PDW EX1 brochure discussion at DVinfo.net

Chris Hurd · September 5th, 2007, 10:17 PM

This discussion has been split out from Vaughn's Wood initial post at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....65&postcount=1

Peter Jefferson · September 5th, 2007, 10:46 PM

Vaughan, I'd be interested to hear your take on this unit if you intend to buy it, as our event market here in Australia is very different, I'm still tossing up the justifications of this unit for event work in comparison to XL H1 / XH A1 image quality vs. the money we make.

Personally I've almost been burnt with HDV and the format in my opinion leaves a lot to be desired, however with the price, I can easily purchase two A1's or one EX...

Matt Headley · September 5th, 2007, 11:00 PM

Sony's going to sell a boatload of these. Absolutely a new standard setter. Maybe when blu ray or hddvd become popular with the average person, this camera will be only 2 thousand bucks or so. I'm preparing myself now for the sticker shock coming soon.

Tim Le · September 5th, 2007, 11:01 PM

Wow, very impressive camera. A couple of highlights:

Native 1920 x 1080 "Exmor" CMOS chips recording up to 1920 x 1080 long GOP. Exmor is also the newly branded chips for the new Sony A700 DSLR.
2 channels uncompressed audio.
14X wide Fujinon lens has optical image stabilization.
In 720P, frame rates can be adjusted 1-60 fps in 1 fps increments. In 1080P, it's 1-30 fps.
Slow shutter up to 64 frames accumulation period.
Four types of gamma curves, same as CineAlta.
Interval and frame record functions.
Depth of field and histogram indicators.
Sensitivity is F10 at 2000 lx. S/N ratio 54 dB. Seems like similar specs to the big cameras.
No LANC. Not sure if lens servo can be controlled with standard Fujinon controllers. If not, guess you need external FIZ motors.
The 3.5" LCD is 640 x 480 resolution! That's 921,000 dots (not pixels). This is like the same very nice screen on the new Nikon D3 and D300 DSLRs. Finally, a high resolution LCD!!

Camera is a little heavy though: 6.2 lbs ready to go.

Peter Jefferson · September 5th, 2007, 11:17 PM

The live histogram in itself is something most of us have been waiting for.

Also the focus ring itself is movable back and forth to absolute manual or semi/full auto

Focus peaking functions are a direct take from the JVC with colour options this time..

It looks like they've listened to people this time..

Mike Williams · September 5th, 2007, 11:20 PM

Just read most of it starting with the specs... printed first :)

.14 Lux? even at 18db that is swwweeeett. Am I nuts or is this really good low light capability?

Mike

Tim Le · September 5th, 2007, 11:32 PM

Peter, Sony has had the colored peaking for awhile...at least since the Z1.

Mike, that's the absolute minimum illumination spec with the the longest slow shutter (64 frames accumulation) enabled. In normal shooting, that slow of a shutter would blur moving objects too much. So the .14 lx isn't really a realistic number (unless you wanted that effect) but technically that is apparently the minimum illumination. The slow shutter would seem to come in handy for the time lapse function.

Chris Hurd · September 5th, 2007, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Le

Not sure if lens servo can be controlled with standard Fujinon controllers.

That would require an 8-pin jack, and I didn't see one on the camcorder.

Greg Boston · September 5th, 2007, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Le

Native 1920 x 1080 "Exmor" CMOS chips recording up to 1920 x 1080 long GOP. Exmor is also the newly branded chips for the new Sony A700 DSLR.
Sensitivity is F10 at 2000 lx. S/N ratio 54 dB. Seems like similar specs to the big cameras.

Notice they said effective resolution of 1920x1080. I believe they are doing diagonal pixels on this camera a la the V1.

The sensitivity is slightly better than the big cameras owing to CMOS. The large cameras are rated F9, this camera is rated F10.

It's a nice little camera for sure.

-gb-

Brian Cassar · September 5th, 2007, 11:38 PM

Low light has always been my sore point in any camera. I suggest that you ignore the stated 0.14lux and take in consideration the sensitivity. For the EX1 it is stated as f10 at 2000lux. I think this should be quite good. Just to give you an idea, my faithful very low light DSR-300 is f11 at 2000 lux yet rated as 0.5lux. The XDCAM 330 is rated as f9 at 2000 lux and some guys say that they would have liked it to be slightly better for low light. So all in all I guess that we should be able to continue working with little or no lights with this fantastic piece of equipment.

My only concerns on this camera are the following:

1)slightly on the heavy side at 3kg with 2 cards and the extra capacity battery
2)slightly power hungry at 13w with the monitor switched off (so I'll assume it will be about 15w in total)
3)no D-tap to power an on-board light - hence the need for a battery attached to the belt and dangling wires......agghhhh

Otherwise, from specs alone, this camera is a bomb!

Brian

Greg Boston · September 5th, 2007, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Le

The slow shutter would seem to come in handy for the time lapse function.

You better believe it does! You should see some of the night sky timelapes I've done with the bigger camera. All free of noise courtesy of slow shutter.

-gb-

Mark Utley · September 5th, 2007, 11:55 PM

Looks like a winner! I was thinking about this as an upgrade from my Z1 for months, then I decided to hold off on getting a new camera and invest in audio gear instead. Now it's got me interested again!

Gabe Strong · September 5th, 2007, 11:59 PM

Hmmm....so my source was right about the 1920x1080 chips. Hopefully he's right about the $6000 price point as well....
:-)

Tim Le · September 6th, 2007, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Notice they said effective resolution of 1920x1080. I believe they are doing diagonal pixels on this camera a la the V1.

