FX1000 has arrived - first impressions
 

My experience with Sony cams is with the VX & PD series cams mixed in with a short and unhappy stint with an FX7. If you are an FX1 owner you will view the new FX1000 from a different perspective than I. That being said...

My first impression when I removed the FX1000 from the box is that it looked like a professional camera and is impressive in its appearance. It is much heavier then the VX and PD series cams and seems front heavy when handheld, even with a 970 battery installed. I cant' imagine how it will balance with a light on it, that remains to be seen.

It has a very nice L-M-H gain control feature that is customizable in the menu.

The zoom rocker is close to perfect, best I've used since my old Panasonic AGDV30.

When placed next to a VX2100 and directed towards the same object, it appears superior in low light to the VX2100 in the viewfinder. Low light should not be an issue with this camera for an wedding/event shooter. Mind you the viewfinder is bright and superior to the viewfinder on the VX2100, so that may account for some of the seeming superiority in low light...only comparisons with actual footage will tell the truth, of course.

I went into a dark area and had someone aim the FX1000 at me and I said "Let's see how it does in the dark." Upon viewing me through the viewfinder she remarked "I can't tell you are in the dark". Images in relatively dark areas have a minimum of grain. I'm impressed.

After playing with it for a few minutes, I found the auto-focus and auto-gain to be exceptionally responsive.

The viewfinder is very nice. If it is truly a WYSIWYG viewfinder as it has been touted, then footage from this camera will be excellent.

I can see that the FX1000 and it's big brother will be very popular. I will be shooting some footage Saturday with it and will let you all know how it worked out.

I can see that the more expensive, professional version of this camera will be worth every penny.

Now for the bad: The menu scroll wheel is like a bad joke. If you've used the scroll wheel on the VX and PD series cams you have an idea of how the one on the FX1000 works. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to scroll with the new one without pushing and accidentally selecting . It is hard to describe. I have to use my fingernail to scroll with. If you have fat fingers, may God help you. Normally one should not have to access the menu in the field very often. As a wedding and event videographer I do not have time to diddle with something so tedious...this is a huge disappointment. This may seem like a nibbling criticism, but it is something you have to experience to understand. If the pro version of this camera has better menu accessability, it would almost be worth saving your money and purchasing it.

Other first impressions: The white balance feature is confusing initially and the manual features are not intuitive, at least when coming from the VX & PD series camera. But I'm sure after some reading of the manual and experimentation all will be revealed.

Overall, for the money it seems nearly perfect, with menu accessability taking away half of a star.

FX1000 can see in the dark
 

I have shot some footage around the house and studio...this camera can see in the dark. Images are excellent. As my first HD camera (I don't count the FX7 which cannot even compare) I am stunned by the breathtaking stills taken from clips in Vegas. This camera is starting to shape up to be a dreamcam, negatives aside.

I see why I was confused about the white balance...Sony does not allow you to toggle between indoor and outdoor WB settings. You only get one preset, and you have to choose it in the menu, indoor or outdoor. (why?) There are two customizable presets in addition, but these are WB settings which you calibrate yourself.

Since is for Wedding shot out...how about CMOS Rolling shutter. Flash from photographer!!!

I haven't done a wedding yet. We will see on Saturday.

I haven't hated my FX7's like you have, but I'm most likely selling one soon to offset the cost of the FX1000. Hopefully I'll pull the trigger soon. Thanks for posting your experience. I look forward to hearing more about the camera.

K.C. Luke - If it's a CMOS camera you'll have the rolling shutter effect with flashes. I personally don't mind them and I've never had a bride point one out. If you're shooting CMOS it's just something you'll have to deal with till they come out with a global shutter cam.

Hi,

There has been a debate about the Z7 soft image that was focused on the Exmor chip being too low res and/or the Zeiss Z7 lens not being good enough to pull the best resolution from the chip.

I was wondering since the FX1000 is using the same Exmor chip but a whole new lens if you could give us an unedited screen grab. I am praying the image is sharper so I may not have to spend on the EX1.

