Having used my PMW-350K in anger all this week I can vouch for it’s fantastic performance. From PTC to operating theatres this camera produces stunning HD pictures. All let it be said with two MxM SDHC card adapters using 16Gb Transend class 6 SDHC cards.

Sony state in their bumf that for optimum results use class 10 SDHC cards but I think Sony are being extra cautious specifying class 10 cards when I have proved time after time class 6 works fine. Now to pin this down I don’t do any over and under cranking which may cause issues with class 6 cards.

I am producing a corporate induction DVD for NHS Lanarkshire at the moment and have found myself and camera in some interesting locations. Today I had to film a man with a trigger finger, this condition leaves the patient with a permanently curled up finger due to a tightening of a tendon. Although an operating theatre does not pose any low light issues it gave me a major problem with too much light !

The patient is wheeled in after being prep’t by the anaesthetist and is layed out on the operating table, interestingly this was to be a bloodless procedure a tourniquet was applied to the arm cutting off the blood supply. The arm is layed out and fastened  to the table then the light is switched on…blam…5 to 6 stops over exposure.

Although I had filmed in a theatre before I had not filmed with a 350 before. The 350 eats light but today it met it’s match…in order for me to film the hand and the surgeon I had to use 2 cameras, the other being the Sony NX5. I had to switch the filter wheel to 4 (ND 64) and dial in some shutter in order to compensate for the intense light on the patients hand.

It was sore on my eyes to stair at the patients lit hand…I personally think it’s brighter than it needs to be, 5-6 f stops is a lot of compensation. The pictures from the 350 are amazing, they almost jump out of the screen at you. I followed Alister Chapmans suggestions on picture profiles to take out some of the sharpening and the pictures are very punchy indeed.

I came out of the theatre later than I expected to set up a PTC (Piece to camera) in a board room, than was not as interesting as the theatre but it was a further part of the induction jigsaw.

Canon today pre-announces the release of a firmware update for the multiple award-winning EOS 5D Mark II. Originally announced in late 2009, the update adds 24* and 25 frames per second (fps) recording to the camera’s EOS MOVIE video function, and will be available as a free download from the middle of March.

Developed following feedback from photographers and cinematographers, Firmware 2.0.3 further enhances the EOS 5D Mark II’s excellent video performance. The addition of new frame rates expands the camera’s video potential, providing filmmakers with the ability to shoot 1080p Full HD footage at 24fps (actual 23.976fps) – the optimum frame rate for cinematic video. 25fps support at both 1920×1080 and 640×480 resolutions will allow users to film at the frame rate required for the PAL broadcast standard, while the new firmware will also change the 30fps option to the NTSC video standard of 29.97fps.

A new histogram display for shooting movies in manual exposure, shutter-priority (Tv) and aperture-priority (Av) have been added, and exposure modes will also be available in movie mode. Improved audio functionality will allow users to set sound record levels manually using a sound-level meter displayed on the LCD screen. The audio sampling frequency has also been increased from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, providing the optimum audio signal typically required for professional or broadcast material.

With its full frame CMOS sensor and compatibility with Canon’s wide range of premium lenses, the EOS 5D Mark II is already recognised for its outstanding HD video performance. Launched in September 2008, the camera immediately created a wide range of new possibilities for photographers and videographers, and the addition of new frame rates and manual audio levels extends those possibilities even further – allowing movie makers to shoot stunning movies to suit practically any creative purpose.

Extreme sports photographer Richard Walch was one of the first to be given the chance to use the newly updated EOS 5D Mark II to shoot the snowboarding movie “I Love My Friends”. Commenting on the EOS 5D Mark II’s video performance, Richard said: “The addition of the new frame rates opens up a whole new range of possibilities. If you’re a cinematographer, independent film maker or just enthusiastic about making your own movies, get out there and give it a try”.   (Thanks to DPreview for this info)

http://www.canon-europe.com/eos5dmarkII

What’s “possibly” coming in the new firmware update during “March 2010″.

PAL

1920 x 1080  25fps

1920 x 1080  24fps

NTSC

1920 x 1080  30fps

1920 x 1080  24fps

640 x 480  30fps

PLUS… Manual sound recording level function (64 levels) with audio meter…Histogram display for shooting movies in manual exposure…Shutter priority (Tv) and Aperture priority modes…Audio sampling changed from 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz.

Please be aware this photograph was shot in Poland and came from the Canon Rumours web site so if I were you I would take this info with a pinch of salt.  Also note the camera beside this info slide does not appear to be a 5D Mk11 … so what you may ask … if Canon go to all the trouble to present a slide about the 5D2 firmware update they would not be stupid enough to add any old Canon DSLR picture beside it … that’s just my opinion.

I am running out of time to produce a video user review this week so I thought I’d better put something down as I am very impressed with the quality of the pictures coming out of the NX5.

I did not know what to expect with this camcorder but after Mondays shoot looking at the pictures side by side with the 350 I am still reeling from shock at the fantastic pictures this camcorder produces compared to the 350. In other words and I can’t quite believe I am writing this but there is little to choose between the two cameras.

