Video Cameras

Sony Targets RED Camera with PMW-F3 Camera

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 21, 2010 | 11 comments

The RED camera has been a phenomenon in the indie film making sector. Giving those who have knowledge of film making, but not a crazy budget to achieve almost any shot they want, without the need to mortgage their house and their liver. Mix that with the ever growing power of home computers and editing software like Final Cut Pro and you can see why Indy films have been on a ever growing trajectory. Now, Sony wan’t some of this action as well, already known for their studio grade camera’s.

The PMW-F3 (yes, Sony as their catchy names, I mean who wouldn’t forget that over just saying RED…) is Sony’s answer, a $16,000 camera, with Sony’s latest Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor and interchangeable lens mounts, allowing the users to “facilitating shallow depth of field with a fairly impressive dynamic range”. The camera itself shoots with a MPEG-2 Long GOP 4:2:08bit, 35 Mbps codec), and uses Sony’s SxS ExpressCard-based recording media format (ISO 800, F11; and S/N ratio of 63dB in 1920×1080/59.94i mode). Another advantage that the PMW-F3 offers is the wide expandability of the device with its many ports on the back and PL mount. As Sony put it, “The PMW-F3’s PL mount adapter can accommodate both PL and zoom lenses, and will offer compatibility with a variety of cine lenses such as Cooke, Arri, Fujinon and Zeiss”. Though it remains higher in the price point category then other indy camera’s, the unit does offer more expandability then most units on the market with superior specs. Look for the camera to roll off of Sonys production lines for a February 2011 release.

As always, hit the jump for the official press release.

Sony, Sandisk, and Nikon Want to Make 2TB Memory Card with 500MBps Speeds

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 8, 2010 | 1 comment

Currently, the leading standard and speed from the CompactFlash association is set at a maximum transfer rate of 167MB per second, something that Sony, Sandisk and Nikon are not happy with. With Sony and Nikon making top DSRL camera’s and Sandisk making every from of Memory Card out there, the trio are looking for bigger memory cards and faster transfer speeds. Currently, all memory cards use the PATA serial interface to transfer information around. Under the new proposal, companies would shift to the newer, PCI Express serial interface which would give them speeds up to 500MPs for transferring and up to 2TB storage space, which blows away the current 32GB and 64GB sizes that are still hard to find and afford. This will not only benefit DSLR users who want to transfer their RAW files faster to the computer, but will help out the on going Megapixel war and allow users to go on full trips without needing a new card. If this new standard is also approved, this can help Camcorder manufactures like Sony as well, who currently offer plenty of hard drive based camcorders. Now a user can just buy the storage space they want, much like they would with a digital camera. According to Engadget, The CompactFlash Association has already announced a new workgroup to study the proposal. Canon’s Shigeto Kanda, CFA chairman of the board, had this to say about the proposal:

Future professional photography and video applications will require memory cards with faster read/write speeds. The development of a new high-performance card standard with a serial interface will meet the needs of the professional imaging industry for years to come and open the door for exciting new applications.

As always, hit the jump for a full press release.

Sony Announced PMW-F3 Super 35mm Camcorder for Indie Film Makers, We Have the Specs

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 30, 2010 | 14 comments

Sony camcorders have always been the go to product for studio shoots, whether it be a Hollywood product or a 3D camcorder used to record an NFL or World Cup game. Now, Sony wants to take a crack at the ever-growing indie film market with the new PMW-F3 Super 35mm camcorder with CMOS sensor. Though Sony is still ironing out some of the last minute details and pricing for this unit, we do have specs for you.

Recording modes of 1080p at frame rates ranging from 1 up to 60
Stops at important speeds like 23.98 and 59.94
Codec: MPEG-2 Long GOP 4:2:0 8bit, 35 Mbp
Feature: ‘slow’ and ‘quick’ recording, also known as “overcranking” and “undercranking” from 1 to 30 fps at 1920×1080 (17 to 30 fps in dual-link mode) and 1 to 60 fps at 1280×720 (17 to 60 fps in dual-link mode).

Hit the jump for the official press release, as well as a gallery of this upcoming beast.

Sony Release New Standard Def Camcorders, DCR-SX15E and DCR-SR15E

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 11, 2010 | 4 comments

Didn’t think Sony only made HD and 3D stuff now did you? Set to release this month are two new standard definition Handycam camcorders from Sony, the DCR-SX15E and DCR-SR15E. Both units rock the following:

50X optical zoom
Image Stabilization
Face Detection
2.7″ LCD Screen
Memory Stick & SD expansion.

