Sony to expand 35mm large format NXCAM lineup

[Emmanuel Plakiotis]

I've seen the Bloom interview. The rep said same sensor but that could have meant same size sensor, not exactly the same sensor. Of course Philip is not a journalist to make the clarification. As I had stated earlier, the price difference indicates similar but not exactly the same sensor. Of course by the time this baby is delivered, a lot of things can change even the sensor.

[Erik Phairas]

About time for more news...

Peek, no post | crews.tv

Alongside the buttons, the most noticeable visible features in the new production design image are a big EX3-like viewfinder mounted on the top. There is also a top-handle handle mounted toward the front which serves as a mounting point for a mic – it seems to be designed to shift forward and back, possibly to assist in the balance of the camera.

With Sony’s pretty tight hold on the images, for now you’ll just have to take our word for it, this camera looks and sounds – from the tidbits we were given – unique.

Here’s what we were told:

* Super35mm CMOS sensor – the same physical sensor as the F3.
* Sony E-Mount lens mount- with adaptors for numerous stills lenses.
* Shipping “Mid 2011″
* Probable formal launch at NAB 2011.
* Price indication NZ$7,500 (say US$5’625 – US$6,000 or so depending on your exchange rate assumptions) excluding tax, putting it in within a few hundred dollars of the Panasonic AF100.

[Glen Vandermolen]

Very good news! The viewfinder is particularly interesting, as it appears the camera can now be semi-shoulder mounted, like the EX3. Plus, if it's identical to the EX3 viewfinder, that makes it one of the best on any camera. We can't be sure yet, but of all the large sensor cams, this cam may be the best for hand-held shooting.

This is why I didn't pre-order an AF100. I'll wait to see what's available come Summer 2011.

[Tans Mark]

Erik:

Thank you for sharing these infos.

Glen:

I am also in the 'searching for a new, near perfect camera' project, but for me this cam is a big dissapointment.

Coupe of random ideas:

- mid 2011 can mean May, or even October. Lets add couple of months of delays, and we are already in December. Then Sony will release couple of low res and overcompressed videos on their website, so it is better to get info, user experience and sample videos from real users. Lets add another 3-6 months. After all we are in 2012 Q2 then, and I am sure that by that time another 2-3 new camera will be introduced.

(I am already said that I really don't like the marketing of the camera makers ?)

- still there is no information about the auto modes (af, iso, etc), if there is any zoom rocker, what kind of Image Stabilisation is inside the camera. As I also want to use if as a handheld camcorder, without this informations it is hard to decide

- the Sony E mount is a joke. The only usefull-like lems is the SEL 18200, which gaves 'below average' quality picture, very strange bokeh (as the test videos shows).

- the E mount lenses made for the NEX serie has only zoom and focus wheel. Where are the iris, etc wheels ? We need a proper zoom lens.

- I guess it will be AVCHD camcorder. For serious jobs, still the XDCAM 35/50 Mbit/s video is the standard. I know that AF100 has avchd, and some people like it, but based on the test videos I can tell I am not impressed

- It is overpriced, like the latest canon xf100 (and of course xf300 is overprices, too)

- The price difference between this cam and the F3 is a very serious question. If the sensor will be the same, and all the IQ will be the same (assume this cam will be pro modell), and PL mount adapters will be ready soon hopefully, then what will Sony will leave out from F3 techique / IQ, to sell it about half price (as this cam will be 6K USD) ?

Is is so hard to ask any camera maker to impress us with a medium priced, quality camera ?

[Erik Phairas]

I'm not familiar with E-mount so I can't really tell ya. Seems worse case you get an adapter and go full manual with a 3rd party lens right? Not saying that is ideal but I think a lot of pros try to use full manual most of the time anyway.

I do wonder what Sony is going to do to keep this camera from looking as good as the F3. Just seems un-Sony to make two cameras that can produce the same image but one is half the price. I know all those connections on the back of the F3 make a lot of things possible but still.

I don't like AVCHD only because of the horsepower it takes to even watch it. I know a lot of people transcode to something more friendly to a NLE but Xdcam EX has made me so lazy. I can just drop the mxf files in Vegas and go at it. I will not be able to do that with 24mbps AVC, as stout as my computer is that would slow things to a crawl. So I either live with it or hope the NX has HS SDI and buy a nano.

I love the EX3, and it's deep DOF. I am personally completely annoyed with the out of focus look that has overcome every video on Vimeo these days. I'm really only looking at the NX, or F3 for that matter, for the signal to noise ratio and the awesome low light.

[Garrett Low]

Is there any confirmation if this camera will have on SDI out and Genlock? If it does it may be great when coupled with a NF or similar recorder.

[William Koenig]

Hello,

I use a Z7, and at night in the city I can, with confidence, use 6 or 9db, and still like the images. Now I realize that the 1/3 chips are on the low end of market. Looking to do a feature shoot with a lot of night shoots on city streets, run and gun.

Assuming the 35mm NXCAM is being equipped with Sony alpha 1.4-2.0 lenses, how does that measure up?

I understand it's basically theory at this point, with this camera.

Frankly, if that set up doesn't absolutely blow my Z7 out of the water, I don't know if it would be worth losing the ENG style capability for run and gun.

Any help would be great.

William

[Craig Seeman]

Since we're just talking theory at this point and, ultimately, implementation will tell the real story, larger sensors tend to be better in low light. Couple that with a fast lens and it could well blow the Z7 out of the water.

For example, even with all the problems HDSLRs have with video, one thing they do shine with, is low light performance.

