[Stephen Crye]

Lee, thanks for taking the time to write a thoughtful reply.

I agree that Vegas can be used, and although I have never tried to use my Vegas for that, I’m assuming that the raw files on the SD card are saved at the proper GoP boundaries and that there will be no audio or visual glitches at the seams between clips.

But, PMB does a lot more that just stitch together clips. It has a lossless, fast trimmer function that can be used to grab any section of the camera video (after it has been imported and “stitched” into PMB. The output of the trimmer can be greater than 2 GB. It also has a great frame-grab that will produce an image that is substantially larger than 1920×1080, also seems to combine interlaced frames. Not sure how it does it, but the resulting frame grab is far higher quality than the frame grabs that Vegas produces.

Finally, the stitched together clips are named using yyyymmddhhmmss.m2ts convention (this is the time the video was taken, not the time it was copied) – this is fabulous, and really helps organize things. One does not have to rely on the time stamp of the file(s), which can change on the computer.

I just don’t understand why Canon and Panny let Sony trump them on this. Surely they could write their own equivalent utility!

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Stephen Crye]

Hi;

This blurb from Panny sure seems to imply new features will be implemented:
https://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/sales_o/news_info/news111116/111116.html

From that link:

InterBEE, Chiba, Japan (November 16th, 2011) — Panasonic corporation announced new firmware for its AVCCAM handheld camera recorder AG-AC160 will be available in spring 2012. The new firmware will allow AG-AC160 to record in full HD progressive formats complying with AVCHD progressive standard.

When new firmware is installed on AG-AC160, it can capture and record onto SD memory cards (SDXC/SDHC/SD)*1 in full HD progressive 1080/59.94p or 1080/50p format*2 complying with AVCHD progressive standard. LPCM audio recording is also available while its format is AVCHD progressive.

Panasonic corporation schedules to release new firmware on its web site “Service and Support” of https://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/ in spring 2012 to allow the customers download it for free. The customers can update AG-AC160 firmware with SD memory card.

*1: SDXC/SDHC/SD memory card Class 6 or higher is required.
*2: Output signals from HD SDI or HDMI terminals are converted to 1080/59.94i or 1080/50i. 1080/59.94p or 1080/50p signals can’t be output from the terminals.

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Stephen Crye]

The Phantom is the bomb … but even the rental fee is shocking.

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Stephen Crye]

Hi Panny People!

I might be on this Cow forum a lot in the next few weeks.

My sad story – since November 2011, I have purchased and returned:
* Three different Sony HXR-NX70s (for image quality problems that included inconsistent focus and horrible coma/chromatic aberration, particularly at full zoom)

* a Sony HXR-NX5U ( for “soft” image problems at wide angle and CA/coma at all zoom levels, plus the screen was too small and dim) However, it was a quality camera and I did not “hate” it.
* A sony NEX-VG20H (did not need to test for more than 1 hour, this is not a pro camera, low-light performance from the kit 18-200mm lens was a joke and I hated the shallow depth of field)

There is nothing left in the Sony lineup for me to test. I will hate giving up on the Sony PMB utility. I also really loved the 1080 60p mode (28 Mbps) on the NX70 and the VG20.

So, I was intrigued to learn that the AC160 firmware update will enable 1080 60p. This would be really, really great. Does anyone know what the bit rate will be? 24 Mbps will not cut it …

I plan to test an AC160 as soon as I get the refund for the VG20 I will be sending back tomorrow.

Some frame grabs from my nearly 6-months of testing pain can be viewed here: https://www.huecotanks.com/temp1 . Comments on how those images compare with the AC160 will be most welcome!

Thanks,

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Stephen Crye]

Yeah, I think the NX5 is long overdue for a refresh – but it did not come in time to help me.

It is with great sadness that I have returned my NX5.

