Cool Camera Shootout

Zacuto's Great Camera Shootout '08

I recommend this video, which includes a good camera shootout.
The cameras/formats tested are:
35mm Film
Red One
Panasonic HPX3000
Panasonic HVX200 (with three 35mm lens adapters)
Sony EX3
Panasonic HPX170
Canon XH-A1
Canon 5D Mark II
Nikon D90
There's a long discussion at the start which you can skip through. This shootout I feel gives a good comparison of what you can get with these different kinds of setups, especially if you are going for a filmic or cinematic look. I recommend downloading the 1280x720 h.264 movie if you want to see more detail than you get with Vimeo's flash player. That's a good thing about Vimeo is that they give a higher-quality download option for their movies--just scroll down the page and look for the download link on the right column.

I'm most interested in the comparisons between the EX3, the HPX170 and the Canon XH-A1. The cheapest camera, the XH-A1, looked really good, and I really like how the HPX170 renders colors, more natural than the Sony camera. This test doesn't tell everything, by any means, (e.g., the EX3 is supposed to do better than its competitors in low-light), but it's a good place to start thinking about different cameras and what kind of images they create.

SD Cards in the Sony EX-1

This seems like some exciting bit of news. Apparently, folks have figured out how to shoot onto SanDisk SD cards with the Sony EX-1 and EX-3 cameras, instead of Sony's expensive SxS media.

The EX cameras are supposed to be great (see latest EX-3 review from Adam Wilt.). Excellent performance in terms of resolution and low-light sensitivity. Their 1/2" sensors work much better than the smaller 1/3" sensors in the Z1, Z5, Z7, HVX200, HPX170, and Canon cameras. The big problem for me with the EX cameras was shooting on the expensive SxS media. Like the Panasonic's P2 cards, these are much more expensive per GB than run-of-the-mill flash memory--e.g., $850 for 16GB of SxS Pro storage. It just wouldn't make sense when you are shooting a lot of stuff because the hassle of making sure all your footage was safe on hard drives all the time.

Well, this guy says you can use a 16GB SanDisk SD card for $60 that will do just about everything that Sony's $850 card will (the notable exception being over-cranking, used for slo-mo shots.) You just need a particular Kensington Expresscard adapter for $40 that you put in the camera.

It still doesn't make the the EX-1 ($6450 at B&H) a no-brainer for Link. That's still $60 to record about an hour at 35 Mb/s or 90 minutes at 25 Mb/s. The camera's more difficult to handle than the Z1 or Z5, or even Z7. Plus the Z5 has a 20x lens versus 14x lens for the EX cameras. And we are hardly ever delivering HD--so we usually downconvert in the deck, which is both a good and easy way to get SD footage from HD source material. If quality is what really counts, than the EX cameras are a real winner in the sub $10K range, but I think, but there are some significant drawbacks to the camera when compared to more practical, tape-based cameras like the Z5.

If you are seriously interested in this, then read the fine print here:
Overcoming the cost of SxS media: Introducing KxS.
Also, I don't know of anyone personally doing this. I would probably wait for some trustworthy sources to vouch for this before I committed to buying an EX camera.

UPDATE: Adam Wilt (a very trustworthy source) says that he's heard good things from Sony about working with off-the-shelf memory cards on the EX cameras in the comments section of this post on ProVideo Coalition.

I tried looking for the Kensington card reader, and it seems to be out-of-stock everywhere. Also read on a forum that it may have been discontinued. Not good news for this concept.

Sony Announces Successor to Z1

Sony has announced a new camera in their HDV professional lineup: the HVR-Z5. It's body is very similar to the Z1. The V1 is a smaller size with the LCD located on the left size of the body, while the Z7 has a removable lens.

There's lots of nice upgrades over the Z1. The 3-CMOS imaging system is supposed to handle low-light much better. The lens is wider and has a 20x zoom and an iris ring right on the lens. Traditionally, Sony has relegated the iris control to a small wheel control on the camera's body for their low-end pro cams. There are a lot of similarities to the new Z7, like recording to CompactFlash (with optional HVR-MRC1K), an high-resolution LCD display and viewfinder, and native 24P recording onto the HDV format. The MRSP of the Z5 is $5000.

