PMW-EX1 brochure

[Don Greening]

I’ll reserve judgement about the picture quality of the EX until I have one in my hands for testing. I do know that there are lot of camera people out there that use XDCAM for broadcast every day and they like what they shoot. Yes, XDCAM is a form of HDV using the MPEG2 long GOP codec, but the big difference is the variable bit rate recording of XDCAM.

I’ve already heard comments that the EX 1920×1080 picture is “to die for”, so that alone is encouragement enough for me to seriously consider buying.

I don’t know if XDCAM will output a 4:2:2 signal from the HD-SDI port and simultaneously record 4:2:0 video to XDCAM discs/flash media, if that’s what you’re asking. Perhaps someone else in this forum will be able to answer that for you.

Like Graeme Nattress said, who is the software designer for the RED camera: “Not ALL compresssion is bad.” Indeed. Just look at ProRes422 HQ.

– Don

[Rafael Amador]

Hi Don,
Thanks for your answer. I’ve got a bit up-set for what I sayd before. The camera can do the 422, but SONY don’t want. I wouldn’t have got up-set if the camera wouldn’t look so beautiful.
Time to wait.
Cheers,
rafael

[Don Greening]

Maybe this will make you feel better: the suggested list price for the EX is $4000.00 USD. And the 16 GB cards will be under $1000.00 each, with 32 GB cards available next year. Obviously, this price is designed to corner the market and to be THE camera in every event shooter’s kit bag.

– Don

[Don Greening]

Update on the pricing: It would seem that the 4000 dollar price tag for the EX may in fact be in Euros and not in US currency as was first reported. This would put the US dollar figure at a more realistic $6000.00 USD.

– Don

[Greg Boston]

[rafalaos] “We have been talking about XDCam, and I always thought XDCam is 422 with 18-25-35Mbps. “

Sorry but that’s incorrect.

XDCAM HD is currently 4:2:0 @ 18mb VBR, 25mb CBR, and 35mb VBR.

The forthcoming XDCAM EX camera will not have the 18mb mode, but will offer 720P and have a full 1920×1080 pixel count imager. The current XDCAM HD cameras have a 1440×1080 chip.

The only XDCAM HD camera that can RECORD 4:2:2 is the forthcoming PDW-700 with 2/3 CCDs and a 50mb recording rate.

However, as was stated, if you take a LIVE FEED from the camera via HDSDI, you bypass the chroma subsampling and MPEG compression. This signal runs at around 1.4 Gb/second. This applies to several cameras on the market such as the full sized XDCAM HD F350, The Canon XLH1 and XHG1, and the JVC Pro HD 250.

Don’t get so hung up on the 4:2:0 thing because this isn’t like SD and there is quite a bit of chroma information in progressive mode. People have been pulling very nice keys with the 4:2:0.

The variable bit rate helps most with storage requirements per frame, but contributes to quality indirectly because it allows a higher maximum bitrate without eating up all your storage. The 35mb data rate allows for better motion compensation, etc and that is why XDCAM HD looks better than HDV in high motion scenes.

[Rafael Amador]

Hi Greg,
Thanks for the up-date. The thing is that the XDCam EX camera (I don’t remember the name of the model) looks terrific. I look forwar to get some feed-backs when they release it.
Cheers,
Rafael