Full-frame Sony NEX-VG900 Video Camera

pointless product IMO. Full frame for video is completely pointless for a consumer product. Users of this thing wont consider old ff glass, and wont stretch to A mount glass prices either - not for purely video work. Price point sits it in the 'expensive consumer' area. Consumers dont buy A mount glass. The frame size is a gimmic and this will become clear when everyone gets bored of this current pot at the end of the rainbow hankering for full frame.

The A99 on the other hand, priced in a similar area will be nuts. apparently it bins pixels., clean hdmi, continuous AF, etc. If the VG9000 does the same then maybe it'll be usable, but I bet they cripple it like the VG10 and VG20.

Also, the design of the case looks soooo bad. Why not put this in a professional looking case? I dont want to use a product with 'handycam' written on it for pro jobs, its too well branded within the consumer market.
 
It does look like a cheap toy (which it is) but if the image is great I don't care if they call it a "pansyman". However I'm more interested in the A99 if it outperforms the MKIII in a few key areas.

Very interested to see if the rolling shutter is under control with this sensor/processor.
 
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That's the question: whether they'll screw it up like they did with the VG10 and VG20. But if they don't I can't see anybody choosing the A99 over this one: if it's not crippled, it will include all the same goodies (including clean hdmi out, and pixel binning, phase-detect AF, etc) and a body that is better suited for video (e.g. with the custom cropping that the digital zoom control allows, and an E mount, you can use PL glass).
 
It might be better suited for video but how many people make videos? The A99 is smaller, lighter, weather sealed, cheaper, and stealthier. If you have EOS glass then sure the VG-900 is the only option but if you have Nikon, Leica, Contax, or Pentax Takumar glass then the A99 could be cool.
 
I wonder why they put the hdmi output in such a wrong place. Do they think that users are going to hold this camera with a cable passing through their fingers?
 
diegocervo said:
I wonder why they put the hdmi output in such a wrong place. Do they think that users are going to hold this camera with a cable passing through their fingers?
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That's a feature. It's so you can hold the HDMI cable in place and it can't fall out. :beer:
 
squig said:
It might be better suited for video but how many people make videos? The A99 is smaller, lighter, weather sealed, cheaper, and stealthier. If you have EOS glass then sure the VG-900 is the only option but if you have Nikon, Leica, Contax, or Pentax Takumar glass then the A99 could be cool.
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To my understanding, Nikon and C/Y glass on Alpha mounts aren't very good. You need a GLASS adapter or macro one, as as you would adapting FD to EOS bodies.
That alone makes this a non-purchase for me. IF this is untrue, then the A99 is a must buy however.
 
KahL said:
To my understanding, Nikon and C/Y glass on Alpha mounts aren't very good. You need a GLASS adapter or macro one, as as you would adapting FD to EOS bodies.
That alone makes this a non-purchase for me. IF this is untrue, then the A99 is a must buy however.
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www.leitax.com

It's only a must buy if it outresolves the MKIII and there's no aliasing, moire, and rolling shutter. I'm not a big fan of AVCHD so a Ninja is a must have accessory.
 
The VG900 looks to be a VG20 w/ FF sensor and rocker arm - nothing more or less. I own the VG20, and it's a great little camera, but there's no doubt in my mind that the A99 will produce a better image.

I would guess that the VG900 does not have full manual control (the VG20 not not have control over sharpening, gamma, or contrast). Cinetone preset crushes the blacks a little, and not much more (at least on the VG20).

So while this is an interesting camera, I'm not sure I want a FF video camera as my A camera - pulling focus insanely hard. Having a FF DSLR for beauty CUs or tiny spaces makes much more sense to me. Of course, the VG900 will also likely double as a stills camera as well. The VG20 actually takes very good stills.

One thing is for sure - Sony is squeezing all the life it can out of 8 bit/1080 technology before the switch over to higher resolution/10 bit cameras become defacto.... which should be happening by NAB of next year.
 
richg101 said:
pointless product IMO. Full frame for video is completely pointless for a consumer product. Users of this thing wont consider old ff glass, and wont stretch to A mount glass prices either - not for purely video work. Price point sits it in the 'expensive consumer' area. Consumers dont buy A mount glass. The frame size is a gimmic and this will become clear when everyone gets bored of this current pot at the end of the rainbow hankering for full frame..
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It has an e-mount which makes it very easy to use any lenses. So your criticism is quite strange. And then you applaud the A99 which only has an a-mount and is much more difficult if not impossible to get other lenses on.
 
