RX10 firmware v2.0 with XAVC-S

[Dan Carter]

Beginning to appear on Sony sites:

English Windows version:
Support for DSC-RX10 | Sony

Chinese version for both Mac & Window. Works fine with US RX10:
SONY China Service-??-????

Scroll to bottom of instruction page for Chinese version download.

[John McCully]

C'mon Dan, pull the other one; Sony never ever release firmware updates on this sort of gear. Pigs might fly!

Downloaded, installed, OMG I love it. Thank you thank you thank you Sony (and you too Dan). Now the AX100 is on the very back burner...and the pigs are a-flying.

Goodness gracious me!

[Noa Put]

Those sneaky b*stards, so the camera had this capability all along, it just needed a line of code to activate it. I wish the firmware update would have said as well: "different zoomspeeds to choose from while recording" and "no 30 minute limitation", ah well, maybe it will happen when pigs can fly :)

But nice firmware upgrade anyway, the rx10 needed that.

[Leon Kolenda]

Yes, we can be happy that Sony gave us the codec that we want, But, Sony has really pissed of some high end customers, There is a veteran camera man that purchased a F5_ cost. $16,000, then there is the F55-cost $29,000, The main difference, the F55 does 4K internally to SDXC cards I think that's the name of them,

He figured out that all he had to do was take the latest Firmware upgrade for the F55 and used it to upgrade his F5, whala! Instant 4K recording internally, the main reason the F55 owners bought there camera. WHOA!

I believe there are other functions that were improved also on the F5 The two cameras are very identical in design and external features, If you want to research it to see for your self just google F5 Hack, even though it's not a real hack, that's what it's being called, It's interesting reading on how the industry independant videographers feel about MFG's firmware updates. Anyhow thought it was interesting.

Glad we have the new Sony Codec, I think they did it to compete against the Panasonic FZ1000.

In the coming days it would be nice to see some video shots with the AVCHD codec and the XAVCS codec,

Links!

[Noa Put]

The times where the only difference between 2 models was that one had sdi out and the other not and that you payed 1k extra for it are long over, Canon and their dslr line are a perfect example of that, allready years ago their camera's where capable of shooting raw, large sensors seem to give the supplier unlimited possibilities to differentiate by crippling their products along the line with the only difference of a few lines of code to turn of or on features. Sony plays the same game as Canon but it looks like Panasonic is not following the same trend.

[John McCully]

Could Sony have enabled XAVC-S when they first released the RX10? Did they do so in response to Panasonic upping the ante? Who cares, we the customers are the winners. Sony, Panasonic and Canon (and all the others) are in it for the money, at least they had better be, and their decision making, their business plans, reflect that. Yes, they will milk us for as long as they possibly can which today is not so long anymore.

Seems to me we are seeing a convergence of features, benefits and general capabilities including more look-alike output as we leapfrog into way better HD technology and 4k. The specific Sony/Panasonic/Canon look is less obvious than a few short years ago (therefore declining brand loyalty perhaps) added to which the competition seems to be ferocious which all boils down to we, the customers, getting a hugely better bang for our buck every day.

A few years ago I paid $12,000 NZ for an EX1 and in many ways that matter to me the RX10 has made it somewhat obsolete. As some bright spark said 'capitalism sucks but it's better than the alternatives'.

[Noa Put]

I only don't see this kind of intentional crippling when it comes to dslr's used to take pictures with, my daughter has a cheap pocket cam from panasonic and she makes beautiful images with it, I don't see any artifacts in the image that have been implemented on purpose to protect a higher end range, the thing even shoots raw. The zoom speed while recording for instance on the rx10 is I"m sure just a change of a value in some line of code in the firmware, there have been given many explanations why Sony might have done it but I think they should just let us choose when we need faster zoomspeeds, even if the zoom sound might be picked up during record. It's too bad Sony doesn't listen to it's users, they only throw us a bone if they feel the pressure from a competitor.

[John McCully]

Well, Sony had better listen to their customers or they will encounter financial difficulties, I reckon (ha ha).

In response to you point about AVCHD vs XAVC-S Leon while I have not shot direct comparisons (I just can't bring myself to setting the camera to AVCHD ever again) it certainly seems to me, data-free observation that is :-), that the XAVC-S codec is a huge improvement generally and certainly more robust in post, but that's been indisputably established already, has it not?

[Noa Put]

From what I understood XAVC-S is a AVCHD like codec but at 50mbs, this should greatly reduce artifacts such as macroblocking on high detail shots with lots of motion, this codec should not break up so easily. I have seen another user mentioning it's even cleaner at higher iso's? I have not installed it yet but will this week, I"ll do some test before and after when shooting at high iso's and some motion complex shots, see if it really makes a difference.

[Leon Kolenda]

I look forward to seeing those,

Thanks in advance!

[Leon Kolenda]

Oh yeah, I'm ordering new Memory cards to use the new XAVC-S codec, but I would like to know if this codec can import to PPro CS6 on Windows 7-64, or will I have to transcode it? Maybe a plugin?

[Dave Blackhurst]

When I first got the AX100, I shot some AVCHD and XAVCS clips, one right after another, so "similar" samples... XAVCS is significantly better to my eye, looking forward to updating the RX10, should be a nice improvement.

NOW, the silly question, why not the same 4K capability that the AX100 has...? SAME BionzX and sensor, obviously now Sony has updated to add XAVCS HD.... will we get one more "trickle"?

What makes me think we may even get that 4K is that clearly the Sony engineers are tweaking with the 4K capabilities with the X70, and not releasing it right away... are they tuning it in some way to make it more capable?? MUST be something they are working on and aren't quite ready to release... Heat would be my only concern with the RX10/4K... but somehow I think, and hope we may yet see it... It's probably more than "one line" or even a few lines of code... (unlike the zoom speed!)

Already quite the thrill to see the XAVCS high bitrate come to make the RX10 a more capable camera! IF they added 4K, the FZ1000 would lose a LOT of thunder... C'mon Sony, make it RAIN!!

[Leon Kolenda]

Yeah, I'm all for that 4K upgrade! Even if heat could be somewhat of a minor issue, It really could be a FZ1000 killer with a 4K upgrade.

[Leon Kolenda]

If the Sony's Bionz X processor can handle 4K, then It sure would be cool if someone would Hack the firmware and add 4K to the RX10! I would even pay for that firmware hack! With in reason.

[Noa Put]

Can anyone test 28mbs avchd vs 50mbs xavc-s at higher iso's? Looking at 300% magnified framegrabs 50mbs xavc-s is noisier then 28mbs avchd, just a tiny bit but I do see a difference, from a normal viewing distance to a tv I don't see any difference.