Introduction to the Z90, NX80, and AX700

[Paul Anderegg]

John, for fast past moving subjects, I would guess that 50Mbps of pure 4:2:0 8 bit goodness would allow less compression artifacts over the 10 bit 4:2:2 50Mbps Z90...not sure about high speed framerates though.

Mark, for my HLG testing, tried 4K as well as HD 10 bit 4:2:2. I have an S8 phone, so maybe I will throw a file at it for kicks. When I set FCPX to export out the HLG file in REC709, they look " similar" to the REC709 recordings, just a lot more shadow noise...more noise in general, less contrast...using the FCPX presets at least.

Paul

[Bruce Dempsey]

Originally Posted by John Nantz

I’m currently going through withdrawal. Last week I sold the AX100 (*sniff*)

I'm thinking of selling mine too. What did it fetch if you don't mind the question
thanks
Bruce

[John Nantz]

Paul - thanks for the feedback.

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

John, for fast past moving subjects, I would guess that 50Mbps of pure 4:2:0 8 bit goodness would allow less compression artifacts over the 10 bit 4:2:2 50Mbps Z90...not sure about high speed framerates though.

Sure wish I could remember where I read about the difference, though. The other concern is about highlights and darks, especially in August, although with global warming now we're seeing fewer grey skies.

Edit: Paul - glad to see you started a new thread "Working with HLG footage" so, hopefully, the FCPX workflow is all sorted out if and when I get there.

Bruce - It was let go for $850 on Craigs List in the afternoon and shortly after had a buyer at the listed price and picked it up the next morning. There was one other AX100 listed for $1,050 so that may have helped. Will continue to use the AX53 a B-cam.
Edit: Currently the AX53 has got a temporary promotion to A-cam status.

[John Nantz]

After three months of being without an A-cam has been very difficult. Three months of going back and forth about the next cam to get, weighing options, tradeoffs, costs, needs, wants, … and finally couldn’t take it any longer. Had to get something!

The new cam in the quiver, replacing the AX100, is now the AX700. It has a lot of various useful, albeit in some cases minor, upgrades over the AX100. The cumulative effect is there are more control options via a larger menu. One nice item in the box was the Large Eyecup. Never realized how nice this would be but when outdoors in the sunlight this item is absolutely super.

The viewfinder and LCD screens are really sharp. Compared to the AX100 this cam has a lot more heft so won’t be as much of a “handicam”. Audio inputs with XLR cables will be via the JuicedLink pre.

Battery: the NP-FV70A is rated at 1900 mAh vs 1960mAh of the NP-FV70 that is standard with the AX100. What is weird is, even though the 70A has fewer mAh, it is about 6mm taller. Go figure. Wonder what they have inside.

Haven’t had time to really shoot anything with it yet, well, maybe except for maybe a couple minutes worth after getting the battery charged up. Looking forward to doing a shoot with the AX53 as the B-roll cam.

[Paul Anderegg]

Anton Bauer batteries have been growing in size but with no gain in wattage. The explanation from them is the larger cases allow better heat dissipation during charges, keeping the cells healthier and allowing longer battery life. But maybe Sony just sourced new slightly different cells from Sanyo or something...more likely

Paul

[John Nantz]

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

Anton Bauer batteries have been growing in size but with no gain in wattage. The explanation from them is the larger cases allow better heat dissipation during charges, keeping the cells healthier and allowing longer battery life. But maybe Sony just sourced new slightly different cells from Sanyo or something...more likely
Paul

Spacing them out just a little bit makes a lot of sense because the cases do get warm with usage, particularly some usage, even charging, so the heat must have a negative effect on the chemistry and dielectric, and therefor battery life.

The width of the typical battery case is fixed by the cam but the height typically is not so they can "grow" that direction. I was kinda wondering if there was some new circuit board inside to help process battery information but I don't have any old one to take apart to find out. Of course, one would need a NP-FV70 and a 70A version to compare.

As for telling counterfeit apart from the OEM ones, Sony Support told me that only the Sony Repair Center can tell them apart via the green holographic insert on the end of the battery. There is also a manufacturing date written in the lower right corner on the back.

[Charles W. Hull]

I'd like to thank Doug for the Z90, NX80, AX700 Master Class. I'm upgrading my AX100 to a NX80, and this class made the process painless. I'd recommend this for anyone making that transition.

[Roland Achini]

I agree. Doug's Master Class is a MUST.
Roland

[Bill Ackerman]

I recently rewatched the chapter on autofocus. The discussion on AF SUBJ. TRACK SET and AF DRIVE SPEED inspired me to play around and really learn when to tweak these. Out of the box, the Z90 has excellent AF with the default values. But when you know before shooting what kind of subject/camera motion you will encounter, AF becomes amazing - far better than I could ever do with manual focus.

[Doug Jensen]

Guys, thanks for the nice comments. It means more to me than you'd believe to know that my training videos really do make a difference in helping others get better usage of their cameras. Thanks.

[Cliff Totten]

Doug, any news on a future Z190/Z280 training video? I have to believe Sony will get them to you shortly. If so, any hints on your take on these two cameras?

I have the Z190 on my radar but Im just not sure what to expect on performance from a three tiny 1/3inch sensor optical block. My "gut" tells me a possible dim 0db rating with high and massive amounts of noise reduction.

Hopefully I'm completely wrong.

[Doug Jensen]

Hi Cliff, I'll be working on a training video series that will cover both cameras. But other than that, I can't really say much about the cameras other than I loved what I saw at NAB. Thanks for asking.

[David Tayler]

Originally Posted by Charles W. Hull

I'd like to thank Doug for the Z90, NX80, AX700 Master Class. I'm upgrading my AX100 to a NX80, and this class made the process painless. I'd recommend this for anyone making that transition.

Yes, indeed, I found it very helpful for making the transition. And a real time saver overall. Thanks, Doug!

[Doug Jensen]

Thanks David, that is very nice of you to say. I'm glad I could help.