deciding between ex1r and ex3

[Jim Stamos]

ive been shooting alot with an ex1r to see if i want to go this route or the ex3
i love everything about it and have used the hoodman loupe which is a must but after i borrow an ex3 i will decide. my big problem with the r is that im left eyed and its not as easy on a tripod. shooting handheld isnt too bad.
i know on the 3 i wouldnt have this problem in that the viewfinder is laid out to work for me perfectly.
any ex3 users on why they went with 3 over r? removable lens isnt a factor for me on this.
i know the 3 has a pretty lame 1/2 shoulder brace.
for those using the 3 how difficult/easy is it to shoot handheld with this one . r is probably easier im thinking and for shoulder purposes im guessing people are going with something like olofs design.
ive heard the 1/2 shoulder brace isnt that great.
any comments from x3 users on their overall opinion would be great
thankis

[Ron Wilk]

I'm certain that others might disagree with my sentiment, but I found the Ex3's form-factor a complete mystery—it is neither hand-holdable nor natively shoulder mountable. I cannot imagine it being used as a handheld and in order to even approach shoulder mount utility it requires costly add-ons and counterweights that, while not workable for me, caused me to wonder if it was even worth the bother—sold it as quickly as I could. If I were in the market for a 1/2" CMOS shoulder mount camera I would be looking very seriously at the new Sony PMW-320. In actuality, I advanced upwards in favor of a 2/3" camera and recently purchased a PMW-350 ... couldn't be happier with the decision.

Best of luck with whatever you eventually decide upon.

[Tom Robertson]

I would agree. I took a close look at both the EX1 and EX3 in a local showroom and definitely did not like the feel/form factor of the EX3. It just was not comfortable and was a bit heavy. So I chose the EX1R and will probably be buying a shoulder mount from Olof. In many situations, such as doing a wedding, a large shoulder-mounted camera is not as easy to handle as a smaller camera. I still have an HD110 and plan to keep it for awhile longer but I still like the lighter smaller form and light weight of the EX1R. Certainly a PMW-350 or one of the nicer cameras would be wonderful, but we all have limits according to our budgets. Hope this helps, Jim.

[Brian Rhodes]

I own both cams. I actually like the feel of the EX3 better but the EX1 is easy to travel with and I use a Manfrotto 561BHDV Video Monopod with Fluid Head for long duration projects for both cams.

[Alan McInnes]

I own the EX3 and frequently do hand-held shooting. I am 6'4" tall so I cradle the camera with my left hand underneath the camera and my right hand in the zoom grip. I find that I can shoot for extended periods of time this way and, while not exactly a Stedi-cam, I am able to obtain very steady results. There is no doubt that the form factor of the EX3 is less than ideal and I would never try to shoot from my shoulder without adding some serious kit to the camera. I am in the process of adding to my Zacuto collection to do just that, but most of my hand-held shooting will be done as described above just because my height would entail shooting down on most subjects otherwise.

[Erik Phairas]

I'm also a big guy, 6'3"ish and I like the feel of the EX3. I love the super robost screen with the built in metal hood. I use the camera without the eye-thingy most of the time. I also like not having a useless viewfinder hanging off the back of the camera.

The way I shoot, I keep the shoulder pad retracted and just rest it on the front of my shoulder. No eye-thingy, I just look at the screen. Left hand free to operate.

[Dean Sensui]

I'm shooting with an EX1 and just recently installed a Hoodman loupe.

The difference in resolution between the LCD and the EX1's viewfinder is dramatic. Details that aren't visible in the EX1's viewfinder are very clear. So no doubt the viewfinder is the better option.

Except... the LCD/Hoodman combination can't be adjusted for horizontal position. My head has to be close to the camera to get my eye in the right position.

So far I used it only once to shoot a story, and that was with a shoulder mount that was hastily set up and wasn't the slightest bit comfortable. So I built a much better shoulder mount which is a lot more comfortable and provides better eye placement.

