Sony FDR-AX1

[James Larkey]

Ron, good to hear. Looking forward to your results.

James

[Ron Evans]

Just some quick comments on one afternoon of shooting with the FDR-AX1.

It is billed as a consumer camera but doesn't have a remote control !! First Sony I have got that doesn't include one. Including the NX5U

Does not have Bravia sync so my TV does not respond to its presence . Seems to stay in standby when playing clips over the HDMI to the TV.

Firmware is Version 1.01 I think there will be lots more as neither SD slot or one USB do anything at the moment.

Fan noise is evident in quite room.

I also see moire when there are minor movement on lines that are close.This with playback to a 1920x1080 TV so not sure if this is due to the internal scaling. Will see with the same clip when I scale in edit.


Things I Like:

The picture is sharp and very clean.

Seems to be as sensitive or more so than my NX5U and with less noise. Need to check this more but that is the first impression.

Miss having realtime for battery life and for a consumer camera things like spotlight control etc. No timecode just a counter like most consumer cameras. Will really be interested to find differences to the PXW-Z100 and what the firmware updates will real have next year.

Will try and post some clips when I have time.

Ron Evans

[James Larkey]

When you set camera output to 1920 x 1080i in order to watch on an HDTV then the video looks great. But when rendering to BluRay via Sony Vegas, ther is too much aliasing to create an acceptable blu ray.

James

[James Larkey]

I just downloaded and used the trial version of Edius 7. I had never used this software before and generated a bluray file that looked excellent with very minimal aliasing compared to the Sony Vegas and Adobe renders.

If you plan on using this camera for creating quality blurays, then you must be prepared to possibly learn how to use other NLE's as well as experimenting.

James

[Ron Evans]

Edius is my main editing program for a number of reasons. I use Vegas for audio though because of the ability to squeeze and stretch audio for sync and easy interface with Sound Forge and Spectral Layers. Video is Edius. In project settings you can specify which scaling algorithm is used. By default it will be fast and sharpbut there are options including several Laczos variants.

Ron Evans

[Phil Goetz]

Sony sent some of these camera to the Napa Valley Film Fest. I'd be interested to see the results.

Sony at the Napa Valley Film Festival | Sony

[Bruce Dempsey]

Ron are you saying there is no remote to a panhandle as in lanc or the av method from the cx era or the current multifunction mico usb?

[Ron Evans]

Yes the Lanc control is just in the same place as the NX5U and AX2000 next to the button 7 normally assigned to expanded focus. Works fine. However unlike the NX5U it does not have a nice ramp to start or stop. Not sure if that was on the AX2000 or was one of the things that was different between the two models. maybe the PXW-Z100 will have a ramp to smoothly start and stop the zoom. Does not have smooth switch gain changes either and I think that was something that was different between the AX2000 and the NX5U too.
Will be interesting to see exactly the spec differences between the FDR-AX1 and the PXW-Z100 other than the obvious codec differences.
Ron Evans

[James Larkey]

Hi Ron, just curious about your final impressions of the cam. Will you be keeping yours? Satisfied?


James

[Ron Evans]

Yes I will keep. It handle much like the NX5U. I still have to do more testing for my use but I intended to use only as acquisition and crop out a 1920x1080 image and my testing of that works just fine so it is a matter of finding out how to get the most out of the camera. It is maybe a stop slower than the NX5U but has a lot less noise so I think that is a wash. Focusing will be very critical and I would have liked the expanded focus to be more like 4 :1 not the 2:1 that is the same as the NX5U. Auto focus seems a little better than the NX5U but in viewing video I can see it hunt a little so just as with the NX5U I will not use.

I am collecting a list of things that I would prefer to be different. So far:

LCD indications.
I would prefer battery to indicate time remaining not icons
Prefer to have parameters with like the NX5U with A next to them for automatic etc. Though at least all parameters are displayed all the time.
Would like spotlight setting I feel billed as a consumer camera this should be included.
Microphone is active when clips thumbnail display is active and since there is no remote one needs to set TV volume down before setting the camera to play a clip, then volume up to listen. A little crude. Otherwise there is feedback to the TV speakers.

Neither SD card slot is working. The host USB is not working and the data code button is also inactive for this firmware version ( version 1.01 on my unit). I sort of feel the real release will be after the next firmware update !!!!

PlayMemories changes I would like:

Unlike AVCHD PlayMemories does not change the name of the file ( at least I haven't figured out how yet) so all files retain their naming from the card. After formatting they of course all start at C0001. PlayMemories does of course put in directories by date and there are a lot of parameters logged too though not camera parameters ( I expect this is because data code is not active in this firmware version !!!!)


I will be insterested to see the menu differences to the PXW-Z100 as I expect them to have the differences that exist between the AX2000 and the NX5U. Things like smooth switching of gain and a ramp for zoom start and stop. Iris limit as well as gain limit etc. Knee controls in the paint etc. Maybe these will also appear for the FDR-AX1 firmware update !!!

I am not able to view image on a 4K TV but to my Sony 240Hz TV they are lovely. So the internal downscale is not bad.

Ron Evans

[Michael Warren]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

It is maybe a stop slower than the NX5U but has a lot less noise so I think that is a wash.

The NX5U is not the quietest camera out there, but this surprises me. Maybe I was too quick in writing the AX1 off.

