Initial thoughts on the Sony HDR-AX2000 from a newby

Robert M Wright · February 21st, 2010, 07:14 AM

I'm surprised at only about a $500 difference in the prices of the AX2000 and NX5U. There was a bigger price difference between the FX1 and Z1U, but the differences in features between the AX2000 and NX5U seem more significant this time around. Go figure.

Ron Evans · February 21st, 2010, 08:19 AM

Yes, the last time I got the FX1 rather than Z1 because the price difference for what I wanted was very significant. Now its the other way around the difference is very significant in things that are missing for a very small price difference ( at least in Canada).

Ron Evans

Sean Seah · February 21st, 2010, 10:55 AM

Well done Jason. Can u check if the iris steps are smooth? Meaning when u r in full manual mode, the exposure changes smoothly when you can the iris. The FX1 used to be stepped so you can see a sudden change like the DSLRs now.

BTW, the raw files for NX5 are coming very soon =)

David Jonas · February 21st, 2010, 09:05 PM

According to the manual, it appears that you can adjust the white balance manually while recording. Can anyone confirm this?

Jason Goldberg · February 22nd, 2010, 01:11 AM

Sean, regarding smooth Iris:

Yes, the iris opens and closes very progressively, so no stair-steping is noticable. In fact, in manual while recording, you can use the Iris ring to close the Iris and you'll get a nice smooth fade to black.

David, regarding White Balance:

You basically have a 4 WB modes you can easily access while recording. Auto, User A, User B, and Preset (Preset can be configured in a menu to be either Indoor or Outdoor). You can easily toggle between any of the 4 modes while recording. But you can't dial in your own color temp or make any adjustments to the 4 modes.

However, you also have 6 custom Picture Profiles. Each picture profile can have a number of custom color settings (different gamma curves, etc...). One of the settings for each of the picture profiles is a WB shift. So you could setup several of the picture profiles to be identical except for different WB Shift values. Then you could start recording and toggle between picture profiles to get different WB's. You can also go into the menu's and actually modify the WB Shift for the active Picture Profile and it will take immediate effect. So you could navigate down to this menu to ride the WB Shift live, but it's several's menu's deep.

Regarding the price delta between the AX2000 and NX5:

It seems to me that this is the first pair of camera's Sony has offered where they didn't severely limit the consumer version by not including XLR and good audio. So you used to have to pay for the pro version, live with bad audio, or use an outboard device like a beachtek. This time around the features differentiating the two camera's are a bit more niche, and I can see why Sony feels that can't charge dramatically more for the NX5. That seems like great news to those of you that can benefit from the NX5 features. As for me, I'm not likely to ever own anything that could use the SDI-Out, nor am I ever likely to shoot anything that requires redundant recording. So for me it was an extra $500 I could invest in Mic's.

Tom Hardwick · February 22nd, 2010, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Seah

Can u check if the iris steps are smooth? Meaning when u r in full manual mode, the exposure changes smoothly when you can the iris. The FX1 used to be stepped so you can see a sudden change like the DSLRs now.

Not so Sean - the beautifully damped alloy knob on the FX1 allows infinite control of the iris between max and min aperture. You may be thinking of the VX2000 and VX2100 - both of which put unacceptable (and very visible) steps into manual aperture changes.

tom.

Dom Stevenson · February 22nd, 2010, 07:26 AM

These camera's were next door to each other at the Earls Court DVexpo last week. Not sure which one i was playing with, but i was very impressed with this camera. For my needs i'd sooner save up for the EX1r, but after 15 minutes with the cheaper AVCHD camera, i've no doubt Sony are onto a winner with this.

Bryan Daugherty · February 22nd, 2010, 08:52 AM

Dom,
Thanks for the link that was a good read. I am so anxious to hear more first-hand accounts.

