Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Sadly, this thread has got SO big most knowledgeable people seemed to have left it for other forums.

About thirty pages ago Chris finally agreed to shift it, but its so long I couldn't find his post.

Sad really!

Vaughan

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I have tried using the report button to ask for a separate category and eventhough I"m sure it will come I also agree that it's long overdue. Lot's of valuable information get's lost now in this already huge thread.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I think the challenge is there is SO MUCH that sorting it out may have caused Chris to have been sucked into a black hole...

I too suggested that DVi should have a "4K" area, which would be AX100, GH4, and FZ1000 at present, plus an area for platforms, workflow, delivery... sort of a "life on the bleeding edge" area!

Logically, an area for the AX100 and RX series still cams makes some sense (grouping by sensor), there are scattered posts for these...

Again, just SO much volume that sorting is probably a monumental task! Then how to best "re-forum" all the content!?

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I wouldn't worry too much about sorting out this existing monster-thread. Just create the new area, post a link from this thread, then lock this one and let the discussion continue elsewhere.

Perhaps a few of us should each start a new thread in the new area about the topics that most concern us, quoting the most recent couple of relevant posts from here.

If someone, later, has the patience to tease out the different discussions from here into separate threads, then so much the better, but that it's not a prerequisite.

Sony FDR-AX100 Wins European EISA Award
 

Probably no surprise to those who own one.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Hello,


Does anyone know if there is a way to get the ax100 to auto separate large files into multiple ones. Some kind of record limit so the files are not over 4 GB's each.

Thanks!

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Anyone here know of a bracket that can be use to let me use the AX100 on a tripod along with the XLR-K1M at the same time? Not sure where to look for such a gizmo, basically it would need to be a bracket that could mount to the tripod at the same time as the AX100 and add a cold shoe mount off to the side. That way I could plug the hot shoe connector right into the camera, and mount the XLR-K1M on the cold shoe mount to the side. I've seen handheld ones and I already have one like that, but I was wondering if there was a solution for full tripod use of both camera and audio adapter.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

There a lots of these brackets, like

Bower VA320 Flash Bracket for Flash Or Video Light 2 Shoes | Focus Camera

Is this what you mean?

Re: Sony FDR-AX100 Wins European EISA Award
 

Thanks Dan and yes, no surprise. :)

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

The only way to do that is to use a SDHC card, but you're limited to 32GB and you cannot record 4K in this mode. SDXC uses a different file system so there theoretically don't need to have file size limits. If you're copying to a FAT32 drive, you may want to format it to exFAT, which is the same file system as SDXC. Mac OS and Windows can read and write to exFAT. Linux is the only one that can't read exFAT out of the box.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Not sure that would work, like how does that connect to a tripod? That one looks more like it's intended to be gripped in hand. What I want to do is mount the AX100 on a tripod along with the XLR-K1M so I guess I need some kind of bracket that can connect to the tripod, allow the AX100 to connect to it and offer a cold shoe off to the side to connect the XLR-K1M (it's hot shoe connects to the AX100, and its cold shoe connects to that bracket). Not sure if I'm explaining it right...but I need something that works for tripod use for longer steady shots. For handheld type stuff I use one of these:

Amazon.com : Opteka X-GRIP Professional Camera / Camcorder Action Stabilizing Handle- Black : Professional Video Stabilizers : Camera & Photo

So the AX100 connects to the bottom plate, the XLR-K1M connect to the cold shoe on the top, and it's hot shoe connector then gets hooked to the AX100 and it all works cool for handheld. Now I need a solution for tripod use but haven't quite found a simple bracket that does it, most people seem to use more complicated rigs to do that sort of thing but I was hoping to avoid a rig setup since all I really need is just one extra cold shoe.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I have this bracket that includes a female tripod socket thread on the bottom screw which allows it to fit between a tripod and camera.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/918053-REG/vello_cb_510_dual_shoe_brackt.html

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I know what you want - that device I linked to has a tripod female connector on the bottom (see it - it is round) to attach your tripod. It also has a male screw to attach your camcorder, and gives you two extra cold shoes. It seems to be exactly what you need. You attach the device to your tripod, you attach your camcorder to the device. It does exactly the same thing the Opteka does, exactly.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

The only thing - if using one of these brackets on a camera with a fold out lcd screen, make sure the one you get has enough clearance. I'm actually looking for one that gets the cold shoe further to the left of the camera. I want to mount an led light over there and still have room to use the lcd.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Oh ok cool, that wasn't immediately obvious to me from the pic for some reason. Thanks guys I'll order it and give it a shot.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Low light testing against XF305, 7D, XL-H1A.