This is my last attempt at getting a camera at this level to satisfy my want for detail at least matching my A1 or even surpassing it.
If the Z5/ FX1000 does not show some improvement in detail, among other things they need to improve like noise level, I have no choice but to move on/up to the EX 1.

Thanks so much for talking the time to post any images.

Paul

I've not posted images before here, so let me figure out how to do so and I will.

The image from this camera is not soft, IMO.

Thanks for the run down Jeff.

Im definately going to look at updating from my FX1 to the Fx1000. They arent available in Australia until Mid December and as yet still unsure of what I may pay for it.

The low light performance sounds good and Im really looking forward to checking out the Progressive Scan capabilities of the cam. This will save me a bit of time as I always convert footage to PS in post.

Whats the difference between a CMOS chip and a CCD chip? Whats the 'rolling shutter' effect that has been referred to on here?

Cheers

Jamie

Thanks Jeff,

The softness is not something you will see on the cam LCD. In-fact it does not really jump out at you on a monitor up to 24 inches unless you can compare camera's side-by-side.

But as the TV gets bigger it really starts to stand out as soft on the Z7, and the image also gets very muddy and dirty looking in the shadows.

I don't expect the shadow issue to go away since it may be using the same compression etc, but the sharpness of the image can clearly be improved if the lens is the real problem of the Z7.

Thanks in advance for the images!

Actually guys, I cannot capture the footage I shot today. Vegas will no longer recognize the camera.

This morning it was spotty getting it hooked up to capture, and now no matter what order I turn things on etc., I cannot get it to work.

Just a tad frustrating.

Hi Jamie

You can read a bit more on this info CMOS Rolling Shutter hope you have understand more about CMOS Chip

cool, post pictures of you holding the camera too.

I have the capture feature working. I'm going to shoot something today that is worth posting and I'll post a still.

Stills from FX1000
 

The photos below appear soft, but are not at all that way prior to uploading. I personally hate soft images, so if they appeared that way at all to me I would have sent the camera back immediately.

Footage was shot under very cloudy conditions. The 20x zoom shots were taken while handheld and camera was shaking quite badly. I just haven't had time to play with camera as I would like. I spent enough time yesterday to learn controls enough so that I can use for job on Saturday, but that is all I've had time to do. Controls are a cinch.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/members/j...l-not-bad.html

I'll have decent stills after wedding on Saturday.

Thanks KC.

That article freaked me out a bit! I use a 'figrig' alot in my work with my fx1. In reading that article, would this no longer be possible if I bought the FX1000 due to the 'skewing' and 'wobble' associated with the CMOS technology. It certainly made it sound like any hand held use is or non static shooting is potentially going to cause some distortion of the picture. That dampened my enthusiasm a bit!!

I look forward to hearing Jeffs thought after shooting his wedding job on Saturday.

Thanks for the link (I think!)

Cheers

Jamie

I've been using both the FX7 and HV20 for a little over a year now and the skew & wobble seems to vary from camera to camera. The more expensive FX7 has less of a problem with it than the HV20. You can hand hold either camera without having these problems, it's usually very radical movements such as whip pans and extreme shaking of the camera that will give you trouble and how often are you going to use terrible shaking shots anyway?

Thanks Ethan, thats reassuring.

I would like to say I have never had to use terrible shaking shots in my work but ummmm, there may be one or two that have shown up due to lack of other options!! My skills are still a work in progress!!

Jamie

I am so far out of it that I didn't even realize that this camera was shipping... time to fire up a new board...

If Sony doesn't stop releasing cameras so often you're gonna double the number of sub forums in less than a year.

Ok, looking at the images they are soft as you say, so I will wait for a better image.

I did notice that the sharpness of the lens seems to be consistant to the edges. Which is good since that is one area I was hoping to improve over my A1.

Again, it is hard to tell from the downconvert and soft image, but I don't see any real CA at the edges to talk about so that is a plus.

Now, lets see how sharp it can really be!

Thanks for the first images. I know it's a pain to stop what you are doing to post these things.

Paul

No Paul, posting is no trouble...it is the finding something worth shooting. Obviously when shooting my bride getting ready and the church, etc., I will come up with some decent stuff to show.

