Got a chance to put EX1 up against HVX

Jared Meyer said:
Thanks for the super detailed review, Barry. You touched on a lot of specific things I hadn't heard from anyone else. Unfortunately a lot of them are deal breakers for me...

I wasn't going to be able to get my hands on the camera any time soon to test it out myself so I really appreciate your hands on report.
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You really should try it yourself to see if it's a dealbreaker *for you*. I'll tell you what happens, and I'll tell you how *I* feel about it, but ultimately only you can decide if you weigh the factors the same way I do, or the same way Philip Bloom does, etc.
 
Thanks for the detailed review, Barry. Would be interesting to see if you still lose the motion detail when using the HD SDI.

Now it's off to bed.
 
Barry_Green said:
You really should try it yourself to see if it's a dealbreaker *for you*. I'll tell you what happens, and I'll tell you how *I* feel about it, but ultimately only you can decide if you weigh the factors the same way I do, or the same way Philip Bloom does, etc.
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I don't live near any large camera stores, so my chances of checking one out are pretty low. Unfortunately I have to rely mostly on online research and detailed reviews such as yours.

I've been in the market for an HD upgrade as a wedding shooter for a while now and have been comparing the HVX and XH-A! and lately the EX-1...Anyhow, by dealbreakers I mean the rolling shutter problems with flashes and fast motion, the 12 second reboot to get from SxS viewing back into record mode, and the poor ergonomics which would prohibit me from shooting one-handed, which I do with the DVX a lot.

I'll definitely try one out if I ever get the opportunity, and I love to see the amazing work people like Philip Bloom are doing with it, but at this point it's not for me. C'mon NAB '08...
 
Barry, always love reading your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to do it and informing us of your conclusions. One quick question - The EX1 has a button on it labeled REC REVIEW. It allows you to review the last clip that you recorded without having to switch to play mode and then returns to standbye. Did you try this solution instead of switching to play mode when reviewing the clips, and if so, did it still have a 14 second wait time? Thanks.
 
Funny that all the single pre-reports that made the EX1 sound suspicious are now actually confirmed. After last NAB everyone HAD to HAVE one, but now many are happy they didn´t buy it.
The Iris ring for me is the only really good thing on it. But the rest being confirmed by Barry makes me feel good about sticking to my HVX (for now).

Thanks for that report and I can´t wait for a real shootout.
 
Sumfun said:
Thanks for the detailed review, Barry. Would be interesting to see if you still lose the motion detail when using the HD SDI.
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Yes, you do. It's not the codec. That's where I first saw the issue, was on the waveform monitor connected to the SDI port.

It's not a massive problem, most people won't notice it. I just think it's curious and I want to figure out why it's happening.
 
TheMusician said:
The EX1 has a button on it labeled REC REVIEW. It allows you to review the last clip that you recorded without having to switch to play mode and then returns to standbye. Did you try this solution instead of switching to play mode when reviewing the clips, and if so, did it still have a 14 second wait time? Thanks.
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Rec Review lets you play back about the last two seconds of footage. It's instantaneous playback but I couldn't figure out how to make it play the whole clip, it worked like a "rec check" function. I didn't see any obvious way to make it play back a whole clip, including ff/rew, I didn't figure out how to do it.
 
Yes Barry, thanks for the very informative feedback. Like many others, I don't have easy access to an EX1 and even if I did, I probably would have missed some of the, shall I say, 'finer', details of the camera.

I've been waiting patiently on the sidelines and researching like mad before making a decision on which camera to upgrade to next. Every camera has its pros and cons, and I suppose lately I was a lot closer to deciding on the EX1 than the HVX until I read your latest review. Some of the issues I could probably live with given my current style of shooting, but others will having me thinking much, much harder about.

There's always going to be a fervent group that says so-and-so is biased one way or the other, but I say, 'so #$% what?'. As long as the supplied information is accurate and repeatable, I stand a much better chance of making informed decisions about spending my hard-earned $$$ than if there was no information other than some slick, glossy brochures and flashy websites. Debate is healthy...

Thanks for the detailed review and I appreciate it.
 
