Sony XDCAM EX

Balancing Act.

Balancing Act.

Without 35mm adapter. A D size RedRock Gear Ring should fit your EX Focus Ring.

1197007468.jpg



With 35mm Adapter.

The Rig is just a LITTLE tad Rear Heavy. I assume with another 8 gig card in the slot and with the bigger capacity battery to compensate for a mattebox, the setup should balance perfect.
A riser kit is needed if you want to fit a mattebox to your setup. RedRock Micro Mattebox looks very nice but wont be available till Jan - Feb.

1197007503.jpg

1197007536.jpg

1197007555.jpg


Depending on the setup of the mattebox, You might want to go with a double rail system. Here is a good cheap alternative to the Zacuto Z riser at 1/3 the price.
double%20rod%20clamp%202.bmp


Stay tuned, more reviews of the EX to come including footage (I have to find a server to host the footage though).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your "Opening the Box" pix

Thanks for your "Opening the Box" pix

Thanks DX... That's beginning to look like a great rig you're setting up. What 35mm lenses are you thinking of using (brand and mm). Would love to see some samples of those pictures. I'm thinking of putting together something similar. What brand rails and 35mm adapter are you using (I could almost read it)?
 
Frank, that is the cavision rod support with the letus extreme. I will try to have some grabs posted as soon as i can. I am still learning the camera :)
 
PROS & CONS

(-) The on button is very awkward and cumbersome.

(-) The Mic's fader dials are too exposed and can be accidentally changed. They had a better design on the Z1 where they put a clear plastic covering in order to avoid accidental turning of the dials.

(-) The Sel/Set roller is very small and cumbersome to use. I prefer to use the joystick on the front of the camera.

(-) Buttons, switches are all too small ! Working outdoors in the winter time with gloves ? Forget it !!!
1197094981.jpg


(-) Placement for some buttons and ports are very very inefficient. They managed to put those in an area where it is difficult for you to reach.
1197094918.jpg

1197094881.jpg


(-) Due to the placement of the LCD monitor, You might have problems with same Mattebox, that will trap the monitor in its place.
1197094903.jpg


(+) Peaking is absolutely brilliant. Along with the high resolution monitor, you can leave that Hd monitor at home. You even get to choose the colors of the edges.

(-) One negative thing though is that, peaking does not work when you use the expanded focus (zooming into the pic).
1197094812.jpg


(+) Yes, you can do critical focusing and that 1/2" chip do give you more DOF than 1/3" chip. However don't expect 35mm DOF.
1197094850.jpg


(+) Another great feature is the ability to change settings on the LCD's itself. You dont have to dig deep into the menus in order to make some variable changes. This with other assignable buttons almost allows you to set whatever changes you need without going into the menus !!!!
1197094788.jpg


(+) Picture profile allows A LOT of pic adjustments, so you can get that flat pics that allows you most flexibility on post CC.
1197094756.jpg


(+) The Histogram is definitely a good idea. It is extremely handy and one that I will be using often.
1197094944.jpg



Despite the BAD ergonomics design of the camera, Sony made it all up on the core camera itself. The LCD is brilliant and you can focus on it without having to carry a heavy external monitor, peaking, full manual lens ...etc. The door that protects the SxS cards is extremely solid. There is no way a SxS card can be ejected by itself. The battery bay is solid with no plastic tab that can break.

Next tests: 35mm adapter & Stock Footage and codec toughness handing post CC.
 
(-) How long before you either lose or break those tiny rubber plugs?
1197094959.jpg


(-) Cant we just use LANC ??? Instead of some high $$$$ proprietary connector ??
1197094832.jpg
 
DX I noticed there and at Interbee with no time to go into it, but on the Audio controls each channel has an ext. and int. option. Is this for built in mic only and what the hell is it? I mean apart from the bleeding obvious.
 
Yeah, it allows you to use both the internal and external mic at the same time. The internal mic is stereo, so you can choose to feed 1 channel via the internal mic and another channel via your XLR external mic.


So with theoretically, you can capture ambience with the internal mic on one channel and then the main dialog with the external mic on the other channel. Maybe I am paranoid, but I dont trust internal mics :/
 
Here's the deal with the internal.
They say they are omnidirectional. Which means the pickup pattern is close to 360 degrees.
I'm not sure why they did not go with a cardioid or hyper cardioid pattern for a more directional pickup.

Depending on your mic gain settings, the on board mics will pick up the slightest sounds of you on the camera, touching buttons, movement, etc...
 
DX--thanks for your assessment--it's pretty much in line with what I observed when I tried the cam at GVExpo. I liked the zoo, focus, and aperture rings a lot. I thought they did a nice job with making the textures on each ring distinct, you can find them by feel--so the basic lens control ergonomics are good. The buttons are pretty small and I don't know why they made them black on black--white or light blue would have made them easier to find. The lcd/peaking controls set a new standard for small cams and make up for a lot of sins. I'd have to gaff tape the level controls or jury rig a little cover beacuse I'm definitely prone to accidentally moving them unless they're completely recessed.
 
Stevet said:
Here's the deal with the internal.
They say they are omnidirectional. Which means the pickup pattern is close to 360 degrees.
I'm not sure why they did not go with a cardioid or hyper cardioid pattern for a more directional pickup.
Click to expand...

It really wouldn't have made much difference on an onboard mic. Any camera sounds would still be well within the pickup pattern, and mounted where it is, it's going to be too far away from anything you shoot to take advantage of the pattern.
 
Hmmm.
omni makes it even more noticeable.

I've tried my hyper cardioid mics and at the same levels, they do a better job at rejecting the camera sounds. BUT, as most here, unless Im doing run-and-gun, I use boom mics or wireless.
 
DXmetal... Love the review you're doing! Sony has been using the little rubber plugs for a long time. They're on all their cameras...even the F-900. I'm surprized they haven't come off my DSR-300 yet. But I agree they seem to have gone out of their way to make this camera extremely small. Actually I would like it in a bit bigger box. I'm not looking for a "handy cam" style here. I'm looking for professional useability. But as you mentioned, the camera itself seems to make up for many of the box design short comings.
 
Little rubber plugs on xdcam, hpx whatever. They go missing pretty fast in a busy environment, dont sweat it.
 
So I assumed some people in the US already received their EX1 then. I'm still waiting for mine.

Nice review. Looking forward for some 35mm adapter test footage.
 
$1,000,000.00 BWAaahahahahahaha......


Oh... sorry, couldn't resist the Austin Powers Dr. Evil Cheese.


I don't know how much in Yen and with the U.S. Dollar so damn weak!?!?!?!

It will be interesting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top