phewwwww,

"If you plan on using the camera on a tripod, or maybe even a jib there is a socket on the camera for a lens remote that will control the zoom"

Yes, we are saved, no reason to not buy. Not that there arn't a few things that are missing though (HDMI monitoring for example). No show stoppers though.

One thing to consider is price... as the target is itself between high end HDV and ENG DSR users, an 8-pin lens remote might be to steep a factor for the "average" market demographic when it comes to price... LANCs aren't a problem, pro lens remotes are (in price that is).

In turn, we would more than likely see a LANC jack as opposed to an actual 8-pin lens remote... mainly being price of said remote.

In addition, a lens remote of this calibre would more often than not be used as another bullet in the market chamber.

As for the IR remote, most IR remotes have a remote zoom function for most cameras on the market. Its set to a single digital speed with no analogous rocking sensors.

Posted a screen grab of the lens remote jack (thanks to Tim Polster for pointing it out), in a new thread at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=102972

The lens remote port looks different than the standard 8-pin Fujinon connector (Hirose connector with one pin in the center). This one seems to have 8 pins with none in the center. So unfortunately, existing Fujinon rear lens controllers may not work unless you add an adapter. I wonder why they did that, unless the port has more functionality? (speculation only)

Now that we know (almost) everything, I want the PMW-EX2 without HD-SDI, with lanc remote and for Euro 5,000:). Thanks.

Considering the way XDCam itself (the format) can be managed through the camera as a media source (i.e. additional harddrive/preview device), I don't doubt that a remote to access these functions would be made available to offer these features without having to trudge through menus.

As for why, apart form the lack of conformity to Fujinon, we ARE talking about Sony here, so proprietary connections and ports should be considered.

Finally, price... if thy stuck with standard remotes, they'd be shutting the doors for many users. Lens remotes can be anything between $500 to $4k, however by doing it this way, they can not only open the doors to usability of said remote (i.e. not restricted to existing conformities of Fujinon) , but can also create the remote and sell it at a price which fits the camera demographic target market. (i.e. create a cheaper remote and sell it for less, and not be locked into Fujinon standards).

The SDI out gives you some excellent options if you want to go beyond the LCD. For a studio shoot, you could hook up to a 24" pro lcd hd monitor for the director or DP.

My question is...Does Sony finally output pre compressed 8bit 4:2:2 out the SDI or like the other XDCAMS, only sends out post compressed 4:2:0?
If the answer is yes, this thing is a world beater. If no, still seems to be a great camera.

I wouldnt be surprised if one did come out excluding SDI.

For now though, I believe they're doing it to nail a market of users who not only have the budget, but the means to use it.

I can tell you now, that over 85% of event videographers won't have ANY use for SDI.

When looking at the Canon equivalent, the G1 (SDI out) is almost twice the price of an A1 (no SDI).

Without SDI, you're at least looking at a $1500 difference.

The MPEG 2 files are wrapped in MP4 wrappers, not MXF like the full size XDCAM's. Don't know why, bit of a mystery this one.

There is a nice controller for the zoom. Plugs in to the 8 pin socket on the hand grip.

But is that what it costs Sony to add SDI? I doubt it. I doubt Sony are paying themselves royalty fees but just adding it for nix to:

1: Up the apparant value of the camera and,
2: Potentially sell more SDI enabled devices to work with the EX and make money there.

Sort of how Adobe give away acrobat reader but sell the content creator.

I hear you, but what SDI capable gear does Sony have? Its all broadcast..

If they left the SDI out, then theyd be excluding a HUGE demographic (were talkin ENG DSR users here whove been waiting for a cam like this before they jump ship) in addition to Indy and broadcast variables.
Theres also the exisiting 1/3rd HDV user base who rely on SDI... in fact, its teh SDI features which redeem certain camcorders "lack" of performance for certain uses.... the EX with SDI taps straight into that market as well..

