Sony PXW-Z450 4K camcorder for nature

[Doug Jensen]

After the show, Sony loaned me the PXW-Z450 they had at NAB for a couple of weeks. It was great to be back shooting with a big ENG camera and a nice 19x7.4 2/3" lens. It felt like a 4K version of my old F800, and it sure made shooting wildlife and nature a lot easier than with SLR lenses -- without giving up 4K.

Sony PXW-Z450 4K Demo Reel on Vimeo

[Bryce Comer]

Wow beautiful footage Doug,
Interesting to see the CA on the shot of the cranes at around the 2:28' mark. I guess this was wide open? Interesting that it would suffer from that on such a relatively low contrast edge.
Looks like a really great piece of kit though. Beautifully shot & edited as usual.
Thanks for sharing.

[Paul Cronin]

Doug,
Nice footage, you have a gift for setting up the right shots and getting the most out of your gear. The full size camera brings back great memories of my F800 and PMW-500. Miss that type of shooting but do not miss traveling with big gear.

Let me know when you are back home?

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Bryce Comer

Wow beautiful footage Doug,
Interesting to see the CA on the shot of the cranes at around the 2:28' mark.

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, almost everything was shot wide open and a lot of the animals were actually shot after sunset. For example, the moose grazing by the river and deer standing alone were both shot about 20 minutes after sunset on different days. The camera is the best low-light camera I've owned in many years.

As for the CA, I should have resisted using the 2x extender on the lens. Sometimes it looked okay if there was plenty of light and I could stop stop down but there is a lot of footage I don't think is usable, or just barely get an OK, that was shot with the extender.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Paul Cronin

Doug,
Let me know when you are back home?

Hey Paul, we got back about a week ago and I've been pretty busy getting caught up. I actually have a post-it on my desk to remind me to give you a ring this week I owe you a nice lunch or dinner -- and you know why!

[Bryce Comer]

Wow sounds like a great camera Doug. I am sure we will see lots more lovely images from this camera.
Thanks for the explanation too on the shooting conditions.

[Doug Jensen]

Thanks for the compliments, and a great camera just got even better. I got confirmation from Sony a few days ago that the Z450 will get a firmware update later this year to add HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) and S-LOG3 capabilities. So, if you want to keep your post-workflow simple and not be bothered with grading — then shoot with a normal Hypergamma Scene File, as I have done in the video above. But if you want to push the boundaries of performance even further, then you’ll be happy that S-LOG and HLG are coming to the Z450 soon. I look forward to shooting another round of test footage when the upgrade is released.

[Paul Cronin]

That is a huge upgrade for the 450. And a proper shoulder camera to nail shots quickly. Good move Sony.

[Mark Williams]

I always enjoy viewing your work. It makes me try harder to improve my skills.

[Doug Jensen]

Mark, I know this sounds like BS, but your work makes me feel the same way.

[Mark Williams]

Doug, thanks for the nice compliment.