Sony have to get their act together, why is Europe seeing this instead of content, this happened last year and I was very scathing a year ago.
They announce one 4K shoulder mount camcorder seen below and a high frame rate 4K camera HDC-4800 for broadcasters. NO new 18-105mm G lens…thanks for listening as usual Sony. A complete waste of time. PS what was the idea of inviting a lot of photographers to this ???
SONY HDC-4800
Though Sony’s PR company sent me this last night…
- Sony unveils world’s first 4K XDCAM shoulder camcorder with 2/3-type image sensor
- Sony Unveils 4K 8x Super Motion Camera System with Replay Server Function, built for sports live production
- Sony Professional Europe introduces Media Backbone Hive, its state of the art omni-media network production system
- Sony Unveils Second Generation of Optical Disc Archive
- Sony introduces the PVM-X550, a 55” quad-view large screen TRIMASTER EL™ 4K OLED monitor
- Sony bolsters its ground-breaking, interoperable IP Live Production System with a range of new solutions
- Sony goes Beyond Definition at NAB 2016
- Sony and Grass Valley collaborate to drive common IP standards in the industry
- Sony showcases 4K IP Live and ASPEN interoperability incollaboration with Evertz
- Sony takes 4K High Dynamic Range production to the next level
Doesn’t the PXW-450 make up for it!?! …WHY (HDW) ?
I’m awaiting to hear a few more details (eg 3 chip or single?) but on the face of it this ticks a lot of boxes in the real world (at least for general broadcast).
Most mainstream broadcast is likely to be HD – not 4K – for a time to come, and this looks as if it would seamlessly fit alongside PMW500s and the like. (It even supports XDCAM 420 – still currently the preferred format amongst many news outlets, alongside support for XDCAM 422 as well as XAVC.)
But additionally it gives 4K ability, so even if not immediately required a certain “future-proofing” confidence, and maybe a useful ability for some shooting now for reframing purposes?
So early days yet (and I’d like to see fuller details of the 4K codec) but I’m impressed by what I see so far.
Remember this is NAB – with the “B” standing for “Broadcasters”, and such as this is especially relevant to such clients. (Same with the high frame rate 4K camera, with 4K sport ramping up fast.) Personally, I’d say Sony are listening to customers more than most other manufacturers – which is not to say they’re perfect, but……
Users on the Sony’s community forum also disappointed here https://community.sony.com/t5/FS7/Sony-Recently-Released-Cine-Zoom-Lenses/m-p/565864#U565864
thank you for top articles
With the Panasonic announcement of AG-UX180/90 Sony now have no competing products in this category. The PXW-Z100 and 150 do not in my opinion match the DVX200 and these two new products. I am a Sony fan with all cameras being Sony and was hoping for a new version of my FDR-AX1 but looks like Panasonic just announced it, the AG-UX180 !! The key feature I want is UHD60P.
HDW – you ask why I thought the PXW-450 made up for the lack of any announcement of any 18-105mm G lens. From a personal viewpoint, I thought I’d answered that in the previous post.
In general terms, it comes back to the focus of NAB – it’s geared at broadcasters, it’s in the name. You (and no doubt others) may lament them not announcing such a lens. But in the broadcast community Sony’s NAB announcements far from disappointed. I find the PXW-Z450 highly interesting. The HDC-4800 has got huge interest from the market sector it’s aimed towards. (Very high end. Top flight 4K major sport broadcasting.) A colleague is highly interested in the announcements about the second generation Optical Disc Archive System, and the extension to 3.3TB. And there was a lot more, just look at https://blog.sony.com/press/sony-goes-beyond-definition-at-nab-2016/ .
OK, you may be disappointed by the lack of the rumoured lens you were hoping for – but that does not mean their entire press conference was “lame”. In the broadcast industry, the general view is far from that. Apart from the items mentioned above, things such as the IP for video production announcements are seen as highly important for future developments.