[Alister Chapman]

Originally Posted by Tans Mark

- the Sony E mount is a joke. The only usefull-like lems is the SEL 18200, which gaves 'below average' quality picture, very strange bokeh (as the test videos shows).

- the E mount lenses made for the NEX serie has only zoom and focus wheel. Where are the iris, etc wheels ? We need a proper zoom lens.

the E mount is just a mount. What it does having going for it is a very short flange back distance. This makes it very easy to adapt to other mounts and may prove to be significant when it comes to zoom lenses as it's easier to produce a zoom with a short flange back than a long one.

If your expecting a 10x or more, servo zoom lens for a s35mm sensor then be prepared to have very deep pockets. The bigger the sensor, the harder it is to make a decent zoom, even harder to make a fast one.

Originally Posted by Tans Mark

- The price difference between this cam and the F3 is a very serious question. If the sensor will be the same, and all the IQ will be the same (assume this cam will be pro modell), and PL mount adapters will be ready soon hopefully, then what will Sony will leave out from F3 techique / IQ, to sell it about half price (as this cam will be 6K USD) ?

The sensors might well be the same, but image quality is not just down to the sensor. It's also dependant on the way the signal is processed. It is conceivable that the 35mm NX could have a better image than the F3, but the reverse is more likely.

[Brian Drysdale]

Currently 10 x zooms S35 zooms are expensive compared to the cost of this camera and they definitely don't have any auto functions. They are also big.

In the future, there may be lower cost 10 x zooms, but past experience shows it takes time for these to come out. You can't expect complete low cost systems to come straight away.

I don't see why people are going crazy for 35mm sensor run and cameras, there are so many practical problems. Keep that for 2/3" and smaller, those cameras are great for that type of operation.

[Emmanuel Plakiotis]

Probably they want to discriminate from the video herd or they have been addicted to the VDSLR look. IMO opinion 2/3 inch(or S16), since it gives you 2.2X the DOF of S35, is a nice comprise between cost, weight and and DOFability. But I guess I am a minority.

[Brian Drysdale]

Interesting to see if that changes when the Scarlet 2/3" cameras come out in a few months. So far, the images posted look less video than the DSLRs.

[Glen Vandermolen]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

Interesting to see if that changes when the Scarlet 2/3" cameras come out in a few months. So far, the images posted look less video than the DSLRs.

"In a few months?" We'll see, but don't hold your breath. 2012 has been tossed around as the release date. But at least it'll give you time to save up for one. From what I've seen, it looks like a really nice camera.

[Brian Drysdale]

Yes, I was a bit wary of giving a time scale, but spring/early summer for the fixed lens Scarlet seems to be possible. Of course, how quickly you can actaully get one after ordering is another matter.

An alternative if you want an ENG lens on a large sensor camera: http://blog.abelcine.com/2010/12/28/...ensor-cameras/

[Tans Mark]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

Currently 10 x zooms S35 zooms are expensive compared to the cost of this camera and they definitely don't have any auto functions. They are also big.

In the future, there may be lower cost 10 x zooms, but past experience shows it takes time for these to come out. You can't expect complete low cost systems to come straight away.

I don't see why people are going crazy for 35mm sensor run and cameras, there are so many practical problems. Keep that for 2/3" and smaller, those cameras are great for that type of operation.

I see several other ppl on different forums who are thinking about using this cam as a 'run and gun' camera.

The reasons are:

- the s35 sensor general video image quality and especially the low light video quality is mindblowing. Definately much better than any 2/3 camera

- price. If sony can give a good zoom lens with 'auto everything' option for a very good price, then it can be the ultimate camera (also beating AF100 which has very noisy image and has no room rocker)

The scarlet is mainly made for controlled situations (general movies), as there is no IS (for example F3 has IS), and still not sure about the auto functions. I don't know if the final modell will have a dedicated zoom rocker Definately NOT a good run and gun camera.

Also I don't believe that for 4-5-6K usd the Scarlet will be useable. You have to seriously pimp the camera with 10-15k usd accesories, so the idea of cheap camera will be gone.

As I know there is no new 2/3 camera in thr sub 6-7k usd price range. The closest one is the sony ex1 with 1/2 inch sensor, but as Alister Champan's test showed, the F3 18 db gain is around 0 db gain with Ex1.

Let me say I am sick of the opinion of several pro, who are saying: the s35 is a pro sensor, any camera with such sensor can be used for 'big' movies only and any other 'pro-like' situations. I think the camera user should decide which tool if he wants, and not the so called pros. Like everyone, including the run and gun camera operators want very good video image quality. It can't be resticted as 'the pros don't allow to use it'.

In my opinion there is no low or high reputation usage of camcorders. I think every user, including the feature film makers, nature film makers, wedding video makers, run and gun video makers, etc also can get the chance to buy the ultimate tool to make the best possible image quality.

There are lots of discussion about the shallow DOF is not good for 'run and gun' style of videos. But who sad that the run and guy cameraman wants to use shallow dof ? On the lens there are different F numbers, like 2.8, 3.5, 4, etc. Noone is pushing anyone to use F/4, it is possible the select f11 or f22 on the lens. Voila, shallow DOF problem is solved, so anything around f/11 can be used for big DOF.

If i look at the 6k usd price of the nxcam, i really hope that sony can give use some very cheap, also very good quality lens. But if we need to buy (i don't care about renting) 10-20k arri lenses, why the cheap camera price ? Anyone who can pay 10-20k for a lens or 100k for a complete arri lens package has so much money in his pocket that he can buy F3 or any other pro Sony modell.