PDX10 -- various questions

Adam Grunseth · April 15th, 2006, 03:38 PM

Yes, I use the PDX-10 for weddings and haven't had a problem. When I considered purchasing the camera for weddings alot of people strongly urged me not to, telling me that the low light performance was awful and that weddings are too dark. However, I wanted to see for myself how terrible it really was, so I rented one and used it to shoot a wedding (i had a friend with a pd150 come along just incase). The PDX-10 performed wonderfully. True, the low light performance isn't as good as other cameras, however it is more then enough for a wedding- unless of course its an unusually dark wedding that is lit only by candle light or something like that- but even then I did a wedding with a unity candle ceremony where all the lights were turned off and the single candle was able to provide enough light to effectively light the bride and groom's faces without any noticable image grain.

So yes, the PDX10 works for weddings. Perhaps its not the best wedding camera out there, but it does the job and the images it produces are beautiful. I have no complaints using it for weddings.

Boyd Ostroff · April 15th, 2006, 05:07 PM

I haven't really used my PDX-10 since I bought the Z1, but when I look back at old footage I'm still surprised at just how good the 16:9 looks. It is a great little camera.

The wedding topic has been a popular one here in the past:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=46152
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=39319
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=13183

Brendan Sundry · April 15th, 2006, 11:08 PM

Use it if there is enough light there before hand-which is time and money and not always possible! With that focus ring i nearly got burned recently. But ive been spoilt by using a big boy xdcam with full manual lens.

B.Sundry

Dean Sensui · April 16th, 2006, 09:10 PM

Dennis...

I just got back from 10 days in NZ, and my PDX10 came in handy while shooting a Huka Jet Boat ride in an underwater housing.

As others have mentioned, it's a great second camera.

And I've also used it in widescreen mode -- looks great.

Ian Thomas · April 17th, 2006, 03:07 AM

yes i must add to these observations having had a few cameras of late including the FX1 and now the XL2 i just recently reacquainted myself with the PDX10 again after looking at some footage i shot over a year ago, i was amazed at the quailty in 16:9, and yes the XL2 is better but for portablity and price it is very,very ,very good, and as for handling a mono pod does a fine job

But all in all i think it is well worth it, as for the HC1 or the AU1 well i don't now much about them and as for the AU1 which replaced the PDX10 will cost you around twice as much! is it worth it i don't know.

Miguel Lombana · May 8th, 2006, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeroen Elbertse

I have a problem. We have 2 Sony PDX10 camera's and we want to purchase a number of extra batteries. I have looked at the Lenmar LISQM91 which according to the Lenmar website fits on the PDX10, but according to a local shop this battery don't fit on our camera. Is there anyone who has experience with this combination?

If you never got a difinitive answer for this, I purchased 2 of these Lenmar batteries for my Sony HC1 and found that they DO NOT fit the cam. Seem that Sony added a plastic shim or PEG on the camera and the aftermarket people didn't pick up on this in time, so they have to re-tool their batteries to fit the most current Sony design.

In do know that in the past these batteries worked perfectly, I used them on my older Sony cams, but this new HC is a no go.

John Miller · May 9th, 2006, 06:39 AM

Hello,

My color LCD has died on my PDX10. I have tracked the problem down to the LCD module itself, Sony part # 1-804-599-21 (Ref # LCD901 in the service manual).

Does anyone know of a good source of parts (the list price I have seen ranges $300 - $500!) and/or salvage camcorders?

I know this is the same unit used on the DCR-TRV50.

Or if anyone has a broken unit they'd like to sell for parts...

Thanks,

John.

Boyd Ostroff · May 9th, 2006, 07:46 PM

The only source for PDX-10 parts that I know is Sony's "Parts Plus" website:

https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz

However when I try to open my bookmark it now says the site is under maintenance and not available! Maybe they needed to order some parts to fix it? ;-)

John Miller · May 10th, 2006, 10:38 AM

Thanks, Boyd.

I have used the Sony site before - I was hoping there may be a cheaper source for the LCD unit, even if used.

John.

Stephen Finton · May 12th, 2006, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Until I lost it, I used to have a cheap wide angle adapter that doubled as a macro lens. You unscrewed the front element to shoot macro. I think several companies make these, although mine came from "Digital Optics" IIRC. Caveat: I never used the macro function so I can't vouch for the quality....

