bought my X10!!!
 

YESSSS! I finally got my PDX10 !!
I bought it online at BH for 2000 US$ and received it 3 days later (i'm in Montreal, Canada) in perfect condition.

I just wanted to thank everybody on this forum for all the input. I was completely new to DV, and knew nothing about it 6 months ago. I've been reading this forum for the last few months and learned so much!

I hesitated between the GL2, PD-150, and PDX-10, and thankfully to all the advice on this forum I was able to decide which one best met my needs (and to find out what "16:9" meant (!)).

Thank you all for posting questions, and thanks a lot to those who answer them!!!

I'll try to put up a page with stuff on the X10 in the following weeks (vertical smear problem, example of still shots etc...).

Me Too!
 

Congrats Jeff! Keep me posted on how you like it. I just ordered mine on Friday from B&H, and it should be here on Tuesday (I missed the cutoff for shipment by 40 mins, so it's not shipping til Monday or I'd have it already!)

I also appreciate the valuable input from DVinfo and it's site members. I've spent a lot of time lurking over the last month or so, and will continue to do so after my purchase. Great site and great folks!

Michael

After you take 'er out for a spin, come back here and give us your low-down.

Hi all,


I also purchased a DSR-PDX10.. i was going to wait until after NAB,(to see whats new) but an impending trip in which I needed a small but high quality camera made it necesary to make a move... I agonized over the decision.. I really was considering the Panasonic AG-DVX100, particularly because the 24p film type look interested me greatly, but the camera price, lack of 16:9 and I figured if I bought it , then sure enough a new camera would be announced at NAB that would out do it.. ( which may very well happen) So the PDX10 was a bit of a compromise to me..

So here is my initial report on this camera.. The size of the camera is very small indeed.. when you attach the shotgun mic on the camera with the xlr connectors the camera looks like its all microphone !! as it is nearly the size of the camera!! After shooting an event this weekend , i realized the factory settings for the audio are to sensitive, and have to crank it down a bit.. but overall I would give the audio high marks.. The physical feel of the camera is solid.. seems built well... I am a bit wary of the tape mechanism and the way the inner part of the camera seems to be exposed when loading the tape.. i would be afraid to load a tape if i were in a sandy area with the wind blowing.. So I will be paranoid with loading tapes with this baby.. (I have past experiences with a destroyed capstan)
As far as the balance of the camera when hand holding it.. I found it difficult to shoot with one hand.. You almost surely have to use 2 hands, especially if you push the zoom in at all.. I am just used to have a larger camera, and this is a bit of an adjustment.. One thing I found is when using the supplied battery, the camera seems a bit front heavy, versus when i use the extra battery (which is bigger and heavier) the camera balances out much better with this battery..
Another thing I found odd with the camera, is that there was no neutral density filter.. Most Sony cmacorders had this feature.. Not sure why not here.. The footage i shoot in the middle of the day, was a bit "hot" and I think this filter would have helped..
The quality of the footage is very good.. I am pleased with what i see.When you have proper lighting the cameras video is very good.. I have yet to shoot much in low light, but I suspect the camera is not great in low light.. i did shoot a small shot in a room with little lighting and some candles.. The camera performance here was ok, not great, but not horrible.. there was a bit of a vertilcle smear, but not anywhere near as bad as some of the post i have been reading have suggested..
One of the coolest things about the camera, besides it small size and good quality.. Is the ability to use the flipout screen and adjust focus and exposure using the touchscreen.. I like this, and think Sony is on to something really good here..

I do not have a way to view 16:9 footage currnetly, so I cannot make any opinions on this..

Ok, thats enough rambling.. These views are just my personal opinions and observations .. i am sure I will have more as i use the camera more.. Overall i am pleased with this very small and powerful little machine..

Mike Moncrief

Mike , once you get a feel for how to shoot with this cam in low light situations I think you will be mildly pleased with it's ability to make the most of a small amount of light. Once you find the spot you can set it in a custom setting for further use.

Hello,

Wow, good to hear you found a sweet spot...?? Tell me more of your technique..

i posted my first review/impressions and would love to hear similar reports from the others out that who have bought and now are using the camera..

mike,
glad to hear that you are happy with your camera.