Earlier this year, I was touting the Z7 as Link's "next camera". I have to eat my words. I should have seen this camera coming--all the features of the Z7 without the removable lens. I think this camera makes more sense for Link. The built-in lens I think will make the Z5 easier to handle and lighter. The Z7 has a 12x lens versus the 20x on the Z5. And I'm guessing the Z5 will be cheaper than the Z7. Although the Z7 price recently dropped on the B&H site for $6300 to $5400.

B&H wrote an article about the prosumer version of this camera the FX-1000. It's covers some of the new features also included on the Z5 in detail.

While I am now predicting this as Link's next camera, I have no idea when we would buy one. Don't hold your breath. But the camera will be available in December.

Link TV's Next Camera

"Review: Sony HVR-Z7 & HVR-S270 1/3” 3-CMOS HDV camcorders" by Adam Wilt

I don't make many predictions on my blogs, but if I had to guess I think the Sony HVR-Z7 will be Link TV's next camera. Why you ask? First, it's Sony, and folks at Link in SF seem to like Sony. Second the price is right for us--well below the $10,000 mark, now about $5700 street price. Second it's a significant improvement on the Z1 camera that we have now. The Z1 has been out for over 3 years and Sony has finally released a true successor to the Z1. It's supposed to be faster than the Z1. It's all supposed to have a good LCD and viewfinder (areas where the Z1 is seriously lacking)

I'm basing this on Adam Wilt's excellent review of the Z7 and its bigger sibling the S270. It seems like there are some other good cameras out there, namely the Sony EX1, which records only onto flash memory. But for Link the lack of tape recording is sort of a deal breaker. At least as a post guy I don't want to have to deal with the headache of worrying about all of that media on hard drives with no other backup. Plus the EX1' s SxS Pro recording cards are still pretty pricey. For big shoots, that leaves options like a hard drive recorder, lugging around a laptop to shoots, or renting more storage. So much easier to pack a bunch of cheap tapes for a shoot.

If you want tapeless storage, the Z7 can even record to Compact Flash using the included HVR-MRC1 unit, which attaches at the back of the camera. That's a nice feature if you want the quick turnaround of material, which is a big benefit with tapeless workflows. Compact Flash is much cheaper than Panasonic's P2 and Sony's SxS Pro too.

The EX1 has 1/2" chips--the only sub-$10K HD camera with that. And it's supposed to have the sharpest picture in this price range. Too bad they couldn't match 1/2" chips along with the HDV format. The S270, which is reviewed in the same article, has one big feature that I'd like to see on the Z7--it can take large cassettes. That means 4.5 hours of HDV on a tape. But that camera is over the 10K point. But all things considered, the Z7 looks like a good camera, and from what Adam Wilt says, the champ of the sub-$10K HDV cameras.

Here's Adam's summary of the pros and cons of both the Z7 and the S270:

Pros

• Interchangeable lenses with standard 1/3” mounts.
• ISO 400 sensitivity.
• 800+ TVl/ph resolution with smooth, natural detail.
• DV, DVCAM, and 1080-line HDV recording.
• Interlaced and true progressive modes.
• Killer EVF and very good LCD; good peaking control.
• Best-in-the-business viewfinder data displays.
• Unique in-viewfinder tilt indicator.
• Z7: well balanced and easy to handhold.
• S270: no-nonsense, full-sized shoulder-mount camcorder; 4 channels of audio; 4.5 hour record times.
• Sensible ergonomics on both cameras: controls are where they should be.
• Sony Steadyshot.
• HVR-MRC1 CF card recorder included.
• Comprehensive Picture Profile tweaks, most with 15 steps of adjustment.
• Very good shotgun mike included.

Cons

• Stock lenses have only average chromatic aberration performance.
• Resolution drops with increased gain.
• Smooth Slow Motion clips have low resolution, many compression artifacts.
• Lens iris ring isn’t labeled or calibrated.
• Fastest power zoom isn’t very fast.
• MRC1: buttons lack a “hold” switch and are subject to inadvertent activation.
• MRC1: no single-frame mode in interval recording.

Sony PMW-EX1: A Game Changer

Review: Sony PMW-EX1 1/2” 3-CMOS HD Camcorder" by Adam Wilt

Camera guru Adam Wilt compares the Sony EX1 (approx. $6500) to changing the playing field like Sony's DV VX-1000 did in 1995. Wilt did a first look review last year, but this is a very in-depth review of the camera, its features, and performances based on a production unit.

