Sony NEX-VG10/AVCHD compatability issues

[Henry Williams]

I own a vg10 and work with final cut studio. As you say, its just a case of transcoding into prores. It is worth double checking your sequence settings though – fcp will treat the footage as progressive but that doesn’t stop it from trying a sneaky de-interlace when you’re not looking…

[Naiche Lujan]

Thanks Henry for the confirmation of that. The more I read, the more I figured that was the case.

Are you having ANY issues with the camera so far?

Naiche

Mac Pro
Dual 2.8Ghz Quad-Core
16GB RAM
ATI Radeon 256MB
320GB 7200rpm
3TB 7200rpm Internal Software RAID0
Blackmagic Studio Card (working good so far)

[Henry Williams]

No reliability issues – it doesn’t overheat and is surprisingly robustly built overall. I’m told that the base plate isn’t brilliantly put together but there are simple fixes for that online that work very well without voiding the warranty and to be honest it’s not something I’ve noticed anyway.

I have seen touches of moire and aliasing on a couple of occasions, but it’s a very rare occurrence and never anything significant enough to ruin a shot. I’m told it’s far less of an issue than with any of the other DSLR/Hybrids apart from the GH2.

If you’re using the kit lens and the small battery it is a little front heavy, but this is easily corrected by using the larger battery pack, which I’d recommend getting anyway.

The Kit lens is very sharp and a good all rounder, if a little slow. I’d recommend steering clear of the other e-mount lenses though and instead getting a fast 35mm and 50mm prime SLR lens (the SONY DT range would be a good bet) to supplement the zoom. A variable ND filter is also a very good supplementary purchase.

There are two tech issues with the camera – a lack of focus assist being the largest. The LCD is very good and pin sharp, but it would help to have a small monitor like the 7inch Lilliput mounted on top of the camera if you’re going to be using primes and focusing manually. The second tech issue, which caused a lot of people to think their cameras were broken when they first got them and send them back, is that it’s possible to half depress the photo button with your knuckle without noticing when using the top handle – If you’re in video mode it locks out all the controls until released. As soon as you know about it it’s very easy to avoid repeating.

I’m really enjoying using the camera and absolutely love the results I’m getting out of it so far.

Henry

[Naiche Lujan]

Good stuff. Actually we are trying to decide between the Sony and the Lumix GH2. Both are receiving pretty overall great reviews. Both use AVCHD. In future, hopefully we’ll get faster SD card bandwidth capable of handling a codec that doesn’t need transcoding.

I like the fact that the Sony form factor is more like a video camera. I have heard people complain about moire.

We’ll see what they decide on. It’s hard not to have buyer’s remorse a little nowadays. Just have to accept things are changing super fast.

Thanks

Naiche

Mac Pro
Dual 2.8Ghz Quad-Core
16GB RAM
ATI Radeon 256MB
320GB 7200rpm
3TB 7200rpm Internal Software RAID0
Blackmagic Studio Card (working good so far)

[Henry Williams]

Whichever one you go for I’d suggest buying SLR lenses rather than e-mount or micro four thirds – that way you’re not tied into either manufacturer’s product.