Mark

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Why did you not shoot wide open with the ax100? The test is at f3.4 while wide open the lens is at f2.8? Also what's the point of comparing a lens at f1.4 to a lens at f3.4? You should compare both at f2.8

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Maybe I should just move the AX100 much closer than all the other cams so as to help it get to f2.8. The test was to shoot from the same position and with the same framing. I put the f1.4 50mm lens on the 7D because I can. Should I have "crippled" it with a slow kit lens? If I had to shoot that scene with my 7D, that's the lens I'd use. That's sort of the point, cameras with interchangeable lenses have an advantage. I'm not testing sensors or lenses, I'm testing cameras, as a system, in a given situation.

Mark

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Yeah but the test is pointless the way you did it, if you would have used f 3.4 on the 7d as well and then matched the iso with the ax100 then it would be easier to see how well the camera performs at the same f-stop and comparable iso's.

You also have the iris wide open on the xf305 but you close it down on the ax100 and call it a low light test? Also because you can? :) Sorry but I don't see how this test is going to help anyone wanting to know how the camera performs at it's best in low light.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

But you did not do this for the AX100. If you look closely you are zoomed in closer than the others making it ramp more. You need to come back more not get closer so the bottles are the same size. A SLR should always do better because of choice of lens. You could have compared with an A7S and blown them all away!!! A better comparison would be with a Canon XA or XF series or Sony NX30. Similar price handycam. At 4K a comparison with the FDR-AX1 would also be useful. Again a camera that can open up to F1.6 compared to a larger sensor but limited to F2.8 for the AX100.

Ron Evans

workFlow AX100 4K to Blu-ray disc
 

Have a 1 hour 30 minute soccer game shot 4k with ax100 and need to get it on Blu-ray with the least amount of wasted time. Here's what I've tried on an i7 980 12gb ram:
Tmpgenc Authoring works 5. Dragged the 4K files into the tmpgenc project and hit go. The timer said 5 hours to go jeez. anyway it croaked 3 hrs into the procedure.
Next attempt, I pulled the 4k files into Edius 7 and made an 1920x1080 mpeg2 with a 25 bitrate that took 1 hour thirty minutes. Then dragged that file into tmpgenc and another hour and a half later I've got a 12gb blu-ray disc ready for duplication
Any other ways?

That was yesterday
Today I shot another match and this time engaged dual record to see what the 1280mp4 the camera will produce along side the 4k. Looks like.... dvd quality straight off the camso thats a no go

Encoding times for a couple of hours of 4k (xavc-s) to BluRay playable disc are crushing even on an i7 980 which is a beast really. We're talking 5 - 7 hours
Think I'll starting using avchd again and see what the ax100 produces in the way of improved video from my pre-ax100 era.

btw The battery lasts long enough to fill a 64gb card with 2 hrs of 4k with a bit of reserve

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Bruce,a 4K file from my FDR-AX1, 150Mbps 60P XAVC-S will encode to a Bluray preset,m2ts file from Edius Pro7.31 1920x1080 60i project using Quicksync on my i7 4790K in about realtime. Take file to DVDArchitect which will need to demux the audio and will create an iso file in about 25mins.Burn in IMGBurn to 4x disc in about 40mins. I use this worklow for all my projects whether just the FDR-AX1 or multicam with other HD cams.