Without question the NX5 is a beautiful device. It is solid, well-engineered and crammed with features. It is fun to hold, and fun to use (for the most part, details below). The switches and buttons are well placed and are high-quality. The rings are incredibly smooth, there is zero lag. The zoom is amazing – silky, effortless to adjust from an imperceptible creep to rocket speed. If I were a wedding or event professional there is no doubt I would keep it. But, I only occasionally shoot concerts; most of my work is outdoor stuff. And the NX5 is a tank, it needs a massive tripod and I just can’t lug it to where I want to shoot.

I think a big part of my problem is that I owned as a first cam the Sony CX550V. It uses a high-pixel count sensor and down-samples the image to size it into 1920×1080. All of the sample vids I have seen of the NX5, or other cams (such as the Canon XF100 and XF300, or the Sony FS100) that have sensors that are in the 2.2 Mpx range (close to 1920×1080) just don’t have the detail I’m used to from the CX550V, or even the NX70. (Keep in mind that for most shots, the NX70 was sharp and in focus; it only had problems at the frame edges or at high zoom when the CA was worse). The VG20, which is another high-pixel count sensor that is down-sampled, also (from the stuff I have seen on the ‘net) looks similarly as sharp as the CX550V.

The NX5 has incredible low-light performance. I mean, it is breathtaking. I was blown away. At 6dB it is just as bright as the CX550V is at 21dB – using the same aperture and shutter. The city lights clip really shows that – I shot some of it at 6dB and some at 12dB. It even looked OK, albeit dim, at -3db! This supports my hypothesis that big glass on the front DOES help to gather light! (Basic optics)

The NX5 has soooo many cool features I can’t list them all. For example, you can leave the viewfinder on when the LCD is on. It has great menu structure, selectable with the jog-wheel or the d-pad on the top panel. You can simultaneously record to the 128Gig flash and the SD cards. It has an anti-wrinkle skin tone filter. It has three different ND filters that let you keep the aperture at the optimal level. And the zoom is wonderful. It is like having seven-league boots.

But, I realized that if I kept it, I would not be happy. For nearly $5K, I need a camera that I won’t regret.

Here’s a list of some of the things I did not like about the NX5:

* The LCD is too small
* The LCD is positioned so that it can’t be opened when my Rode Mic is on the cold shoe.
The LCD does not have a wide viewing angle, and at different angles the colors shift a LOT. It is dim outdoors unless you crank up the brightness and the backlight, but then it has streaks and artifacts.
* Manual gain adjustments are hard to do. There is a three-position gain switch; L,M, or H. The values for those positions have to be preset in the menu. For example, I set L to -3, M to 6 and H to 12. But, if I want to set the gain to 15, I would have to go into the menu and set one of the three to 15.
* The images are sharper at zoom levels more than 50% compared to wide-angle. This is strange and I could not explain it.
* No matter how much I cranked up the color saturation and depth, or fiddled with the gamma, I could not get the same nice brilliant colors and contrast I like from the CX550V or the NX70. Yes, I know that “pros do all that in post”, but I find it annoying.
* Chromatic aberration! Arrrrggghh! I don’t understand how people put up with this. Yes, the CX550V has it, but it only cost $1200, and it rarely was noticeable. But on a $5K cam? Jeeze. I guess I’m doomed because ever since I was a lad I have been aware of CA (from astronomy) and I notice it immediately.
* Smudgy, blurry-looking video. No matter what I did with the adjustments, I could not make the video sharp. When the “crispening” is up to high levels, it just introduced those artifacts that give edges a “contoured” look. I could overcome it a bit by over-exposing, but then I had to deal with blown-out highlights and even more CA when subjects were silhouetted against different-brightness backgrounds.

