First Impressions: Sony FDR AX1–The First 4K Camcorder With an Auto Mode

joe1946

joe1946

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To us, Sony is the company that often pushes the fold and gives us things before we even believed that it would be time for them to hit the market. And while it was obviously inevitable at some point and time, Sony is announcing today the world’s first camcorder with 4K video recording and a fully automatic mode: FDR AX1. Yes, while many cinematographers are working with really good 1080p video in manual mode, this camcorder is giving the affluent customer the power to shoot their kid’s recital in 4K or the news shooter to shoot breaking news in 4K using all the manual modes that they’re used to.

And they’re packing in a 20x optical zoom lens and a 1/2.3inch 12MP 8MP effective imaging sensor.
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http://www.thephoblographer.com/201...-ax1-the-first-4k-camcorder-with-a-auto-mode/
 
Aiming to make public access to the 4K video resolution a bit more affordable (though not for lack of quality in hardware), Sony has this week announced the Sony FDR-AX1 4K Handycam. This device is able to record video at 4x the number of pixels offered with “Full HD”, bringing this camera’s video output up to 3840 x 2160 pixels. This device isn’t going to be something you pick up at your corner camera shop – we’re not quite there yet with this sort of quality – but it is the closest thing we’ve seen to a general consumer product able to record video at such high definition.[/QUOTE]
http://www.slashgear.com/sony-fdr-ax1-4k-handycam-official-top-quality-video-within-reach-04294795/
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Damn! $500 cheaper than the BMPC and doesn't need all the other accessories. Granted it's not shooting raw to a super35 sensor but still. Most of us shot with cameras like this for years. Some of us still do.
 
I'll wait for some real world field tests. Plus, I am more interested in the new z100 for broadcast work.
 
zeke said:
I'll wait for some real world field tests. Plus, I am more interested in the new z100 for broadcast work.
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THe Z100 is great, but I am not sure that it will pass broadcast specs as they have crazy old rules about chip size, etc. But 4:2:2 10 bit 600mbs sounds good, if only the small sensor holds up. will wait and see. need a doc cam for features, a team member ahas already go this order in.
 
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Wow, I agree, tons of detail. So much for the SDOF era! Deep DOF is back. The sensitivity will determone if it is a viable tool or just eye candy imho.

The last video was cracking me up... Like yeah, XLR audio...totally for the high performance..totally
 
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Bassman2003 said:
Wow, I agree, tons of detail. So much for the SDOF era! Deep DOF is back. The sensitivity will determone if it is a viable tool or just eye candy imho.

The last video was cracking me up... Like yeah, XLR audio...totally for the high performance..totally
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Look at classic films, no SDOF, just characters in their environment, not isolated, different and welcome aesthetic. SDOF was over done.
 
I'm glad fixed lens small chip cameras aren't going away. For a lot the work I do, using my GH2 is much less practical than my HMC150, even if I like the image better.
 
The image looks dang good. It will have it's place for event shooting and doco work. Down converted in HD the image will be impressive. I bet you wish you didn't sell your 35mm adapter. :grin:
 
Erik Naso said:
The image looks dang good. It will have it's place for event shooting and doco work. Down converted in HD the image will be impressive. I bet you wish you didn't sell your 35mm adapter. :grin:
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I agree. It does look really nice. Good job Sony.
 
I will potentially buy one of these in November or December.

I've already got a couple DSLRs, but need to sell my current 3 chip 1/3 sensor HD video cameras (Panasonic AC130 and my old but still kicking and ticking Canon XHA1). I actually still enjoy shooting with my XHA1 since I prefer the overall look of the image compared to my Panasonic, although tape is annoying to have to deal with at this point. This Sony 4K camera seems to have a lot of the same basic functionality and ergonomics, and of course regular old 1080p plus some 4K when I need it. I was actually expecting the price to be more than $3500*. Heck, I already have several of the Sony L batteries that I use with an on-camera LED light.

Of course, if there were a 4K AF100 or FS100 style camera announced for not too much higher a price, then I'd be more interested in those. Still though, with experience one can make nice looking cinematic images with a smaller sensor camera.

*Edit: Dang it, looks like it is not $3500 but $4500. Still not too bad, but then it makes me look at the BMPC again which is $500 cheaper. Although this Sony cam is touting 4K 60p.
 
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Only problem with Z100 is that it will not get the more compressed Codec until next summer, so until then it will only create huge file sizes with max quality.
 
Simon Shasha said:
I wonder how much dynamic-range the PXW-Z100 resolves in 10-bit?
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Given the sensor size and resolution, I'd be surprised if were over 10 stops, and then you have to consider that all current 4k camcorders are single-chip, so that's going to have it's say too. Looking at the shot with the rooftops, and the way the sky blows out, it has a straight-up "digital camera" look to it.
 
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