I already have a very nice NEX-5N that records mostly-clean 1080p60 (i.e. aliasing and moire happen, but not often at all), with a 24-28Mbit H.264 4:2:0 codec and around 11 stops of DR.
For my next upgrade, I'll want a bigger sensor (because I built my lens set with full frame in mind), and/or a better codec, and/or more DR.
Of the cameras announced today by Sony, the VG900 seems the best positioned to meet those demands. But we'll have to wait and see: it could be crippled (like the VG10 and VG20), the A99 coud have better DR, etc. Not in a hurry, though, once my mind has cooled down a bit, I see the reasons to ugrade are not really major...
 
Just read this on DLSRnewsshooter:

Here is the really interesting thing about this camera: when APS-C glass is used, it will automatically crop down the image to match the APS-C glass while retaining full resolution. This means that unlike most full frame cameras you can use both APS-C and full frame lenses. So if you put, say, a Sony Zeiss 16-35mm full frame lens on this camera, you will be getting 16-35mm. If you put a APS-C lens, say a 24mm, it acts more like a 35mm lens. This is a terrific option and gives you great flexibility by allowing you to achieve super shallow depth of field when using full frame lenses. The VG-900 will also include the new Sony LA-EA3 adapter so that you can use A-mount (and legacy Minolta glass) with the ability to autofocus. The E-mount also has a shallow flange distance which allows many other lenses to be used with an adapter. Metabones offers a great adaptor to allow the use of Canon EF lenses with full electronic control on current NEX cameras - hopefully this can be made to work on the VG-900.
Now THAT is interesting!
 
Okay...this one is interesting. It's only $3,300 yes, but then if you add on the XLR adapter (which I could be wrong but read somewhere that it was like $800 (is that possible?)) and then toss in the 18-200 power zoom lens (APS-C) to take advantage of the zoom (about $900 I think)...then you have close to a pro cam for $5000. Not bad, but that's no "Handycam" pricing.

Like the previous post, the word "Handycam" on the side makes me nervous about using this for pro jobs. Granted I'll probably cover it with my company name or something or just black gaffers tape.

And I agree, the HDMI out is in the strangest position in the way of your hand. Using a lockable HDMI like the Perfect Path 700 series cable, I could lock in an external recorder but why is that output where it is???

I wish it had a mounting screw on top for adding accessories but I guess the cold/hot shoes will suffice...then again, I have to remember that despite the nice specs its still in "Handycam" form geared more towards the consumer I guess. I just don't know how many consumers want to spend $3300 to $5000 (with XLR and lens) for a video camera.

Still, I applaud Sony for coming out with SO MANY OPTIONS these last few months. PMW-200, PMW-160, EA50, and now this VG900 makes for a nice outing.

Where you at Panasonic?!
 
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I see nobody talks about the actual image. I saw a video of the a99 on vimeo 1080p. The image is the same s**t we've been seeing since Canon. Fake 1080p, soft, moiré. Nothing new here in terms of details.
 
So this means that this conceptual line , which will probably include the nex9, will take those fd lenses at their normal FL very nicely !
 
The Irish TRex said:
And I agree, the HDMI out is in the strangest position in the way of your hand. Using a lockable HDMI like the Perfect Path 700 series cable, I could lock in an external recorder but why is that output where it is???
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The cynic in me might suggest that Sony wanted to advertise "clean HDMI out" as it is much a requested feature, but didn't want it to be TOO practical to actually use lest the VGXXX might cannibalize sales of the FS100 or FS900.

More realistically, who knows? Maybe if one were to open it up, it might be apparent that the engineers could find no where else to put it? I suspect that in practice, it may not matter. Most of the time that you would use an external recorder, you would also be using a rig to hold it all together anyway. Thus, your hands would be on the rig, and not directly on the camera.
 
maarek said:
It has an e-mount which makes it very easy to use any lenses. So your criticism is quite strange. And then you applaud the A99 which only has an a-mount and is much more difficult if not impossible to get other lenses on.
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Consumers who buy this camera wont be using MF vintage glass. They will want AF. The whole concept of Full Frame for the consumer market is nuts. No point at all. No benefit. No demanding users will buy into this product. The A99 is a stills camera and will do this very well with the benefits of movie mode being added to a primarily stills camera. A99 is a non consumer product (or at least less consumer grade than the VG9000) meaning the full frame AF glass will be a viable option to its potential user.

My criticism is very realistic. Just wait and see how many people here and in the real world actually buy and use the Vg9000 in proper situations where a full frame sensor actually benefit. next to none -I'd bet my life on it
 
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