Martin, I've very surprised you found the viewfinder 'milky'. This seems to be contrary to other's experiences with this.

I'm not surprised by the backlighting issue since I've never seen any consumer/prosumer camcorder that could handle dramatic areas of dynamic range.

I am a bit surprised by your finding on the SD side. I would have thought that it would be at least as good as the 2000 with SD.

Test on!

The milky viewfinder was also my observation on the Z5, see my 3rd point at the start of this post
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-hvr-z5-hdr-fx1000/140420-my-first-thoughts-z5.html

The milky viewfinder was also my observation on the Z5, see my 3rd point at the start of this post
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-hvr-z5-hdr-fx1000/140420-my-first-thoughts-z5.html

Wow, not good. Here Sony goes out of their way in highlighting the 'quality' of the new viewfinder. Very strange. But I do know we've had owners of the Z5/1000 say that the image is excellent from the viewfinder. So it is strange that we have such a wide disparity of views on this.

Wow, not good. Here Sony goes out of their way in highlighting the 'quality' of the new viewfinder. Very strange. But I do know we've had owners of the Z5/1000 say that the image is excellent from the viewfinder. So it is strange that we have such a wide disparity of views on this.



Well some of us are maybe more into detail than others. I just can't believe that Sony or any other brand for that matter can create a new camera with obvious flaws. It's sort of like the creators do all their little jobs and then come together and go "OK guys they (the users) will love the low light capability, the high res LCD, the this, the that, but to just piss them off we will go cheaper here and not so good there.

Its a bloody joke if you ask me.

All we want is to have a satisfying experience when we film. I don't think anyone expects full blown ultra high res pics from a $5,000 camera. But if they can fix things such as the colours in the Viewfinder then why not get it right?

Why have this silly white balance set up?
Why have an LCD that will not open once there is something placed in the hot shoe?
Why not have audio in as its a handy feature?
Why does it sometimes take 3 seconds for the camera to go back into record mode after you quickly have gone into pause and then hit record again?

If someone asked my "So mate how is your new camera"? Answer: "It's OK".

I am over all this give nice feedback bizzo.

Get it right SOny and stop stuffing around!!!!!!!!!

To view others in the "Not so happy FX1000 club" go here:
Me Right Now problems with new Sony FX1000 on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/2572867)

I am over all this give nice feedback bizzo.Me Right Now problems with new Sony FX1000 on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/2572867)

I have come to love the images from my FX1000 overall, and I find the viewfinder fine on my camera (I use the LCD most of the time anyway) however, but I absolutely agree on the white balance thingy. The other day I had not anticipted shooting outdoors (bride assured me everything would be indoors, twice) and sure enough without warning they decide to go ou for photos. Well I'm out there fiddling with the stupid scroll wheel trying to get an outdoor WB preset and came close to missing shots.

I had an outdoor WB setting saved but the lighting conditions had changed dramatically. I ended up using the brides dress to WB on. It was really stupid. The photographer is snapping away and I'm playing with my camera.

And the shoe mount, don't even get me started. That seems to have been done deliberately, because I can't even imagine the dumbest person at Sony overlooking that.

I loved the video! The menu wheel was the first thing I encountered when I took the cam out of the box and I absolutely couldn't beleive it. I was highly pissed. Some say they have no problems with it, and I'm happy for them. My solution is I use my fingernail.

Hah hah he is so funny, don't forget to bring a condom with you to a shoot so you can change the menu.

I had an outdoor WB setting saved but the lighting conditions had changed dramatically. I ended up using the brides dress to WB on. It was really stupid. The photographer is snapping away and I'm playing with my camera.




Is it possible to do a manual white balance with the FX1000 while recording? Thanks.

Is it possible to do a manual white balance with the FX1000 while recording? Thanks.
Yes, you can white balance while recording.

Thanks for that info. I have a VX2100 and FX7 and this has always been a problem as if I want to do a custom white balance I would have to pause the camera.

Yes, thanks Michael, that is great information!

I just had a "malfunction" with the FX1000 that I have on loan. I took a fresh battery out of the camera bag and put it on the FX. About 30 seconds after I powered up I got a warning that the battery was too hot and the camcorder shut down. I took the battery off and it feels like it is maybe 65 degrees F. I put it back on. Same thing happened. I put another battery on the FX1000 and no problem. I took the supposedly "hot" battery and put it on a Z7. No hot battery warning on the Z7. Put it back on the FX1000 and I get the hot battery warning again. I don't know what it is sensing but the battery is cool to the touch.

