Leaning towards the EX1

F

Film it

Active member
Lately I been doing lots of research on the EX1. I am a HVX200 owner but to be honest with you, I been falling in love with the EX1.

I just had a few questions for some of you. If I buy used how much should I expect to pay? I seen the EX1 on B&H for around $6400 I believe new with a free 8gb card rebate.

It just seems like the EX1 resolution, picture, and colors look much nicer then the HVX. Could be compression, or color correction who knows. But I have watched so many videos/reels on Vimeo and I was very impressed and read a lot of articles on the EX1.

Letus Extreme + EX1 = Insane.
 
I am in the same boat, but plan to buy new, something I usually reccomend for most people.

I've seen them go on Ebay with an extra BP-U60 battery and two 8GB SxS for around $5500-6000. They are starting to pop up more frequently, so I'm sure if you hunt around you can find a bargin. However, I don't think any of them come with any type of warranty, which is invaluable on a high end camera, or any camera for that matter.
 
Is it really worth saving 10-15% and taking a chance? If you can come up with $5,500 or $6,000, sure you can get another few hundred dollars which will buy you a huge peace of mind.

The camera is worth every penny especially if you can master its functions (picuture profile, for example).
 
Yep, I just worked alot the past weeks to be able to afford a camera a hvx200a, but Im definitly gonna look into the EX1 more now.

New price in Sweden are 40% more than your new prices, and im not joking.
 
Film it, are you in New York? We do walk-in demos from Mon-Fri 10PM-2:00PM at our store.

The EX1 still has high resell value (Of course the EX1 is new in the market). I have a few customers who sold their EX1 recently for pretty decent money to buy the EX3. If you are planning to purchase a used EX1, make sure the seller is legit and took good care of the camera. The marketplace section in this forum has a few sticky threads on buying used items.

If you are planning to purchase a new EX1 ($6,449) from an authorized dealer, you get a 2nd SxS 8GB FREE via mail-in rebate. I would recommend getting the Sony 3 Year Extended warranty ($150 our price).
 
I would beware of eBay auctions--these could be people dumping the early EX1s that had all the problems. Ask for the serial number and mfg date. Don't accept any unit made before June 1st 2008, unless the owner can prove that it's been serviced at Sony and has the updated PCB and firmware.

And item like this should be bought new. No questions about warranty coverage that way. And I highly recommend the EX1. I own two, contemplating a third.
 
Thats a bit harsh on the date Basspig. I have one of the first EX1's into the UK, and have never had a single problem with it. NO vignetting and it runs beautifully. Only problem, and this is with all EX1's, is he battery drain, which will be fixed on its first service. But I soon got used to taking the battery out after use.
 
I would not buy an HVX. If I already owned one, however. I would not sell it to buy an EX1. I think the EX1 is better, but it is not that much better. (Unless you shoot a lot of videos in uncontrollable low light situations.)
 
I recently bought a used, early serial number EX1 (1010XX) and it's currently at Sony San Jose getting the PCB board changed and the firmware updated. As long as you have the original receipt Sony will honor the original warranty to second owners. Other then the battery drain problem there was really nothing for me to complain about. I wouldn't automatically shy away from an early model provided you can get your hands on a copy of the original invoice or if that work has been done.
 
Now... Philip Bloom does a great job showing the power of the EX1 and the Letus Extreme/Ultimate adapters. However, personally I would wait. The EX1 is an ergonomic nightmare. It's heavy. It's a pain to use handheld. The works. I would wait on the HPX170. It's around 4lbs. It has the ergonomic aspects I'm personally looking for. Plus P2 is just wonderful to work with.

In terms of color, there are things to be said about the EX1 and it's 1/2" CCD versus the 1/3" CCD. The EX1 codec as well as the rolling shutter are often the items that come into question.

So
If you need low light... get the EX1.
If you need a great knowledge base... get the HVX or the new HPX.
If you need ergonomic handheld use... get the HPX.
If you need 4:2:2 color... get the HVX or the new HPX.
If you aren't doing any greenscreen or just would prefer 4:2:0... get the EX1.


Search around here. There are a lot of heated debates on DVXuser
 
jstunzi said:
Now... Philip Bloom does a great job showing the power of the EX1 and the Letus Extreme/Ultimate adapters. However, personally I would wait. The EX1 is an ergonomic nightmare. It's heavy. It's a pain to use handheld. The works. I would wait on the HPX170. It's around 4lbs. It has the ergonomic aspects I'm personally looking for. Plus P2 is just wonderful to work with.

In terms of color, there are things to be said about the EX1 and it's 1/2" CCD versus the 1/3" CCD. The EX1 codec as well as the rolling shutter are often the items that come into question.

So
If you need low light... get the EX1.
If you need a great knowledge base... get the HVX or the new HPX.
If you need ergonomic handheld use... get the HPX.
If you need 4:2:2 color... get the HVX or the new HPX.
If you aren't doing any greenscreen or just would prefer 4:2:0... get the EX1.


Search around here. There are a lot of heated debates on DVXuser
Click to expand...


Well isn't the HPX priced at $5000-$5500, something like that? Assuming the Ex1 market price and resale price is the same you could sell your Ex1 if the need to use an HPX ever arrived.
 
Having to buy extra memory for the HVX/HPX to get to the same recording time capacity kind of levels the field from a cost standpoint. I prefer the SxS system since I use a MBP, the transfer time is far superior over the P2 store system I used to transfer with.

