Comparison EX1 - HVX200
 

I found this comparison between the two cams.
Unfortunately its in german, but there are quite a few pix.

http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/...y-PMW-EX1.html

have fun...

http://translate.google.com/translat...W%2dEX1%2ehtml

This comparison is a little off.. have a look at the difference in DoF of the first image comparison. The red circle thing on the left is tack sharp on the EX1 and the tower itself is out of focus. Sharpness at full tele wide open (as he's describing here) is a misnomer.
On the HVX the tower is slightly out of focus but the colour gradation of the shot looks like hes using CinegammaV, which makes the colours really REALLY punchy.

The low light comparison is not a surprise though, then again, I've shot with an HVX with a lampshade on and its been MUCH brighter than this.. I seriously doubt this lowlight comparison to be very accurate.

I wouldnt mind seeing an EX go up against an XLh1/A1 though

Thanks Robert.

My German is poor at best, but from the pictures you certainly get the sense that the EX has a shallower DOF and a wider latitude. The low light 0db comparison showed that the EX 1/2 CMOS is a marked improvement over the HVX 200. I'm normally preaching against judging stills as a quality reference.
But, I'm seeing a clear trend where Sony is going with this. And it seems to be aimed at guys like me. So maybe I a little blinded by the possibilities.

I've not been this jazzed about a new camera is quite some time.
Cheers.

Thats right, David.

I also have to mention, that a pre-series model was tested, which has an bug in the iris, so most of the pictures in day-light are over-exposed. You can see this very good in the pictures with the tower.
Sony Germany confirmed the bug and said, that they are currently working on it.

What Peter says is also right. It is a spelling mistake in german language and so it is also miss-translated. The first picture shows DOF with the iris fully opened.

Best regards@all
Robert

What caught my eye was the low light difference between the HVX200 and EX at 0dB both wide open. It appears to have the HVX200 by a couple stops.
Well to be fair, the EX is 1/2" cam, but at the same time, pixel size should be smaller due to rez.

This is actually better than I originally thought. I heard it may be a stop better than the F330/350.

Chip Size etc
 

I posted on the low light comparo that really shows an amazing difference.

Regardless of technical specs such as chip size, iris, etc the net result is what we want. A great picture for a price we can deal with. The HVX and EX are line priced and just in low light performance the decision is a no brainer.

Longer recording times and cheaper media are all gravy...

Mike

Not to mention the HD-SDI output and the chance that it actually outputs live 10bit video is an extra helping of gravy... If you are somebody who really wants the most pristine image quality for visual effects then no camera format itself will ever cut it compared to uncompressed or lightly compressed footage. Having an SDI output and the chance that it may actually be 10 bits will totally smoke any live feed from the 8 bit analog component outputs on the HVX200. That to me is a no brainer for live visual effects work.

Oh my gosh, the one telltale sign I observed is the Sony bluish picture is back. This camera would need serious tweaking. Does anyone know of the custom adjustments on the EX1. I expected a shallower depth of field and better low light performance with 1/2" chips. Also, the combination of CMOS and bigger sensors lend to better latitude. However, All in all, I actually preferred the HVX 200 picture vs EX 1. I would like to see the Canon A1 footage vs EX 1.

John, where did you see the EX?

Can't say I've noticed that in my use of it. However the camera has a linear matrix adjustment with exactly the same range of adjustment as the full size cameras.

If his thoughts came from the German comparison, it was already noted the they had an exposure problem with their pre release EX. Also, the white balance was not correct.

It was pretty early in the morning when I wrote my previous comment. Yes, it was the German pics I was commenting about, and as some of the other replies indicated, those results can't be trusted. My bad. So, anyway, it appears the EX is going to be a really nice camera.

John, we hope so, but as you know, we never can tell until we try it ourselfs.

vs A1
 

It's kinda soft compared to A1, acording to this cite,
http://www.slashcam.de/images/texte/...arf-scharf.jpg

I can't seem to find any other footage comparing to A1.

Ariel,
that does not look like a good example for the EX.
To me, it appears not so much detail, but the focus and
image contrast look different than the A1.

I've heard from some early tests it comes close to 1000 lines.
That sounds good to me!

Steven,

Yes,but if you watch the no-good example carefully,you can see MORE horizontal lines on the EX1 than the A1.

Not to mention a lack of moire on the EX1.

Boy that's the truth. Moire city on the Canon. XH looked harsh. The EX1 looked smoother to me.

Based on what I've read.

Z1U: 540 line Horizontal resolution.
HD 100: 700ish Horizontal resolution.
XH: 800 line Horizontal resolution.
EX1: 1000 line Horizontal resolution.

I'll point out the fact that you get what you pay for. More $ = more rez.

I'm sure we'll have to see more test/shootouts in the future.

Keep in mind that the 1000 lines is based on shooting 1080i according to the literature.

Cheers,
G

Yes, I agree

Price doesn't necessarily correlate to resolution, but for the EX1 it looks like you will get something for your money in that regard.

Canon XH-A1: 800 lines, $3250 after rebate
Z1U: 540 lines, $4400 after rebate
HD110U: 700 lines, $4400 with lens
HVX200: 540 lines, $5000 plus memory cards
EX1: 1000 lines, $7000 plus memory cards

(All prices per B&H - rounded up)

The DSC Labs resolution chart I saw also showed near 1000 lines (not quite, but near as dammit close enough) in progressive scan mode too. There was in fact zero change in resolution between i and p modes (and yes the camera was tested with both the shutter on and off) :-)

In German? No problem! use googles webpage translator found here and translate the whole site ;)
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

Happy reading
/Bjorn.