New Sony HXR-NX30E Palmcorder with advanced Stabilization

[Ron Evans]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

I have a demo unit that I'm reviewing. It doesn't appear possible to get full independent control of iris, shutter and gain. You can choose to manually control the exposure, shutter and iris, but then the others become automatic, only one can be controlled manually at once. You can set an AGC gain limit which can be as low as 0db and this stays set while you change the exposure, shutter or iris but full simultaneous manual control of both shutter and iris appears impossible.

This is as I expected. It's a PJ760 with some firmware changes to give timecode, LPCM audio, full indication on the LCD, 720P etc and of course has XLR audio with mic and I expect the larger FV70 battery. I think the difference in price to the PJ760 is reasonable and I will replace my CX700 for it when it comes out in Canada. Will make a better companion to my NX5U. I think the picture will be identical for the NX30, CX760, PJ760 etc in the new lineup from Sony as they are all essentially the same camera.

Ron Evans

[Noa Put]

my G10 has slightly better image

I"m suprised to see that the g10 outperforms the sony in low light, I always thought sony had the edge with their xmor technology. Too bad only that the nx30 is so expensive and it's way to much for what it offers, for only 500 euro extra I can get a panasonic ag ac130.

[Buba Kastorski]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

I"m suprised to see that the g10 outperforms the sony in low light,

so am I, cuz i was really hoping to replace my g10 and low light performance is my main concern, but I am afraid I will need to go higher price bracket to get better than G/XA10 low light performance

[Ron Evans]

European prices must be very different. AC130 is about $3695 and NX30 is $1998 at B&H Photo that's almost $1700 difference so you could buy a matching PJ760, bag and extra batteries as well and still be less than the AC130. If you are to handhold the camera there is no competition the Sony's are far superior with their image stabilization. They are just very different cameras with totally different purposes.

Ron Evans

[Ron Evans]

Originally Posted by Buba Kastorski

so am I, cuz i was really hoping to replace my g10 and low light performance is my main concern, but I am afraid I will need to go higher price bracket to get better than G/XA10 low light performance

So am I as my CX700 at 21 db has a lot less grain noise than my NX5U at 12db and certainly sees more in the dark than I can see !!!

Ron Evans

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

European prices must be very different. AC130 is about $3695 and NX30 is $1998 at B&H Photo

If I recalculate to US dollar there are 2 large videostores in Belgium that sell the panasonic ag ac130 for 4252 dollar and the other asks 5190 dollar.

For the nx30 The price is 3544 dollar but I just found another store selling it for 3164 dollar. (that's all vat included, are the prizes on B&H in or ex vat?)

[Ron Evans]

For comparison the list price from the manufacturers WEB site , AC130.....$3895 and for the NX30 .... $2300. Tax is not included because it is totally different depending on where you live.

Ron Evans

[Cliff Totten]

@Alister;

Thanks for the info on your test NX30 unit! Can you tell me if the NX30 displays any "gain" information at all during recording? The term "exposure" is such an ambiguous thing. I expect this from a "consumer" camera but not from a "pro" NXCAM model.

Seems that the NX30 offers very little firmware features over it's "crippled" PJ760 "Handycam" sister.

Could your test camera possibly not have the final firmware loaded?

I was excited about buying an NX30 as a 4th camera for my collection but if it's got the typical "Handycam" crippling tricks than I see no need to replace my CX760.

Thanks for the info Alister! (cant wait to see your full review!)

CT

[Adam Palomer]

I have a demo unit that I'm reviewing. It doesn't appear possible to get full independent control of iris, shutter and gain. You can choose to manually control the exposure, shutter and iris, but then the others become automatic, only one can be controlled manually at once. You can set an AGC gain limit which can be as low as 0db and this stays set while you change the exposure, shutter or iris but full simultaneous manual control of both shutter and iris appears impossible.

I was looking for the "professional" version of the CX760 and was hoping the NX30 would be it. But now that you confirm that it doesn't do ALL manual at the same time, I can pretty much rule it out.

It's a disappointment for sure.

Do the people at Sony really think that an XLR adapter and a few negligible differences justify the price difference between the NX30 and the CX760?

I'm planning on purchasing the Product: DR-100MKII | TASCAM Tascam DR-100MKII and use it to record audio.

The Tascam's pre-amps are guaranteed to be quieter than what Sony will offer with the NX30 and I can use it in place of a wireless microphone by placing it anywhere I want, without being limited.

[Jay West]

Right now, B&H is listing the CX760v for just under $1400 ($US) and is taking orders for the NX30 at just under $2000 ($US). For the extra $600, what you get with the NX30 that you don't get with the CX760, as far as I can glean from the above and B&H, is:

* a lens hood
* an XLR audio module with phantom power capability
* an external stereo shotgun mic
* ability to record LPCM audio
* ability to shoot 720p/60 (in North America) in addition to the 1080i and 1080p/60 that you get with the CX760;
* the projector
* a slightly larger LCD viewscreen (3.5" versus 3")
* ability to lock Auto Gain levels

Ron indicated there may be an ability to lock timecode with an NX5. Any info on how this is or will be done?