Don’t get me wrong the 350 produces stunning pictures but so does the NX5…I am not sure if Sony have put a spell on this camcorder but apart from lower light situations this AVCHD codec is stunning.

I only remember one other camcorder having this effect on me and that was the Sony PMW-150 DVCAM many years ago and I still remember how good the pictures were from that camcorder.

Sony have done an amazing job on this camcorder …I can recommend it as a cracking second camera for EX-1, 1R, 3 and PMW-350.

So far I have used Transend SDHC class 6 cards and they work well in fact I would not have considered this camcorder if Sony had not given me the SDHC option.

I am still finding my feet with the NX5 but there are two small downsides to the camera so far…

1. The Shutter button…now the button itself is fine it’s the stupid rotary switch you have to fiddle with to get to the right shutter speed and as often as not you don’t choose the speed you want first go…a very poor switch in my opinion.

2. Over-cranking is not a patch on the EX-3…it’s the only non quality picture I have seen out of this camera I suppose Sony have to compromise somewhere but as over cranking is on the whole a gimmick I am not bothered with it’s lack of quality.

I will update this page as I further use the NX5 but so far I am blown away with it’s performance.

I present 2 video grabs from Mondays shoot one taken with the Sony PMW-350K (£15,000) the other with the HXR-NX5 (£3,900) can you tell which camera is which…leave a comment.

OK time up…it is a wee bit obvious but Pic 1 is the PMW-350K, the reason the shots don’t match is because they were captured at different times of the day and Pic 2 was filmed using a Sony LED video light. I am filming again this Monday I will set the cameras side by side, match WB and do the same exercise.

Update 26 Feb 2010… Having spent about 3 hours editing the footage from the 350 and NX5 it’s more obvious that the 350 has an edge over quality and that the NX5 footage has a slight background noise in the image that’s not present in the 350. I wipe my brow because I was a bit miffed early doors that I had just spent big time on a 350 when I could have bought 4 NX5’s for the same price…though as a second camera to the 350 it’s fantastic and two jobs I am filming this week need 2 cameras. I filmed an audio conference which needed the two cameras, one on the main speaker and the NX5 on a wide shot looking over the speakers shoulder and at one point I was filming the same man with both cameras tight/wide and they match perfectly.

Just got my hands on a Sony NX-5 which I have bought as a second camera, I will be using it for the first time on Monday filming in a hospital for a corporate production. Although most of the work will be done using a Sony PMW-350K I still need hand held cutaways and tracking shots that would be impossible using a shoulder mount camcorder like the 350. I hope to get the pieces to camera done tomorrow then add Mondays footage during the week. I need to get this done and dusted before a week on Monday so hopefully you will see my user video review nearer the end of this week.

I had a play with the camera today and so far I have been blown away with the pictures… the AVCHD codec has come a long way since it’s early days in the domestic arena.

Panasonic’s brewing up some 1080p goodies in the new HDC-HS700 and HDC-TM700 (pictured) camcorders, both of which do up 1080p video at a nice 50/60 fps (or 50i/60i or 24p), and record using a 3MOS sensor system. The new cameras are differentiated with a 240GB HDD in the HS700 and the 32GB of flash memory in the TM700, and act as a followup to the well-lauded HS300 / TM300 series. Both of the new shooters are otherwise pretty much identical, including SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card expansion, new 35mm-style wide angle lenses, 12x optical zoom and some gyroscope-based “Power O.I.S.” image stabilization to beef up the experience. They can also do 14.2 megapixel stills and record 5.1 surround sound with the five built-in microphones.

There’s no word on price yet, but it’ll be announced 30 days in advance of when they ship, whenever that might be. For reference, the TM300 hovers around the $1,100 mark currently, so we doubt these will be undercutting that unit on price. Amazon UK has revealed a price and expected arrival date for the HS700. Priced at £1,199 ($1,873), the camcorder is listed as scheduled for a March 1 release, so there won’t be much of a wait for the wealthy among us.

Canon has announced the development of a plug-in that will allow EOS MOVIE footage shot on EOS DSLRs to be edited more quickly and easily in Apple’s Final Cut Pro editing package.

Canon has revealed that a free Beta release of the plug-in will be available to download for testing and evaluation in March 2010.

What’s known as ‘EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro’ is being developed to provide an even smoother workflow for EOS MOVIE users who edit using the Final Cut Pro software suite. The plug-in will enable the ‘log and transfer’ of video footage from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS-1D Mark IV DSLRs – all of which offer full 1080p High Definition video recording.

The plug-in will convert EOS MOVIE footage to Apple’s high quality ProRes 4:2:2 codec at approximately twice the speed of Apple’s standard conversion. Additionally, users will also be able to add timecode, reel names and metadata to footage quickly and easily – further enhancing the experience of EOS MOVIE users when editing their footage.

I can see this “Bloggie” being useful for documentary work, getting people to keep accounts of their lives, being able to film yourself is a great idea, it’s the one feature the iPhone does badly.

Rick Young asks Joseph Young of Canon USA “We are all looking for an HDSLR and a video camcorder in one package” an in depth interview with some interesting insight.

http://www.macvideo.tv/camera-technology/interviews/index.cfm?articleId=3212207