Looking for pro camcorder recommendations for conferences and live events

I

Imamacuser

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

A few months ago I asked for recommendations for a hybrid photo & video camera for a corporate communications department, and now they're also looking into getting a pro camcorder, and I'd appreciate your input, as I'm kind of out of the loop when it comes pro camcorders.

They currently have two Sony HXR-NX5U camcorders, so anything they get will be quite an upgrade, as those only have 720P sensors.

The camcorder will primarily be used for capturing onsite conferences and events, but the way things are going, they're not likely to have many large onsite events for a while, so they probably won't make any purchases until the summer.

This is for a large corporation, so an FX6 or two wouldn't bankrupt them, but I seriously doubt that they'd want to allocate that much money to cameras that won't get constant use.

I don't have incident light meter readings for the rooms, but they're pretty bright, so I'm not really concerned about noise, but I'd still like to go with a largish sensor to play it safe.

Requirements:
Camcorder style camera
Good face tracking AF
XLR inputs
HD-SDI outputs
At least 300mm FOV full frame equivalent zoom (I still need to run a test and calculate the exact max focal length).
Detailed 1080P

Nice to have features:
10-bit color (it would be handy for green screen, Log & HLG profiles)
Largish sensor (1/2" - APS-C)
Accepts NP-F batteries (that way we can re-use the batteries from the current Sonys)

4K and high frame rates aren't needed, but I kind of think it should be 4K capable to keep it relevant for the next 5 years.

My Preliminary list:
Canon XF605 $5,500
Sony PXW-Z280 $6,950
Sony FX6 with 24-105mm f/4 lens $7,200
 
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100% XF605. (I want that camera.)

The 1" sensor, the AF, and the 10-bit (plus other features) have it all by itself up top in the peculiar camcorder world.

And not sure where you live but it's $4,500 USD, so even better.
 
No question, the Z280 is your answer. it covers all your bases and it looks great and is easy to operate. It is an FS7m2 with a smaller sensor and 18x lens.

BTW, I highly doubt a 24-105mm lens on a full-frame sensor is going to provide the focal length range you need. Not at the wide end, and certainly not at telephoto.
 
I would tend to agree with Doug. That Z280 is one good performer all around. Though if your client wants to spend less money you should possibly consider a camera that flies under the radar somewhat but that delivers everything you need at a very competitive price with the added benefit that it can onboard record ProRes 422 up to 4K 60p using M2 SSDs. It also offers a host of other codec options recording to SD cards. The footage I have seen from this camera has really surprised me. It's quieter than the XF605 and the Z90/Z150 1" sensor cameras. It's also the class leader in as much as it has a 20x optical zoom. It's the JVC HC500. Check it out.

Chris Young


Same camera as the 500 but the 550 has extra streaming capability built-in. Check the low light material.

 
Doug Jensen said:
BTW, I highly doubt a 24-105mm lens on a full-frame sensor is going to provide the focal length range you need.
Click to expand...

:lolk:I forgot that the FX6 is full frame, I was thinking it was s35 like the FS5. I was thinking s35 1.5 crop factor ⋅ 105mm ⋅ 2x clear image zoom = 315mm FOV.
 
How's the AF on the JVC HC500?

It would follow that the AF technology becomes more important with an increase in sensor size, and Canon & Sony have phase detect AF in some of their camcorders.
 
Face Detect on the Z280 is great. It was the first camera (the FX6 was second) where I found I could trust AF to work better than my own skills when shooting human beings moving about.
 
AFAIK the main reason you cannot have a z280 is the lens is not wide enough .. but overall its a sony.. and therefore the canon xf605 is the one.

Being a little more serious.. its just old compared to the 605 is it not kind of fs7 era.

I tried the 605 and .. wondered if it could do everything for eveyrone. Its pretty amazing.
 
I just did a quick test in the room where the camera will be used the most, and I don't think 300mm will be enough, 500mm would be better, as the old NX5U goes all the way to 590mm.