Yes, you can white balance while recording.

If you are recording you can change the WB lever between Preset/A/B. But I couldn't change the WB on A while I was recording. So in Jeff's situation he would have been OK if he an indoor WB on A, for instance. And an outdoor WB on B. Then it is just a matter of being familiar with the controls so you can flip the switch without taking your focus off of the Bride/Groom and ruining the shot.

Anyone out there using the CF unit. Any feedback on it welcome.

If you are recording you can change the WB lever between Preset/A/B. But I couldn't change the WB on A while I was recording. So in Jeff's situation he would have been OK if he an indoor WB on A, for instance. And an outdoor WB on B. Then it is just a matter of being familiar with the controls so you can flip the switch without taking your focus off of the Bride/Groom and ruining the shot.

I am familiar with the A/B settings, however there are times when the lighting changes dramatically from what it was white balanced to and you want to do a custom. While recording with my Panasonic DVC80 its just a matter of pointing at a white object and press the white balance button and you are done. This has been a standard feature on all Panasonic cameras I have used, however for all the Sony Cams you have to stop recording. Don't make much sense to me.

Thanks David, my point exactly. In my case I had an outdoor WB saved that was of no use as the lighting had changed dramatically from sunny to very dark with clouds.

It's one of those things that unless you shoot weddings or do other run and gun paid work you don't care about.

Edit: I realized as soon as I wrote the last statement here someone will likely disagree or point out I am mistaken. In that case I take it back. Please disregard as it was an offhand comment.

Thanks David, my point exactly. In my case I had an outdoor WB saved that was of no use as the lighting had changed dramatically from sunny to very dark with clouds.

It's one of those things that unless you shoot weddings or do other run and gun paid work you don't care about.

Which is why I am going to stick with panny cams for now. My only problem with Panasonic is that they have abandoned tape formats for P2 and AVCHD. One is expensive and the other is difficult to edit.

I just had a "malfunction" with the FX1000 that I have on loan. I took a fresh battery out of the camera bag and put it on the FX. About 30 seconds after I powered up I got a warning that the battery was too hot and the camcorder shut down.

Greg -- no ideas for you, but were these Sony batteries or an off brand?

I am familiar with the A/B settings, however there are times when the lighting changes dramatically from what it was white balanced to and you want to do a custom. While recording with my Panasonic DVC80 its just a matter of pointing at a white object and press the white balance button and you are done. This has been a standard feature on all Panasonic cameras I have used, however for all the Sony Cams you have to stop recording. Don't make much sense to me.

Well actually, if you think about, it would be footage you'd almost certainly have to drop anyway. It would be very distracting to see the wrong colors and then the camera zooming on a white object as you change the MWB and then pull out again to the subject matter.

For that reason I can't get too excited about whether I can change the MWB while recording or not.

My take on the WB while recording is it would be a nice extra. But wouldn't be something you would appreciate until you had to use it.

In my case we sync our cameras up for everything from ceremony thru entire reception, and we do not stop recording for that reason.

I can think of one scenario where the feature would have benefitted me in the past.

We were taping speeches/toasts with PD150 and VX2100 and the speakers were in front of windows. The light coming through the curtains made both indoor and outdoor WB presets undesireable. If I could've pointed at table cloth and set a manual white balance, my footage would've been much better. In post I never did get the footage from the cameras to match, it was bad.

Ditto Jeff. I mostly do multicam shoots and you don't want to stop recording because it would mean re-syncronizing.

Probably still better to resynch than have the footage off for the duration...and possibly be uncorrectable. A pain yes, but at least you'd be back to capturing quality footage.

Greg -- no ideas for you, but were these Sony batteries or an off brand?

All of the batteries are Sony brand.

Re: WB for changing conditions. That is what the "auto tracing white balance" (ATW) is supposed to be for but the only time I have ever seen it work seemlessly was on a Sony BetacamSp demo video. It never worked that well for me with any camcorder.

Does this camera use AVCHD? So what software do most of you use to get capture to computer and then burn to a Blu-Ray DVD?? I know I will need to get a Blu-ray burner to save movies on DVD. How is the quality after burning to Blu-Ray on an HDTV??

