Sony FDR-AX100, 4K camcorder for the masses

hank

specs look nice.time for sony to put bigger sensors in bit more workable form factors.

Aria

MAN! This is making my decisions so much harder. I've got my money for a BMPCC already, but cams like this make me hesitate. The flexibility and power of that 4K image is sick. Then i've got to wait and see what Panasonic is gonna do as well. I'm real anxious to see what the GH4 is gonna be like. This is gonna be a great year for gear!!!

Vitaliy_Kiselev

JohnTollwannabe

4k cam that probably doesn't have 10 bit or anywhere near the new ITU Rec 2020 standards... and it's using resource hogging MPEG-4 that must be transcoded. Not quite ready for prime time.

I think it would be better if we wait just a little bit more.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

4k cam that probably doesn't have 10 bit or anywhere near the new ITU Rec 2020 standards

I have bad news for you. It seems that no one care about "ITU Rec 2020 standards".

and it's using resource hogging MPEG-4 that must be transcoded. Not quite ready for prime time.

I really do not know that you mean here, as MPEG-4 is whole family of standards.

Sony camera uses advanced H.264 encoder, and it is not resource hogging, quite reverse.

Aria

Just looking at the footage you can't help but notice the higher level of detail. Overall Sony does a good job with all their cams, but this is a GREAT compromise. It may not be the best 4K cam out there, but for me I think it's at such a high quality level that it will be well worth it to get a better end result when reduced to 1080p. That has value IMO. I can't wait to see some real world footage where they do low light and high DR scenes etc. Can't see any real negative for the price.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

It can be popular camera for weddings guys. As stabilizer seems to be good, good sensitivity, 4K allows for more relaxing framing.

DrDave

I agree the framing could be wider with the extra resolution. But a lot of weddings have dimly lit interiors....have to see how it works indoors.

babypanda

"The flexibility and power of that 4K image is sick."

@Aria, would you mind elaborating? How is it flexible? I thought RAW was the most flexible since it's the most gradable in post. And by power you mean...resolution?

DrDave

4K gives you four times the resolution--in terms of resolution RAW only gives you a tiny bit more detail, if any. RAW gives you the freedom to reinterpret the white balance and gives you grading options in post; however, if you set your WB correctly, like in a shoot, you may not need the ability to change tungsten for daylight, unless you want a special effect. They are apples and oranges, and it would be nice to have both, although the storage issue would be crazy, but if I had only the option of RAW or 4K, I would always choose the 4K. It depends on the way you shoot, if I'm working in a studio and I have measured the color temperature, I still need a high bitrate but my color should be OK.

It also depends on the market. There is no market for RAW, but there is a market for 4K. There isn't even a market for RAW audio.

A compressed RAW option, or a limited RAW option with 4K would be ideal for me, like a version of Cineform on a hardware device that would record Cineform RAW or compressed, or h.265.

Bottom line, that cam resolves a lot of detail. And more cams are on the way.

Aria

@DrDave yes I agree with your synopsis about the value of 4K and RAW.

@babypanda, I think people assume that you can't have great color unless you have RAW, which is of course not the case. I like the flexibility of RAW which I've been playing with on my Canon 50D, but I don't think i'd need that level of adjustment for most of the work I do. I do know that ALL of my work could use the best level of detail and I can see the use of cropping with little penalty as I do crop a lot already.

It's not that I think i'd be using the 4K as is for most of my work, cuz I don't have that many clients who actually have a 4K TV. Who does? It's a matter of getting that level of resolution at a great price. I also think they have kept the files to a reasonable size for that level. I'm not saying this is definitely the camera I will buy, but it's an option. We still have to see what Panasonic will do. I also like the Samsung NX30. Time will tell once we get to see more real footage.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Vitaliy_Kiselev

MikeLinn

oscillian

Probably fake.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

XAVC in detail

chauncy

It might be okay for events and interviews, but it looks sterile and I don't think it's just the lighting. Based on the image here, and we have noting else to go on, I would never choose this for a film. I'll bet it sucks to work with in post, too. Not enough color info.

jonpais

From watching the video above, it looks like the AX100 has tons of actual physical buttons, which is always a good thing. And I wouldn't be too quick to judge picture quality yet, since we've only seen one promotional video and now this video from Jeanne-Pierre Barth (highly suspect, btw, since it's of very poor quality and the guy has no talent for video whatsoever).