FX1000 has arrived - first impressions

Greg Laves · January 2nd, 2009, 08:22 PM

I don't know why they felt the need to change the WB scheme but Sony might have gone to the Preset/"A"/"B"/ white balance scheme because that is the way it has been done on the professional broadcast cameras for many many years.

Ron Evans · January 2nd, 2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Laves

I don't know why they felt the need to change the WB scheme but Sony might have gone to the Preset/"A"/"B"/ white balance scheme because that is the way it has been done on the professional broadcast cameras for many many years.

The FX1 is the same so it isn't really a change.

Ron Evans

Martin Duffy · January 8th, 2009, 08:30 PM

Well I am about to edit some footage taken with my new FX1000. Here are some issues that I have on my mind that I need to cover:

1. LCD screen set up: I am an LCD screen man and not a Viewfinder person. The only time I use the viewfinder is under extreme sunlight. The viewfinder on the 1000 is "milky" and not that great" The LCD on the other hand the best I have ever seen on any camera. My past experience with using the LCD screen on a camera is that if the brightness is set to the middle or normal setting the picture you see on the LCD is very close to how it will look on a TV monitor. I have found the default setting on the 1000 camera to be too low meaning the pictures I record are actually coming out "hotter" or more exposed than what I saw in the LCD. I have now increased the brightness on LCD to match what is being recorded. I will take the camera out the front of my studio and do some tests and report back on this.

2. ZEBRA: I am not a zebra fan but it can be handy when one is unsure of hot spots. Going to play around with Zebra settings and I need to get a better understanding of how it works on the 1000/z5. I have found the zebra pattern does not show through a hot spot such when filming with a window say to the side of the frame. My past experience was that if the spot was really hot then the zebra would cover the bright or white area and it was easy to tell that that section was hot. On the 1000 the zebra seems to create a square around the area and its not until you bring the exposure down that you can see the zebra. Is this what others are seeing as well?

2. Backlight: I have briefly seen footage with back light such as a long shot of a bride walking through the door to the church and are questioning the 1000's ability to handle backlight. I am only going on a few scenes maybe its fine but it looks a bit "blotchy" or struggling to handle backlight. Maybe the shots in question were too overexposed? I will do some tests and report back on this.

3. Rolling Shutter: I am about to edit a dance concert that had a Z1 on the wide and FX1000 on the close up and will report back on this. There was exteme light from the back of the stage coming at the camera so this will be a great test for the Z5/1000.

4. Weight of camera: It has an awesome feel on the tripod but heavy for all day hand held such as a wedding. Need an L bracket.

5. SD Recording: Quality of HD recording has exceeded my expectations. I have however found that in SD the quality is maybe not as good as a VX2000. I am going to do a side by side test to see if this is true.

6. CF Recording unit: This is a big one for me. DOes the Compact Flash unit work easily with the FX1000. How much is it? How much are the 32 and 64 gig cards? Can you record in SD and HD on it as well as to tape at the same time? Does it connect via the wire port? Any info on this unit welcomed.

Ken Ross · January 8th, 2009, 08:36 PM

Martin, I've very surprised you found the viewfinder 'milky'. This seems to be contrary to other's experiences with this.

I'm not surprised by the backlighting issue since I've never seen any consumer/prosumer camcorder that could handle dramatic areas of dynamic range.

I am a bit surprised by your finding on the SD side. I would have thought that it would be at least as good as the 2000 with SD.

Test on!

Greg Laves · January 9th, 2009, 09:15 AM

Martin, the compact flash unit does work with the FX1000. I mounts on the shoe and connects through the firewire port. It is $845 at B & H if I remember correctly. I am not sure but I think you can record either SD or HD. I know that 32 gig cards are available that are fast enough. I don't know about 64's.

Phil Burton · January 9th, 2009, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

Martin, I've very surprised you found the viewfinder 'milky'. This seems to be contrary to other's experiences with this.

I'm not surprised by the backlighting issue since I've never seen any consumer/prosumer camcorder that could handle dramatic areas of dynamic range.

I am a bit surprised by your finding on the SD side. I would have thought that it would be at least as good as the 2000 with SD.

Test on!

The milky viewfinder was also my observation on the Z5, see my 3rd point at the start of this post
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-hvr-...oughts-z5.html

Ken Ross · January 9th, 2009, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Burton

The milky viewfinder was also my observation on the Z5, see my 3rd point at the start of this post
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-hvr-...oughts-z5.html

Wow, not good. Here Sony goes out of their way in highlighting the 'quality' of the new viewfinder. Very strange. But I do know we've had owners of the Z5/1000 say that the image is excellent from the viewfinder. So it is strange that we have such a wide disparity of views on this.

