i reckon a lot of folks would be only too happy to pay a reasonable fee for a firmware upgrade that offered better low light recording and a continuous recording mode (holy crap, that would make me happy)

I am not too sure about "continuous recording" but I'd love to see an option to break clips while recording. For example, when shooting a long interview, this would be convenient to use at each of the interviewer question so instead of ending up with one long clip, the recording would get broken down by Q&As. I found a workaround to do it by turning picture cache recording on. Then, if you quickly press Rec/Stop, it will break the clip without interruption in the recording.

Thierry.

Here's the announcement in English.

http://www.sonybiz.net/biz/view/Show...DCAMCamcorders

I didn't see a price.

Looks like the PDW-F350 and F330 are already discontinued by Sony. You can not find them anymore on the Sony site.
There's also a fault on the that page of the F335. The technical specifications say there is a 1.5" EVF included. Lucky it will be a 2"!

@greg boston

Hi,

I am still wondering if some firmware features (like the 2 denoise algorithms) of the f335 / f335 will be available for existing XDCAM HD camcorders...

In the past there were several sources stating that this would happen, but I´ve never found further details on that.

Have you more infos or is it possible for you to request it?

Thanks

ULI

The Sony rep at a seminar I recently attended in Ottawa said that the F350 would be getting a firmware update that would improve noise characteristics as well as adding an option for 45 or 90 degree shutter. He mentioned some time in January for the release.

Peter

That would be great news.

The last time I spoke to SONY people was IBC2007. They did mention updates, too. But I had the impression, the updates mean the "updated f335 /355"...

So lets stay tuned for the next updates.

ULI

Yes - that would be great - I was starting to regret buying the F350 over the F355 due to the noise I've been seeing in my footage so far (mind you, I did pay around £4K less for the F350 on offer!). A firmware update to help with this would be very welcome.

Anyone know more details of the low noise update? Is it something you select (with a trade-off elsewhere) or does it just work?

No Uli, there are planned firmware updates for the F350 to include the low light noise processing found on the new F355 series. I have been amazed and very thankful at how skillfully Sony has managed the firmware upgrades over the last year or so.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to upgrade the F350 to use the new dual layer drives found in the forthcoming disc based products... cameras, deck, drive.

-gb-

I'd just like to second Greg's comments on Sony's firmware uprades. My camera started off good and become even better thanks to the updates. The noise reduction will be nice, though for the most part it has not been an issue for my work, sports news coverage. I don't suppose that the ability to grade clips will be included, will it?

If I had a wish, it would be for a remote device for sub-clip editing. Every reporter that I work with loves the ability to trim and organize the clips in camera before feeding. In fact, it is so quick and effective that they don't even want to use my lap-top. A little key pad with the necessary controls that could be plugged into the remote connector at the back of the camera would improve the ergonomics, and make this great feature even better!

Please pass on my thanks and suggestion to Sony if you get the chance.

See
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...d=1#post802068

for more on the low noise mode

Great news!

Thanks for the detailed infos!

ULi