Interestingly, the review is on a brand-new site called Pro Video Coalition. Mike Curtis of HD for Indies seems like he will be doing his serious work there too--keep your eyes on this site.

Don't want to spend this much on a camera or you still want to record on tape? Well, Sony will still be selling their V1 and Z1. Check Wilt's thoughts on those cameras, as well as the competition from Panasonic and Canon here.

Here are Wilt's Pros and Cons for the EX-1:
Pros
• Highest resolution and detail in its class, with minimal aliasing.
• 1-30fps 1080p, 1-60fps 720p, plus 1080i; 50Hz and 60Hz operation.
• Excellent tonal scale control with wide latitude.
• Cine gammas have superb highlight handling.
• True 1920x1080 sensors, true 1920x1080 and 1280x720 recording.
• 1440x1080 HDV-compatible mode with i.Link I/O.
• Linear Matrix for fine color control.
• Robust SxS solid-state recording; lightning-fast offloading.
• True manual iris and zoom; indexed manual focus with lens scale.
• Best LCD resolution in a Handycam; great status displays.
• SDI with embedded timecode and audio.
• Surprisingly artifact-free XDCAM EX HQ codec.

Cons
• Awkward to handhold.
• “Clock radio” power switch makes it easy to switch camera on by mistake.
• Many buttons and switches hard to operate by feel.
• Knee circuit in standard gammas doesn’t handle colored highlights well.
• “Mustache” distortion at wide angles.
• Steady Shot can cause slight corner vignetting during wiggly shots.
• No SD (480- or 576-line) recording. Poor-quality SD outputs; no Y/C.
• Not all output connectors active simultaneously.
• No single-frame or slo-mo playback.

Adam Wilt on Sony's EX-1

"EX-1 Experiments: Shooting with Sony's XDCAM EX System"
By Adam Wilt

Adam Wilt takes a look at an engineering sample of Sony's totally-tapeless camera the PMW-EX1. Sounds like the video is very good, but he says it's really hard to hand hold the camera. Here's his summary:

Overall, the EX1 is a very promising camera: pin-sharp, sensitive imagers with what looks to be considerable latitude, variable frame rates, the benefits of solid-state recording, HD-SDI and lots of tweakability. It's painful to handhold, and the analog I/O cabling is sub-optimal, but those problems have to be set against what may yet be turn out to be the finest images in the sub-$10k field. I'll be very interested to put a production model EX1 through a rigorous evaluation.

[via hdforindies.com]

Final Cut Studio Gets New Features, Leopard Support

Apple updated all of the apps in Final Cut Studio with official support for OS 10.5 today (the updates also work with 10.4.11, also out today.) But wait, there's more! If you call now, you'll also get support for some of the new high-def cameras.

The XDCAM EX format is now supported under FCP 6.0.2. So footage from Sony's PMW-EX1 is now supported. AVC-Intra, which Panasonic is using on its high-end cameras, is supported. And JVC's HDV recordings in 720p60 and 720p50 are supported. There looks like there is also more support for progressive recording from Canon's cameras and Sony HVR-V1. Check out the release notes for all of the details.

I looked at the release notes for the other products and nothing jumped out at me. It looks like Color got a lot of bug fixes based on the release notes.

Mike Curtis offers more detail and some commentary on the new features at HDforIndies.com.

Sony Officially Names Removable-Lens Cams & Announces New HDV Products (Updated)

Information is trickling in today about Sony's big new steps in HDV. First off, the new cameras that I mentioned in September now officially have names HVR-S270 for the shoulder-mount and HVR-Z7 for the handycam size. Lots of stuff coming along with it too. How about a new deck, the HVR-M35. The main feature addition seems to be 24P and 30P recording on this deck as well as HD-SDI output and more support for JVC and Canon HDV recordings. There's also a flash memory recording unit for both of these cameras the HVR-MC1 that records to Compact Flash in HDV, DVCam and DV.

