Panasonic announces UX180 and UX90 pricing & availability

Sumfun said:
From reading the brochures, it looks like the UX180 and HC-X1 use the same sensor, while the UX90 uses a different one. The sensors on the UX180 and HC-X1 both have 8.79 Mpixels for UHD and FHD modes, and 9.46 Mpixels for 4k mode. But the sensor on the UX90 has 17.78 Mpixels for FHD mode, and only 8.59 Mpixels for UHD mode. So the UX90 significantly crops the sensor when going from FHD to UHD (similar to what the DVX200 does, but the DVX200 has a larger sensor). This is also confirmed by the lens, which has a (35mm equivalent) wide angle focal length of 24.5mm at FHD, but 35.4mm at UHD. On the other hand, the UX180 and HC-X1 uses the full sensor for 4k, and slightly crops for UHD and FHD. This is also confirmed by the lens that goes from 24mm at 4k to 25.4mm at UHD and FHD.
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I have had a chance to test both the UX90 and the UX180 now, and while I don't have confirmation from the factory, my initial impression is that Sumfun is probably right here. The UX90 and the UX180 are NOT the same camera. The UX180 is about a full f-stop faster, and has a much wider FOV when shooting UHD, and it supports UHD at 50/60p. They're obviously quite different.

As far as the external camera body goes, the UX90 and UX180 pretty much share the same body other than the SDI port and the viewfinders. But under the hood there's a significant difference. I would definitely say that nobody should be using UX90 footage to gauge UX180 performance, and nobody should go looking at UX180 images and think that the UX90 will deliver the same images, because - they won't.

So in my opinion, the UX180 and the HC-X1 are the two cameras that should be classified in the same family, while the UX90 should be in a different family. But who am I to say? :smile:
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That actually seems downright reasonable, based on my experimentation with a very early UX180 and a pretty-far-along UX90. But I haven't seen an HC-X1 so cannot speak to that.
 
So it seems like the noise performance when shooting 4K should be better for the UX180 compared to the UX90. And given the specs, it seems like the two cameras probably have different sensors (not to mention different lenses), so the UX90 and UX180 may end up performing quite a bit differently.
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tsioukas said:
I hope for that, because I was waiting for a lot of months to choose between UX180 & Sony Z150. If performance of UX180 is the same, I will choose Z150 (with all the limitations that it have).
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Well, I can confirm that the UX180 and UX90 definitely perform differently. Quite a bit differently. But, the UX180 I saw was a very very early prototype so I cannot make any definitive judgements on it at this time; we'll have to wait for a unit that's more representative of what the shipping models will be.
 
Barry_Green said:
The UX180 is about a full f-stop faster, and has a much wider FOV when shooting UHD...
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A full stop faster in UHD, or in HD as well? I'd expect a stop in UHD given the smaller area the UX90 is using...?

That said, I'm more concerned with the chromatic fringing I see in some of those shots. I thought the DVX200 was better behaved in this respect, although I suppose the finer pixels on the smaller arc of the sensor makes this worse? [or maybe there's just a lot of digital zooming on those shots]

the UX180 I saw was a very very early prototype
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Hmm, bhphoto is saying November, but if what's available is very, very early prototypes, post-Thanksgiving/Christmas seems more likely :sigh:
 
Panasonic AG-UX90 Arriving Tomorrow at Texas Media Systems

Panasonic AG-UX90 Arriving Tomorrow at Texas Media Systems

Looks like we have a couple of the Panasonic AG-UX90 cameras arriving tomorrow:

Panasonic AG-UX90 $2095

pan-marlin-apply.png

Panasonic AG-UX90 Lease Rates at Texas Media Systems.JPG
 
That's what I was afraid of.

Anyone knows if this is compatible with 256GB SDXC cards? On the specs, I only see up to 128GB.
 
I would like to know the difference between the AG-UX180 and the HC-X1. If it is just SDI and timecode connectors then I would be happy with the HC-X1 for $300 difference. It would be different if the SDI was 12G but as it is only 3G SDI, external recording of UHD may only be through the HDMI anyway. Would be $300 towards an Atomos Inferno.
 
Camera Expert said:
That's what I was afraid of.

Anyone knows if this is compatible with 256GB SDXC cards? On the specs, I only see up to 128GB.
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From UX90 operation manual, I believe UX180 have the same specs

SDHC Memory Card : 4 GB to 32 GB
SDXC Memory Card : 48 GB to 128 GB

This unit is compatible with UHS-I UHS Speed Class3 standard SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards.

MOV/MP4 > VFR Mode, 100 Mbps > UHS Speed Class3
MOV/MP4 > 50 Mbps > UHS Speed Class1 or more, Class10 or more
AVCHD > Recording function or Recording format : All -> Class4 or more
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I was really liking this camera at the price point, despite the f/4.5 lens ramping...BUT:
720P at only 8mbs????
Does Pana not realize that 720p is still a broadcast standard?
I sure hope this is a simple firmware fix. If I want what amounts to a proxy recording, my NLE can do that.
Ken
 
The DVX200 specs say the same thing in terms of SD cards:
SDHC memory card (4 GB to 32 GB)
SDXC memory card (48 GB to 128 GB)

But that camera works just fine with 256GB cards, so I would be surprised if the UX90 and UX180 were any different.

The SDXC card standards are supposed to be able to accommodate cards with capacities from 64GB up to 2TB.
 
davedv said:
But [the DVX200] works just fine with 256GB cards, so I would be surprised if the UX90 and UX180 were any different.
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That would seem a reasonable assumption to me as well, though I decided a pair of 128s was better than a single 256 (plus another at some later date). YMMV.
Any idea as to whether the same batteries are likely to work? I'm kind of hoping that the IDX batteries will. It seems likely given that they work on the DVX200 and HC-X1000, but one never knows with 3rd parties.
 
If a battery works on the DVX200, it will also work on the UX90 and UX180.

Old DVX100-compatible batteries will not work on the DVX200 or UX90/UX180. The HC-X1000 is unique in that it can work with the old and new batteries, but the newer camcorders use only the new batteries.
 
Got to check out the UX180 at NAB NY. Panny had an "engineering" model on display. The 180 appears to be okay, not great. Compared the 180 to the Sony Z150. Preferred the Z150 LCD display. It was brighter, contrastier, and appeared sharper.
 
nutmegger said:
Got to check out the UX180 at NAB NY. Panny had an "engineering" model on display. The 180 appears to be okay, not great. Compared the 180 to the Sony Z150. Preferred the Z150 LCD display. It was brighter, contrastier, and appeared sharper.
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The sharpness isn't surprising, given the Sony has 1.56M vs UX180's 1.15M pixels. It is a shame the UX180 doesn't carry over the DVX200's LCD.

Presumably shots on the HC-X1 will be comparable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E63iR2JBHtQ though I can't say this video tells me very much about output quality. I assume there isn't an opportunity to snatch one for a day :)
 
It's a little hard for me to see how the Z150 compares to the UX180. The Z150 is a 12x lens, the UX180 is a 20x. The Z150 can't shoot, output, or record 4K at all, and it only does UHD up to 30p; the UX180 has the Cinema 4K/24p mode and it shoots UHD at up to 60p.

The only advantage I can see to the Z150 at all is that it records 1080p at 10-bit (but even then, only at 50mbps). The UX180 doesn't do 10-bit at all, but it does go up to 200mbps.

I'd much rather have a 10-bit recording format than an 8-bit one, sure, but I wouldn't give up a 20x lens (with a wide-angle of 24mm) or UHD/60p to get it.
 
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