Does this camera use AVCHD? So what software do most of you use to get capture to computer and then burn to a Blu-Ray DVD?? I know I will need to get a Blu-ray burner to save movies on DVD. How is the quality after burning to Blu-Ray on an HDTV??

No the FX1000 records to HDV tape.
If you were to record to the MRC1 CF recorder, it also records in HDV format.

So Michael, you say then all I need is Blu-Ray burner and software like Power Director to burn tape in HD to a BD disc. Correct? I have a Blu-Ray player hooked to my HDTV. Then can watch in HD the movies I make with this camera in HD? Thanks for reply

Does anyone know if the FX1000 has DV or synch control? I know the Z5 has it, but I see no mention of it with the FX1000.

It would seem to me that if it doesn't have it, it would require a totally manual operation of the HVR-MRC1 unit, making that device far less convenient to use.

So Michael, you say then all I need is Blu-Ray burner and software like Power Director to burn tape in HD to a BD disc. Correct? I have a Blu-Ray player hooked to my HDTV. Then can watch in HD the movies I make with this camera in HD? Thanks for reply
Sorry, I am not familiar with Power Director.

But as for burning BluRay disks, this a whole other ball of wax.
As you will have more options available to you on a PC currently, and limited on a MAC (Adobe Encore and Toast).

You will need software that can capture and encode your files from tape or CF card and then transpose it to BluRay recordable media format.

Currently many PC software packages do this, Sony Vegas lets you burn to BluRay right from your timeline, while Premiere will render your BluRay files to take into Encore for BluRay burning. Eduis and Liquid have their methods too, but I am not familiar with them.

Check your NLE software for BluRay capabilities.

As I said BluRay is much harder to do on the MAC side of things as Apple still doesn't ahve native BluRay burning capabilities built into it yet.

Anyone out there using the CF unit. Any feedback on it welcome.

One way or the other Martin, I'm thinking you would have to control the CF unit manually. The Z5 allows for synchronization with the record button and, ironically, so does a camera like the Canon XH-A1 since it has DV control.

In my mind this makes the CF unit much less desirable with the 1000.

The Z5 allows for synchronization with the record button and, ironically, so does a camera like the Canon XH-A1 since it has DV control.



mmmm, so this means in effect whilst recording with the 1000 the CF unit will just stay in record and not be affected by pausing on the camera. For me this would be OK and still better than lugging along a laptop.

Any pictures out there of how the CF unit looks ontop of the 1000 or Z5?

That's my take from doing some research on this Martin.

Gee it would be a bother thinking you are in record on the CF unit and of course you are not.

That would be one hell of a downer and no doubt it would happen from time to time.

starting to think I should have held out for the Z5.

Martin, I think if you really are thinking of the CF unit you should really consider the Z5. I've kind of turned a bit on this too now that I've discovered the 1000 doesn't have external device control.

I really find it ironic that a Canon can better control the Sony CF unit than their own FX1000.

I also find it ironic and rather irritating that it takes a full 4+ seconds for the FX1000 to go back into record if you have quickly done a record>pause>record.

Why is it that my 10 year old Sony TRV900 does not have this problem?

This is nothing more than laughable?

I shake my head once again but as I said a few weeks ago the creators need something to do and no doubt fix it on the next release/upgrade.

Dick.....s!!!!!!!!!!

Actually that pause on resuming a recording is inherent in the HDV format. Any HDV cam I've had (yes, even my Canon HV20), can at times have a long pause while going back in to record from a quick pause.

Ken's right - it's 'rewind and cue into the pulses before we drop into record at the exact frame' HDV thing. The Z1 (and I guess a lot of other cams) have a 'quick record' setting in the menu that over-rides this 'exact frame' nonsense and (as the instructions tell you) might just give you a tiny picture break-up at the join.

tom.

Actually the FX1000 has a quick record feature, and thanks to you Tom I understand what caused the weirdness at the beginning of my clips.

Jeff, does that glitch only occur when coming in and out of a quick pause or does it occur at the beginning of every clip regardless of how long the pause is?

Ken, I honestly am not sure. The weirdness is a vague memory, unfortunately I'm working 18 hours stints, have been all week and I don't even remember which project it was, but I'm tempted to say that the non-HD was not as affected, but again I just can't remember. I have not done a full edit yet on anything I've shot with cam., still working on SD stuff.

