can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

What I hate about the EA50 ... the fact you can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial !!!!

This is one of the things I absolutely LOVE about my VG20, the fact I can quickly increase the gain in increments of 1 ...

Other than that ... Im in love with the camera. ESPECIALLY the 2x digital zoom ... wow, what a brilliant feature! .. and Yes, I can't use it on my slider due to the weight, but i'll be using my VG20 for all of the B roll stuff anyway so it's not the end of the world.

EDIT: Ooops, can a moderator move this to the EA50 sub-section please ... accidentally posted it here!

Re: can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

So moved, no problem -- however "What I hate about the EA50" is too ambiguous for a thread title, so I changed it to "you can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial" to make it more specific (which helps other folks who search for those terms). To do proper justice to your feelings, I added "What I hate about the EA50" to the post itself so that the sentiment isn't lost. Hope this helps!

Re: can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

Cheers Chris!

Re: can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

A three position gain/iso switch is more like what you find on a pro grade camcorders such as the Sony EX3, Panasonic AGHVX200 and many others I've used over years. I would agree that being able to scroll though gain/iso as you can with shutter speed and aperture would be very useful.

Re: can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

Hehe, looks like I"m not the only one :) check this thread out:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nex...wish-list.html

Lee, you are right that Sony has followed the same principle as with many professional camcorders BUT as I see it not the same rules apply. With any small(ler) sensor pro camera 3 gain values where basically all you need, as most can't go up that high before the ugly grain kicks in you usually would choose 0, 6 and maybe 9 or 12db gain.

The EA50 however works according to the same principle as a dslr does which means you have many usable small increments in ISO. If you use fast primes you first set your iris to determine your dof and then you set your exposure as close as possible with the appropriate ISO value. You then might tweak the iris a bit to get the exposure spot on and if you don't want to do that you use a ND variable fader to do the finetuning.

dslr type of camera have a different approach to setting exposure because of the very shallow dof you can achieve with them, this means you don't turn the iris wheel during a shot to adjust for exposure because it can change your dof dramatically which you don't want to happen. With a small sensor videocamera you use the iris wheel to adjust expsore while you film, with the ea50 a nd fader filter would be much better suited for that.

As I see it Sony has no idea how this camera is used in the field or they cripple it on purpose, I sure hope they will add that functionality so we can use the small dial to quickly scroll through the different iso's.

Re: can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

That's one of a very few issues I have with the camera too...
Being able to smoothly change the gain will the scroll wheel would allow you to "ride the fader" as neede, to use an old audio expression. Would be very usefull in situations where light changes quite a bit and isn't in your control.

Re: can't increase the GAIN using the scroll dial
 

Although it doesn't actually solve the fundamental problem, a workaround (of sorts) is to assign the exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV) to one of the ASSIGN buttons and ride the exposure that way. In a recent restaurant shoot I was doing (against the clock btw) we followed the preparation of a dish being served onto a white plate as a continuous shot. Of course the white plate went grey in AUTO but easily controlled back to white as it came into shot using the exp comp. Of couse +/-3EV would be even better - or even exposure lock (see firmware thread!).

Regs, Neil.