Any additions to the NX30 over the CX760 that I have missed in my list?

Has anybody found a place to download a user's manual for North American versions of the NX30? (B&H is projecting camera availability at the end of June, so maybe a manual has not been posted yet.)

The B&H website lists "FMU storage" is an option. Any idea what that means? Can you add an FMU128 as one can with the NX5? Why would you do that? (Other that maybe, going on a very long shoot where you might have a long time between opportunities to offload video?) Or are they simply talking about the ability to record to cards as well as internal flash memory?

[Ron Evans]

Jay, the info I have is that it has 3" LCD just like the PJ760. To me its exactly the PJ760( which has the projector and in fact is the only version available in Canada not the CX760) with firmware changes and the XLR adapter. It also has the larger FV70 battery as I think the PJ760 has a FV60, comes with the hard drive connecting cable that is extra for the consumer Sony's. Normal download to PC is with the attached cable that is located in the wrist strap but there is also a connector that allows connect directly to a USB hard drive for backup in the field that will work for the other cameras in the Sony line but is an extra, VMC-UAM1. A far as I can tell the additions are well worth the cost difference if they are of importance to your use. For me the LPCM audio is worth the difference as well as resetting timecode on both NX30 and NX5U ( you do this by setting both units to free run then using the remote to reset timecode so that both will then reset to zero at the same time)

Ron Evans

[Les Wilson]

For another $800, the NX-70 starts to look attractive with a real lens ring, manual controls, LPCM, 1080/60p and a nice wide angle at the low end.

[Ron Evans]

Main advantage of the NX70 is its dust and rain proof and has a 3.5" rather than 3" LCD. Other than that its a CX700 at three times the price with a zoom rocker that doesn't work well. Wide angle on these Sony's is around 26mm for all of them as they are basically the same camera with slightly different features. The NX70 has a switch for zoom , focus and iris. The CX700 has a wheel with control of focus, exposure, iris, shutter speed, AE shift, white balance shift. Which seem to be left off the NX70. Unless one needs the dust and rain protection I still think the NX30 is a better deal. New stabilizer and I expect much the same functions as the NX70 had over the CX700 as far as timecode, LPCM audio 720P etc. One could likely buy a real Sony waterproof housing for the NX30 which would make it really water proof.

Ron Evans

[Jay West]

B&H is also carrying the PJ760 at $1598 ($US) --- $1498 if purchased in the next three days.

So, comparing the PJ760 to the NX30, we are talking about an extra $400 more for the NX30. For the extra $400, you get the XLR module with phantom power, the external stereo shotgun mic, the lens hood, the ability to set time codes with an NX5 (seems great if you have one, as I do), LPCM audio recording and the ability to lock-down the AGC.

I agree with Ron that the extras may be worth the price difference, if you want them. The only a bolt-on XLR adapter that I know of that gives phantom power is a Juiced Link unit that costs $299. I find LPCM audio useful (I use it all the time with my NX5). The ability to synch time code with my NX5 also would be useful for my multi-cam projects. The extra mic is worth something as is the lens hood.

This is not like the MC50 for which you paid double the price of CX550v to get a lens hood and proprietary external mic module.

I got the info on the 3.5" viewscreen size from B&H. Apparently, their listing is wrong. They'll probably correct it when the camera actually is released.

I would like for the NX30 to have a lens ring, but I can't quite picture how a lens ring would fit in so small a camera with that floating lens and sensor assembly. I might be more interested in the NX70 if it were to be my primary cam and I lived in a wet climate as in Ireland or the Pacific Northwest, and I needed a ruggedized unit to haul with me. I would be a lot more interested if it were $800 less than it is.

What I want the NX30 for, though, is for second cam work in multi-cam projects and as my "take it everywhere" cam. I've been pretty happy with the CX550v, but am tempted by the new balanced IS, the audio module and the 1080/60p capability.

[Les Wilson]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

Main advantage of the NX70 is its dust and rain proof and has a 3.5" rather than 3" LCD. Other than that its a CX700 at three times the price with a zoom rocker that doesn't work well. ...

The complaint about the CX760 and NX30 was the lack of manual controls. While the cameras may share some internal chipsets, the NX70 package has a different lens with a ring that is absent from the others. Add the larger screen and weather sealing and you have a different camera with better manual functions. And maybe the menu wheel isn't as cheesy. Oh wait, is that a real eye cup on the NX70? And a LANC port too? You obviously never used an underwater case. Pity the zoom is awful.