The lens you mention originated (AFAIK) on rumour sites, and the story then grew that it “would be announced at NAB”. It only goes to show why rumour sites should always be taken with a pinch of salt. But it’s hardly Sony’s fault if sections of the internet got it wrong, is it?
That said, such a lens may well be coming and be announced in due course – at a venue more appropriate than NAB for such a product. Often internet rumours come from a grain of truth, even if the reports are far from 100% accurate.
HDW : I don’t see any local TV company in Scotland affording the new 4K camcorder or anything in 4K for that matter, they struggle with HD let alone 4K.
It was lame…far too much padding out one hour when it all could have been done in 20 minutes. It was obvious that Sony had little to offer and bored everyone with chit chat.
My understanding is that the PXW-Z450 is geared in the same price bracket (roughly) as a camera like the Sony PXW-X500, which with the PMW500 before it is probably the most single popular 2/3″ camera for such as serious freelancers or broadcasters in the UK. I find it hard to credit that such is too expensive for many users – certainly in the broadcast sphere – just look at the sales of the PMW500.
And as previously said, then IMO a beauty of this camera is that it has all the usability and codecs of previous XDCAM camcorders – but a future proofing element as well.
You say you “don’t see any local TV company in Scotland affording it”, but with respect remember we’re talking about NAB – which as I keep saying is geared towards the worlds broadcasters. Believe me that even if “local TV company’s in Scotland” found such unaffordable, it’s caused a buzz amongst such as big companies looking to requip to meet 4K sport contracts for the likes of Sky.
And not everything that was announced was that expensive either. I’d missed it yesterday, but a friend has pointed out to me the latest that was announced in Sony’s UWP radio mic range – the URX-P03D (see http://www.pro.sony.eu/pro/lang/en/eu/product/broadcast-products-professional-audio-receivers-uwpd/urx-p03d/features/#features )
I’ve got two basic UWP kits, but this brings a dual channel receiver into one package, and even adds flexibility into how they’re output – separate or mixed – and has the ability to mix a third (cabled) mic as well! I see a huge number of these getting sold.
But really – if you do still think the Sony press conference was lame, then who do you think did better? because it still seems to me that Sony had more new announcements than anybody else?
HDW :I see you point but who is going to deal with a glut of PMW-500s and with the new 4K version at about £25K your not going to get much in part exchange for the 500. The Sony press conference was lame, 1hour that could have taken 20m is a joke, they completely forget its all about new products and not about them.
You misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that everybody with a PMW500 will immediately rush out and buy the new camera – the point is more that such as a PMW500 more or less set the bar for cost for what a broadcast freelancer would expect to pay. (Did expect to pay – a lot have been sold 🙂 .)
Owning a PMW500, there may not be much point in replacing it with one of these, that’s true. But what if a client is requesting 4K ability (say because of the 4K sport market ramping up? What if you need a camera upgrade anyway, and want to future proof a bit?
Point is this will give you a 4K ability if needed (for the first time in a 2/3″ shouldermount camcorder) – but still give the modes and codecs of a PMW500 for the clients who want such.
And where did you get the £25K figure from? I wasn’t aware of an official price being given out yet, but the assumptions I’ve been hearing have been more along the lines of what the PXW-X400 sells for (less than £11K in the UK). Maybe a bit more to take the 4K into account, but a long way off your £25K figure? There is support for that view after the announcement of an upgrade kit to 4K for the PXW-X400 – see http://www.sony.co.uk/pro/product/broadcast-products-camcorders-option-boards-modules-plug-ins/cbk-z450uk/overview/ But do you have a reliable source for that £25K figure?
And sorry, but as far as I can see Sony announced more new product at NAB than any of it’s competitors – such as Canon or Panasonic. You yourself now list 10 at the top of this page, but even that isn’t complete – it doesn’t include the two new dual channel radio mic receivers that were released.
HDW : True but Panasonic did not make a song and dance of all their new products.