Martin Duffy · January 9th, 2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

Wow, not good. Here Sony goes out of their way in highlighting the 'quality' of the new viewfinder. Very strange. But I do know we've had owners of the Z5/1000 say that the image is excellent from the viewfinder. So it is strange that we have such a wide disparity of views on this.

Well some of us are maybe more into detail than others. I just can't believe that Sony or any other brand for that matter can create a new camera with obvious flaws. It's sort of like the creators do all their little jobs and then come together and go "OK guys they (the users) will love the low light capability, the high res LCD, the this, the that, but to just piss them off we will go cheaper here and not so good there.

Its a bloody joke if you ask me.

All we want is to have a satisfying experience when we film. I don't think anyone expects full blown ultra high res pics from a $5,000 camera. But if they can fix things such as the colours in the Viewfinder then why not get it right?

Why have this silly white balance set up?
Why have an LCD that will not open once there is something placed in the hot shoe?
Why not have audio in as its a handy feature?
Why does it sometimes take 3 seconds for the camera to go back into record mode after you quickly have gone into pause and then hit record again?

If someone asked my "So mate how is your new camera"? Answer: "It's OK".

I am over all this give nice feedback bizzo.

Get it right SOny and stop stuffing around!!!!!!!!!

To view others in the "Not so happy FX1000 club" go here:
Me Right Now problems with new Sony FX1000 on Vimeo

Jeff Harper · January 9th, 2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Duffy

I am over all this give nice feedback bizzo.Me Right Now problems with new Sony FX1000 on Vimeo

I have come to love the images from my FX1000 overall, and I find the viewfinder fine on my camera (I use the LCD most of the time anyway) however, but I absolutely agree on the white balance thingy. The other day I had not anticipted shooting outdoors (bride assured me everything would be indoors, twice) and sure enough without warning they decide to go ou for photos. Well I'm out there fiddling with the stupid scroll wheel trying to get an outdoor WB preset and came close to missing shots.

I had an outdoor WB setting saved but the lighting conditions had changed dramatically. I ended up using the brides dress to WB on. It was really stupid. The photographer is snapping away and I'm playing with my camera.

And the shoe mount, don't even get me started. That seems to have been done deliberately, because I can't even imagine the dumbest person at Sony overlooking that.

I loved the video! The menu wheel was the first thing I encountered when I took the cam out of the box and I absolutely couldn't beleive it. I was highly pissed. Some say they have no problems with it, and I'm happy for them. My solution is I use my fingernail.

Khoi Pham · January 9th, 2009, 03:52 PM

Hah hah he is so funny, don't forget to bring a condom with you to a shoot so you can change the menu.

David Jonas · January 9th, 2009, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

I had an outdoor WB setting saved but the lighting conditions had changed dramatically. I ended up using the brides dress to WB on. It was really stupid. The photographer is snapping away and I'm playing with my camera.

Is it possible to do a manual white balance with the FX1000 while recording? Thanks.

Michael Liebergot · January 9th, 2009, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Jonas

Is it possible to do a manual white balance with the FX1000 while recording? Thanks.

Yes, you can white balance while recording.

David Jonas · January 9th, 2009, 09:37 PM

Thanks for that info. I have a VX2100 and FX7 and this has always been a problem as if I want to do a custom white balance I would have to pause the camera.

Jeff Harper · January 9th, 2009, 10:13 PM

Yes, thanks Michael, that is great information!

Greg Laves · January 9th, 2009, 10:38 PM

I just had a "malfunction" with the FX1000 that I have on loan. I took a fresh battery out of the camera bag and put it on the FX. About 30 seconds after I powered up I got a warning that the battery was too hot and the camcorder shut down. I took the battery off and it feels like it is maybe 65 degrees F. I put it back on. Same thing happened. I put another battery on the FX1000 and no problem. I took the supposedly "hot" battery and put it on a Z7. No hot battery warning on the Z7. Put it back on the FX1000 and I get the hot battery warning again. I don't know what it is sensing but the battery is cool to the touch.

