I purchased this camera just over a year ago and it has experienced lots of use and has never let me down. It has been brilliant and offers a very high quality for the price and even allows for HDV capture.
^^^Main Advantages^^^
There are hundreds of professional techniques that can be used with this camera and it gives you the opportunity to do different things in different ways for a more accurate result, for example there are several different techniques for zooming and focusing. The colour is exceptional and the quality transferred to even the lowest quality editing software’s such as movie maker is still brilliant. Personally for a cheap software that will set you back around £60 I recommend Vegas Movie Studio for this particular camera.
^^^Picture^^^
The picture quality as I have already mentioned is brilliant. It supports many different aspect ratios for different types of use, including 16:9. The colour is also very good and vibrant especially once uploaded onto a computer and put into the edit. I filmed and edited a film mainly shot in the woods in spring and once it was in the edit
the colours came alive before my eyes, most spectacular was the bluebells and the patches of sunshine on the forest floor that have come through the trees. It’s no wonder the “Pros” use this camera for some lower budget films, most documentaries (because it’s light weight) and behind the scenes. It also can be used underwater with a casing and many marine videos are shot with it.
Furthermore it can be used for DV or HDV capture, the HDV capture obviously bringing the camera into the world of High Definition and adding to the intense colour and picture quality. The picture depends a lot on the focus and luckily the auto focus on this camera is GREAT! Therefore you achieve a very crisp picture especially for close ups as good as what you would see on the TV to be honest.
To sum up… The picture and colour quality is exceptional.
^^^Sound^^^
The sound quality that is received from the built in microphone on the camera is exceptionally good and can be easily monitored and controlled. It also offers wind and white noise reduction. Although the sound quality is good I would definitely recommend purchasing an external mic if you want to do the camera justice.
^^^Monitor^^^
The LCD monitor is also extremely good as it is reasonably large and there isn't much need, unless you need your director to see, for an external monitor. The monitor also allows for realistic playback, reflecting the picture size, aspect ratio and colour quality as if it were in the final stage of an edit.
^^^Weight^^^
The weight of the camera is roughly 2kg which is actually quite light. Unlike many cameras this makes the handheld experience is much easier because of the lightweight magnesium alloy body. This is great because there is no need for a steady cam device as you can hold it steady with two hands. Although there is a slight disadvantage with going handheld as it makes it difficult to use the manual focus.
^^^Auto/Manual Focus^^^
The auto focus is very advanced anyway so for semi-professional and hand held use there is really not much need for manual focus unless there was a particular technique such as pulling focus, which the camera is great for I might add, you need to use.
The manual focus is very impressive and as I have already mentioned can be used effectively to pull focus on an object or between to different people which when you next watch a movie you may notice is a very subtle but good shot. The only problem with the manual focus is its sensitivity when zoomed in mainly though once you start focusing beyond 20M even a slight touch of the ring and it will skip up to about 60M, this is really no problem as the auto focus is exceptional, and as there is no gauge, numbers or focus distance indication on the actual manual focusing ring it can be rather tricky to pull focus successfully at first. But just a little practice, which I am sure you will do as you wont be able to put this thing down for weeks, will soon solve that problem and you will usually be able, depending on your skill, to fulfil the requirement for the shot in around 3 takes. When I say there is no indication of the focusing distance on the ring, do not fear for if you use the LCD monitor or look down the viewfinder it will tell you as you turn the ring what focus distance you are at. The focus distance is very large and impressive you can go from 0.1M (10cm) – Infinity.
^^^Operating Instructions^^^
The instruction manual or "Operating instructions" is incredibly detailed and useful. When I say detailed, don't fear it's not confusing with plenty of diagrams and pictures and a very impressive Index which allows you to dip into the manual easily in order to resolve a quick problem or to quickly learn, check or remember how to do something without having to search through the manual for what you’re looking for. The camera also comes with a very useful accessories booklet in which you can find all the best Sony accessories for your camera from tripods to raincoats. It also gives detailed useful information on each product and the specific product names so you can search them on Google, eBay, Amazon, Ciao! and the website addresses provided in the booklet. The booklet itself has been very useful to me as I have purchased many products in it and the quality of the products has been exceptional.
^^^Response^^^
I really could go on and on about how brilliant this camera is but I would be here all night. I certainly recommend the camera to anyone who makes semi to professional films/TV or even if you are starting to get into film etc. It will do whatever you want, its fantastic and a bargain for under £2000. I have learned so much from this camera; it has transformed me to a much better film photographer. It’s Fantastic!
I purchased mine through Amazon because of the warranty but I am sure that Purely Gadgets are just as good.
Guy (www.freewebs.com/firelightphotography) C2007
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08.03.2009 23:09
Excellent review
20.08.2007 14:15
Great review. clair x
19.08.2007 01:36
Great review. David