Sony EX1R/Ex3/PMW200 cams and focus help

[The Irish TRex]

Hi,
Current panasonic user here curious how the Sony cams (EX1R, EX3, and presumably the upcoming PMW200) assist with focus...

1) Do they have a "focus in red" option or something like that to help see what's in focus?

2) Do they have a readout/display showing how may FEET away is in focus on the LCD screen like the Panasonic cameras do? This is my single most used feature on my current cams and REALLY important to me.

3) How are their LCD screens (on the above 3 cameras) compared to say the new HPX250/AC160 cameras that Panasonic has?

Thank you!

[ex1r777]

Hi. I'm an amateur and don't know other cameras but i'll try to help you

Ex1r has an expanded focus button on the handgrip which doubles the image in size and stays that way for 5 secs. Downsides are: you can't make the picture bigger than that, you can't move the picture (focuses right to the middle of the image), and you can't let the camera stay in that mode for longer than 5 secs (unless you keep turning the focus ring).

It also has a peaking function which puts blue/white/red/yellow color to the edges of the subject that's in focus. Most of the time it helps you but sometimes it doesn't work.

Ex1r's lcd is ok for the job, at least to me (it's super duper comparing to my old canon mvx20i hehe :P) Some people say (like phillip bloom for example) that ex3's lcd was better than ex1. But he also says after putting a sock-loupe, ex1 combo was better than ex3's. I'm just using a hoodman sunshade instead. Something similar is a must if you are going to work outside with this cam.

Other than these there's no function that will help you with focusing. Auto focusing/focus aim features don't work as intended.

Edit: Forgot to add, there's a metering display (including feet) available on the screen, but i doubt you'd find it useful for critical focusing. Also it just shows the focus range, not the exact distance to the subject.

[The Irish TRex]

Thanks for your response! Good to know about the peaking function and metering display. Expanded focus is something I"m familiar with but don't use it often (probably because my current cameras have a somewhat poor lcd resolution). The metering display is huge for me because with Weddings I need to know when using manual focus how far to quickly turn the ring when the focal point goes from one position to another eg. wedding the couple will be standing at say 45 feet away but then when someone does a reading I know they are 54 feet away and I can adjust accordingly.

Good to know it has this readout.

Is the peaking function better on some Sony cameras (ex3 vs ex1 vs ex1r vs pmw200) than others?

Also, is the new PMW200's lcd resolution better than the ex1r/ex3's resolution?

Curious.

[Viddovation]

The Sony XDCAM line has the best peaking circuit I've worked with on any camera. It's solid. And you can choose from a number of colors, and can change the peaking sensitivity. It should be noted that using higher gain settings will reduce the peaking circuit effectiveness, but in my experience, Sony's implementation is better than any other.

The LCDs are effective. Read long enough, and you'll see plenty of complaints, but it gets the job done. It's worlds of improvement on what we all had to work with on the DVX cameras and the HVX200.

The EX1 and EX3 both offer lens distance focus readouts, presumably the PMW-200 will as well. Of course, the PMW-EX3 can't do this when using a non standard lens.

[The Irish TRex]

Awesome. Thanks for those answers. I was looking at upgrading to 2 x Panasonic AC160's but now with the PMW200 and hopefully a helpful discount (family member works for Sony), I can afford to make the switch later this year. Having used Panasonics for years (DVX to HMC150s) its been great, but I'm always looking for advantages. Shooting Weddings, these Sony's have always been a good choice. Lots to think about. Thank you!