Depending on HOW SDI out will work, it could either be costly (ie bypassing the compressor), or a "HDMI" type variant being its simply outputting whats being recorded (after compression).
The latter would be cheaper and id agree with your comment if this is the case in how the EX uses SDI, but the former, well if it can output uncompressed (which i doubt... i assume it will follow along the existing 422 output), but if it did then not only would it outshine the F330 and F350, but also every other 1/2 cam on the market.. i dont think Sony would let a smaller camera do this, as it would eat away at their larger ENG XD market
Why go a 350 when an EX can offer more output options?

If it does output uncompressed 1920x1080p then it will change the way many TV shows are filmed today

SDI out is HUGE... but its not needed for most people.. especially the lower end user of this cam, and im sorry to say but that includes the event and wedding videographers.. Most of these guys will be paying for a function they most likely wont ever use.. then again, that can be said for many NLEs and other cameras too.. but i not to THIS extent..

Does anyone else have a link to the 'EX' brochure?
I've been trying to download it for the past couple hours here and it's going extremely slow.

Be patient, I also had to try 3 times to download it. I guess everyone want it! ;-)

Is it possible for someone to list it as an attachment 'here' or would that violate DVi terms?

I've been 'stalled' on the download now for 4 hours at 71KB of 3.5MB

I hope we will see some variants of the EX. Obvious options are no SDI, then restrictions to 25Mbs with 19VBR as the second speed for long recording. This latter one would be a good transition from the HDV line and one I would be interested in as "addicted amateur" to go with my FX1!!!!

Ron Evans

Similar problems here - I've been trying all day :(

I loaded the pdf to my website for you all to download. If this violates anything, please remove this post :)

http://www.zerocloud.com/PDWEX1_Brochure.pdf

Thank you VERY much!

I can't wait to see actual footage from this camcorder. It looks awesome! I sure hope Sony prices it within my reach. I like the fact that it has both auto and "true" manual focus. I wonder if there are going to be any issues with rolling shutter on the CMOS sensor, like some people have reported for the V1.

VERY kind :) Thanks.

I'm afraid Sony has adopted another way of rating low light performance. It's similar to Canon's A1: "0.4 lx (60i/30F mode, Manual mode, 1/4 shutter, F1.6, Gain 18 dB)". 0.4 lux sounds great, and yet the actual sensitivity turned out to be not much better than the V1's with its 4 lux rating!

The EX with its .14lux will certainly be better because of the larger sensors, but what it really means compared to 1lux of PD170, or 4 lux of the V1, or 3 lux of the Z1 - well, we have yet to see...

my most crucial question is, will the hi-def broadcasters certify its usage? that seems to be the real acid test of cameras in this price range, in terms of maximum flexibility and maximizing the ability to deliver the product. does anyone in the know have any info on whether XDCAM EX will receive the same respect as its big brothers?

Certainly more sensitive than my Z1. Possibly a little more sensitive than my F350 according to the side by side test I did.

Sensitivity is F10 at 2000 lx.

To put this in perspective:

JVC HD100/200/250 1/3" HD (720p) F8 @ 2000 Lux
Sony XDCAM HD 330 1/2" HD Camera F9 @ 2000 Lux
Sony XDCAM HD 350 1/2" HD Camera F9 @ 2000 Lux
Sony HDW-750P HDCAM 2/3" HD Camera F10 @ 2000 Lux
JVC DV500 1/2" SD Camera F11 @ 2000 Lux
Sony DSR450 2/3" SD Camera F11 @ 2000 Lux
JVC DV5100 1/2" SD Camera F13 @ 2000 Lux

For those not aware, the larger the F stop rating at 2000lux the more sensitive a camera is. Sony have never published these ratings on cameras such as the Z1, but taking it is very similar in sensitivity to the JVC HD100 it puts it a Z1 at around F8 @ 2000 lux.

One F stop represent double or half the amount of light. F stop numbers are not linear though, we have

f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32, f/45, f/64, f/90, f/128

So taking f/8 and f/11 as a single full stop difference, the EX1 is about 2/3 of a stop more sensitive than a Z1.

Alister, can you comment on the possibility of recording the 25Mbps stream from the 'HDV' i.LINK output to the DR60 drive?