Ron Evans

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Thanks for the tip quicksync Ron quicksync is a new concept for me I have use a gtx760 2gb
Is that a bit like cuda encoding which seems usable for effects but i don't use effects much, mostly straight cuts
can you say more about "a Bluray preset,m2ts file from Edius Pro7.31" which I also use edius that is. Have you created that preset on timeline or do you export to file using a sony avchd preset?
Thanks
Bruce

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

This is the link Intel® Quick Sync Video for quicksync. Only included in certain CPU's with integrated graphics and unfortunatley not yours. I do not use much other than cuts too and do not have a GPU installed on my PC just use the integrated one in the i7 4790K. The Bluray preset is a standard EDius preset for AVC output and then there is a check box in the output window to use hardware acceleration(ie quicksync). This produces a program stream hence the need for DVDArchitect to demux the audio for authoring.

Ron Evans

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Price dropped to 1,798 at B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1022653-REG/sony_fdrax100_b_hdr_ax100_full_hd_handycam.html

Down Sampling 4K to 1920 X 1080P
 

I am interested in the workflow for taking 4K video and down sampling it to 1920X1080P. Is this something that can be done in camera? If so what would be the best workflow to accomplish this?
Thanks,
Denny

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I just drop the 4k native file into a 1080p 25p project in Edius 7 and that's it.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I do the same with 3840x2160 60P files from my FDR-AX1. Just place on a 60i timeline in Edius with the files from my NX5U and NX30U. Edius just downscales to the project settings.

Ron Evans

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Is it possible to downscale the 4K files within the camcorder?
Denny

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

You can output sd realtime via the mini usb but it is only composite SD quality
Other options via the HDMI port during playback or recording.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Downscale to what and why? You can shoot regular HD with this camera as well.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I am trying to determine whether the down scaled HD from 4K is exactly the same as the HD shot in the camcorder. This along with other issues is helping me decide if I am going with the CX900 or the AX100.
I do thank you all for the input.
Denny

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I guess you don't want the headache of bigger files that 4K produce then?

4K downscaled to 1080p will definitely be crystal clear as it will fill all the lines in a 1080p frame. I don't think filming in 1080p on it's own would look as good as 4K downscaled.

Having said that ... Noa from your experience when you're editing 4K in your NLE, is there significant lag or anything? and how much space would 1 hour of footage say from a ceremoney take up on your memory card / hard drive in 4K from the AX100?

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Dennis -

If what you're asking is whether the camera can downconvert on export like some HD cameras, I don't believe that's an option, unless you did something via the HDMI as some are suggesting? You should be able to import the 4K clips into most NLE's, and they take a little more horsepower to process, but that's just the penalty for better quality!

I know this thread is one of the most massive (ever?!), but to condense a bit of what users are finding... 4K is more detailed (and generally seems to look better even on 1080 screens) than the 1080/60p XAVCS, but there are a couple reports that the 2.0 firmware makes the differences less noticeable - I hope to test this before I push the update onto my camera... along with the RX10 firmware update that adds 1080/60p XAVCS... I am hopeful that the latest tweaks will bring the image quality close to the 4K level... still trying to devise a quick and dirty but repeatable test to do a "before/after" comparison.

I do know that even the first tests I ran of the "old" AVCHD 1080/60p/28Mbps compared to the XAVCS 1080/60p/50Mbps were pretty convincing that the latter was preferable to the eye... and the 4K was even more preferable, even at 30p (I later sorted out that you can't let the camera decide the shutter speed if you want to avoid stutter!). I'm hoping the XAVCS 1080 will be "good enough" for most situations... just to keep the RX10 "current"!

The CX900 simply doesn't have the option to shoot in 4K, and if you don't "need" it, you "could" skip it. HOWEVER, you probably won't save "much", and if you even think you "might' want to fiddle with 4K, either for testing, or to use the additional resolution to pan/scan/crop while maintaining HD resolution... the AX100 has the advantage.

Honestly after shooting a bit of 4K, and putting a 4k capable computer system together (even if it's "only" 30p), I would find it hard to justify an "HD" camera purchase... but I'll reserve comment until I've seen what the higher bitrate XAVCS "tweaks" can do - there is obviously some "headroom to create "better" HD than what you typically get from a "consumer" camera, and Sony seems to be squeezing a lot out of this particular sensor/processor combo. I'd still recommend a slightly used/discounted AX100 if you can find one, and you can ALWAYS set it to shoot "HD" with the press of a couple onscreen buttons, should you desire!

