When is a succesor to the EX1R coming?

wannabeapilot

wannabeapilot

Well-known member
Im currently trying to decide what camera to get ,I love the low light ability of the ex1r ,but I dont really like its recording medium (sxs) i love the recording medium and the bitrate of canons xf 300 ,but I dont like its lowlight ability
however the ex1r is pretty old now ,so has anyone heard anything about a new sony cam with great lowlight and new recording medium and codec?
 
Barry_Green said:
Hasn't the XF300 been tested to have better low light performance than the EX1R?
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well i havent seen enough material to make a super informed conclusion
but heres what Doug jensen has to say:

Andy,

You're not wrong to be concerned about the low-light capbablities of the camera. I was quite surprised by how bad it is. I shot that same WaterFire event with a pre-production EX1 three years ago, and that camera looked GREAT even at -3db. People who have seen my EX1 or EX3 training DVDs or my footage at NAB know what I'm talking about. Same event, same conditions, but Canon has taken a step back from where Sony was three years ago.

Last week I took a lot of flak on another thread for saying the XF305 sucks in low light. Apparently, according to other posters, we are to assume that 0db Gain is set arbitrarily by the manufacturer, and it is perfectly acceptable to crank the gain up to +9, +12, or whatever to get the sensitivity you want. I don't buy that argument, nor do I have the time to test the camera at every gain setting to see how far you can push it. I take the manufacturer's settings at face value. If they should have called +9db 0db instead, that is their problem. The camera sucks in low light, and difference is at least 1.5 to 2 stops comapred to an EX1 at equal gain settings.

I'm not bashing the camera, because I really like the XF305, I'm just not going to make excuses for things I don't like.
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Interesting, I had heard that the XF305 was at least as sensitive as the EX1, if not moreso. Maybe cowpunk52 can do a side-by-side?
 
For low light the test is how much gain can you push without getting unacceptable noise levels. What is unacceptable can vary depending on your taste and the nature of what your are shooting. But noise floor is the ultimate test. Gain is like increasing ISO speed on a DSLR. As you increase gain you lose dynamic range and at some point the noise becomes unacceptable.
That said, I would expect the EX1R to be better in low light due to a larger sensor. More total sensor area = more light gathering power. But latest gen electronics have reduced the noise floor by about 10dB for all kinds of sensors compared to just two years ago or so. So the XF300/305 could be better at higher gain settings. The EX1 has been around for awhile.
 
The EX1R is old? It just came out.

If you're looking for a good low light camera in the EX price range, the EX line has been the standard bearer. The Canon XF is probably the next best, especially if you don't like the SxS cards. Then there's the Panasonic HPX 370, which is supposed to have really good low light capabilities for a 1/3" 3MOS cam. But if you don't like SxS cards, you probably won't care for P2 cards, at least as far as price goes. Reliability wise, they're outstanding.

Or, do like I did and buy a used HPX500 for the price of the other cameras new. 2/3" chips are the best in low light. Of course, you'll also need to buy a sturdy tripod, batteries and a good 2/3" lens.
 
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