As I remember it was just as Tom mentioned a very tiny picture break up that as far as I'm concerned it a non-issue. Now that I know what it is I'm OK with it.

Got it, thanks Jeff.

Simplistically DV is one frame at a time HDV is 15 frames as a group with all needed to make sense of the video. For DV starting can either overwrite the the last recordings or leave a gap. For HDV starting in the middle of GOP will wreck the remaining pictures of the GOP and will be seen as a glitch. The slow start is for the mechanism to line up correctly on an I frame.

Ron Evans

Nice explanation Ron, thank you very much.

Well I am happy to eat my words.

Further use and understanding of how the FX1000 works has resulted in much better images than I was first getting.

Initially I had issues with getting over exposure but now I am running Zebra or at least referring often to Zebra the images are AMAZING!

What I have also learnt is that doing manual white balances is a must, especially for indoor filming. I found the indoor setting produced a rather "cold" look for a dance concert I filmed. My old Panasonic DVC62 however always had a warm indoor preset.

So now that I am use to what to expect when looking at the LCD screen I am certainly looking forward to my next shoots.

Also going to 1/3" chips have made picture quality much better.

The Audio Balen box I use is working fine and soon I will purchase the CF unit.

Z5 will complement the FX but that will have to wait until the end of the year.

I am now a happy chappy have learnt how to work around issues and generally be aware of the what is required to get the best result.

I just got mine unit today :-)

Thx to the reading of this section there is no surprises as far as the features and menu, etc... Now it's down to personal settings and testing.

Martin, great to hear! I'd bet that those that are unhappy with the unit also have not learned to use a camera with this degree of sophistication.

The fact is that using manual white balance is a must! Even if a preset or AWB looks right, you'll almost always get better results by using MWB. One thing that people often overlook when using AWB, is that every time you turn off the camera or zoom in on a single colored object, you run the risk of the AWB changing. This can look awful when you look at the color of the prior or subsequent clip.

Using MWB keeps all clips consistent.

And yes, those zebras are running wild in our cams for a reason, to help with overexposure when that area of the picture is important.

I've had to work around the autofocus issues more than anything. I still think that's an area that needs improvement.

Now for the bad: The menu scroll wheel is like a bad joke. I just received my new twins a few minutes ago and Jeff, I agree 100% with you on this one. Everything you said in post #1 on this issue echo my feelings exactly. Not a deal-breaker or even enough to dampen my enthusiasm for its ergonomics overall, but does make you wonder what they were thinking.

I'm glad we're finally on the same page about something...;-)
Sony does not allow you to toggle between indoor and outdoor WB settings. You only get one preset, and you have to choose it in the menu, indoor or outdoor. (why?) There are two customizable presets in addition, but these are WB settings which you calibrate yourself.Yeah, they always do this, it seems. To me it would make more sense to have two presets and one you calibrate yourself, not the other way around.

Another interesting this for those coming from FX1s or 7s is that the way the 1000 thinks when going into manual mode is sort of the opposite of the older cams. On the 1 and 7, when you move the three-position AUTO/MAN/LOCK switch from AUTO to MAN, the three exposure variable are still really in AUTO unless you push each button and enable its manual function, at which point you can adjust it any way you like. But on the 1000, when you switch from AUTO to MANUAL on the two-position switch, all the variables go full manual unless you push each switch to put each back into AUTO mode. Not a problem, just a different way of thinking.

As reported elsewhere, the LCD is simply breath-taking, and I think the VF is remarkable too. I also like how the large eyecup simply fits over the stock eyecup, so you always have both with you.

I was re-reading some of my earlier posts. I remember how defensive I was when someone claimed the images were soft from the camera. Oh what a difference time can make. You can see in the beginning of the thread how I gradually come to see the softness of the images, even though I resisted seeing them as they were.

I felt the camera was close to perfect initially...I certainly don't feel that way anymore, but I don't feel it is the worst either.

No one with objectivity can claim this is the "best" camera in it's price range, but I remember before I had even received mine that I had declared it would blow everything else like it out of the water. I was wrong. It certainly has good qualities, but that doesn't mean it is the best.

I desperately wanted the camera to be perfect, I had too much of my ego tied up into it.

In retrospect, there are several cameras that are as good, and some say better then the FX1000 and Z5, etc.

