PMW-160 In Stock

[Mark OConnell]

The PMW-160 is in stock at B&H.

The direct link is Sony PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 Camcorder

[Bill Rankin]

The price is the same as the PMW 200....I wonder why. The only real difference I see is the 20x vs 14x lens. Am I missing something?

[Chris Hurd]

The PMW200 has HD/SDI. That's one major difference at least. And its lens is by Fujinon.

[Doug Jensen]

Chris,

Both the PMW-160 and PMW-200 have HD-SDI, as does the PMW-100.

And regarding the lens, the PMW-160 has a Sony G-series lens that I would say is optically better than the Fujinon on the PMW-200 -- plus it has a much larger zoom range, smoother zoom control, and three ND filters. But on the downside, there are no hard stops to the rings. The only other advantage the PMW-200 has over the PMW-160 is bigger sensors and slightly improved low-light capability.

It does seem strange that they are the same price, though.

[Chris Hurd]

Thanks for the clarification, Doug -- much appreciated!

[Glen Vandermolen]

Does anyone know how much different the 160 and 200 are in low light? I'd think the 200 would be noticeably different, although the 160 has a slightly faster lens. I believe the 160 is rated at F9 at 2,000lux.

[Alister Chapman]

In real terms the 200 is about a stop more sensitive. At 0db there is very little difference in noise levels, but as you add gain the 150/160 becomes noisier than the 200. The PMW-160 is NTSC only and the PMW-150 is PAL only.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

The PMW-160 is NTSC only and the PMW-150 is PAL only.

Actually, the PMW-160 is switchable between PAL and NTSC. So are the PMW-200 and PMW-100. Only the PMW-150 is not switchable.
For those who are interested in learning more of the differences between the XD422 cameras, I have several videos online, here's one.

XDCAM ESSENTIALS Episode 1: The New HD422 Handycams on Vimeo

[Mark OConnell]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

Chris,

Both the PMW-160 and PMW-200 have HD-SDI, as does the PMW-100.

And regarding the lens, the PMW-160 has a Sony G-series lens that I would say is optically better than the Fujinon on the PMW-200 -- plus it has a much larger zoom range, smoother zoom control, and three ND filters. But on the downside, there are no hard stops to the rings. The only other advantage the PMW-200 has over the PMW-160 is bigger sensors and slightly improved low-light capability.

It does seem strange that they are the same price, though.

Doug,

When you say the lens is optically better do you mean it's sharper?

Why do you think it's strange that the 200 and 160 are the same price?

Thanks-

[Doug Jensen]

Yes, I think the lens on the PMW-160 is a little sharper than the one on the PMW-200, but since they are both fixed lenses that are integral to the camera, it's hard to compare them head to head. It's just my impression from using both cameras. My point is that you should not assume the PMW-200's lens is better just because it is made by Fujinon. I love Fujinon lenses and have been using them on my shoulder-mount cameras for 30 years, but Sony's G-series lenses are excellent products too. So, is the sharpness due to the lens, or the camera behind it? That's tough to say. And the difference is not huge anyway. If you put both cameras side-by-side you aren't going to point to either one and say there is a big difference.

However, one thing that is certain is that the PMW-160 has a greater zoom range. It is both wider and more telephoto than the PMW-200.

I am surprised they are the same price because the cameras are nearly identical in features, form, size, weight, etc. but the PMW-200 has 1/2" sensors and the PMW-160 only has 1/3" sensors. Typically a camera with smaller sensors would be less expensive than a similar camera with larger sensors. So that is why I, and many other people, are surprised by the pricing.

[Mark OConnell]

Thanks for your reply Doug. I understand you giving more value to the larger sensors, but for someone in my position, looking for reach from the lens, the smaller sensors would appear to be a plus. The added reach for me at least would more then make up for the loss in sensitivity of the smaller chips. So the same price for the two to me makes sense.

[Doug Jensen]

Mark,

That's why they have multiple cameras. No single camera could meet the needs of everyone. You're smart to do your homework and compare the cameras before make a choice -- rather than just naturally jumping to the bigger sensors as most people would do. For some people, even the 100 might make more sense than a 160 or 200.