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PMW-EX30 Recorder Alternatives?
Friends
Are there any alternatives to the Sony PMW-EX30 for field recording coming down the line? I know about the Convergent Design Nano Flash and Flash XDR.
I have an EX-30 and it is very particular. I use it to record endoscopic video cameras in surgery, and not all of these cameras have straight HD/SDI outputs, so I have to use a Geffen for DVI to HD/SDI conversion, but the EX30 doesn’t always recognize the signals. I also prefer to get XLR audio, but obviously I am not with the EX30. I am not so happy with te 30 because my monitors will see perfect pictures but it does not. Last time I used it, a circular picture came out as an oval, because the video camera gave out a 4×3 HD signal (don’t ask why the camera company designed it this way) but most LCD monitors will compensate for this and keep it in widescreen.
I know it doesn’t sound like the deck is my problem, but after working with other widescreen signals, and sending it back to Sony for firmware upgrades, it still is finicky about what signal it accepts.
Greg Ondera
http://www.Plexus.tv
http://www.SurgeonToday.org -
4 Replies
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Hi There,
I have not used it but Kona released the KiPro. It may do what you want.
https://www.aja.com/products/ki-pro/ki-pro-connectors.php
NIck
I wish I was good at one thing rather than average at many, but oh well.
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Nano, Nano, Nano. The Nano is the answer. While AJA’s Kipro is a good concept, it lacks the engineering and has many issues.
Good Luck
Michael Palmer -
Nano sounds great, but what about audio? I will need to get audio onto the footage from a camera source that has no audio, so I guess the XDR is a better bet?
Greg Ondera
http://www.Plexus.tv
http://www.SurgeonToday.org -
The Flash XDR is a good unit…as is the Nano, and yes, the Flash XDR takes analog XLR audio in.
The KiPro is also a good unit. The KiPro’s storage unit, at least for now, is a spinning disk hard drive and the solid state Convergent Design products probably hold an edge in extreme vibration situations (spleen rattling rock concert, front of house for instance)
…if you post on FCP, the KiPro has its advantages. ProRes can go 10 bit whereas MPEG is still 8 as far as I know. Generally, ProRes is a codec with a larger footprint than MPEG for similar visual quality as it’s I-frame. In practice, FCP runs either format well…obviously ProRes is optimized and designed for FCP, but I’ve seen 100 Mbit Long GOP (excellent quality) run very nicely on an FCP system.
As I said, I like them both. The Nano is handier in the field when you’re involved in conventional field production as it can ride on the back/top of the camera fairly easily. The KiPro is a bit bulkier (as is the Flash XDR).
…but it doesn’t necessarily sound like portability is an issue in your application. It depends on a lot of conditions as to which would suit you best. If the camera is outputting DVI and you’re converting the DVI to SDI, I can’t imagine that that’s a stress-free conversion. Depending on the strength of that signal, you may want to explore converting DVI to analog and recording it…
TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,
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