I'm looking at these 1" sensor camcorders due to their zoom range.
 
morgan_moore said:
AFAIK the main reason you cannot have a z280 is the lens is not wide enough
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that?

Unless my calculations are wrong, in terms of Super35mm, the Z280 is roughly 18mm-309mm and the XF605 is roughly 16mm-240mm. Do really think 2mm on the wide end is really going to make a difference? However on the telephoto end (probably more important for capturing conferences from the back of the room) the Z280 beats the Canon by 30%,

Also worth noting, the Z280 can hold f/2.8 throughout the entire range of zoom with no ramping. The Canon ramps from f/2.8 to f/4.5. That's more than a full stop darker than the Sony.

The Z280 is amazing in low-light with a native ISO of 2000. I don't know what the Canon offers, but it'd have to be more than 4000 just to keep up due to the f/4.5 aperture.

Plus the Sony has Variable ND.
 
it depend what the camera is needed for
https://pro.sony/en_GB/products/hand...block-pxw-z280

the sony has a '30'mm lens ffeqiv.. the canon is closer to 24 or wider (we tested it)

maybe the listed spec is wrong

I (that is me) would want to use a camera of this nature in tight spaces like cars .. and '30mm' is useless.. at confrences it is a different story.

As for the low light canon has 1in sensor and is three years newer.. im guessing not so sad in the dark

As for the A/F the canon is like any modern canon, which is the 2nd gen of usable.

Really one would need side by side testing to ones own needs. But the canon does feel very good in the hand and that is coming from an office that has fs7 and z90 - that both feel thier age compared to 2020 canons (we have r5, r6, c200)

eidt it does sound like the OP wants long not wide.
 
The Sony is 30.3 and the Canon is 25.5.

On the long end, the Sony is 515 and the Canon is 382.5. (Adding that because it's not 300mm as the OP kind of alluded to.)
 
canons.JPGthis is a picture of the canon 605 vs my r6 with a '24-105' - it is significantly wider - some numbers are off. this is excellent for a doc camera like the op might not want.
 

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NorBro said:
The Sony is 30.3 and the Canon is 25.5.)
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That's FF. I still relate to things best in terms of super35mm.
The Sony is 18.2mm and the Canon is 15.36mm. So, less than a 3mm difference.

I agree with Sam that it would be great to have the two cameras in the same room for a shoot out. If someone can get Canon to send me a XF605 for a week I would be happy to put them through their paces to see how they compare.
 
morgan_moore

Newer doesn't always mean better. My S1H is more than a year older than my FX6 and still looks better. My FS7 is probably 5 years older than the FX6 and still looks better in all but the lowest light levels.
 
Doug Jensen said:
That's FF. I still relate to things best in terms of super35mm.
The Sony is 18.2mm and the Canon is 15.36mm. So, less than a 3mm difference.

I agree with Sam that it would be great to have the two cameras in the same room for a shoot out. If someone can get Canon to send me a XF605 for a week I would be happy to put them through their paces to see how they compare.
Click to expand...

Huh?

It doesn't matter what you relate them to; those are the numbers from the cameras' brochures from the people who make the cameras.

If you feel more comfortable doing the math with S35 then you're welcome to do so, but it's the same difference only written in different numbers depending on the comparison to the sensor size.
 
No kidding. I never said anything to the contrary. I just offered up a different set of numbers that I (and many others who have S35 cameras can relate to better). Never said your numbers were wrong.
For future reference, I also relate to Fahrenheit better than Celsius and dollars instead of Euros.
 
Doug Jensen said:
morgan_moore

Newer doesn't always mean better. My S1H is more than a year older than my FX6 and still looks better. My FS7 is probably 5 years older than the FX6 and still looks better in all but the lowest light levels.
Click to expand...

Indeed but canon are on a bit of a roll at the moment. Im not a fan boy but thats how it is this year.

On age - I think my 2008 ex1 is good. So the op could consider three of them!
 
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