Sony NXCAM (HXR-NX5) major (?) problem

[Robert Boni]

Hello Dan,
Will this camera allow the option of widescreen or 4:3 when shooting SD? How does the SD look after being compressed inside the camera….as good as raw .avi or .mov? Thanks again brave Danielson 😉

[Daniel Paquin]

Hello Robert,

The image is very nice, the color is sharp. Yes you can output 4:3, 16:9 and other. I cannot explain what the other is but it’s like output format between 4:3 and 16:9.

It’s way better than shooting DV. I’ve used to have two XL2s and I do not regret going from the XL2 to this new sony camera.

The MPEG-2 file created can be ported over Toast and you use “Never re-encode”. A DVD is then created in no time. Someone said, the same thing can be done via Windows Media Player with Vista. I need to test it.

I only wish the error message I’ve got will not occur again.

I hope it helps.

Daniel Paquin

[Ky Meserve]

Hi Adam, Daniel, Robert and Bill

any resolution yet? I was just about to purchase this camera… What’s up?

Ky

Ky

[Robert Boni]

Ky,
I’d like to know what the status is as well. The rebate ends at the end of this month on the 128gb. Good Luck. I’m still afraid to buy one until I hear what’s been happening with the guys above. It’s like the world is waiting on Daniel and Adam’s replies 😉

[Curtis Anderson]

major (?) problem – use precaution.
The HXR-FMU128 is very sensitive to power cycles. Sony even warns against unplugging the USB cable from a PC without doing a proper USB shutdown, not to mention NEVER write to the unit, format the unit, or move files around on the unit while connected to a PC.

Based on my personal experiences, data to flash memory units can become corrupt during a read/write cycle if power is interrupted. One corrupted, the unit must be reformatted. Some bit errors can still remain after a format and the unit may not work, or work until the bad spot is addressed again during usage, and in some cases may not reformat at all. I have been able to try another camera and correct the corrupted data flash unit with a good format. My thought is, one or both of your units got corrupted and the camera, with limited error reporting, limited on-board diagnostics, and no error correction feature was giving you a ‘catch-all’ error message with little to no meaningful explanation of the real trouble.

Based on more of my personal experiences using a Sony CX7, HDR-CX500, VX2100, FX1, etc. and flash cards for them….I would sometimes have to use a different camera to format a card before it would work again in the unit it was corrupted on. I once had a memory stick that formatted and worked fine in a digital camera but not a video handicam.

Tapes jam and flash units corrupt. Suggest having a spare or two of each type memory handy. I must remind myself to use caution ALWAYS when working with flash units.

I have a FMU128 unit and waiting on the NX5U to arrive any day now. I plan as a precaution to NEVER delete a clip, NEVER mix recording modes, and to power down the USB port and shutdown the PC before unplugging the FMU128.

[Adam Welz]

Hi Curtis

thanks for this. I think you may well have a point here, and I have followed up on the suggestion over on another forum.

It’s entirely possible that I had corrupted sectors on the cards or FMU128 I was using and that the NXCAM cannot handle them, because I only experienced the issue after I had clips interrupted by unplanned power-off incidents.

Best

Adam

[Curtis Anderson]

Moving from tape camcorders to solid state camcorders require a new skill set.
Not yet having my NX5U in hand (on order), I down loaded the OM and found this bit of interesting information.
QUOTE:
Even if you delete all data or format the recording media on your camcorder or computer, you may not delete data from the recording media completely.Format the recording media using [MEDIA FORMAT] if images are not recorded or played back properly If you continue recording and deleting images on recording media for a long time, the files on that recording media may be fragmented. As a result, you may not be able to record and save images properly. If this happens, save images on a separate recordable media, such as a disc or computer, then format the recording media. (p. 65).
Unintelligible data will be written on recording media. Thus, it may become more difficult to recover any original data. Even if you format recording media, there may be some data remaining. Therefore, when you dispose of or transfer the recording media, it is recommended that you perform a [ MEDIA EMPTY] operation.
END QUOTE:

History Lesson.
Hard Disk Drives use formatting to write tracks, sectors and head information. The FAT assigns the data location.Hard drives uses DEFRAG to keep the data together and reduce the time to access it. Solid State Drives like Memory Sticks and the HXR-FMU128 use formatting to erase the data location but not the actual data. To erase the actual data the media requires a ‘MEDIA ERASE’. Solid State Drives do not need to be DEFRAGED because access speed is not a problem.

[Curtis Anderson]

“no dedicated NXCAM forum here yet”. Is this still true or can you suggest one?

ALSO: Question about the DK-415 cable to operate the NXCAM from AC power.
None came with the unit, yet the OM shows it listed and how to use it. For the life of me, I don’t see a place to connect AC to the NX5U. Looks like the NX5U works only off the battery and the battery must be removed to be charged, at least eiyh what comes with the unit shipped.

[Curtis Anderson]

Solved my own problem. With so much excitement unpacking the NXCAM, I overlooked what I would call a “paddle board” with build-in cable trying to find what the OM calls a “connecting cord”. Having owned a number on Sony camcorders, this model caught me off-guard. The NXCAM battery must be removed off the camcorder to change it AND it must be removed to power the unit from AC using a “paddle board” that Sony calls a “connecting cord”. Oh well, back to testing the unit.

[Luis Hernandez]

Hello guys, do you have any updates in the NX5 dual recording problem i am very interested in this camera and now I have no idea what to do, does any one has experience with the EX1 or EX3 cameras
and how reliable or can it be compare this cameras to the NX5?