EX1 Review from the indy perspective
 

I shot a short film on an EX1 recently. My review comes from the perspective of someone who has shot on mostly tape-based systems. Might be interesting to some of you.

the automatic filmmaker - Blog - A Personal Review of the SonyEX1

Well done... and welcome to tapeless!

Thanks for posting your review Steve. I enjoyed reading it.

A few points:

- Although the lens reads as f/1.9 throughout the zoom range exposure does get darker towards the last portion of the telephoto range. So it's not "true 1.9" in that sense. The readout is lying to you.

- I'm not so sure about the EX1 not losing light with the overcranked modes. Check that your shutter speed when shooting 24p is set to 1/48 or 180º. I remember when I first got the camera it didn't default to the "correct" shutter speed. Also, when shooting slow motion you should double your frame rate (48 fps use 1/96 shutter or 60 fps use 1/120 or I think the EX1 has 1/125). Doing that will give you a smoother picture.

- It's hard to tell with web video but did you shoot with detail on? Turn it off in the picture profile. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much true detail the EX1 picks up without artificial edge enhancement...which helps with getting the "film look." If you use a 35mm lens adaptor...that's when detail enhancement comes in handy.


I like what you posted on Vimeo and I look forward to seeing some more of your work!

Thanks for the comments Adam.

I didn't seem to notice the darkening at the long end of the lens, which I was looking for. If it did get dark it was minimal. Not the 2 stops that the z1 lost with its lens.

I was quite suprised about the lack of light loss in overcrank modes. But I swear I didn't see it. If I went from 25fps to 60fps, I should have lost a 1 stop of light in theory. Maybe I did and didn't notice. It's quite possible. Can anyone confirm or deny this scientifically?

I do not think I shot with detail on. I tried to shoot as neutral as possible.

If anyone is interested. We also shot a commercial on the same weekend as the short film. It can be seen here: "Let It Take You" - Flamingo Club/Diadema Spec Shoot on Vimeo

Cheers

Steve Ellington