David Jonas · February 22nd, 2010, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Goldberg

Sean, regarding smooth Iris:

David, regarding White Balance:

You basically have a 4 WB modes you can easily access while recording. Auto, User A, User B, and Preset (Preset can be configured in a menu to be either Indoor or Outdoor). You can easily toggle between any of the 4 modes while recording. But you can't dial in your own color temp or make any adjustments to the 4 modes.

Thanks for the info Jason. I was hoping that user A & B could be adjusted manually during recording. This has always been available on Panasonic and is very convenient for event video where lighting changes are frequent.

February 22nd, 2010, 08:52 AM	#23
Bryan Daugherty Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lexington, Ky - USA Posts: 552	Dom, Thanks for the link that was a good read. I am so anxious to hear more first-hand accounts. __________________ 3x-HD1000u - Ikan 8000HD- custom i7 PC - Vegas Pro 13 and 11 64 bit - Premiere Pro CS4 - and a whole mess of other equipment...

February 21st, 2010, 07:14 AM	#16
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	I'm surprised at only about a $500 difference in the prices of the AX2000 and NX5U. There was a bigger price difference between the FX1 and Z1U, but the differences in features between the AX2000 and NX5U seem more significant this time around. Go figure.

February 21st, 2010, 08:19 AM	#17
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Yes, the last time I got the FX1 rather than Z1 because the price difference for what I wanted was very significant. Now its the other way around the difference is very significant in things that are missing for a very small price difference ( at least in Canada). Ron Evans

February 21st, 2010, 10:55 AM	#18
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	Well done Jason. Can u check if the iris steps are smooth? Meaning when u r in full manual mode, the exposure changes smoothly when you can the iris. The FX1 used to be stepped so you can see a sudden change like the DSLRs now. BTW, the raw files for NX5 are coming very soon =)

February 21st, 2010, 09:05 PM	#19
David Jonas Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Orlando, Fl Posts: 60	According to the manual, it appears that you can adjust the white balance manually while recording. Can anyone confirm this?

February 22nd, 2010, 01:11 AM	#20
Jason Goldberg New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 19	Sean, regarding smooth Iris: Yes, the iris opens and closes very progressively, so no stair-steping is noticable. In fact, in manual while recording, you can use the Iris ring to close the Iris and you'll get a nice smooth fade to black. David, regarding White Balance: You basically have a 4 WB modes you can easily access while recording. Auto, User A, User B, and Preset (Preset can be configured in a menu to be either Indoor or Outdoor). You can easily toggle between any of the 4 modes while recording. But you can't dial in your own color temp or make any adjustments to the 4 modes. However, you also have 6 custom Picture Profiles. Each picture profile can have a number of custom color settings (different gamma curves, etc...). One of the settings for each of the picture profiles is a WB shift. So you could setup several of the picture profiles to be identical except for different WB Shift values. Then you could start recording and toggle between picture profiles to get different WB's. You can also go into the menu's and actually modify the WB Shift for the active Picture Profile and it will take immediate effect. So you could navigate down to this menu to ride the WB Shift live, but it's several's menu's deep. Regarding the price delta between the AX2000 and NX5: It seems to me that this is the first pair of camera's Sony has offered where they didn't severely limit the consumer version by not including XLR and good audio. So you used to have to pay for the pro version, live with bad audio, or use an outboard device like a beachtek. This time around the features differentiating the two camera's are a bit more niche, and I can see why Sony feels that can't charge dramatically more for the NX5. That seems like great news to those of you that can benefit from the NX5 features. As for me, I'm not likely to ever own anything that could use the SDI-Out, nor am I ever likely to shoot anything that requires redundant recording. So for me it was an extra $500 I could invest in Mic's.

February 22nd, 2010, 07:26 AM	#22
Dom Stevenson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: London UK Posts: 430	These camera's were next door to each other at the Earls Court DVexpo last week. Not sure which one i was playing with, but i was very impressed with this camera. For my needs i'd sooner save up for the EX1r, but after 15 minutes with the cheaper AVCHD camera, i've no doubt Sony are onto a winner with this.