nx70 or ex1r cant decide!

[alibali]

I have 2 Sony z1's for the past 6 years and they are really giving me problems now - so it time for a new camera.
The have been great and we shoot at least 10-12 hours on them a week.
We shoot numerous corporate films and 50 wedding films a year on them and cant decide between the Sony nx70 or the Sony ex1r - any suggestions please?
i have noticed that the SxS cards for the EX1R are very expensive.
I have been reading rave reviews for the nx70. I really want to go to a tapeless workflow.
If you can suggest any other camera please feel free
My budget is £5000 - £6000 -
Cheers!

 

[Duke M.]

You don't have to use SxS cards in the EX1r. Use an adapter like an MxR adapter with Transcend class 10 SDHC cards for a fraction of the price.

 

[jrak]

I've had the NX70 for just under a month and shot previously with the Sony VX2100. Most of what I do are single person interviews, but I have shot a few weddings and corporate events. The NX70 gives you a pretty good bang for the buck in terms of picture quality. It's amazingly light and has a wonderful active steady shot feature. When the active steady shot is used in the wide angle mode, it feels like you're using a steady-cam. It can record all day with its internal memory which can be supplemented with low cost SD cards. The rocker zoom lever on the top of the camera is a weak point. It's only good for going quickly from wide angle to telephoto or vice-versa. I've been using the outer ring for framing my shots, but if you do, you can't use it for focusing or iris control (without using a switch). The zoom function on the LCD is good, but it's difficult to use if you are shooting on the move. Some users believe that the rocker zoom lever problem is a firmware issue. Those using a LANC control with the camera report that variable zoom works well.

If you are used to using camera buttons and like to manually control the camera, the transition to LCD controls is very difficult. The camera's automatic features are quite remarkable, especially the auto focus, which works very well. The VX2100 was a champ in low light and does better in this area than the NX70. But even with the gain at 12db, I find the NX70's image very pleasing. If you use a documentary style approach to weddings, the camera would be well suited to that. It's very inconspicuous and not likely to attract attention. There may be a downside to this if your clients equate quality shooting to having a large camera with many buttons.

I did a few outdoor hand-held test shots which included a few couples posing for wedding photos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ihoHya9czQ). These were shot in standard hi def mode. This test videos was shot in the FX mode, which is the best the camera has to offer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJx8fYOzcns . In both instances, I rendered the clips to MP4s before sending to YouTube. Viewed on a 50" LCD without processing, the quality was excellent.

I'm not sure how the camera would do in a low light setting such as a church or reception hall. I would recommend hiring a 3rd shooter with an NX70 for a wedding and getting a first-hand look at the footage and maybe doing the same with the EX1R. My sense is that you would be happier with the controls that the EX1R has, but the other features provided by the NX70 may win you over.