Without variable bitrates, it would defeat the purpose of XDCAM in general. Sorry to say, but one of the formats redeeming factors in regard to long gop managements is the larger than 25mbps bitrate. Yes the encoder is SLIGHTLY different to HDV, but the larger bitrate also plays a major element in the way this camera can compete with more "professional" formats.

Having the options available is what make the format so robust, as you can switch bitrates based on your needs. Doing a no frills interview, use 19mbps, shooting boats on water use 35mbps.

Price is relative more so to hardware than anything else, so I really see no benefit in "dumbing" the camera down to HDV standard.

Thanks Guy
 

I appreciate breaking that down. This is very good news as it was a big factor for me. I hope the lower s/n ratio and this will mean really clean gain at 18db too.

Maybe I missed this in my reading, but does anyone know if the camera can down-convert to SD via Firewire out?

I think only via 1394 out, which means for pure SD work, you are going to have to shoot HD, and capture via 1394 or render in post back to SD.

This seems to be so lame, how much is a DV encoder to add? Certainly the 330 etc can record native SD to XDCAM optical disk and just copy the files across.

Wow, sony really have pulled something out of the bag here, this camera is going to be great!

The one thing that is missing is dv.. which is a shame i guess, but downconvertings so easy now, especially if you're running fcp with a kona card, down converting on the fly is so quick.

Hmmm, cant wait to see more pictures, the chip are sounding amazing, and i dont think anyones going to miss the LP mode. Sony really have listened to people and thought about this camera, well done.

Loving that it comes with an 8gb card when you buy it.

Now if the images look as good as the hvx i might be able to get over that 420 colour sampling and buy this instead of an hvx.. we'll see.

Have a read at this article. http://www.dvuser.co.uk/content.php?CID=171
It appears to be only HD. A lot of questions will be answered here.

Interesting. This reviewer says the low light is NOT as good as the Panasonic:

"Using Panasonic's method of SD chips and pixel shifting means you have superior low-light performance [compared to ex1] by anything between 1/2 stop and 1.5 stops."

Granted, he did review a preproduction model.

Well it would be a tall tall ask for a 1920x1080 sensor to beat the sensitivity of a SD resolution sensor of only a few years old technolog.

I don't doubt that while the sensitivity of the EX1 will be less than the Panasonic (but still better than the likes of a Z1), the resolution of the image will be far superiour. Then, with this higher true resolution, 4:2:0 vs 4:2:2 sampling will be less significant. ie for each pixel the HVX samples, the EX1 will sub sample twice.

And this is just one review, so no need to throw up our hands just yet.

But that was comparing to the Panasonic HPX500 which costs several times as much and has even larger sensors; what's more relevant is how the EX1 will compare to other <$10K HD cameras. It would be reasonable to guess that the low-light ability will be at least similar to that of HD cameras with 1/3" chips containing fewer pixels, and it sounds like the latitude may be better. We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out once production units are shipping.

"It would be reasonable to guess that the low-light ability will be at least similar to that of HD cameras with 1/3" chips containing fewer pixels,"

I posted about this before, but with the size of the CMOS relative to the pixel count vs. its SD cousins, it should, mathematically, come very close to SD sensitivity... I'd say close to what a DVX100 can pull off.

My bad, the size comparison photos with the hvx200 confused me. Thanks Kevin.

See I told ya it is too early to throw your hands up.

Guy, for comparison sake - how would the V1 be rated with this method? Is it F7@2000 lux, or lower?

To be honest mate I have no idea. Sony don't publish the @2000lux specs on all other camcorders. I physically compared a HD101 to a Z1 when the HD101 came out so I was only estimating that rating on my approximation and the fact JVC do publish @2000lux ratings for the HD series.

Guy, there is a big caveat in what you say there, and that is that such figures are only meaningful if the S/N ratios are specified. (And I believe Sony have said 54dB for the EX.) Unless you can be sure that all the cameras are the same, you can't draw any real conclusions from those figures.

If one camera had a S/N of 51dB say, but same stop at 2000lux, it would NOT be as sensitive as the EX, but rather a stop less sensitive - equivalent to an EX with 3dB of gain in! In practice, it gets even more complicated than that......