If anyone is curious, I have uploaded some of the raw NX5 files here – I’m not sure how long I will leave them up:
https://www.huecotanks.com/temp2

No doubt, people who know how to use an NX5 better than I did will exclaim that I was freaking out for no reason. But, the chromatic aberration is real, and while it may be true that short of a $60K camera I am doomed to CA, $5K is a huge amount of money for me, and I don’t want to be stuck with a cam I don’t like and a two year loan. I’m not wealthy and I can’t use the cam to make money – I would not enjoy being a wedding videographer even if I knew what I was doing. I’m more of an “artist” type who is playing with video, and has $5K to spend on something I like.

The NX5 is already on the way back to B&H. My next test will be the Sony VG20. I’m not happy about no power zoom, and the small screen will annoy me compared to the 3.5″ screens on the CX550V and the NX70. It will have crappy low-light capability. However, it has the 108060p mode I grew to love on the NX70, and I’m intrigued by the large APS-C sized sensor, and the ability to use interchangeable lenses. Perhaps I will be able to adjust to “forced bokeh.” Sony is supposed to release two more e-Mount lenses this year. And, I will be able to get nice fat wide-angle, large aperture primes and do some time-lapse astro-photography. Plus, I kind of need a new still camera, my Sony DSC-H50 is outdated.

And, if I save my bucks, I can use lenses like this one:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/672200-GREY/Nikon_2186_AF_S_NIKKOR_300mm_f_2_8G.html

Or, more realistically this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/319784-GREY/Canon_9322A002AA_28_300mm_f_3_5_5_6L_IS_USM.html

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Stephen Crye]

Hmmm;

Sorry for not fully reading earlier.

Your problem smells of codec, but I know that is not much help.

Another stab in the dark – event logs.

Event logs: Check out both system and application – Start, Run, compmgmt.msc . Look for any errors or warnings.

I’ve never been able to figure out if Vegas maintains it’s own log, or where it is.

If you really want to geek out , get the SysInternals suite:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb842062
(BTW I have not tried this for Vegas when it had a problem, kind of theoretical)
Then Run Process Monitor. Filter for items that contain “vegas”. Save that list somehow. Then try to play the problem file and compare. Perhaps you will see something that provides a hint.

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V, Sony HXR-NX5U

[Stephen Crye]

See my posts in this thread. Worried.

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/298/1096

steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V, Sony HXR-NX5U

[Stephen Crye]

Hi;

Further testing yesterday has me worried. If anyone has any picture profile tweaks that might correct the problems with lack of detail i.e. “smudginess”, please let me know. I’ve been trying every combination of crispening and detail, but no luck. I know there is nothing I can do about the CA.

The combination of chromatic aberration and lack of detail is counteracting my love for the zoom and the great low-light performance.

I’m beginning to realize that that buying a CX550V as my first HD cam has spoiled me – other cameras loved by everyone else seem flawed.

Continuing to test, here are the latest frame grabs:
nx5-outdoorsceneaberration1.jpg

nx5-outdoorsceneaberration2.jpg

nx5-outdoorscene3.jpg

nx5-citynightzoomaberration1.jpg

nx5-citynightzoomaberration2.jpg

Thanks,

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V, Sony HXR-NX5U

[Stephen Crye]

The Zacuto shootout 2011 tested both the AF-100 and the Canon 5D.

https://www.zacuto.com/the-great-camera-shootout-2011

But, ‘ware the bokeh on those large-sensor cams! Kiss deep DOF goodbye (unless you are in bright light)

I know someone who uses the Panny AG-HPX250 and loves it. But, you will be stuck with one lens. And I hear it is not as good in low light as other Pannys.

If you fret about chromatic aberration (as do I, even though I can not afford cams that don’t have CA), have a look at this: AG-HPX500 P2 HD – but that is a massive rig.

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V, Sony HXR-NX5U

[Stephen Crye]

Here’s the first frame grabs from test footage. There is some chromatic aberration, not nearly as bad as the NX70.

nx5-moonaberration2.jpg
nx5-moonaberration1.jpg
nx5-moon1.jpg

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e (and 11) x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V, Sony HXR-NX5U