With that in mind, the EX3 would allow optimum placement of the viewfinder. Also, the viewfinder would be purpose-built with the same LCD screen and perform better than the EX1's add-on solution. With the Hoodman loupe on the EX1 I'm concerned about possibly damaging the EX1's LCD. It's not designed to tolerate the additional weight of the Hoodman Loupe, although the loupe isn't all that heavy.

If you decide to go ahead with the EX3, a shoulder mount (similar to what I made for the EX1) can be added to the EX3, which would solve the shoulder mount problem and provide a place to mount a wireless receiver.

The advantage of the EX1r: a better IR filter which greatly improves the accuracy of rendering black fabrics and other dark objects.

[Kevin Spahr]

I love my EX3.

I don't know about the EX1R, but without a reinforcing baseplate I could not get a solid tripod mount - there was always a tiny bit of wiggle. You would think Sony would know enough about design to make the bottom of the camera totally flat. I made a baseplate that would allow me to retain the stock shoulder pad and also include a simple bracket to keep the camera from sliding down. Since I don't do a lot of handheld work this setup works well enough for me. If you were going to do mostly handheld shooting and size was not an issue I would bet you would not regret going for the 320.

The thing that sold me on the EX3 was the viewfinder. With HD it is very easy to end up with your subject just slightly out of focus when using a small viewfinder.

[Scott Cantrell]

If you have the EX3 and shoot handheld, I have a few clients who use the VF Gadgets Base Plate system
EX3 Heavy Duty Base Plate System | VFGadgets.com
I have had good response on this product!

[Garrett Low]

Originally Posted by Kevin Spahr

If you were going to do mostly handheld shooting and size was not an issue I would bet you would not regret going for the 320.

For the price of the 320 you could get the EX3, a good shoulder adapter/heavy duty base plate (I have Olof's system on my EX3 and love it) and a NanoFlash which should give superior images to the 320.

Between the EX1r and the EX3, I like the way the EX3 feels better but there are some nice features that the EX1r offers that the are missing from the EX3. I've worked with both cameras and neither could be really considered handholdable (is that word?) for any length of time unless you've got arms of steel. The most attractive things on the EX1r over the EX3 to me are the improved handling of IR and the cache recording. I have a B+W 486 filter to control the IR and am planning on getting a NanoFlash which will give me cache recording capabilities (along with an incredible picture).

But the EX1r does save you money.

Garrett

[Jem Moore]

I've had my EX3 for just about three months, travelled with it from Denver to Thailand, and Denver to NYC, used it tripod and handheld configurations, and I am totally happy with it. It *is* heavy, but the quality of the picture, the quality in the LCD view screen, and the timelapse, slow-mo features make it perfect for me. Good luck with whichever one you choose, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

[Colin Rowe]

Originally Posted by Dean Sensui

The advantage of the EX1r: a better IR filter which greatly improves the accuracy of rendering black fabrics and other dark objects.

Sadly, not that great an improvement. http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...-pmw-ex1r.html

[Dean Sensui]

Colin... Part of the problem might be due to a phenomenon called "metamerism". It's where certain pigments and dyes respond differently, depending upon the spectral qualities of the source of illumination.

I've seen tests that seem to indicate the EX1r solves a great deal of the problem. Maybe it's not so effective under some circumstances such as low-color temperature sources with a lot more far-red.

[Colin Rowe]

On the tests I conducted, IR contamination was not a lot better on the EX1r, its still there. It was a major factor in my decision on camera choice. I was ready to buy an EX1r, but after checking one out, I ended up buying a brand new EX1, for just under £1000 less than an EX1r, the other improvements were just not worth that ammount to me. The cache record, and improved VF would have been very nice, but not worth the almost £1000 price difference.

[Dean Harrington]

This photo is NOT for handheld but without the 35mm lens adaptor the back-sholder rest works reasonably well:
can't seem to get the pic uploaded? sorry!