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

James -

I just stuck a 128GB card into the AX100, and the camera believes that it can shoot approx 4 hours and 30 minutes on that card... I'm sure that varies a bit, but gives you some idea of what to expect. I come up at roughly 28.4G per hour with that rate - but then again, I've only found 64 and 128G SDXC cards when I went looking... Somehow I thought there were 32G SDXC cards, but not finding any?? You need XC cards for the XAVCS...


I put a new "state of the art" (sort of, it's a "budget" build!) desktop together, primarily to be able to handle 4K, I think the editing would depend somewhat on patience and expectations. I knew that my several year old system was stumbling ing a bit on 28Mbps AVCHD anyway, so it was logical to factor in a computer upgrade...

On the flip side of that, getting everything working smoothly has been an adventure - I still need to put a few bug reports in to Intel that need addressing, and see if I can get tweaked drivers... 4K is definitely a "bleeding edge" proposition, NOT an "everything works out of the box" one, IMO! Totally WORTH IT once you see stills and video on a 4K display...

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

When I switch on my camera with a 64gb card in it it says there is 2 hours and 17 minutes of remaining recording time.
I have a i7 3770 processor and as long as I have one stream of 4k footage editing is in realtime, no stutter, even when applying colorcorrection to the clip, only when I apply the stabiliser filter it takes longer to calculate and when I cut clips, press play and scroll on the timeline there is a small lag compared to avchd footage, with avchd everything is snappier but it is still fast enough for regular editing.
When I have one 4K and 2 avchd clips in a multicam that is also still realtime, only when I add a second 4k stream the fun is over and there is noticeable stutter.
Exporting 4k files to a 1080p is also very quick, I believe twice realtime as edius is using the onboard gpu for those renders.

4k downscaled in a NLE will have more detail though 1080p is still plenty sharp, a few 4K advantages are:
You can crop in a 1080p project without loss of detail, this enables you to reframe shots.
You can extract a frame out of your shots that is far more detailed when you plan to use it on a dvdboxprint.
You can stabilise clips in a 1080p project without loss of image detail.
4k downscaled to 1080p has more detail then shooting in 1080p.
4k downscaled to 1080p has less visible noise because the noise gets smaller as well.

If those advantages is not what you need, you are better of with the ax900, it will take some time before you can burn your 4k files on a 4k blu-ray disc and have a 4k player to play them on your 4k tv at a affordable price. Otoh you can shoot 4K now and render to 1080p but also render a 4k file that you can keep until 4K playback becomes a norm, everything you shoot now could be watched in 4k even if it takes a few years for you to adopt. In that way you can futureproof your films if you plan to one day see them in the highest quality possible and by the time you can do that 8K will be out and we can have the same discussion again :).

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

4K files are not necessarily bigger then 1080p files, sony uses it's 50mbs XAVCS codec for 4K and 1080p. Panasonic with their gh4 has a 100mbs codec for 4k but even a up to 200mbs codec for 1080p so there 1080p files could be bigger then 4k files.

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Thank you gentlemen for your responses. Based on everything I have learned here, I think that the AX100 4K is the way I am going to go. In terms of image quality, and "Future Proofing" the purchase it is really a no brainer. Especially with the price drop at B&H on this camcorder.

Thanks again,
Denny
Sony is coming out with a pair of programs called Catalyst Browse and Catalyst Prepare to convert the files to better import. This site looks interesting http://www.videoguys.com/Guide/RE/0x...0169d7582.aspx

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

Thank you Dave & Noa for the response.

Any chance one of you can be generous enough to upload a few raw files from your AX100 for me to have a fiddle with in Sony Vegas in a 1080p timeline ?

Re: Sony FDR-AX100
 

I just bought one of these and the instructions on the sony site regarding finding my firmware version are a bit misleading.....they say to look under general settings in the menu...but I can't seem to find that. How do you find the current firmware version?