Is the 'NX5' the PMW-160??

[James Kuhn]

Ron...yeah, you may be right about a 4k camera. I don't think I have the 'budget' to keep up with 'resolution increases'. : )

[Ron Evans]

I don't think it will be an expensive camera. I think it will be in line with the NX5 etc. At least that is what I am hoping. I have bought this range of cameras since the VX3 and they are all about the same price just keep improving the specs and I don't expect 4K to be any different really. The really high end 4K will be the FS700 , F55 etc The high end will have the XAVC codec and this lower end the XAVC-S. Much like AVCHD and the higher end codecs. I don't want it for 4k but a way of shooting 4k and giving freedom for HD edits much like I used HDV to edit in DV.

Ron Evans

[Rob Cantwell]

James in your opinion, do the ½" sensors on the PMW 200 have a significant advantage in terms of low light and resolution over the ⅓" ones on the NX5 ?
been looking at the PMW 200, but it's very spendy compared to the NX 5, even the memory is costly.

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Rob Cantwell

James in your opinion, do the ½" sensors on the PMW 200 have a significant advantage in terms of low light and resolution over the ⅓" ones on the NX5 ?

Quite simply, yes. Look at this thread - http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...ction-ebu.html - and the test reports Alister links to. (But note my comments later on - there's a couple of errors in the working, such that the reports significantly understate the DR of both the PMW150 and 200.) It seems the 1/2" sensors give around a stop improvement in factors such as sensitivity and dynamic range (as would be expected) - you get what you pay for.

been looking at the PMW 200, but it's very spendy compared to the NX 5, even the memory is costly.

Yes, but if you're happy with the 35Mbs codec, you can use SDHC cards via an adaptor. No, not as good as XDCAM422 50Mbs recorded to SxS - but far, far better than AVC-HD.

As for "Is the 'NX5' the PMW-160??" then I think it's quite likely that yes, the 160 is the successor to the NX5. The problem with the AVC-HD cameras is that the whole rationale behind high bitrate AVC-HD was out of date almost before the first cameras hit the shelves. They were conceived as a way to record decent quality video without the expense of high end memory. But people demonstrating being able to record 35 Mbs onto SDHC cards fairly reliably meant "what's the point?"

If XDCAM EX offers better quality than AVC-HD, and is far more easily dealt with by computers than AVC-HD, then a bitrate only about 40% higher becomes a reasonable price to pay if it involves transcoding to edit.

[James Kuhn]

Rob...thank you for asking me, but I don't think I can properly answer your question. I never used my 'NX5U' in low-light conditions enough to give you an educated response and I've never performed any "A/B testing" to acquire meaningful data.

Regarding the PMW-200, I can only rely on the Sony specs as stated in their User's Manual and a training video both of which indicates, better low-light sensitivity for the PMW-200.

My primary reason for purchasing the PMW-200 is newer technology (the 'NX5U' is almost five years old), XDCAM workflow and 'broadcast capable', 10-bit 4:2:2 Color Space on-board the camera. Prior to my purchase of the PMW-200, I would use an Atomos Field Recorder for anything requiring 'broadcast quality' (as defined by the EBU, i.e.,10-bit 4:2:2 Color Space @ >50Mbps).

Sorry, I couldn't help more.

Regards,

J.

[Glen Vandermolen]

I believe the PMW-200's HD422 codec is 8-bit, not 10-bit.

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

I believe the PMW-200's HD422 codec is 8-bit, not 10-bit.

It is, and in answer to James ("anything requiring 'broadcast quality' (as defined by the EBU, i.e.,10-bit 4:2:2 Color Space @ >50Mbps") then the EBU does not require 10 bit working to qualify as broadcast quality - their relevant document is http://tech.ebu.ch/docs/techreview/t...rod-Codecs.pdf

Most significantly, from the conclusions near the end:

The 8-bit bit-depth is sufficient for mainstream programmes, but 10-bit bit-depth is preferred for high-end acquisition.

It's unlikely that any camera of 1/2" chips or less will have a noise performance sufficiently good for 10 bit recording acquisition to have much point.

[Ryan Panda]

Hi James & Ron
Sorry for the late reply, Really appreciate guys for your suggestions, hope I will keep using my Z5 till next year, since most of my clients are still asking for the DVDs not blue rays so I will manage with 1440*1080 camera resolution till then.

Please update me if you guys find any new release video camera suitable for wedding.

Thanks very much all of you for your reply

Ryan

[Rob Cantwell]

thank you very much David for the insight, makes things a lot clearer to me.
James thanks for your reply, obviously the ½" sensors are going to be better than the ⅓" and yes the workflow must be much more improved.
I'm looking at getting at some stage a cam with ½" sensors the NX5 has caught me out a few times.

Rob

[Chris Harding]

Hi Ryan

I switched from 3 x 1/3rd chips (Panasonic AC-130's) over to Sony's EA-50's in January this year and so far I have been delighted with the results. Using it as a proper video camera works very well and the APS-C sensor gives really good images. It sadly comes with on a stock lens which is rather slow It's a power zoom 18-200 F3.5 -F6.8 but still gives nice results. In really low light you can zap on your still camera lenses with an adapter and it then really shines. My current reception favourite is a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 thruout and works really well and is part of my Nikon still camera kit. It also has a pile of features that my Panasonics never had and so far I haven't found anything that Sony has left out!

Price is not bad either! From VideoPro in Brisbane it's under $4000 with free shipping.

They have worked very hard in the last 6 months and I delighted so far.

Chris

[James Kuhn]

Thank you for correcting my error. Yes, the PMW-200 does record 8-bit 4:2:2 @ 50Mbps. I think my confusion is based upon something I read, that the camera adds the 2-bits (Null-bits) to the 'SDI Out', if you're using an ancillary recording device. Though, I may be wrong.

Regards,

J.

[Ryan Panda]

Hi Chris,
Just wondering, EA50 is it good for weddings/birthdays? I have heard about it but it’s a shoulder mount camera, I am looking for something handheld the size of nx5/z5 is really good.

Ryan