Posts Tagged ‘Sony’
Sony NXCAM
This is Sony’s first pro AVCHD camcorder. In fact, I’ve just acquired one for my own use. With all the craze about using DSLRs for video, they fall far too short for me for some of the work I do. Covering an entire days worth of seminars for example. This camera has to SDHC slots (or Memorystick Pro) and with two 32GB cards, over six hours of non stop footage is possible. You can even switch cards while actually shooting, allowing almost unlimited time. Clips that span multiple cards can be rejoined in software. An optional hard drive allows up to 11 hours of capacity.
The Sony “G” lens goes all the way from an approximate .6X wide angle, to a 20X zoom. This camera adds an enhanced stabilization mode called “Super Steadyshot”. I was able to get shots in this mode that almost looked as if I was using a Steadicam device, but in fact they were shot handheld.
This camera uses three 1/3″ CMOS sensors. Sony also adds some special processing to enhance the video quality from these relatively small processors. The results are very impressive, and get quite close to some of the big sensor pro cameras. The shotgun mic seen here is actually included with the camera. An improved model over the previous shotgun offered with its predecessors. Audio quality with this mic is quite impressive. The overall audio performance of the NX5 is greatly improved over previous models. Lots of audio options too. Assignable channels, internal stereo mic, phantom power, a limiter, and so on.
I’ve used Sony gear for years shooting event video, and video for business. They are certainly not without their flaws. These cameras do however shine brightly in critical areas. The addition of this tape-less model is a welcome one.
Very interesting timeline of Sony product innovations. Some would probably be suprised how long ago some of these devices date back to.
A timeline of Sony products.
