Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

It's standout shiny new feature is being the first camera with footage authentication via embedded digital signatures. Just the thing for combatting "misinformation" and AI shenanigans.

Optical zoom is 17x with the ability to do an additional 1.5x in 4K mode and 4x in HD mode via the digital extender function.

"And now for DVinfo's resident Sony camera expert Doug Jensen. Doug, what can you tell us about this new camera?" :-)

Andrew

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I've been involved in the development of the Z300 for almost a year, and a couple of the Japanese engineers even brought a prototype to my house in Florida last December to get my feedback. And then I saw it again at NAB. It is going a great camera, with one huge flaw . . . no viewfinder. I couldn't convince Sony that a lot of us older, successful, experienced, professional shooters still insist on a viewfinder!!!!

They are hoping to rely on 3rd-party accessory makers to fill that gap with an optical loupe to clamp onto the LCD, but there's nothing available yet from Zacuto or any of the other major players. To Sony's credit, though, the LCD mount is quite robust (unlike the FX6) and should handle the weight of a good viewfinder loupe when those accessories become availalble.

I left Florida at the end of June for a 4-month road trip through the Canadian Rockies and Alaska, and I was supposed to have a pre-production Z300 to bring with me, but it ended up not being ready in time. And I don't want to receive it in the middle of my trip -- especially without a viewfinder solution already figured out.

But I do look forward to getting my hands on one in November and putting it through it's paces. The Z200 has already become the camera I use most frequently, and I expect the Z300 might replace both my Z280 and Z200. I think they'll sell a ton of them. No other camcorder from any manufacturer can match it's specs or features.

That's my take on the Z300. Thanks for asking.
(currently in Haines, AK)

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Thanks for all that, Doug.

How do you rate the 'AI empowered' advancements in autofocus on the camera? Would you be prepared to trust it in real life?

Andrew

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

AF should be fantastic. My Z200 uses AI and I rarely ever need to focus the lens manually. Somehow it just knows what is supposed to be in focus. And if I do focus manually, it takes that information and says"okay, that's what is important, so I'll track focus on that object". It just works.

I can say that the Z200 has the best AF of any video camera ever made. So, the Z300 will just build on that.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I agree with Doug. I recently returned from a two-week trip to Botswana. I used the Canon XF605 to film the wildlife and believe me, I used the EVF 90% of the time. At my age I would never buy a camcorder/cinema camera that did not have an EVF, although it looks like all camera manufacturers are dropping the EFV. Trust me, bouncing around in a safari vehicle while having the LCD monitor and hood deployed all the time is just not practical. I agree it does have very impressive specs but at this point of my life I really have no use for footage authentication via embedded digital signatures.

Doug, safe travels.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Here is Zacuto’s solution to the lack of an EVF.

https://www.cined.com/zacuto-z-finde...sony-pxw-z300/

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

And that adds another $500. to the price.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Doug, after reading some comments from people on another site, what are your thoughts about the clarity of the lens in this camera when it comes to the 4K resolution? And is this "the same sensor block" etc or are there new developments or advances here that are being brought to market?

Also, I note that this camera doesn't use the expensive SxS cards for storage media. Is this from your feedback to Sony engineers?

Andrew

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Everything I've seen from the camera looks great, but since I have not had the chance to put it through it's paces on my own, I will defer all specific comments about it until I have the opportunity to do so. In particular, I look forward to comparing it head to head with my Z280 and Z200. Unfortunately, as I have noted before, I am on the road until November and do not foresee getting my hands on my Z300 until then. Rotten timing for the release of a new camera.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Any chance the camera will be able to record 32-bit float audio?

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

If you don't see it in the product specs, then I'd say no. As far as I know, there are no Sony cameras that have that feature, nor do I think it is it necessary.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

So, how's that review coming along? :-)

Andrew

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I had the opportunity to check out the camera at last month's NABNY show. The camera appears to be designed for the broadcast industry. As a general purpose camcorder it is way overpriced. B&H lists the camera for $8,299 whereas Adorama is listing the camera for $9,999. The Sony rep told me the camera should start shipping in mid November.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I just got back home from being on the road for six months, and a final production Z300 arrived yesterday by FedEx. Less than 10 minutes after opening the box I was literally on my way to shoot the Blue Origin rocket launch at Cape Canaveral (see video below) Today, I just wrapped up a 5 hour shoot of a prescribed burn with the county fire department and Florida Forestry. The camera smells like hickory smoked sausage now! :-). I may post a short video in the next couple of days if I have time to go through the footage.

I'm still not ready to post a review or any serious comments, but I will say that I absolutely hate not having a EVF. Reading glasses on . . . glasses off . . . glasess on . . . glasses off . . . over and over again . . . what a pain in the ass for those of us who need readers. I'll be working on a couple of possible solutions in the next couple days.

Z300 / Blue Origin rocket launch: https://youtu.be/TKUTgHGx6IA?si=P0XC5s1zeyLV8YWr

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I agree these cameras targeted at broadcasters types where money isn’t a concern.
I’m sure it’s a good camera but nothing I’d pay for. Camcorders haven’t improved the last 8 yrs but the prices have remained the same.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

A Sony engineer told me once that the accuracy required in manufacturing the three sensor prism and the 1µm (1,000,000 mm) mounting accuracy of mounting the sensors to it is the most costly component of their camera manufacturing. That it costs more for that assembly than the entire cost of manufacturing most of their single sensor cameras. So I can understand the end prices they ask.

