
Michael Johnston Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 130	Re: Received my New HXR-NX5U!!! The station I shoot for uses EX3's. I went around shooting flooding on my day off with my NX5U and gave it to the station. They were so impressed and kept asking what camera I was using. Couldn't believe my "dialed in" NX5 looked better than their EX3's. It's an amazing camera once it's fine tuned and "dialed in". However, right out of the box using the default settings, you may get that sick feeling in your stomach and feel you just wasted $4k. I know I sure did.