January 8th, 2009, 08:30 PM	#198
Martin Duffy Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 156	FX1000 feedback Well I am about to edit some footage taken with my new FX1000. Here are some issues that I have on my mind that I need to cover: 1. LCD screen set up: I am an LCD screen man and not a Viewfinder person. The only time I use the viewfinder is under extreme sunlight. The viewfinder on the 1000 is "milky" and not that great" The LCD on the other hand the best I have ever seen on any camera. My past experience with using the LCD screen on a camera is that if the brightness is set to the middle or normal setting the picture you see on the LCD is very close to how it will look on a TV monitor. I have found the default setting on the 1000 camera to be too low meaning the pictures I record are actually coming out "hotter" or more exposed than what I saw in the LCD. I have now increased the brightness on LCD to match what is being recorded. I will take the camera out the front of my studio and do some tests and report back on this. 2. ZEBRA: I am not a zebra fan but it can be handy when one is unsure of hot spots. Going to play around with Zebra settings and I need to get a better understanding of how it works on the 1000/z5. I have found the zebra pattern does not show through a hot spot such when filming with a window say to the side of the frame. My past experience was that if the spot was really hot then the zebra would cover the bright or white area and it was easy to tell that that section was hot. On the 1000 the zebra seems to create a square around the area and its not until you bring the exposure down that you can see the zebra. Is this what others are seeing as well? 2. Backlight: I have briefly seen footage with back light such as a long shot of a bride walking through the door to the church and are questioning the 1000's ability to handle backlight. I am only going on a few scenes maybe its fine but it looks a bit "blotchy" or struggling to handle backlight. Maybe the shots in question were too overexposed? I will do some tests and report back on this. 3. Rolling Shutter: I am about to edit a dance concert that had a Z1 on the wide and FX1000 on the close up and will report back on this. There was exteme light from the back of the stage coming at the camera so this will be a great test for the Z5/1000. 4. Weight of camera: It has an awesome feel on the tripod but heavy for all day hand held such as a wedding. Need an L bracket. 5. SD Recording: Quality of HD recording has exceeded my expectations. I have however found that in SD the quality is maybe not as good as a VX2000. I am going to do a side by side test to see if this is true. 6. CF Recording unit: This is a big one for me. DOes the Compact Flash unit work easily with the FX1000. How much is it? How much are the 32 and 64 gig cards? Can you record in SD and HD on it as well as to tape at the same time? Does it connect via the wire port? Any info on this unit welcomed. Last edited by Martin Duffy; January 8th, 2009 at 09:24 PM.

January 9th, 2009, 03:52 PM	#205
Khoi Pham Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas Posts: 747	Hah hah he is so funny, don't forget to bring a condom with you to a shoot so you can change the menu. __________________ Khoi Pham www.proeditproductions.com

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January 2nd, 2009, 08:22 PM	#196
Greg Laves Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 640	I don't know why they felt the need to change the WB scheme but Sony might have gone to the Preset/"A"/"B"/ white balance scheme because that is the way it has been done on the professional broadcast cameras for many many years.

January 8th, 2009, 08:36 PM	#199
Ken Ross Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New York Posts: 1,945	Martin, I've very surprised you found the viewfinder 'milky'. This seems to be contrary to other's experiences with this. I'm not surprised by the backlighting issue since I've never seen any consumer/prosumer camcorder that could handle dramatic areas of dynamic range. I am a bit surprised by your finding on the SD side. I would have thought that it would be at least as good as the 2000 with SD. Test on!

January 9th, 2009, 09:15 AM	#200
Greg Laves Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 640	Martin, the compact flash unit does work with the FX1000. I mounts on the shoe and connects through the firewire port. It is $845 at B & H if I remember correctly. I am not sure but I think you can record either SD or HD. I know that 32 gig cards are available that are fast enough. I don't know about 64's.

January 9th, 2009, 09:37 PM	#208
David Jonas Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Orlando, Fl Posts: 60	Thanks for that info. I have a VX2100 and FX7 and this has always been a problem as if I want to do a custom white balance I would have to pause the camera.

January 9th, 2009, 10:13 PM	#209
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Yes, thanks Michael, that is great information!

January 9th, 2009, 10:38 PM	#210
Greg Laves Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 640	I just had a "malfunction" with the FX1000 that I have on loan. I took a fresh battery out of the camera bag and put it on the FX. About 30 seconds after I powered up I got a warning that the battery was too hot and the camcorder shut down. I took the battery off and it feels like it is maybe 65 degrees F. I put it back on. Same thing happened. I put another battery on the FX1000 and no problem. I took the supposedly "hot" battery and put it on a Z7. No hot battery warning on the Z7. Put it back on the FX1000 and I get the hot battery warning again. I don't know what it is sensing but the battery is cool to the touch.