Hmmm... Might need one myself. I find myself periodically trying to get to clse to small objects with no luck on the HC1000.

Matthew Moore · May 14th, 2006, 10:23 AM

Hi,
I've had my PDX 10 for about 9 months now, and I'm mainly using it underwater because of its manual white balance via LANC capabilities. However, because the video quality just seems so good, I was hoping to use it to film family events and in particular my daughter's forthcoming dance show. Problem: the vertical smear of course. I've looked quite a bit on this forum and elsewhere for solutions, and basically the options seems fairly limited, especially if you can't change the camera position (like when you're sat in a dance studio with bright spotlights). My question is this: does anyone know if the ND filters available from Sony would help reduce the vertical smear?
I'd really like to get this sorted out, as otherwise I'll have to continue using my single-chip TRV 33 for situations which would create that green smear.
Finally, apologies if this post appears a bit long - it's my first one on this forum.
Thanks.

Boyd Ostroff · May 14th, 2006, 02:13 PM

Welcome to DVinfo Matthew. ND filters will have no effect whatsoever on vertical smear - in fact there aren't any kind of filters which will help with it.

The problem is made worse by shooting at high shutter speeds, so use manual control at 1/60 or 1/50 shutter. However, I've shot many, many hours of performance footage with my PDX-10 and never had any vertical smear. So I guess it depends on the nature of your location. Unless there are bright lights shining directly into the audience's eyes (which would be pretty bad from a lighting design standpoint) then you shouldn't see any smear. Just having a stagelight in the frame has never been an issue for me.

Can you film a test during a rehearsal in the same space?

Matthew Moore · May 15th, 2006, 02:13 AM

Thanks a lot Boyd. I'll try sneaking into the dress rehearsal to work out the best position.
At least I've saved the 30 euros or so I'd have spent on the filters!

John Miller · May 18th, 2006, 07:33 AM

Just wanted to close this one - I ended up finding a suitable camcorder (TRV50) on eBay (fully functional) that happens to use the same part as the PDX10. I got it for $250! So now I'll have some other extra parts and/or another camcorder to use for ________ (to be filled in with a justifiable excuse!)

John.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F Miller

Hello,

My color LCD has died on my PDX10. I have tracked the problem down to the LCD module itself, Sony part # 1-804-599-21 (Ref # LCD901 in the service manual).

Does anyone know of a good source of parts (the list price I have seen ranges $300 - $500!) and/or salvage camcorders?

I know this is the same unit used on the DCR-TRV50.

Or if anyone has a broken unit they'd like to sell for parts...

Thanks,

John.

Tom Hardwick · May 24th, 2006, 05:56 AM

Boyd's spot on (but then he always is). To avoid CCD smear the shutter speed should be locked down at 1/50th (PAL) as in some of the modes it can vary all over the place, and higher speeds really smear horribly.

Also avoid filters for the very reason that the camera has tiny 1/5" chips and filters often make the lens hooding less efficient, too.

tom.

April 16th, 2006, 09:10 PM	#259
Dean Sensui Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 2,054	Dennis... I just got back from 10 days in NZ, and my PDX10 came in handy while shooting a Huka Jet Boat ride in an underwater housing. As others have mentioned, it's a great second camera. And I've also used it in widescreen mode -- looks great. __________________ Dean Sensui Exec Producer, Hawaii Goes Fishing

April 17th, 2006, 03:07 AM	#260
Ian Thomas Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: York, North Yorkshire, England. Posts: 472	yes i must add to these observations having had a few cameras of late including the FX1 and now the XL2 i just recently reacquainted myself with the PDX10 again after looking at some footage i shot over a year ago, i was amazed at the quailty in 16:9, and yes the XL2 is better but for portablity and price it is very,very ,very good, and as for handling a mono pod does a fine job But all in all i think it is well worth it, as for the HC1 or the AU1 well i don't now much about them and as for the AU1 which replaced the PDX10 will cost you around twice as much! is it worth it i don't know. __________________ Ian Thomas. Thomas Video Productions

May 9th, 2006, 06:39 AM	#262
John Miller Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hillsborough, NC, USA Posts: 968	Spare Parts for PDX10 Hello, My color LCD has died on my PDX10. I have tracked the problem down to the LCD module itself, Sony part # 1-804-599-21 (Ref # LCD901 in the service manual). Does anyone know of a good source of parts (the list price I have seen ranges $300 - $500!) and/or salvage camcorders? I know this is the same unit used on the DCR-TRV50. Or if anyone has a broken unit they'd like to sell for parts... Thanks, John.