Unfortunately, the only official announcements are from Europe and Japan and not for the US market. The Japanese I can't read (help from my Japanese readers?) and the European models don't have 24P support (they are all about 25P over there.) Official announcements from both Europe and the U.S. are out. Here are links to more info available now:

"SONY UNVEILS NEXT GENERATION OF PROFESSIONAL HDV PRODUCTS"
Official U.S. press release on these products. Also includes link to those super hi-res photos of the deck and the 2 cameras.

"Sony refreshes HDV line- HVR-S270U and HVR-Z7U"
Good coverage here with some analysis from the IEBA Tech Thoughts blog.

Sony: The Next Generation Of HDV Products
Sony's Europe page on the new products

Frank's thought on HDV
Info on HVR-S270, HVR-Z7, and HVR-M35

More on Sony's New DV-Compatible HDV Camcorder and Deck
StudioDaily has US-focused info including some comments from Sony and prices:
HVR-S270U $10,500
HVR-Z7U $6,850
HVR-M35U $5,540

These products should be in the States in February '08.

Seems like Sony's HVR-Z7U is really very competitive with it own PMW-EX1. The $6,900 PMW-EX1 doesn't have an interchangeable lens and doesn't record to tape but has larger 1/2" sensors and the variable-bit rate 35 Mbps recording mode. The HVR-Z7U has 1/3" sensors but interchangeable lens and with the HVR-MC1 can record to flash memory as well as tape. I'm not sold on the solid-state memory recording as the only media for a camera personally.

The new cameras come with 12x lens with optical image stabilization.

I'll need to keep up with this. I'm not really sure if there is some new flavor of HDV that Sony is using for progressive-frame support. The V1 has 24p but records to 60i using 2:3 pulldown. Makes for easy compatibility but tricky to post as native 24p. (Update: This just got easier with the FCP 6.0.2 release.) I'm puzzled by the 24p and 30p modes for the HVR-M35 deck (which are visible on this photo) and what that means for these recordings compatibility with over Sony gear, like the HVR-M15, HVR-M25, and HVR-1500. Any difference in posting progressive recordings from this new gear? This progressive support on the deck may just be for displays, as 99% of HD displays (e.g., LCD & plasma) are progessive and not interlaced, so why send those display an interlaced image. The progressive displays have to have de-interlace, which causes a loss in vertical resolution.

Update: after thinking this over, I think a more likely benefit of the 24p and 30p playback mode is for using HD-SDI to capture and dub footage. HD-SDI signals support progressive video at 24, 25, 30 fps, as do capture cards like the Kona LH and Kona 3. So it seems like this opens up the option to capture without having to use your computer to remove pulldown to get to progressive video clips. Or it could be to dub footage to formats like HDCAM. Well, really I'll probably have to wait until this deck comes out, hopefully in February, to find out.

Update: There's a PDF of a brochure out for the European cameras and deck that make it clear that they can record in a progressive frame at 25 frames per second. Similary the HVR-M35E can record and playback 1080 progressive frames at 24 fps, 25 fps, and 30fps. So I'm guessing when more details emerge about the American models that we will see a different flavor of HDV that is 24fps, true progressive with no pulldown added. Canon is doing this with the HV-20, and the HVR-M35 is supposed to support tapes from that camera. So what happens if you try to put one of these tapes with 24fps footage into an older deck like the HVR-M10 or HVR-M25 or even the HVR-1500? I'm guessing you are in trouble. Also the HVR-S270 can record 4 channels of audio--a first for the HDV format. Will older decks support this format?

AVCHD Support in FCP

The 6.0.1 update for FCP back in June added support for the AVCHD format. There's a document out now from Apple that describes all of the limitations of support (e.g., doesn't work on PowerPC Mac's.) Here's a good write-up on the current status of AVCHD support for FCP.

AVCHD is mainly a consumer-oriented format. Panasonic has actually used AVCHD within its pro line of cameras with the small AG-HSC1U. According to Digital Camcorder News, the Sony HDR-SR7 and HDR-CX7 AVCHD cameras are the most popular camcorders among its visitors. Canon recently introduced a tapeless camcorder HG10 that uses AVCHD to record.

More Sony Camera Goodness

Update: More info is rolling out about these cameras, including official annoucements from Sony for the new HDV mini and the HDV Full. They don't have official names yet even, but I'm copying these names from this awesome webpage that covers just about every piece of HD gear that would be of interest to the prosumer markert called Frank's Thoughts on HDV. I'd also recommend this analysis of the new Sony HDV gear at IEBA blog.