>I really was considering the Panasonic AG-DVX100, particularly because the 24p film type look interested me greatly,

i do'nt understand why anybody needs 24p, unless if he/she wants to blow result to film. Otherwise it's only reducing quality, you will have less frames per second. And with your camera you have a possibility to shoot 25 or 30fps progressive (depends if camera is pal or ntsc). Julien Lutrell described that possibility. It is'nt described in camera's manual, but works well.

>One thing I found is when using the supplied battery, the camera seems a bit front heavy, versus when i use the extra battery (which is bigger and heavier) the camera balances out much better with this battery..

yes, camera is much better balanced when bigger battery is attached.

pdx10 i have gives a bit more smear than pd150, but it is not very bad, if you know about it and try to avoid shots, which can be critical.
I do'nt like unusually narrow angle of view, and have'nt found a good wide angle adaptor for that camera yet.
pdx10 has more gray graduations, it's picture is 'smoother' and 'more pro' than pd100 had, more comparable to pd150 picture.
One thing, do'nt know is it good or bad. pdx10 has much bigger depth of field than pd150.

yeah, that's all
regards, Margus

I got my PDX10 in on Tuesday, and have only had limited opportunities to test it out. I like the looks and the size of the cam, which is why I chose it over the VX2000 or GL2. It feels good in my hands, though as mentioned, with the mic attached, it is a little front heavy. The larger battery balances it out pretty nicely though.

Since it was dark when I had my first opportunity to test it, I shot some of the neighbor's porch lights to see this "vertical smear" that everybody had been talking about. It was very noticeable! I tried making some shutter adjustments and other exposure adjustments to see if I could eliminate it, but never could completely eliminate it. Keep in mind, however, that I was shooting at a bright light in otherwise total darkness, a scenario which I doubt I'd repeat in a real world application.

Later in the week I shot some footage while on the back porch drinking a few beers with friends. I was impressed with the quality of footage in fairly low light - illuminated only by the porch lights above. In a couple of shots where the inside lights were in the background I once again got a slight vertical smear, but didn't attempt any adjustments to correct it. Any suggestions on how to reduce or eliminate it on the fly would be helpful. I also got a semi-circle rainbow effect at one angle from the glare on a light in the background, but I was able to eliminate it by taking off the UV filter.

We compared the footage taken with the PDX10 in the low light vs. a buddy's TRV530 (Digital8), and the difference in picture quality was incredible (as you'd expect when comparing a 3CCD to a 1 CCD cam). Having just upgraded to the PDX10 from a D8 myself, I was pleased to see the drastic difference. I'm hoping to do some similar comparisons during normal lighting conditions this weekend.

I was initially concerned about the 12x optical zoom, but after taking footage at my daughter's softball game last night, I don't think it will create a problem for my primary usage (hunting videos). I was also impressed with the quality when using the 24x digital, in the event I needed to extend it that far. However, extending to the 48x digital started showing quite a bit of quality loss.

I was a little concerned about having some functions on the LCD screen, but so far I'm pleased with them. I did put some of the laminate sheets that are used for PDA's over the screen to save smudge marks, and it seems to be working fine. I really like the touch screen zoom and spot meter functions.

I agree that bright daylight created some hot spots, but I think an ND filter will work fine. I wish it had an onboard ND filter, but I suppose i can spare the $10 to buy one at the store.

The 16:9 is great, and looks great on a TV that can play it. However, all of my old footage, some of which I may combine with new footage to create a video, is in 4:3, so I'm torn between which setting to use when filming starts. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to combine formats on one video.

You folks that have PDX10's keep us posted on how you're liking and what you're doing with your cams. I'll do the same from here.

Michael

few examples
 

here are a few pictures that I took with the X10, and an example of the vertical smear problem.

http://www.espacetechnologies.com/JFN/pdx10.htm

this page is really bad so I don't know how long it will be up...

Jeff , excuse me if I am being obtuse but is there a point you are trying to make ?
Did you just get your first camcorder or are you just having trouble useing this one?
Just wondering.
KennJ