Ain't that the truth... between their HDV and XDCAM lines, all the Sony boards here will outnumber our Canon, JVC and Panasonic boards put together. I can't really double them up, either... the HD1000 needs to be on its own, and even though the FX1000 / Z5 are really replacements for the FX1 / Z1, they'll need to be kept separate because they work differently. Keeping all this stuff organized is a constant struggle.

Stills from FX1000 shot November 22, 2008
 

Still shots taken from video clips shot with FX1000 on auto settings.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/album.php?albumid=37

for me it looks darn good, but definitely soft

Those shots look very nice indeed particularly if they are 'still' frames from some footage.

How did handling the fx1000 compare to your previous camcorder (was that an FX1?) Did you notice much difference?

Cheers

jamie

So these are very soft. I remember my few days with the Z7 I had to bump up the sharpness a bit. Sony's default sharpness is a little low, most likely to further soften the noise in the image.

Does the FX1000 setting allow for the sharpness correction?


As an example of what I am trying to match or beat...

I did a frame grab from the timeline and scaled it to 800x600. You will see 2 images. One says WITH sharpness and one just says Image v2. The one without sharpness is a 1440x1080 image scaled to 800x600 and uploaded, the one with sharpness is the same image but corrected to try and mimic what I see on my HD monitor and timeline. I think the timeline is still a little sharper, but it is close.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/members/p...ame-grabs.html


It has to beat my A1 so I am trying to determine if a setting change can close the gap, or will I have to move up to the EX1 and just be done with it.


Thanks again for posting!

I must admit these images are a bit softer than I had expected or hoped for. On the other hand they are not quite as soft as the stills suggest. Unfortunately they will be soft in DV after downconverted.

Remember that it was nearly dark when these where shot and there was no lighting from my camera or otherwise.

Frustrating thing yesterday lighting everywhere was "soft". In the house all indirect lighting, no lights allowed. The church lights were all aimed straight down and created extremely harsh shadows on faces, absolutely terrible.

Anyway, I was slightly disappointed in low-light with the camera, but keep in mind I ran auto except for white balance all evening. No doubt the picture could have been tweaked. It was much too fast paced and rushed the entire day for me to play with anything and risk ruining a shot.

The FX1000 is close to the PD170 in low light, but I will know more after I look at some comparison footage later.

Overall, I am disappointed, but not so much that I will not keep the camera. If I could have afforded the EX1, that is what I would have gotten.

For the money and for what I do, I am, overall, satisfied with the camera so far. It is a huge step up for me.

Soft ?? From the description, these were shot at dusk, on an overcast day, and these are grabs from an HDV frame of video.....You would expect that the image would exhibit some degree of diffused image...

Chris, you are correct in your assesment. Shot in dim conditions, still grabs, etc.

On the other hand, I find it simpler to downplay the quality rather than defend. I was disapponted, as I said, but my disappoinment was really based upon the circumstances I was dealt more than the quality of the camera. I wanted pristine, well-lit conditions and got the opposite for the entire day.

I knew that the images would be judged as soft, beause they do appear soft. Considering the lack of lighting, they were fine.

I gotta tell you the viewfinder on that camera is unbelievable. It is a pure joy to work with. It is as close to WYSIWYG as I could imagine it could be.

I think the shots from the FX1000 at dusk were of excellent quality and Im sure the bride will be wrapped!

Im a bit of a 'film look' enthusiast and even with high definition, I personally like a softer look. On the FX1 (and Im sure the FX1000 has the same adjustments) I can easily up the sharp settings if I wanter a sharper look. I can also apply an 'unsharp mask' if i want to boost the sharpness a little in post.

I think that different people like different looks and Paul, if you dont think this cam will do it for you, then lash out and get yourself an EX1. If you can afford one (half your luck), then why wouldnt you get that model with its extra capabilities etc?? I would!

Cheers

Jamie

I agree with you Jamie. I would buy an EX1 in a heartbeat if I could afford it. The FX1000 is fine for me, but the EX1 is still the one to beat.

Jeff, like any camera I think that yo will find that you wil get much better images when running in full manual over auto settings.

