First proper XDCAM EX3 Review

Nice review Phill

Looks nice, a little big for my purposes, like you said, is getting near a full size camera.

Like the Hard Drive tho.

You know if this will be EX3 specific or will there be some sort of adapter for the EX1 drive option?
 
Just remember, that's a single imager with a Bayer filter. But it will probably make a nice, cheap B camera to the EX1. :)
 
BrenMyster said:
Nice review Phill

Looks nice, a little big for my purposes, like you said, is getting near a full size camera.

Like the Hard Drive tho.

You know if this will be EX3 specific or will there be some sort of adapter for the EX1 drive option?
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it will work with the ex1, but you need to have the SxS door open, so be careful of dust! Its quite small and looks very well made. Looks great with the prime lens and the 20x zoom on today
 
nice, i like that, if they would have made the drive only EX3 compatible it would have been slightly annoying.

Having that removable lens is a break though feature,

Are there any other technical feature that are different? or is it just the ergonomics and hardware thats changed?

That eye piece thing is kinda weird, they should just bring out a ad-on for the ex1 viewfinder, seems like that part could work just as well on a EX1, although i'm probable wrong. :)
 
BrenMyster said:
Having that removable lens is a break though feature
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Not to rag on things, but ... I mean, the XLA1 has a removable lens at half the price ($5999 vs. $13,000) and the JVC HD110 has a removable lens at 1/4 the price ($4200 vs. $13,000). Removable is nice, but let's not go overboard in saying that the EX1's interchangeable lens is a breakthrough. I think Philip got it exactly right when he said it's like they took an EX1 and mated it to an XL2.

Met Philip today too -- he's one cool cat.
 
I guess I'll hang on to my EX1. For one, I already have a film lens adapter. Second, I don't have the funds to buy extra lenses for the EX3. I owned an XL1 and I never even took the lens off of it.

The Scarlet looks pretty good on paper. But that's just it, paper. The release date is supposedly early 2009. That means, sometime mid to late 2009 for actual shipping date (just being realistic and basing on the RED ONE sched). Then you probably won't be in the first few batches since there will be a huge waiting list. Which means late 2009 to early 2010. Then there will probably be some bugs, so you might want to wait a few more months. That puts you in mid 2010. Hmmm...for those waiting to buy the EX1 or HVX200, don't hold your breath for the Scarlet. Those 2 cams will be obsolete by mid 2010. When the Scarlet is released, I will buy it depending on what else is available out there. Who knows, in 2 years, we might be looking at 1" chips instead of the Scarlet's 2/3" chip.

With regards to the EX hard drive, it looks great. I definitely want one for my EX1. I will, however, not run my cam with the door open. What I will probably do is cut out a small gully on the door of the EX1 for the cable to go through. Hope this doesn't void the warranty.
 
i heard the ex3 specific wide angle lens by fujinon will probably retail less than £1700, don't know about $ price, but bound to be less. Not bad, don't know how wide it is though. A top quality 1/2" HD wide angle for my f350 that would fit the EX1 is around the £10,000 mark!
 
I'm still awaiting for a retail price for the Ex3 (street) If its 13k, its too much. 9k would've been the perfect price point. at that price is directly competing with the HPX500, which is a 2/3 ccd camera- no rolling shutter issues, albeit a bit less sharp.
 
With so many great cameras coming to market, we can hope that the competition will continue to put downward pressure on prices. I have to temper that hope with the hope that these companies won't start building in short lifespans, making the cameras fail in 2-3 years, requiring replacement. I plan to use my EX1 for the next 10-20 years with, hopefully, little to no further problems requiring service.
 
Vincent,

The EX1 would probably suffice in that case. It's a very stumpy little camera and having the Letus on the front works really well. The relay for the EX3 and Letus will be very expensive as it is very high quality glass. If money is no object get the EX3, otherwise EX1 is fine.
 
basspig said:
I plan to use my EX1 for the next 10-20 years with, hopefully, little to no further problems requiring service.
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Has anyone ever told you that you are an eternal optimist? ;-) I would be thrilled to get 5 good years out of any present day cameras. They are all rather flimsy and cheap as we all know.

Dan
 
basspig said:
With so many great cameras coming to market, we can hope that the competition will continue to put downward pressure on prices. I have to temper that hope with the hope that these companies won't start building in short lifespans, making the cameras fail in 2-3 years, requiring replacement. I plan to use my EX1 for the next 10-20 years with, hopefully, little to no further problems requiring service.
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20 Years!!!???? The Sony VX1000 and Canon XL1 aren't even 20 years old. I don't even think they're 15 years old.

5 years does sound more reasonable. My DVX100A is now almost 3 years old and it's well paid for from all the projects I've done.
 
Well guys, I beg to differ. :) My Pentax Spotmatic, 1966-vintage, was still working great when I sold it a couple of years ago. My 7 year old VX2000 was still like new when I sold it last year for $2,000 on eBay.
I would expect no less than 10-20 years out of a $7K camera, based on proper care and avoidance of rough handling.
I have a history of maintaining consumer electronics for more than thirty years, in pristine condition, so don't underestimate the potential lifespan of the camera.
 
menchifus said:
20 Years!!!???? The Sony VX1000 and Canon XL1 aren't even 20 years old. I don't even think they're 15 years old.
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vx1000 is 11.5 years old. i bought mine within 3 months of it's announcement.
and it's still kicking. Granted, i put less than 600 hours on it. i hope to replace it next year with either the ex-1 or ex-3.

but as somebody else said, you should be able to squeeze many years of primary use with it-- and then have it live-on in secondary situations. a 7k camera is still a workhorse.
 
..and when you consider that the EX1 is a solid state camera--no tape drive mechanism to wear out (the most common failure on DV camera), it should last even longer than all prior technologies..
 
My Sony TC-D5M cassette recorder is 26 years old and still works perfectly. Haven't adjusted or repaired it for over 20 years.
 
Audio cassette recorders have far fewer moving parts than a video recorder, but yes, they do last. I have a Realistic SCT-33 that I bought in 1980, which I still use for transcribing audio cassettes to digital. And a lot of my audio gear dates back to the 1970s. Heck, I have test equipment that dates back to the 1950s in my electronics lab! Still works well to this day, too.
 
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