Having been working in the video business since 1988 I have amassed a great amount of knowledge of both the kit and production values over the last 30 years.
10 thoughts on “Review of the Sony NEX-EA50 camcorder”
I saw your review on the Sony NEXEA50 camcorder, Was impressed by it, and the night shots were impressive, considering buying one later. But there is a very disappointing lack of E mount lenses for it. and Sony memory cards + Sony HXRFMU128 are very expensive. And no SDI ?
Terrific review without question. Learned a lot about the camera I own. I guess I made the right choice after all. sony’s got a sleeper here that’s beginning to catch on. Thanks for doing this. 🙂
Best
Bob Moran
Thanks for the review. Good stuff.
Just curious- what’s the viewfinder like? Usable?
I imagine this camera would perform well with the Metabones Speed Booster.
The viewfinder is excellent, especially with the loupe, something difinitely needed when shooting in bright daylight. E lenses are expanding with Zeiss getting in on the action big time. Old primes rock and the stills are amazing, something I need to have in some of the work I do. SDHC cards work without issue and Matthew’s spot on, the 128gb SSD is NOT worth it.
I think you should be applauded for the wonderful lowlight work. I was a little concerned by its low light performance, but I stand corrected.
The Digital Zoom feature is more for primes… As photo zoom lenses got used for video we had to call them ‘variable primes’ (so few being parfocal). Now every lens can do that little ‘nudge in’ (or ‘lean forward moment’) during the interview or the action.
The low light perform is terrific when fast primes are used on the camera. I have a set of 40+ year old Nikkors that, when combined with the DZ, show why tech like this never dies. To see how well the system works, go to http://www.beyondrealtime.com and look for a short piece titled By Moonlight. The stills and video was shot on the 50 and vg 20 using the Nikkors.
Thanks, Philip,
Your reviews are just getting better!
Did you manage to try the EA50 using the shoulder mount, as it comes ´out of the box´?
I am interested to see how Sony’s concept of the shoulder mount works.
Great review Philip. The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” certainly holds true here. I’m very impressed with the picture quality. The NEX-EA50 looks like an affordable next step from my Z5U.
Great review Philip! I recommend the camRade wetSuit NEX EA50 to protect it from the elements.
I purchased the EA50 back in early 2013 and love this semi shoulder camera. My only gripe is the lack of ND. I dont need a shutter to take photos! I started making films for other people while I was a lad at school and I am now over 60. I was raised on still cameras that just took photos and film cameras that could not take stills. That in my opinion is how it should be today! I get fed up looking for kit for my EA50 only to see the kit been demonstrated on a DSLR that should only be able to take photos!! Come on, lets get back to having Videographers and Photographers, not one person trying to do both!!
I saw your review on the Sony NEXEA50 camcorder, Was impressed by it, and the night shots were impressive, considering buying one later. But there is a very disappointing lack of E mount lenses for it. and Sony memory cards + Sony HXRFMU128 are very expensive. And no SDI ?
Terrific review without question. Learned a lot about the camera I own. I guess I made the right choice after all. sony’s got a sleeper here that’s beginning to catch on. Thanks for doing this. 🙂
Best
Bob Moran
Thanks for the review. Good stuff.
Just curious- what’s the viewfinder like? Usable?
I imagine this camera would perform well with the Metabones Speed Booster.
The viewfinder is excellent, especially with the loupe, something difinitely needed when shooting in bright daylight. E lenses are expanding with Zeiss getting in on the action big time. Old primes rock and the stills are amazing, something I need to have in some of the work I do. SDHC cards work without issue and Matthew’s spot on, the 128gb SSD is NOT worth it.
I think you should be applauded for the wonderful lowlight work. I was a little concerned by its low light performance, but I stand corrected.
The Digital Zoom feature is more for primes… As photo zoom lenses got used for video we had to call them ‘variable primes’ (so few being parfocal). Now every lens can do that little ‘nudge in’ (or ‘lean forward moment’) during the interview or the action.
The low light perform is terrific when fast primes are used on the camera. I have a set of 40+ year old Nikkors that, when combined with the DZ, show why tech like this never dies. To see how well the system works, go to http://www.beyondrealtime.com and look for a short piece titled By Moonlight. The stills and video was shot on the 50 and vg 20 using the Nikkors.
Thanks, Philip,
Your reviews are just getting better!
Did you manage to try the EA50 using the shoulder mount, as it comes ´out of the box´?
I am interested to see how Sony’s concept of the shoulder mount works.
Great review Philip. The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” certainly holds true here. I’m very impressed with the picture quality. The NEX-EA50 looks like an affordable next step from my Z5U.
Great review Philip! I recommend the camRade wetSuit NEX EA50 to protect it from the elements.
I purchased the EA50 back in early 2013 and love this semi shoulder camera. My only gripe is the lack of ND. I dont need a shutter to take photos! I started making films for other people while I was a lad at school and I am now over 60. I was raised on still cameras that just took photos and film cameras that could not take stills. That in my opinion is how it should be today! I get fed up looking for kit for my EA50 only to see the kit been demonstrated on a DSLR that should only be able to take photos!! Come on, lets get back to having Videographers and Photographers, not one person trying to do both!!