Like title says - I’m really considering the CX900 - but I hate the vagaries around release dates.

Anyone heard a date?

What's your reasoning for going for a consumer camera which will most likely require full auto vs a pro camera? Is it the 4k?

I'm primarily a DSLR (6D) shooter Danny, but for my long form, I supplement the DSLR footage with the best handicams I can get for my budget. Currently I have a CX730.

In fairness, I wouldn't call these consumer, but 'prosumer'.

I can't see many Dads coughing up £1300 for childrens birthday videos.

PS, I believe the CX900 is going to be fantastic quality. ANd I'm just not buying into the 4K market especially not for wedding DVD production.

Pre-ordered the AX100. It will be taking the place of my VG30. As much as I love that little cam using it as a cya and limo camera the kids absolutely hate not being able to zoom properly. Shooting 4k and down converting will give a much sharper image and pleasing image then the VG30. All i got for a date is end of the month.

Sony's AX100 is certainly on my radar but not ready to order. The CX900 will also offer great images, but I wholeheartedly agree with Danny on the consumer vs prosumer models. I couldn't bring myself to purchase the CX900 with the AX100 so close in price.

Besides Clive, what choice do we have? We may not like the wait but there are no real alternatives for anyone who wants this IQ at this price point in this form factor. If someone wants the camera, they should order it unless there is something else out there to turn to. In my case, I turned to the excellent but frustrating RX10 because I didn't have the patience to wait and because I needed a DSLR style camera anyway.

I have pre-ordered cameras several times from both B&H as well as Amazon and felt in all three instances the wait was more than worth it.

Frustrating that the AX lacks no handle/shotgun mount and that it offers only single-slot card. Nevertheless it is a lot of image quality for the money for sure. Who cares that it's USB 2, it's a non issue, but still can't get over the pettiness of Sony not including USB 3. Real head scratcher.

I am anxious to see real world 1080 footage from the AX100. Not thrilled with 4K and the larger pixels, though it might do terrific at 1920 x 1080, just have too wait and see.

The 1" sensor on this form factor is of course amazing. During my frustrating days of shooting with the GH1/GH2s I kept asking myself why someone could not or would not put a 1" sensor in a video camera. Glad they finally made it happen.

What's your reasoning for going for a consumer camera which will most likely require full auto vs a pro camera? Is it the 4k?

Not sure how they compare to my sony cx730's but both at least look like a step up in functionality, I use my cx730 handicams exclusively during ceremonies or in any occasion I need to get it right the first time, I adjust exposure manually all the time and use spotfocus on the lcd screen when needed, whitebalance can also be set manually if necessary.

Since I have used small and large form "dslrs" and handicams I can say without a doubt that in any situation where I need to get it right the first time with no room for error I will use my handicams, they provide me a smooth zoom, smooth exposure changes (with zebra's) and very good autofocus with a very good image quality and low light performance. If one of my two cx730's would die I will replace them with a ax100 or cx900 without even thinking about it. :)

Noa, I had been looking a second CX730 for a while, somebody posted an ebay auction for one - I watched it for seven days.... then forgot till half hour after the auction ended! I usually only bid at last minute.

I was so gutted because it went for £590!

But in a way I'm glad, its sort of confirmed in my head to get a CX900 now.

I usually have a CX730 in one corner at ceremony and man my 6D in the other corner. My plan now is to have two full auto handicams in both corners and then have more freedom with my 6D on monopod - changing lenses when appropriate, moving around, getting really creative.

The handicams are more than sufficient for long form - especially for DVD. I would still be planning to use my DSLR footage at important times like the vows - and a nice tighter crop on my new 85mm 1.8.

So I think I'm just going to wait for the CX900 to complete my gear spending for the year.

2013 Setup -
Canon 6D
Sigma 50mm 1.4
Canon 550D
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 (APS-C only)
Sony CX730

2014 Purchases -
Laing P-04
Canon 17-70 f4 L (the wide end for steadycam work)
Canon 85mm f1.8 (for tighter crop at times)

I also forgot the worry free "no 30 minute recording limit feature" :) and also very important a battery choice to make the camera go on for hours constantly and a stabilization no dslr (with the exeption of a Olympus em5 or em1) can match, I see the AX100 4k or CX900 also adds a integrated nd filter, if the lowlight performance on both new models is on par or even better then the cx7xx model both are no-brainers. The larger sensor will give you a shallower dof which will make them match better with your dslr's.

You can still, like you do, use a 3rd dslr for thighter shots or when you want to add some shallower dof, of just for any other beautyshot. People should stop seeing these camera's as holiday consumer cams, they are a wolf in sheep's clothing's :)

If one of my two cx730's would die I will replace them with a ax100 or cx900 without even thinking about it. :)

One of mine did die at the end of last year but I managed to get it repaired (new power board) for £100 - well worth it - these are great B cameras!

Methinks the "holiday consumer cam" is dead, replaced by cell phones and tablets - very few care enough about the quality of their shots (selfies?) to buy a "real" camera anymore. And the stupid things just get better with every new release, narrowing the advantage of "real" cameras!

It will be interesting to see where the video camera market niche goes - I think the manufacturers will have to work very hard to appeal to the die hard enthusiast, and release some seriously powerful cameras! I'm just worried the days of relatively favorable cost to value ratios may be ending...

It seems very similar to the personal computer market these days. The way smartphone cameras have captured the point and shoot/dedicated GPS device market, the smartphone and tablet wave have captured the consumer personal computer market.