Sony is promising some HDV cameras with interchangable lens in 2008. HD for Indies has a short post about it and a YouTube video from the IBC conference (where I got the images.) The posts only mentions a handycam model, but the video shows a shoulder-mount HDV camera too with interchangable lens. Seems like Sony is finally taking HDV seriously as a pro format. I haven't seen anything official from Sony on this yet. Interesting that these cameras have a 1/3" sensors, but the XDCAM EX has 1/2" sensors but a fixed lens (of course, there are some XDCAM HD cameras with interchangable lenses that cost over $10k.)

New Sony Memory Card Prosumer Camera

Sony looks like it has a great new camera on its hands for the prosumer market. The PMW-EX1 records to solid state memory--a new format called SxS Pro. Unlike P2, it looks like there will be multiple manufacturers, which means lower prices in the long run. The EX1 should be selling in November for around $7,500 with two 8GB memory cards included.

For editors, very confusing what this means right now. The recording format is based on the XDCAM format, which is recorded on blu-ray optical discs. But EX1 tweaks the formats--different file wrappper and the option for higher resolution, a full 1920x1080. The new XDCAM EX format is not fully supported by Final Cut, but there might be some native support if you shoot in the right way with this camera--not sure. Also the camera has a firewire port on it that says HDV. The camera doesn't record in HDV but can it transcode? Lots of questions.

This camera looks like a giant step up from the Z1 in just about every way. If you want the low-down there are already a few articles on the web from folks who have been testing pre-production models. Here's a good overview from FreshDV of what info is out there about the EX1. Here are two in-depth articles, one from Nigel Cooper and another from Simon Wyndham. There are so many interesting new features on this camera, it's worth getting a broad overview.

I'm still not sold on the tapeless workflow, but this looks a great camera. I'm just worried about backup for this footage. Sony offers a unit that transfers from the SxS Pro cards to Sony's XDCAM discs (with some drawbacks as Simon Wyndham points out.) Otherwise, it's archive like you do computer data--either optical disc burning or stacking up hard drives on your shelf.

Neither Fish Nor Foul

Sony just announced a new HDV camera that is sort of a maddening combination of pro and consumer features. It's called the HVR-HD1000U.

The positives:
-Only $1900
-Shoulder-mounted (Sony's first for HDV)
-Either viewfinder or LCD screen apparently usable while shoulder-mounted

The drawbacks:
-The same CMOS chip used in their consumer cameras
-I don't see any XLR sockets on that thing
-No announcement for progressive shooting modes like on the V1

After working on a shoot this weekend in the bright California sun, I remembered the benefits of a good viewfinder (not sure if this is indeed a decent viewfinder.) Shoulder-mount is great for handheld shooting, but you have to deal with the bigger body size when lugging it around. No XLR audio is sort of a deal-breaker for me. Seems like this is mainly for wedding videographers. Available in Dec.

Update: Here is a good overview of what's lacking on this camera (e.g., good zoom lens), as well as something that I didn't know--Sony showed a pro HDV shoulder-mount mockup at NAB. Where's that, Sony? Also from the same site, a good, thoroughly-negative review of what's missing from one of Panasonic's "pro" cameras AG-HSC1U.

Bad CCD's in Sony and Canon Cameras & Camcorders

This Sunday I found out my Canon Powershot SD100 digital camera was dead. It was 3 years old, and I figured it had reached a natural, if early, death. Truth be told, I was looking forward to getting a big upgrade from my old 3 mega-pixel camera with its tiny screen.

But lo and behold, I just read a blog entry at FreshDV describing a problem with CCD's in Sony and Canon gear. After some more searching, I found out my model of camera is affected by this problem. Canon will supposedly fix this problem for free, even if the gear is out of warranty. Sony has a similar arrangement (with some looming time restrictions).

Sony's bad CCD's affect some prosumer gear. Here's a list that I pulled from FreshDV:
DCR-VX2000
DCR-VX2000E
DCR-VX2100
DCR-VX2100E
DSR-250 & DSR-250/P
DSR-PD150 & DSR-PD150P
DSR-PD170 & DSR-PD170P
DSR-PDX10 & DSR-PDX10P

More detailed information on the problems and the response from Sony and Canon is here.

