advice for first EX1 purchase

[Craig Seeman]

[Thomas Hughes] “it seems to make more sense to get one of the hard-drive type adaptors that can hold 120 or 500 gigs.”

It makes more sense (to me) to get MxM, MxR or Hoodman adaptor and get Sandisk Extreme Class 10 cards.

Get the larger battery.

You might want to get the Sony SxS card reader if you’re working on a desktop computer but with the SDHC adaptors above you can use any consumer SDHC card reader.

Get a good tripod. I like the Sachtler FSB6 but expect to spend around $1500 (give or take) for good tripod.

Get a good shotgun mic as well but opinions may vary as to what that should be. Price range might be from $300 to $1000 depending.

See if Sony is offering discounts on Sony products with a purchase of the EX1R.

Don’t forget the camera bag. My preference is for one that can double as rolling cart and backpack.

[Michael Palmer]

Before I’d ever consider a hard drive system I would compare all the options for solid state cards and even the cost of an external digital HD recorder that would allow you to take full advantage of the EX camera.

The Convergent Design “Nano Flash” can not only save you time when re-wrapping the original media but it may also save you money in the long run with solid state media. THe Nano Flash can wrap your files as Quicktime or MXF so you can edit without losing valuable time re-wrapping the EX files. I have a few 64gig PhotoFast G Monster CF cards and they are capable of 220Mbps bit rate, this is near uncompressed quality and a far cry from the capabilities of any XD Cam Camera.

https://www.convergent-design.com/Products/tabid/1565/Default.aspx

https://www.capacityinnovations.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_67&products_id=223&zenid=bfaf59a84aa84e575754fcd2d2346636

The Nano Flash currently can record up to 280 Mbps bit rate and depending on the bit rate you with use the Compact Flash cards are a much better value than the SDHC cards. If you choose the EX3 model Auton Bauer can supply a battery adapter solution for powering not only the EX camera but the Nano Flash and even a on board monitor. There are off brand solutions to the gold mount batteries that are far less than the original SONY LARGE BATTERIES.

https://www.antonbauer.com/Products/QREX3
https://www.atbatt.com/product/8312.asp

This would be my first consideration moving forward with the camera package. The SDHC adapters are a low cost investment but the quality of the Nano and extremely affordable CF media can produce the best quality form the EX camera and you can use both of these solutions at the same time for a completely redundant recording, this would make not only you feel comfortable but also your clients.

These are some of the secrets to a solid camera package

Good Luck
Michael Palmer

[Olanrewaju Olakunle]

I just got one myself about 2 months ago and this are the I purchase along with:
Tiffen 77mm UV Protector Filter Price $31.95
Series 7 EX-L96 14.4v 96W Lithium-Ion Battery Pack for Sony EX1/EX3 Price $284.95
Sony MEAD-SD01 SDHC Card Adapter Price $109.95
Delkin Devices 16GB Pro Class 10 SDHC Memory Card Price $64.89
Manfrotto 503HDV,351MVB2K Aluminum Video Tripod Kit
Sennheiser Deluxe Shotgun Microphone Kit – Includes: MKH-416 Shotgun Microphone, …
PNY Technologies nVIDIA Quadro FX 3800 PCI Express x16 Professional Display Card Price $784.59
Petrol PCCB-2N Compact Camcorder Bag, Large

later I also purchased Nexto DI2725 Canon t2i more 32gb SDcards.

Depending on your position your need may vary but above all storage is very important and cannot be over emphsised and in my own case i discorvered the hard way, I lost important footage and I had to pay dearly for it through data recovery services.
Your workflow will have to change.

Spirit

[Bob Tompkins]

I am using 3 EX1R’s and am very happy with them. I am using 32 GB Transcend SDHC cards with eFilm adapters. I get 117 min of recording time with them at 1920×1080 60i. I don’t overcrank so I have no experience with that. I can ingest directly into my MacBook Pro using the Express34 slot but I don’t because my external hard drives are connected to that. I have been ingesting just using a Verbatim USB2 card reader which I am sure is not the best way. I would like a couple of the Sony devices but I think they are USB2 also so I am not sure how much faster they would be. There does not seem to be a eSata or FW800 device available for this.

I am not sure what you are editing with but I would consider borrowing or renting an EX1R before buying and playing with the workflow before you actually need to do it. It can be a little tricky. I would not want to learn it under the crunch of a deadline.

My two cents…

[Clint Fleckenstein]

When we bought our EX cameras, B&H had a pretty nice little accessory kit. It included the Sony WA adapter, a Sony USB reader for SxS cards (this does NOT work with MxR type adapters tho), the Vortex Media training DVD for the camera, a large capacity battery, a large capacity card, and some other stuff. You might look into that.

Second vote here for the Sachtler FSB-6. GREAT for the price. Ours was $1500 but that was with carbon sticks. I keep saying I’m going to order a second one but haven’t pushed that through yet.

Cf

[Thomas Hughes]

What did you buy or not buy that led to your loss of footage? I’m not clear on that. Thank you.

Thomas H

[Craig Moore]

I got my EX1R only about 8 months ago and it was tight to get it to start. So I only started with the core card, filter and large capacity battery. Since then I added the newer (less guaranteed read-write) 32 gig card, and a 1500 series pelican case (the cardboard box just didn’t cut it :)). Now I have quick access to several rental houses and am not shooting every day so I can get pro tripod/light/mic as needed on demand. But my next purchases are going to be a god tripod (as mentioned above) SxS usb card reader, shotgun mic, wireless mic and a small ENG light kit as budget enables. If you are shooting all the time these would be essential, plus double backup USB harddrives and a laptop for fled transfers…maybe a PA/monkey to do that for you when you can. I’ve only heard great things about the Nonflash and would consider it if I had the budget to.

Good luck. I stepped up from z1U/V1U and love how it operates. Mind you the harddrives I am accumulating is staggering. Maybe a bluray burner/drive for file archive too.

Spider Video
https://spidervideo.tv
XDCAM Ex1-R
MacPro FCP3

[Giorgio Ariu]

Hi,
I’ve just received my new EX1r and a new MxR.
Before buying one of the suggested SHDC I am testing three SHDC I had, a MUSTANG 16GB class 10, a TRANSCEND 32GB class 6, a LEXAR Platinum II 32GB class 4.
None of that works! Sony EX1r doens’t recognize any media.
No red or blue led flashing on camera. I’m sure SHDC’s itself work properly. The Sony firmware version is 1.10 (the last on EX1r).
Is this what happen when SHDC isn’t good? No led at all? Am I sure is going to work with the suggested memories?
Thank you for the help.
Giorgio

[Craig Seeman]

While some SDHC is more reliable than others, almost all but the worst would be recognized.
Place SDHC in MxR.
Place MxR in camera.
Format Card.

What happens when you attempt to format?
Please be specific.

[Giorgio Ariu]

When I insert MxR led (red or green) does not go on, like sxs.
Viewfinder says “unknown media pls change”. Format menu on camera doesn’t allow formatting, since camera doesn’t see it.
I am wondering if MxR is defective.
Giorgio