Only difference is that the DCR-SR15E comes with a built in 80GB hard drive which will give you roughly 61 hours of video recording time. Hit the jump for the official press release. No word yet on pricing but they should be out soon.

Sony Bloggie Touch: Full Specs

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 8, 2010 | 23 comments

First, congratulations to Sony for not having some weird and long name for this device: The Bloggie™ Touch. It makes sense and is easy to remember. Now, onto the product itself. Here to replace the older, multi-button and confused Bloggie, the Bloggie Touch offers a beefy array of specs while having the simplicity of the Flip HD series.

Sporting a brushed aluminum body that will come in pink, black and silver, the Bloggie Touch will replace most of the buttons found on its predecessor with a new 3-inch touch screen. The device, via its F2.8 wide angle lens and Exmor CMOS sensor, will give you the capability to record in full 1080p and take stills at a 12.8 megapixel resolution with 4X zoom. The Bloggie Touch also has a USB out for computer and Playstation hookup with also an HDMI out for direct playback. Look for these units to be release in October at $180 for a 4GB unit and $200 for the 8GB version.

Hit the jump for a full gallery and press release.

Sony Alpha NEX-5 Hands On

by Sohrab Osati | May 26, 2010 | 2 comments

Ok yea, we wish it was us. We’re hoping one day, Sony will use the Contact Us button and actually give us units to look and review and post about here. Until then though, we wont be shunning you from experiencing any Sony news. So remember the NEX series we have been covering and drooling over? Well here is a little video to further entice you. I can’t wait to see what the NEX-7 can do then.

Sony Camcorders To Get Interchangeable Lenses

by Sohrab Osati | May 11, 2010 | 57 comments

Now this is what I’m talking about. For too long, Sony has had so many different segments that didn’t talk to each other and didn’t complement each other, other then the fact that they both would probably use a Memory Stick. Meet the new Sony HD Camcorders that are to be released this Fall. What makes these guys unique is that they are equipped with the new APC-C sized sensors for sharper quality, as well as low light sensitivity and accuracy. Better yet, these units can sport the Exmor APC HD CMOS sensor and E Mount interchangeable lenses which also happens to be what the Sony Alphas currently use.

The reason I’m excited about this is a two parted. One, the quality on these new lenses and the new image sensor that Sony uses is superb. But from a business stand point, as a consumer, I would be more likely to stick within the Sony family if I know my Alpha lens benefits my Camcorder and vise versa. Bravo Sony.

Hit the jump as always for another shot and a video.

Leaked: Sony EX3 prototype 3D camcorder

by Sohrab Osati | May 7, 2010 | 21 comments

The guys over at Engadget have a very juicy story about the prototype Sony EX3 3D camcorder. What makes this camera so beautiful is that the size is something very manageable, so this camera can give smaller studios, news rooms, productions, and films all-access to 3D. This is something that Sony is very much on the forefront with their 3D televisions and the PS3 gaining 3D. Of course, all of this comes hot on the heels of Sony announcing their own Red Camera competitor.

What’s more fascinating about this camera that is also gives you the option to interchange its lenses to gain the shot that you want. This also means that you don’t need to own multiple 3D cameras. This one camera can adapt to your shooting style with just a change of the lens.

Some of the details are:
three half-inch CMOS eyeballs that stream 4:2:0 MPEG-2 video at 1080p to SxS memory cards at 35Mbps per eye,
or send uncompressed 4:4:4 footage over a new pair of HD-SDI outputs.

[Via Engadget]

Sony Counters RED Camera

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 19, 2010 | 7 comments

The RED Camera is something that has won the hearts and minds of independent film makers and local TV stations alike. This is a professional grade, 24fps, full 1080p camera. Sure it might not give the quality and features that professional studio cameras that Sony itself makes, but for the market that it targets, it offers everything and more at a price that has been very affordable compared to the alternative.

Now enters Sony, who showed off a prototype “entry level 35mm” camcorder at this years NAB. Sony has promised that the camera will be for everybody and will indeed be ready by this time next year. The things we currently don’t know about the camera are resolution, codec support, dynamic range, etc but just the announcement alone is noteworthy because of the quality everybody has come to expect from Sony camcorders in the professional world. Plus, for the target audience we mentioned, this presents another choice and competition is always a good thing (for the consumer, anyway).

Sony Introduces New HandyCam NXCAM with E-Mount system

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 3, 2010 | 6 comments

Although not to be released until the first half of 2011, which means there is still room for potential tweaks, Sony has introduced their new Super 35mm equivalent CMOS HD camcorder. The camera is targeted for high-end digital cinema production that uses the “E-mount” lens system, specifically the NXCAM series. Currently, Sony’s own NEX-3, NEX-5 and HandyCam NEX-VG10 also utilize the E-mount lenses. This gives the user flexibility to interchange between different cameras while using the same lens. The NXCAM can record video in AVCHD 1080p ((60P/30P/24P or 50p/25p) or in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264. No word yet on pricing, but it’s not meant for the faint of heart, so don’t expect a small price tag.