Sony Offering Rebates on HDV Gear

Sony is offering mail-in-rebates for HDV gear bought between 4-1 and 9-30. Here's the after-rebate prices on Sony HDV gear at B&H (rounded up):
HVR-Z1U $4,100 ($300 off)
HVR-V1U $3,600 ($300 off)
HVR-M25U $2,800 ($100 off)

There are also $300 off of the HVR-A1U and some other deals for a LCD HD monitor. More details and links over here at FreshDV.

Sony V1U and 24fps

"Editing the V1's 24p in Final Cut Pro: A Workaround"

The Sony V1U is the first HDV camera to shoot real 24 frames per second with 1080 lines of resolution. There's no native 24fps editing of this format in FCP (yet.) In the mean time, this article describes a workaround to edit in true 24fps mode your 24fps HDV 1080 footage. Basic description of the issues with pulldown and removing pulldown is in the article too
[via FresHDV]

UPDATE: HD for Indies has this post "Working with 24p for Canon HV20". Apparently, Compresor cannot reverse telecine fromt the HDV codec. Its reverse telecine won't work with interframe compression schemes. Thus you have to transcode the HDV footage to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) or ProRes 422 to get get Compressor to reverse telecine.

Consumer HD Cameras

Camcorderinfo.com does a great job of reviewing consumer and prosumer camcorders. Check out their "The Great HD Shoot-Out". It seems like the consumer HDV cameras are performing well. They like the new Canon HV-20. They say it has a great image and nice performances features like true 24fps. They also like the Sony HDR HC-7. Panasonic and JVC are trying out some new formats--AVCHD and MPEG-2 respectively--with not as much success as Sony and Canon. For pros, it looks like these cameras could be useful as a cheap B-cam or when something small and/or inconspicuous is desired.

Adam Wilt on HDV Cameras

"The Rashomon Effect" (registration required)

Adam Wilt does a write-up on a comparison of the HVX-200, the Canon XH-A1, and the new Sony HVR-V1. Interesting look at what is being offered in the HDV world. The V1 is an interesting new product that is a strong addition to the current crop of HDV cameras. Adam says that it is very sharp, sharper than the Z1. It has a true 24 frame per second mode (unlike the Canon and the Z1.) And at 24 fps, the V-1 seems to have the sharpest picture in the low-price HD camcorder world. It's also smaller and lighter than the Z-1 and the A1. The big drawback is that it's slower than the other HDV cameras--so either more gain or more light needed when you are not in daylight.

Adam Wilt also wrote a full review of the V1 for DV.com (registartion required.)

Sony Announces sub-10K Tapeless Camcorder

Was it 3 years ago that Sony and Panasonic offered their divergent views on tapeless workflow? Sony touted the Blu-ray optical disc as cheap storage with high-capacity, but offered more expensive cameras. Panasonic's P2 cards were solid-state memory, which allowed a smaller-form factor and cheaper cameras, like the HVX200. But those P2 cards are still pricey, despite plummeting costs for flash memory.

Well, Panasonic isn't wavering from its commitment to P2 with a bunch of new high-end gear, like the AJ-HPX3000 and AJ-HPX500, and the low-end HVX200 is still popular. But Sony is trying out flash memory with a new camera, the XDCAM EX

This is a sub-$8,0000 camera that records onto a new type of flash memory called SxS. Sony will sell SxS, and SanDisk will also sell cards for the camera. It records in a lot of formats 1080 at 60i, 50i, and 24p, and 720 at 60p and 50p, as well as standard-def. The XCAM EX records with the MPEG-2 codec, but I'm not sure what kind of bit-rates. They mention 18mb/s, which is equivalent to HDV. So no indication yet that the quality will be an improvement on the HDV format (one nice thing about the HVX-200 is that it offers DVCProHD, which is a better codec than HDV.) Like the P2, you can get an overcrank effect for good slo-mos.

The XDCAM EX should come out in the fall. The SxS standard was just announced too. So no word on storage pricing. I'm guessing it will start high, like the P2 cards, but I'm hoping it will fall fast with flash giant SanDisk also manufacturing SxS cards.