Also, if you go into your picture profiles an pay around a bit, I believe that you will get much crisper images. As it is, the picture profile settings on the FX1000 won't be much different from the FX1. So if you go into the profile and bump up the sharpness and maybe play with some of the skin details and max auto gain settings you will be very happy with the camera.

As it stands for me right now, i am intrigued by the FX1000, but only seeing what the results are in low light with someone running the camera in ALL manual, as I do with my FX1s.

I love my FX1's to death as they have been a real; workhorse for me and produce superior low light images over my old PD170. Yes I did say superior low light images as the color held up better and blacks stayed black when shooting in HDV. The picture in the PD170, although great in low light would turn to mud, in my opinion. I always use supplemental lighting of some kind, weather it's off camera or on camera. Images, weather it be photos or video need light. Granted there are times when we can't use lighting (like during a ceremony), but the majority of the time we can, so true low light for me is a misnomer.

So I'm very curious as to the results that you get when you have time to learn the cameras picture settings better and run some tests in pure manual.

The EX1 is great but is certainly not easy to handle. It doesnt work in auto mode really.. u have to shoot in manual all the time so that is quite tough. I'm looking towards the FX1000 as a B cam now. Hopefully we can see some clips on VIMEO soon and make some quick assessments. Thks for the efforts!

Jeff, I find your screen grab images to have a very pleasing look to them. And like others have said, there are many adjustments that can be made to tweek the images in camera. But I find that your images have a very organic and beautiful look to them. Of course, the talent helps, as well.

Regarding the images I put up, the photographer commented repeatedly how perfect the lighting was for the shoot. The look of the images had as much to do with the lighting as the camera did. The images turned out the way it actually looked out there on Erin's deck.

Jeff,
Can you post some shots from reception; the real low light test

My friend Jeff has been doing video since the 80s, and I respect his opinion immensely. He has 6 VX2100s, some FX1's and a FX7 as well, and knows the cameras inside out. He has been running Sony cams since when the VX2000's were new.

He was very anxious to see the FX1000 so I took it over this morning and we ran it side by side in nromal lighting as well in a darkened room room next to VX2100 and FX1.

Both of us came to the following conclusions:

1. It is NOT as quite as good as the VX2100 in low light, but it holds onto colors very well in low light. (I stated I thought the FX1000 was as good in low light in a previous post. I was wrong.)

It beats the FX1 hands down in low light. BTW, we didn't even bother to compare with the FX7. Comparing 1/4 inch chips to 1/3 inch is not fair and is would be a waste of time and we had limited time to spend on this comparison today.

2. Full wide the FX1000 is wider than the FX1, but just a tad. In DV mode the FX1000 is MUCH wider than the VX2100. The difference is extreme. This alone makes the FX1000 a great move from the PD or VX series. It's almost like having a wide angle lens attached.

3. The FX1 is somewhat cooler and less soft in overall in nromal light. The FX1000 footage resembles more closely the actual scene than the FX1 and is more accurate color wise.

4. Jeff regretted the FX1000 viewfinder is a tad smaller than the FX1, but the detail in the FX1000 is amazing.

5. The quality of the image of the FX1000 at full 20x zoom is exceptional, very good. But I saw that Saturday during the wedding I shot.

Bottom line as far as we are concerned, if you shoot in well lit environments most of the time, the FX1000 may not be worthy replacement for FX1. It would be a waste of money IMO, but that would be something you would have to decide yourself.

If you shoot events where low-light capability is important, this is a great move from the PD 170 and VX2100 if you want to move into 16:9.

Jeff is ordering at least one immediately based on what he saw with mine.

My time was limited with Jeff and his editing stations were tied up, so we didn't get stills to show everyone. This was a very quick and dirty comparison.

Marius, I will post some shots of the FX1000 at the reception next to stills from the VX2100 when I get time.

Jeff, thanks for all the info, very helpful.

Did you notice any delay after hitting the record button? I know this was a major complaint with the FX's back when everyone was moving from the VX's to the HD FX's.

Yes, a big fat delay. As I recall this is worst after turning on but after initial recording it is not too bad.