It will be interesting to see if the new focus aids/LCD on the HPX can even get Panasonic even close to the EX. I used to hate focusing the HVX, that's a much bigger problem then any "ergonomic nightmares" the EX1 may have IMO.
 
jstunzi said:
Now... Philip Bloom does a great job showing the power of the EX1 and the Letus Extreme/Ultimate adapters. However, personally I would wait. The EX1 is an ergonomic nightmare. It's heavy. It's a pain to use handheld. The works. I would wait on the HPX170. It's around 4lbs. It has the ergonomic aspects I'm personally looking for. Plus P2 is just wonderful to work with.
Click to expand...

Ergonomic nightmare eh? Have you used one? I go back and forth between it and my DVX, and I think way to much is being made out about the ergonomics factor.

jstunzi said:
In terms of color, there are things to be said about the EX1 and it's 1/2" CCD versus the 1/3" CCD. The EX1 codec as well as the rolling shutter are often the items that come into question.
Click to expand...

You made some interesting comments here. I hope you don't mind if I make some as well. And by the way, the EX1 does not have 1/2" CCDs, it has 1/2" CMOS sensors.


jstunzi said:
If you need low light... get the EX1.
Click to expand...

Yep.

jstunzi said:
If you need a great knowledge base... get the HVX or the new HPX.
Click to expand...

XDCam seems to have a pretty solid knowldgebase also.

jstunzi said:
If you need ergonomic handheld use... get the HPX.
Click to expand...

Agree.

jstunzi said:
If you need 4:2:2 color... get the HVX or the new HPX.
Click to expand...

Well... maybe this should be revised. 4:2:0 on full raster or 4:2:2 on 960x540. There is a difference. The new HPX is still not a full raster camera.

jstunzi said:
If you aren't doing any greenscreen or just would prefer 4:2:0... get the EX1.
Click to expand...

This is kinda BS really. I've seen greenscreen on the EX1. By my eyes, the HVX and likely the HPX won't be better. And since both the EX1 and HPX will have SDI out, it's a non-issue for both cameras really.

I am also curious why you think P2 is better to work with than SxS?

The HPX will be terrific no doubt. It was one of three cameras I seriously considered. I think Panny will sell a bunch of them.

Anyway, just my thoughts.
 
Okokok... So I did some research.

The SxS system does have a faster data rate (800Mbps) vs. P2 (640Mbps)
It also is more compatible with laptops and what not!

The LCD is supposed to be better and what not in comparison.

I guess part of my like of P2 is the number of accessories that are available. Although a P2 Store almost seems silly nowadays with 32GB cards... It really can be useful in some situations. The P2 Gear is nice as well for offload. I also am just a huge fan of the fact that Panasonic listened to user requests and put them to fruition. This may be the same thing for Sony users... I just don't know from experience.
 
jstunzi said:
If you aren't doing any greenscreen or just would prefer 4:2:0... get the EX1.
Click to expand...

I do green screen with the EX1 all the time and the keys are perfect, with no problems holding clean edges or even stray hair. I've also posted examples of it here and elsewhere.
 
That's good to know Dean. I was just going on what other people said about color space and green screen. If you can, post a link to an image in this thread!
 
DCSensui said:
I do green screen with the EX1 all the time and the keys are perfect, with no problems holding clean edges or even stray hair. I've also posted examples of it here and elsewhere.
Click to expand...

I had your greenscreen in mind when I was posting. Absolutely STUNNING from a camera in this class. And the SDI makes it a non issue anyway. But capturing it that cleanly in the camera was really amazing.
 
Steve Shovlar said:
Thats a bit harsh on the date Basspig. I have one of the first EX1's into the UK, and have never had a single problem with it. NO vignetting and it runs beautifully. Only problem, and this is with all EX1's, is he battery drain, which will be fixed on its first service. But I soon got used to taking the battery out after use.
Click to expand...


The battery drain problem is corrected on all EX1s made after May 2008. If you buy an earlier cam, you WILL have to send it to Sony to get that fixed. But if the warranty is transferrable, and you can get seller to knock off a few hundred to cover your freight costs to Sony, it might be worth it, but for me, I'd rather not risk it with this particular model, given it's rocky startup production run.
 
I think basspigs advice is good. Honestly, with such an important investment there is very little excuse not to purchase new. Its worth it.
 
jstunzi said:
Okokok... So I did some research.

The SxS system does have a faster data rate (800Mbps) vs. P2 (640Mbps)
Click to expand...
Well, those figures refer to theoretical maximums of the cards. In practice, download speeds are likely to be far more dependent on other factors - connection method, speed of device being downloaded to etc.
It also is more compatible with laptops and what not!
Click to expand...
Much more significant. SxS is based on the ExpressCard standard, current to most modern laptops, P2 is based on Cardbus, no longer seen in current equipment.

Does it matter? P2 then requires an adaptor (quite expensive), whereas SxS cards can simply be slotted directly into the laptop. The advantage of SxS isn't just saved cost or neatness, the direct access means less bottlenecks in the PC and (if the other peripherals are up to it) the likelihood of far faster downloading than P2 via an adaptor. Couple that with XDCAM recording about 3x as many minutes per GB as DVCProHD, and that means a recorded hour will download far, far faster with an SxS system.

It all means you just don't need anything like the P2 store nowadays.
The LCD is supposed to be better and what not in comparison.
Click to expand...
That's assuming you're comparing the HVX to the EX, and isn't intrinsic to an SxS versus P2 comparison. But yes, the viewfinding on the EX1 (and even more so the EX3) blows the HVX out of the water. Maybe even more significant operationally is the EX series using a true manual lens and 1/2" chips.
 
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