Like most three chippers with high density photosites,(4K) small sensor 1/2" cameras, you really do need to work wide open to F/4.0 to get the optimum optical performance out of them. That is purely down to the laws of optical physics.

Because of the sensor aesthetics, being smaller and not having the ability to control DOF as easily along with their higher retail prices, three chippers seem have fallen out of favour. But there is still an industry need for them for certain types of jobs.

Like Doug said, though. I bemoan the fact that these newer models don't have viewfinders. Regardless of how good a camera's AF is, I still want a VF. The first thing I did with the FX6 was to buy A Sony loupe and an after market VF support for it.

Doug. I use some flip ups like these. Quicker and avoids glasses on/off all the time. Variable mag strengths. 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0.

https://urli.info/1joyF

Chris Young

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Doug, I'm not sure if you are aware David Winters Cranky Cameraman YouTube channel. David is a
broadcast, documentary, corporate shooter who used to shoot with an ARRI Amira but these days shoots primarily with Sony cameras, FX6, FX9, Burano. In this video, David mentions he just bought a Z200 for a job and has some questions about the camera. Doug, I'm sure you can help David out.

https://youtu.be/lLb6DLMD9zs?si=t2nhLdw0YcpTlaH

Thanks.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Chris, thanks for the suggestion. I checked your eBay link and then found similar glasses on Amazon. Yup, they might do the trick. But I don't normally wear any glasses (except for readers) so I'll also need to find some glasses that just have clear lenses or remove the lenses from one of my other pairs of glasses to give the flip-ups something to use as a base. I'll be ordering some these as soon as I do some experimenting and decide what magnification will work best for me. I have different strengths for different tasks -- computer, reading, etc.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Hi Bill, no I have never heard of David but I'd be happy to answer his questions about the Z200 if he reaches out to me for advice, same as I would for anyone else that emails me direct or posts questions on one of my many Z200 Youtube videos.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

After some testing with the camera, looks like I'll need 2.5 for tripod shooting and 3.0 for handheld.
Just for comparison, I normally use 1.5 for computers and 2.0 for books, newspaper, iPad, etc.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I found these glasses that have the flip-up built right into the frames, so there's no glass at all when you don't need magnification. They come four to a pack, but they are all the same strength, so I guess I’ll need two sets of four glasses because I need 2.5 for tripod and 3.0 for handheld.

One pack @ 3.0x
One pack @ 2.5x

I don't mind getting four each because I'm sure they are going to get broken pretty quickly -- just like all my other reading glasses. And won't I look stylish now!!!

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Quote Pete: "Camcorders haven’t improved the last 8 yrs but the prices have remained the same."

I couldn't disagree more. If that's what you think, you're not paying very close attention to how camcorders have evolved. AF is absolutely amazing with the newest Sonys. Plus improved codecs, four channels of audio, MI-Shoes for audio, Clear Image Zoom, better color, Digital Extenders, 30+ seconds of picture cache, higher frame rates in 4K for slow-mo, noise-free images even at high ISOs, better servo zoom, better/cheaper memory card choices even with data-intensive codecs, better white balance, variable ND filters, auto-framing, 12G SDI and HDMI simultaneously, a ton of really advanced wireless and network features, brighter and sharper LCD panels, excellent OLED viewfinders (for those cameras that have a EVF), etc.

I'm sure I could think of even more advancements if I had more time. To say that camcorders "haven't improved the last 8 years" is totally wrong, and not even open to a difference of opinion. If those advancement don't matter to you, that is fine. But to those of us who prefer shooting with camcorders, the improvements are amazing.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Yup! They look the go, and look more like typical eyeglasses. Think I'll get some of them myself. 👍

Chris Young

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

Live streaming from inside the camcorder itself is also pretty awesome!

Having people able to remotely retrieve footage from the camera whilst you are out in the field is also super handy. You could theoretically be leaving the camera on and this would happen whilst you are driving to the next job. (Disclosure: Haven't done this myself but I've read about the Sony-whatever feature.) Time is money, as Doug says.

Andrew

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

In my experience, the built in streaming is complicated and bad. Far easier to plug an external adapter or streaming device. Many of the features you read about sound good on paper but difficult in practice.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

When you say that the built in streaming is "bad" do you mean the quality of what is sent to the distribution system? It's always possible that camera manufacturers might have cut corners on the encoder for that, but it's not something I would have expected from Sony.

I guess my Matrox Monarch HDX encoder unit will still be an asset then?

Andrew

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I'll have to agree with you on that one. But live streaming isn't something I'd ever need or use. I think the best "networking" feature of the new generation of cameras is the ability to automatically transmit full-resolution clips or proxy files (and the proxies are almost indistinguishable from the full-res file) back to a TV station, network, client's server, or whatever as soon as you press the pause button. Again, not something most owner/operators would ever use, but still pretty cool technology for the right person.

Re: Sony has a new 4K ½-inch 3-chip video camera - Sony PXW-Z300
 

I thought the footage was knockout good. I would prefer an optical viewfinder too.