I'm sure there will be many who are glad they have an EX1 as well. For sure they each do some things the other doesn't. You gotta weigh the priorities the way you see 'em.
 
:DDD I was already hugging my HVX once more before this review. Now it's time to prepare for the next camera where I go "GOD MY HVX SUCKS I WANT A NEW CAMERA!".

Scarlet? Or HVX200A? Hmmmm.
 
Barry:

Nice report you posted. After shooting with the Z1 for a year or so before the HVX came out, you have confirmed what I suspected. Is the PMW-EX1 a decent camera? Yes. Does it have some major limitations and issues as ALL cameras do? Yes. Just like the on the Z1, you can tell that the Sony vets very few of it's cameras in front of shooters, it is obviously tweaked and massaged by engineers who don't shoot. The HVX, for all of it's limitations, does sound as if it has superior ergonomics. Sony's low end cameras are always this way. I shoot with one and just get frustrated.

After shooting hundreds of shows with the DVX, the HVX was like just slipping on a an HD version, it was so easy to use and adapt to. I know the camera so well, I can just shoot and not think about the technical stuff. I did a shoot yesterday for a client in Phildelphia and I used my DVX because they required SD and we had a lot of low light situations where I would not be able to light so the DVX seemed to be the right choice. It was amazing, I have not shot handheld with my DVX in over a year yet it was effortless and kind of nice not having the heft of the HVX as I held it over my head to get high angle shots. I have to say that compared to Sony, Panasonic just gets it on their low end cameras. I hated shooting with the Z1, love the HVX so I am sure that I would not enjoy the EX1 overall because I shoot a lot of handheld, a lot of movement, race cars, trucks on freeways (just did a lot of trains, trucks and cars for an LA Metro project). All of the stuff that the Sony would be weak on.

Philip has proven that the EX1 can make outstanding images but as for my needs, I am happier with the HVX for now.

Thanks Barry!

Dan
 
Vey good report barry.

I started out with the dvx 100a and fell in love with its film look.soon after found myself with the canon a1 in which i love.but after loads and loads of footage, i've come to this conlusion ,that panasonic delivers the most filmic representation .i've seen footage from novices that just looks right.i think canon a1 is the closest but but to me sony has always looked like very good video.even with a 35mm adapter and more so in the motion.just my opinion.
 
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Thanks Barry!

Barry_Green said:
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention -- yes, I am certain that the HD-SDI output of the EX1 is a full 10 bits.
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So for shooting greenscreen through HD-SDI, this is probably a smash-dunk for the EX1?

4:2:2 10 bit
Lower noise
Higher rez
Full rez pr channel

Is it possible (I guess it iss) to turn off sharpening totally?

This is where I'll test it.

Gunleik
(with 5 HVX's he likes)
 
I was keen on the hvx (even got a copy of Barrys DVDs and book) and then the ex1 reports started coming out. And that sounded like the way to go.

I did some work with HDV to see what i was in for - in short- it was imposible for me to edit - jumping all over the place in the timeline and on import (long gop perhaps)- it was a real dissapointment - maybe a power mac or mac book pro from the last year can deal with it - but i need smooth timeline performance as my edits are super intense (2 secs is a long shot in action and music video)

I am on a power pc g5 and am locked into my editing system for another year

I was fortunate enough to hire an HVX 202 for the last 24 hrs - filming an event in Australia from heli and then on the ground - in the crowd and backstage.

P2 is a dream to work with and DVCpro 50 imports and edits like butter (havent tried DVCPRO100 yet) in FCS 2.

The camera - after using the scene file settings (so thoroughly described in Barry's DVDs) to pull color , detail and cine gamma (and cool interval record effects)- i was just wrapped in the performance. The camera pulls out more color than my eyes do from reality- it all looks better through the viewfinder and on the timeline than in real life! Basically you can really paint a pretty picture with this light tweaking tool.

Rich color space , amazing tweakability- and the low light performance at the concert was sensational - waaaaay more latitude than i was expecting.

The ex1 was a distraction for me but i have now placed my HVX order - and frankly - i just cant believe how awesome the HVX was to use - totally blew away all expectations - and thats just in dvcpro50.
 
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