Sony’s new camera

[Micah Mcdowell]

Wow, that looks very, very intriguing. Unfortunate that it doesn’t have more pro features (XLR inputs, better recording codec), but for the price point, you can’t complain too much. I predict it will sell like hotcakes. It even looks like the Starship Enterprise if you squint your eyes a bit.

Now, we just need Canon to build the same thing, put the 5DmkII sensor in it with proper anti-aliasing, slap on some XLRs and make it record 4:2:2 or better at a high bitrate. Could it be that hard to do?

[Deleted User]

Sony’s new <$2K interchangeable lens AVCHD camcorder will record 60i NTSC (or 50i in PAL land) only, but not 24p, 30p or 60p. https://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666239819#specifications

Do you really want an interlaced video camera in 2010? Interlaced video is so last century. And converting interlaced video to progressive in post wastes time and throws away significant resolution. Ick.

For most fans of video-capable DSLRs, there’s not much to get excited about, unless you need a small, limited, relatively expensive handycam form factor camcorder that uses multiple lenses.

I think the T2i, GH1 (with the firmware hack) & 7D are better values as long as you don’t absolutely need a live headphone jack during recording. This last point can be a biggie, so the choice might not be entirely clear-cut.

At the Photokina expo in Sept. all the manufacturers are likely to announce new video-capable DSLR models, most of which will probably ship by the end of this year. In the meantime, in the <$2K space, the T2i, GH1 & 7D rule. Stay tuned.

[Noah Kadner]

yeah it’s weird that they continue to bust out with the 60i models but you know 24p won’t be far behind. And at $2,000 you can’t really complain too much. This is an exciting step and likely signals the beginning of the end of Canon’s brief but spectacular dominance of the DSLR video market, not to mention the end of fixed camcorder models as we know them…

Noah

Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!
Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.
Learn DSLR Cinematography.

[Deleted User]

Hi Noah: I hear you, but given the low cost reality of, say, a T2i combined with a small external audio recorder, this new cam from Sony is mostly silly for prosumer & pro users.

Sony’s new cam appears to be targeted at well-heeled consumers who want to shoot home movies for playback on their big-screen HDTVs. That’s cool, but in most cases prosumer & pro shooters want much, much more — and can already get it today less expensively with the T2i, GH1 & 7D. And better things are coming by the end of this year.

Sony is to be commended for being the first to market with a large-sensor interchangeable lens camcorder with a live headphone jack for <$2K. But interlaced video? Eeew. 🙂

[Micah Mcdowell]

Oh gosh, I must have missed the interlaced only recording in the specs. Are they serious?

I guess it’s obvious that they’re planning a pro version and it’s crippled with 60i only so it won’t cannibalize sales of the more expensive camera. Why else?

[Deleted User]

No conspiracy, it’s just business.

These companies are so big they can and do offer cameras at practically every price point from less than $300 to more than $100K in $50 increments. Sony alone offers dozens & dozens of point & shoot cams, and Panasonic, Canon, etc. each do more or less the same.

The good news is that there’s so much choice. That’s also the bad news. Pick your poison. 🙂

[Kris Merkel]

Believe it or not, 60i is the norm for projects that I edit day in and day out. It is what the clients are asking for.

As long as there is a market for 1080 60i sony will make a camera for it.

My personal T2i rig is set at 24p and the footage looks amazing on my 24″HD CRT monitor.

[Noah Kadner]

“Believe it or not, 60i is the norm for projects that I edit day in and day out. It is what the clients are asking for. ”

And that goes even more so in Japan which why 30p and 60i are always first down the pipe with most new Sony/Canon/Panasonic etc cameras…

Noah

Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!
Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.
Learn DSLR Cinematography.

[Dave Matthis]

Hope this “60i” talk is not too off-topic, because I have a comment in defense of 60i. 🙂

“Resolution” is not just spatial (rows and columns of pixels) — it is also temporal (how quickly the picture is updated). Think of 60i as having higher “motion resolution” — at least twice that of 30p or 24p. For subjects like sports it can be far better to see images every 1/60th of a second rather than every 1/30th of a second (or 1/24th).

1080/60p is great, but if your video is going to be used in over-the-air North American television broadcasts it cannot be transmitted as 1080/60p. For various reasons our ATSC standard for this permits high-def at 1080/60i (and also at 720p). So… as long as we have the ATSC broadcast standard there will be a place for 1080/60i.