I don't suppose it would be possible for you to shoot a few seconds of an indoor lighted scene (good enough light to read by) that has some shadow areas with both cameras and upload the original files somewhere?

If required, I could send you ftp upload details to a folder on my web site, which I could make available for others.

[Ron Evans]

I will try and find something this weekend that is suitable.

Ron Evans

[Michael Warren]

Thanks. Do you want me to send you ftp details?

[Robert Garvey]

Well finally received my AX-1. This is my first Sony and I am coming from a Canon XH-a1 and 5DMk11 &111s. I am primarily a stills photographer so not at all any sort of expert on video camera operation.

On getting the Ax-1 out of the box, I must say I was very impressed. The build quality seems to be very good. It does have a few open vents for the fan operation, so will have to be careful with condensation when coming out of cold offices/hotel rooms etc. The lens operation is nice and smooth, a better action I think then the Canon XH-A1. The overall size is similar to the XH-A1, it is a little shorter when the lens hood is off, but also a little wider. The lens hood works very well, but if you remove it to travel there is no lens cap included. Additionally there is no shoulder strap.

For testing I shot 4K @ 50P. Getting it into Vegas is easy using a Sony XQD USB3 card reader and the Vegas 'Device Explorer' function, 19 min of video, about 18 gig of files, took about 7 minutes to capture to local drive. I then dropped all 18 gigs onto Vegas Pro 12 time-line and let it conform to the media. It will not play back much faster then two or three frames per second, so I can't see myself editing in its native 4K without a proxy. As a test I rendered the whole 18 gigs out to a Sony Vegas native mxf file at 1080 25P, this resulted in about a 7 gig file from the original 18gig. This 1080 25P file will then easily play and edit in Vegas or play in VLC media player.

The resulting down scaled image was far better then I expected and much better then the native image from the Canon XH-A1, which I always found soft and suffering from chromatic aberration. This render was with no applied sharpness for the downscale. I have attached a screen grab referenced below.

In general the camera has a good deal of control available, particularly in relation to audio control. The picture set-up is not as' tweekable' as the Canon XH-A1, however there is a good level of control with a variety of gammas and hue, saturation, contrast controls.

Physically the lay-out is very good and I found it easy to pick-up, however the 'hot shoe' is not really available to some add ons, as it will get in the way of the flip up LCD. I think the QXD cards are a winner, with low pricing already at B&H etc. The supplied manual is very light on for detail and I can't really see how Sony considers the camera as primarily as a consumer product. The only real consumer aspect of the package is the addition of "PlayMemories home edition", not that I have installed it!

As a first time Sony Cam user, could some one help me with the zebra function of the AX-1? I am only used to one setting with the Canon and this has the option for two at once. Zebra1 at 50 to 107%, Zebra1 Aperture Level at 1 to 20%, and Zebra2 Level at 52 to 109% (that probably makes three) ?? What does this mean, different levels within the scene I guess?

I think we may need a new Sony FDR sub-forum:)

Cheers,
Rob

Originally Posted by Robert Garvey

Well I have just ordered one.

Seems like just the cam I have been waiting for to replace my Canon XHA1. I'm a stills photog and as is becoming the norm nowadays, often have to shoot 'b' roll. Often shooting aerials of rigs and offshore platforms so this looks great, 60/50P for a smoother aerial shot, Pal or NTSC switch for AU or US clients. Relatively high data rate for the downscaled 1080P at 50 Mbps. XQD cards that look the goods at high transfer rates and prices dropping (32 gig @ less then $100 at B&H) and other makers coming on board. Smallish form factor, inbuildt NDs. Reasonable lens quality and wide angle. Flexible audio recording. Sony layout. Was considering the NEX-EA50 but put off by the lack of ND's and the feeling that the AX-1 will be a more robust unit.

AND 4K!!

I have not got it (the camera) as yet so I am sure there will be some problems and issues, especially trans-coding the files.
I understand the small sensor issue and the 4:2:0 colour space and log gop files, however, am just starting a four + year corporate project and have the feeling that by project end the 4K will be the norm :)

[Ron Evans]

I always use the Sony software to transfer to PC for all my cameras ( FDR-AX1, NX5U, NX30U, CX700, XR500 ) The PlayMemories is a little disappointing compared to the software for the others as it does not rename the files by date and time like they do for AVCHD but just places the files in directories by date taken so file names are not unique, bummer. Calendar view works the same though. It also does not join files that span cards either not good for me as my projects are always larger than a single 64G card. The separate files seem to butt together OK though even though there are some indication that they may not sync together correctly according to PXW-Z100 information though that may refer to XAVC files rather than XAVC-S files.

I have the same playback experience with Vegas 12 but Edius Pro 7 will playback at close to realtime. Vegas plays back OK too if preview is set to draft auto. Image is good enough on a PC monitor to edit with and can always be switched to best full for color correction etc.

FDR-AX1 is between 1 and 2 stops slower than the NX5U or the other Sony's but image is clean and downscale from Edius using Lanczos3 is nice. I miss a few things from the NX5U. There is the paint function for parameter changing but poor compared to the 6 Picture Profiles of the NX5U that are switchable and have more parameters. Data code button does not work yet so cannot go back and find settings for a clip. Battery indication is silly icons rather than time which I do not understand having a Infolithium battery set up for this function !!! Maybe the next firmware update !! It is what I expected though and look forward to the firmware upgrades next year that I feel will really be the product.

Ron Evans