Any news on the Sony PMW 500
 

Has anyone bought or tried out the Sony PMW 500. I would love to hear some feed back on this camera.

Cheers

Alister got his hands on one
XDCAM-USER.com Sony PMW-500 Review.

Thanks Tom,

I have already checked Alister's blog along with some other reviews on line. I was hoping that the 500 has been released and someone was using this on a daily basis to get some feed back on.

Cheers

I'm in line to get one for review from Sony hopefully the week of 11/15

I'll post when I've had the chance to take it for a spin.

I'm trying to find info on the PMW500 with it's over & under cranking abilities.
Does the 500 achieve this in 1280x720? or is this full HD 1920x 1080i

Thanks

Just got the 500 but have not yet unpacked.

More over the next week...

Hi Ned,

Unpack that camera now please.... he,he,he
Man I'm so close to getting this and I await your review of this new little beast.

Cheers

Oh I forgot,

What lens are you going to use with this Ned?

its similar to ex cameras:

1920x1080 25/30p can be UNDERCRANKED (set to 1-30fps)

1280x720 25p can be under & overcranked (set 1-60fps)

Regards

Uli

All unpacked and getting started with set up.

Sony shipped me the Fujinon HA18x lens with manual focus/servo zoom.

First impression can definitely confirm Alister's excellent video review.

The camera is amazingly light-weight with menus/controls that are much more like PMW series (great for me since I have an EX1 and EX3).

The monochrome viewfinder is sharp and the LCD screen is the same as the EX-1.

I have not used any of my own SxS cards since Sony sent me 1x 64gb and 2 x 8gb. Note that to record HD 422 50 Mbps, cards must be formatted UDF. I inserted one of Sony's 8 gb cards and got an incompatible format msg. So, I would presume it was formatted Fat32 for XDCAM EX. When I tried to reformat card in camera, got a msg that could not complete operation. I'll read the manual and see what I can figure out.

I'll do some shooting with it over the week and then alas either have to return it to Sony or disappear to a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

Ned,

Any more info on the PMW-500 you are testing?

Hi Ned,
Now that you have had the PMW 500 for the weekend how did it go?

Cheers

I have enjoyed evaluating the 500. It is lightweight and balanced. Monochrome viewfinder is sharp and focusing is a snap. Of course, with CCDs, not a trace of jello-vision or flash banding. The one thing I was not able to do owing both to schedule and weather was take it to Times Square at night to check for CCD smearing.

I find it somewhat peculiar that it does not have histogram, WFM or any other kinds of scopes. Yes, zebras.

It only draws 29 watts, so that's 3 hrs from the smallest info lithium battery.

The 64gb SxS card holds about 2 hrs of XDCAM HD 50 mbps 422. Writes to a UDF format. No problem with FCP importing the MXF files using most recent version of Sony XDCAM Transfer. Remember on the Mac side to install the UDF drivers after installing the SxS drivers.

In response to another question on the thread, I can confirm that it does Slow & Quick motion in oth 720 and 1080 modes.

It just feels to me like a nice, solid conservative choice. Nothing really bleeding edge. Just solid with a nice image and will be an excellent top of the line choice for those who shoot XDCAM. Suitable for ENG EFP uses or commercials, reality TV.

Finishing the full review now.

Ned

Thanks ned,
Look forward to the rest of the review.
Cheers

I did not know it did over-cranking in 720p and 1080p or am I reading Ned's post wrong?

Yes it does it just like the EXs, 1-30 in 1080 and 1-60 in 720. Presumably requires a power down to change though. I'd be very interested to know which gives better overall results - the half vertical res 60fps in the F800 or the 720/60P in the 500. I wonder how the missing lines of the 800 will react when put through grading and the transmission chain.
Steve