I think it might be 1920 x 1080 for real this time (unless you know something else, Greg). These camera specs often state effective pixels versus actual pixels, the difference being the pixels not used along the sensor's border. On the HVR-V1U, Sony states 960 x 1080 effective pixels (1,037,000). But on the EX1, they state 1920 (horizontal) x 1080 (vertical) and there is no mention of rotated pixels voodoo in the brochure.

Sony is also claiming 1000 lines of horizontal resolution in 1920 x 1080i mode. Wow.

James Huenergardt · September 6th, 2007, 12:13 AM

With 'HDV' out via iEEE, this camera should complement my Z1U nicely!

Can't wait to see how much I have to 'pony up' to own one. Plus the new PDW-U1 external XDCam drive for archiving.

Now to see how it works with my Redrock M2...

September 5th, 2007, 10:17 PM	#1
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	PDW EX1 brochure discussion This discussion has been split out from Vaughn's Wood initial post at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....65&postcount=1 __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

September 5th, 2007, 11:01 PM	#4
Tim Le Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 350	Wow, very impressive camera. A couple of highlights: Native 1920 x 1080 "Exmor" CMOS chips recording up to 1920 x 1080 long GOP. Exmor is also the newly branded chips for the new Sony A700 DSLR. 2 channels uncompressed audio. 14X wide Fujinon lens has optical image stabilization. In 720P, frame rates can be adjusted 1-60 fps in 1 fps increments. In 1080P, it's 1-30 fps. Slow shutter up to 64 frames accumulation period. Four types of gamma curves, same as CineAlta. Interval and frame record functions. Depth of field and histogram indicators. Sensitivity is F10 at 2000 lx. S/N ratio 54 dB. Seems like similar specs to the big cameras. No LANC. Not sure if lens servo can be controlled with standard Fujinon controllers. If not, guess you need external FIZ motors. The 3.5" LCD is 640 x 480 resolution! That's 921,000 dots (not pixels). This is like the same very nice screen on the new Nikon D3 and D300 DSLRs. Finally, a high resolution LCD!! Camera is a little heavy though: 6.2 lbs ready to go.

September 5th, 2007, 11:20 PM	#6
Mike Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USVI Posts: 232	Thanks Just read most of it starting with the specs... printed first :) .14 Lux? even at 18db that is swwweeeett. Am I nuts or is this really good low light capability? Mike

September 5th, 2007, 11:55 PM	#12
Mark Utley Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 479	Looks like a winner! I was thinking about this as an upgrade from my Z1 for months, then I decided to hold off on getting a new camera and invest in audio gear instead. Now it's got me interested again! __________________ Mark Utley

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September 5th, 2007, 10:46 PM	#2
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	Vaughan, I'd be interested to hear your take on this unit if you intend to buy it, as our event market here in Australia is very different, I'm still tossing up the justifications of this unit for event work in comparison to XL H1 / XH A1 image quality vs. the money we make. Personally I've almost been burnt with HDV and the format in my opinion leaves a lot to be desired, however with the price, I can easily purchase two A1's or one EX...

September 5th, 2007, 11:00 PM	#3
Matt Headley Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Franklinville, NJ Posts: 45	Sony's going to sell a boatload of these. Absolutely a new standard setter. Maybe when blu ray or hddvd become popular with the average person, this camera will be only 2 thousand bucks or so. I'm preparing myself now for the sticker shock coming soon.

September 5th, 2007, 11:17 PM	#5
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	The live histogram in itself is something most of us have been waiting for. Also the focus ring itself is movable back and forth to absolute manual or semi/full auto Focus peaking functions are a direct take from the JVC with colour options this time.. It looks like they've listened to people this time..

September 5th, 2007, 11:32 PM	#7
Tim Le Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 350	Peter, Sony has had the colored peaking for awhile...at least since the Z1. Mike, that's the absolute minimum illumination spec with the the longest slow shutter (64 frames accumulation) enabled. In normal shooting, that slow of a shutter would blur moving objects too much. So the .14 lx isn't really a realistic number (unless you wanted that effect) but technically that is apparently the minimum illumination. The slow shutter would seem to come in handy for the time lapse function.

September 5th, 2007, 11:38 PM	#10
Brian Cassar Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Malta Posts: 306	Low light has always been my sore point in any camera. I suggest that you ignore the stated 0.14lux and take in consideration the sensitivity. For the EX1 it is stated as f10 at 2000lux. I think this should be quite good. Just to give you an idea, my faithful very low light DSR-300 is f11 at 2000 lux yet rated as 0.5lux. The XDCAM 330 is rated as f9 at 2000 lux and some guys say that they would have liked it to be slightly better for low light. So all in all I guess that we should be able to continue working with little or no lights with this fantastic piece of equipment. My only concerns on this camera are the following: 1)slightly on the heavy side at 3kg with 2 cards and the extra capacity battery 2)slightly power hungry at 13w with the monitor switched off (so I'll assume it will be about 15w in total) 3)no D-tap to power an on-board light - hence the need for a battery attached to the belt and dangling wires......agghhhh Otherwise, from specs alone, this camera is a bomb! Brian

September 5th, 2007, 11:59 PM	#13
Gabe Strong Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Juneau, AK Posts: 814	Hmmm....so my source was right about the 1920x1080 chips. Hopefully he's right about the $6000 price point as well.... :-)

September 6th, 2007, 12:13 AM	#15
James Huenergardt Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA Posts: 513	With 'HDV' out via iEEE, this camera should complement my Z1U nicely! Can't wait to see how much I have to 'pony up' to own one. Plus the new PDW-U1 external XDCam drive for archiving. Now to see how it works with my Redrock M2...