May 14th, 2006, 10:23 AM	#266
Matthew Moore Tourist Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brussels, Belgium Posts: 2	ND filters and vertical smear Hi, I've had my PDX 10 for about 9 months now, and I'm mainly using it underwater because of its manual white balance via LANC capabilities. However, because the video quality just seems so good, I was hoping to use it to film family events and in particular my daughter's forthcoming dance show. Problem: the vertical smear of course. I've looked quite a bit on this forum and elsewhere for solutions, and basically the options seems fairly limited, especially if you can't change the camera position (like when you're sat in a dance studio with bright spotlights). My question is this: does anyone know if the ND filters available from Sony would help reduce the vertical smear? I'd really like to get this sorted out, as otherwise I'll have to continue using my single-chip TRV 33 for situations which would create that green smear. Finally, apologies if this post appears a bit long - it's my first one on this forum. Thanks.

April 15th, 2006, 03:38 PM	#256
Adam Grunseth Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Eugene Oregon Posts: 393	Yes, I use the PDX-10 for weddings and haven't had a problem. When I considered purchasing the camera for weddings alot of people strongly urged me not to, telling me that the low light performance was awful and that weddings are too dark. However, I wanted to see for myself how terrible it really was, so I rented one and used it to shoot a wedding (i had a friend with a pd150 come along just incase). The PDX-10 performed wonderfully. True, the low light performance isn't as good as other cameras, however it is more then enough for a wedding- unless of course its an unusually dark wedding that is lit only by candle light or something like that- but even then I did a wedding with a unity candle ceremony where all the lights were turned off and the single candle was able to provide enough light to effectively light the bride and groom's faces without any noticable image grain. So yes, the PDX10 works for weddings. Perhaps its not the best wedding camera out there, but it does the job and the images it produces are beautiful. I have no complaints using it for weddings.

April 15th, 2006, 05:07 PM	#257
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,789	I haven't really used my PDX-10 since I bought the Z1, but when I look back at old footage I'm still surprised at just how good the 16:9 looks. It is a great little camera. The wedding topic has been a popular one here in the past: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=46152 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=39319 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=13183

April 15th, 2006, 11:08 PM	#258
Brendan Sundry Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 112	Use it if there is enough light there before hand-which is time and money and not always possible! With that focus ring i nearly got burned recently. But ive been spoilt by using a big boy xdcam with full manual lens. B.Sundry

May 9th, 2006, 07:46 PM	#263
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,789	The only source for PDX-10 parts that I know is Sony's "Parts Plus" website: https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz However when I try to open my bookmark it now says the site is under maintenance and not available! Maybe they needed to order some parts to fix it? ;-)

May 10th, 2006, 10:38 AM	#264
John Miller Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hillsborough, NC, USA Posts: 968	Thanks, Boyd. I have used the Sony site before - I was hoping there may be a cheaper source for the LCD unit, even if used. John.

May 14th, 2006, 02:13 PM	#267
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,789	Welcome to DVinfo Matthew. ND filters will have no effect whatsoever on vertical smear - in fact there aren't any kind of filters which will help with it. The problem is made worse by shooting at high shutter speeds, so use manual control at 1/60 or 1/50 shutter. However, I've shot many, many hours of performance footage with my PDX-10 and never had any vertical smear. So I guess it depends on the nature of your location. Unless there are bright lights shining directly into the audience's eyes (which would be pretty bad from a lighting design standpoint) then you shouldn't see any smear. Just having a stagelight in the frame has never been an issue for me. Can you film a test during a rehearsal in the same space?

May 15th, 2006, 02:13 AM	#268
Matthew Moore Tourist Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brussels, Belgium Posts: 2	Thanks a lot Boyd. I'll try sneaking into the dress rehearsal to work out the best position. At least I've saved the 30 euros or so I'd have spent on the filters!

May 24th, 2006, 05:56 AM	#270
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Boyd's spot on (but then he always is). To avoid CCD smear the shutter speed should be locked down at 1/50th (PAL) as in some of the modes it can vary all over the place, and higher speeds really smear horribly. Also avoid filters for the very reason that the camera has tiny 1/5" chips and filters often make the lens hooding less efficient, too. tom.