Official Press Release

Face Detection Comes to the HDR-CX12 AVCHD

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 26, 2008 | 90 comments

Ive long been a fan of the Sony camcorders, owning all be it a much older unit myself and am indeed looking for a new one (eh? what do you think Sony? Accidently shipping one to my house would be much appreciated) and of course, my recent purchase of the Sony T400 during my trip to Japan. Now one of the most impressive features about the T400 is the face detection, to the point that the unit will find faces on billboards and on TV. With such an advantagous feature, it looks like Sony is going for round two, introducing it into their camcorder lineup.

Meet the HDR-CX12 AVCHD. Boasting :

1,920 x 1,080 AVCHD (1080i) video from a 10 megapixel ClearVid 1/3.13-inch CMOS sensor,
BIONZ image processing,
image stabilized Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T 12 optical zoon lens,
a 2.7-inch LCD,
5.1 surround sound mic,
and Memory Stick PRO Duo (4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark2) in the box) storage (that’s nice of them, now if the PSP only did that…better yet, where is the built in Hard Drive!)

But like we said, what makes this unit even more impressive is the Smile Shutter technology, giving you the capability to even prioritize by children or adult. This should be a nice feature for those who just turn on their camcorder and begin to film, allowing the camera to use its image stabilize and now Smile Shutter to keep your subjects in focus. Look to find these guys hitting stores in August or online now for $900.

Hit the MagicGate for a video presentation.

MagicGate!

Advertising Bliss: Sony Foam City

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 10, 2008 | 34 comments

This has to be by far one of the most amazing advertising campaigns ive seen. Both visually and inspirationally. Sony in Miami designed the worlds largest foam machine that custom build for the shoot, making a total of 120 million gallons of bubble. That’s 500,000 gallons per minute. The commercial premises was to give all the locals Sony Camera’s ranging from Alpha DSLRs, Cyber-Shots and Handycams and allow them to experience this event and produce their own footage. Now the armature footage itself was not used for the commercial, but it will be posted on Sony’s online gallery.

Hit the magic button to take a look at the behind the scenes for this amazing shoot.

MagicGate!

Sony Ericsson To Bring Wi-Fi and More To Digital Cameras

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 4, 2008 | 1 comment

According to a new patent, if Sony can have their way, were going to be having more options then just built in Wi-Fi or Eye-Fi cards. This comes in the form of offering both built in or card or attach on accessories with GSM, CDMA, WiMAX in addition to the already available Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options. This means that the minute your camera is in your home network, you can begin to transfer your pictures to your computer without needing to hunt down a USB cord or taking the card out and inserting it into your card reader. With built in Wi-fi, this can also open up the possibilities of directly publishing your photos (current iPhone and .Mac users can publish photos directly to their Web Gallery) or being able to email out photo’s without the need of a computer. The less cords, the happier I am so sign me up for this but this better damn happen cause I signed up for flying cars by the year 2000 and I still cant get 25MPG!

OLED Coming To Sony’s Pro HD Camcorders

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 24, 2008 | 7 comments

Those who are working in the broadcasting field are about to get a nice upgrade as Sony is bringing its OLED screens to the viewfinders of the new HDVF-EL100. The 11 inch, 960 x 540 pixel screen is designed to accept wide angles and deep contrast rations, in order to help operators achieve the accurate focusing thats required for HDTVs. Pro cameramen rejoice as having done 2nd AC work, its nice to look at something thats accurate and not have to rely on the control room or studio village.

[Via Sony]

Sony TG1 Ss The Worlds Smallest HD Camcorder

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 15, 2008 | 1 comment

Called the HDR-TG3E in Europe (but HDR-TG1 everywhere else), this little guy is able to boast an astonishing 1080i picture while being small and light weight. All this achieved with no loss in quality as the body is made from Titanium to achieve its lightweight factor. Not only that but the unit ships with a 4GB Memory Stick Duo witch is rare when a camera is packed with media, let alone a nicely sized one in this case. The camera also seems to show no sign of compression artefact’s. Few other tidibits about the TG1, the unit contains built in flash, touch screen buttons and boasts a dock for charging/USB connection and has HDMI Out. Hit the link to get a full review and video preview of the camera from Tracy & Matt.

[Via Tracy&Matt]