And as I've said before, as far as wedding cams, the FX1000 leaves a bit to be desired, but none of others are perfect either.

I was re-reading some of my earlier posts. I remember how defensive I was when someone claimed the images were soft from the camera. Oh what a difference time can make. You can see in the beginning of the thread how I gradually come to see the softness of the images, even though I resisted seeing them as they were.



Jeff, so so much of this depends on HOW you view the clips...in other words, what is your display device? When I watch the Z5 clips on either of my LCDs (22" Vaio or 22" HP), I can easily see why people would say they look somewhat 'soft'. But those very same clips, when viewed on my Pioneer 60" 1080p Kuro plasma, are sharp as a tack. I'm talking RAZOR sharp. My friend also has a Z5 and when he views his clips on his 50" Fujitsu plasma (a 768p display) vs my plasma, he says it almost looks as if it were shot with a different camera. The bottom line is he's looking to get the Kuro plasma. I think this is why some people think it's a very sharp camera (and professional reviews on this cam say the same thing) and others think differently. Much of it gets back to your display.

Even among 1080p displays, upconversion quality differs greatly. Since HDV is 1440X1080, there is still a need for scaling to get it to the display's native 1920X1080 resolution.

So I absolutely do not buy into the idea that this camera is soft. No way, no how. I just wish everyone could see some of the shots I have from San Francisco when viewed on the 60" Kuro. We're talking absolute broadcast quality in their look...superb!

Tomorrow will be a real test for me. The cams didn't arrive in time for us to use today shooting a stage production with some*very* low light levels, so we used the normal complement of FX1s and FX7s. For tomorrow's show, we will swap out the FX1000s for the FX1s and see how they compare. I've accused the FX1s of being soft compared to the FX7s, so we'll see what happens with this semi-controlled experiment.

That should be fun Adam. I owned the FX1 for awhile and can tell you, at least from my experience, the Z5 is certainly sharper. I think much of it is the CMOS sensors together with the new lens. I think the lens has always been a weakness in prior Sonys. But it seems the joint venture lens developed by Konica-Minolta is a real winner.

I know opinions of CCI reviews differ, and I've certainly had my gripes with them, but their review showed a staggering 900 lines of horizontal resolution on the FX1000. That's significantly sharper than any cam they've ever tested and significantly more detailed than the comparable Canons. My eyes tend to agree. That's what makes the somewhat sloppy autofocus so much more frustrating to me.

In the final analysis, we are talking about 1/3" CMOS sensors, they cannot NOT be somewhat soft at times. I remember when another member first brought the softness up, I really took it personally, and thought he was out to just dis the camera.

It has a stunning LCD, decent to great images, awkward controls, stupid shoe mount, and I move back and forth between liking it just fine and not liking it so much, but in the end it gets the job done.

Jeff, all I'm saying is this is a sharp, very resolute camera. How much the lens plays a role, how much the sensors or processing factors in, I just don't know. But the bottom line is, regardless of the gripes you or I may have with the camera, it does not produce a soft image...unless you have misfocused the camera.

This is not just a subjective feeling as I watch a razor-sharp image on a 60" screen, but it is also an objective measurement of 900 lines of horizontal resolution. That translates to a sharp, resolute image no matter what you feel about the camera. I have read the same thing in another professional review I saw on the unit.

If you're not seeing a sharp image than it's either your display or focusing issues...and I can certainly sympathize with focusing issues...been there, done that. We can agree about other failings of the design, but objectively and subjectively, it's the sharpest camera I've ever owned and the sharpest camera CCI has ever tested.

Jeff, one final note, I'm not sure why you think that 1/3" CMOS chips can't be sharp all the time. Can they be soft at times? Sure, I've got clips just like that...but it was my fault in not properly focusing or relying on a not too reliable autofocus. There's much more to sharpness & resolution than just the size of the chip. The lens, the processing, and other factors all play a role. The resolution #s that CCI got with the FX1000's 1/3" CMOS chips rival those of larger chips. Hell, I've got a Canon HV20 that looks sharp all the time and its single CMOS chip is no bigger than 1/3". But it still doesn't have the detail of the Z5. You may not like the rolling shutter, but you can't blame the CMOS design for a lack of sharpness.

In my opinion an objective resolution measurement cuts through any of our opinions. In this case it certainly agrees with what my eyes are seeing.