Now the dedicated camcorder and DSLR market seems to be for enthusiast/professionals/tech seeking users as well as high end desktop computers and laptops.

Yep - those pesky Apple products came along, changed the paradigm, and knocked a lot of things off the rails! And of course competition from Android/Chrome based gadgets too...

One has to wonder how many "innovations" we will see come and then go in our lifetimes! I once swore I'd NEVER own a cell phone... sigh...

The scary thing is now they seem to want to bring the watch back... not sure WHAT to make of that!


I do think this argues for a much faster acceptance of 4k, what with super high resolution screens on many of the high end "devices" I'm seeing, and of course 4K cell phone cams... I find it sort of funny in a way how these tiny devices are driving the market for "quality" imaging - they are heavily advertising how great their cameras are for stills and video, though I think it's in the same league as one that advertised how great its tiny little speakers were placed for "audio quality". There are limits to what you can squeeze into a pocket sized item!


The thing I've noticed the most is that as these "consumer" devices have met the needs of the "average" consumer, there's a noticeable reduction in the quantity of "high end" stuff available, and a slowing of innovation and price drops as the market shrinks... not sure what that will mean as we move ahead!?

Noa, I had been looking a second CX730 for a while, somebody posted an ebay auction for one - I watched it for seven days.... then forgot till half hour after the auction ended! I usually only bid at last minute.

I was so gutted because it went for £590!



As well as CX730 cameras I have a CX700 - pretty much the same spec - the manual controls are the same but without the Zeiss lens/stabilisation - I think the sensor is slightly smaller but for a locked off camera it matches the CX730 nicely - plenty pop up on ebay at a cheap price

Sony Handycam HDR-CX700VE 12.1 Mega Pixel Camcorder - Black 4905524766370 | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=221388386751&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:3160)

Pete

I think I have completely misunderstood the differences between the CX900 and the AX100. They are essentially the exact same camera body and sensor and one shoots 4K and the other 1080. Is this correct as far as the rest of you know?

I just talked to someone and found out that the shoe mount is non-standard (I hate Sony for these things they do sometimes) and I believe this is true for both cameras.

The cx900 doesn't have zebra's, the ax100 has if I have to beleive the specs, that's an important difference

I think I have completely misunderstood the differences between the CX900 and the AX100. They are essentially the exact same camera body and sensor and one shoots 4K and the other 1080. Is this correct as far as the rest of you know?

I just talked to someone and found out that the shoe mount is non-standard (I hate Sony for these things they do sometimes) and I believe this is true for both cameras.

Yes they are really the same with AX100 also shooting 4K. I think you can get adapters for the shoe mount if you want one. not sure if there is one for a standard cold shoe but they are available for the other Sony adapter types.

Ron Evans

Never mind, disregard post, pixel count is same on both cameras, I had thought they were different.

Does anyone have any definitive answer as to how these models do in low light with this big of a sensor, despite the small aperture? I'm cross-shopping these against the Canon HFG30.

The problem with low light tests is, its hard to tell just how dark it is unless you are in that place using your eyes. Or at least see a comparison with something else that you know like DSLR at ISO 1600 for example.

But looking at this one video I found, I'm far from impressed. Sharpness is great but not always helpful, and yea cropping ability could be useful, but what use are these if you have complete mush in a dimly lit church, or reception.

(FDR-AX100)4K Sample - LOW LUX test under the full moonlight 月明かりで高感度撮影 - YouTube

Just goes to show that theres no such thing as the 'best camera'. You get what you need to serve you best.

Looking at the above clip, I'd sooner buy a CX730 at 600/700 quid than spend £1600 on this (for my needs of course).

Looking at this one, 15db may be useable, but I don't like what I see at 24db at all.

AX100 UHD low-light test - YouTube

Yeah I'm trying to figure out whether the CX900 will outperforms the HFG30. Also can't really trust these YouTube clips because of the extra compression, so I'm not sure what to make of them.

The cx900 doesn't have zebra's, the ax100 has if I have to beleive the specs, that's an important difference

I had the chance to look at a CX900 at Best Buy yesterday and can confirm, yes it does have zebras

Thats nice to know, can't always believe the specs on the sony site it seems.

Despite considering the CX900 (and even the AX100) I recently took opportunity to snap up another CX730. They are very rare at this point and can probably only be found second hand. This one looked as though it had barely been touched and I got it for £560.

This is less than half of the price of the CX900. I think I've made a wise choice for somebody who doesn't have a lot of cash.

I'd love to see some comparison footage though to see just how much difference in quality I would get for nearly £700 more from the CX900. I wouldn't have excellent stabilisation like the CX730 has - thats one thing for sure.

Any of the CX730 users on here want to buy the CX900 and convince me its worth the step?

I got my cx730 new for 830 euro just before it got replaced by a newer model and I believe it was 1000 euro when it first came out, the cx900 now sells for 1500 euro, the main advantages I think are it's larger sensor so you can get a shallow dof if you zoom in, focussing errors will be less forgiving compared to the cx730 but you can push the background easier out of focus which can look nicer. I believe it also has a build in ND? that will also prevent very high shutterspeeds outside.

I"m sure the price of this unit will go down pretty fast so with a bit of patience you might get one for around 1200-1300 euro in a few months, only if one of my handicams would die I will get a new replacement, either cx900 or ax100 but for this and next year they still will have to deal with all my church recordings and dance recitals. I see no need for replacing them for the next 2 years.