The main difference between the 350 and the 320 are as follows…

PMW-350 = 2/3″ chipset 59dB S/N

PMW -320 = 1/2″ chipset 54dB S/N

Now thats got to give Panasonic a kick in the pants not only do Sony bring out the 2/3″ 350 but they also bring out the 320 1/2″ shoulder mount as well…not a sign of 1/3″ chips in sight !

Sadly it does not come close to EX-3 prices but if you really need that full shoulder mount kudos then two thousand pounds is a lot closer than finding £6K for the 350 and by all accounts its still a lot quieter than the EX-3.

This is a very interesting addition to the accessory range from Sony the RM1000. Basically you can plug this into your NXCAM and remotely control all the major camera functions very useful for stage shows, wildlife filming, jib arm control etc. Sony state up to 10 meters away from the camera I wonder if thats the length of their supplied cable or the maximum this remote will work from, I am attending the Great Northern show on the 4th of May 2010, I will ask Sony while I am there.

This in my opinion is what sets Sony aside from other manufacturers and is why they are still the leading selling brand when it comes to video they think like us and our needs. The price of £900 including vat is a tad on the dear side in my opinion and if it had been around £500 I may have been tempted to buy one myself.

THE SONY TAKE :

The RM-1000BP is a multi-function LANC remote control unit which enables almost total external control of selected HDV camcorders. The RM-1000BP gives remote control of white balance, gain, shutter, zoom, focus, record start-stop, picture profile recall, assign buttons, menu settings and more from up to ten metres away.

Two large, sensitive, dials give control over iris and focus, whilst depressing these dials enables auto-focus or auto-iris. A button next to each dial allows you to toggle between manual or auto operation. A zoom rocker with adjustable sensitivity is operated with your thumbs giving accurate control over the zoom speed.

The RM-1000BP incorporates a number of buttons to give you control over record start/stop, white balance, shutter and gain, as well as giving access to the camcorder menu and picture profiles. Six ‘assign’ buttons reflect those on the camcorder giving even greater operational flexibility.

The RM-1000BP can be handheld, table-mounted or mounted on a tripod and provides enhanced creativity by enabling unusual shooting angles as well as being ideal for use with a jib or crane.

*Please note, the RMB1000BP is compatible with all HVR-Z5E models and HVR-S270E & HVR-Z7E models with the listed serial numbers and higher:

Earlier models will require a firmware upgrade, for more information please contact your Sony Specialist Dealer.

When the HXR-FMU128 is used in conjunction with memory cards, Sony’s unique HYBRID recording capability is enabled, allowing a combination of HD and SD resolutions to be recorded simultaneously. The operator is free to choose which resolution is recorded on each media type, and may even set the camcorder to record to both media types simultaneously.

There are many benefits to HYBRID recording, including:

♦ Edit system ingest time for HD files stored on the HXR-FMU128 is typically faster than from memory cards.

♦ HD files simultaneously recorded on memory cards provide a time and cost- effective method of archiving.

♦ SD files may be used for quick preview on a laptop or for SD deliverables, such as web-based movies.

NOTE: Recording SD simultaneously to both media types is not supported. IMPORTANT: The filenames of corresponding HD and SD clips are different.

I have had a busy two weeks filming and I am glad to have had this time to evaluate the Sony NX-5, I will also give you an update on the Sony PMW-350 as a write up. My initial encounter with the NX-5 has been very positive.

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.

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.

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.

Sony does not make it obvious that the NX5 camcorder has dual slots, Memory card and SDHC. This is amazing news and will help boost sales of this camcorder. Many dealers were not aware that this camera has SDHC slots which makes it very archive friendly.

Sony have finally broken away from their dated and dear Memory Stick to now include SDHC in the NX range of camcorders and the EX range with the announcement of the new SDHD adaptor.