Another 4K Day

The memory card for the FDR-AX100 hasn't yet arrived, but that doesn't mean the 4K news stops coming!


Panasonic went and announced the HX-A500, a 4K wearable camera. Available in May for about $600.

Looks interesting, though I do worry that 4K is going to be a bit like the early days of HD when some of the really inexpensive cameras jumped from 720P to 1080P; and yet there was no noticeable improvement in image quality. We'll have to wait for some tests and comparisons. I will say this; at 31g (1.1oz) for the camera unit and 119g (4.2oz) for the body unit, I should be able to fly it on the DJI Phantom!

Panasonic HX-A500 wearable 4K camcorder claims 'world's first' | Cnet
Other shooting options include gnarly Levelling Correction to automatically straighten tilted videos; rad Image Stabilisation function to cut down on blur as you're bumping and bouncing across track or piste; and sick slow motion at 200 frames per second, 100 fps in 720p, or 50fps in full HD.


Panasonic HX-A500 pictures and hands-on | Pocket-Lint
Our time with the HX-A500 was brief, so we can't pass any judgement on the quality or how it operates in action, although the preview content being shown by Panasonic looked good. We liked the predecessor and we can't wait to have a proper play with this new 4K version.






Meanwhile, let's not forget the upcoming Panasonic GH4. Over at EOSHD, they've been looking into getting 10bit 4K 4:2:2 video out of the camera without that large external box:

More information on 10bit 4K 4:2:2 via micro HDMI on the GH4 without external box | EOSHD
Panasonic have confirmed that the GH4 (quite amazingly) outputs 10bit 4K 4:2:2 from the onboard micro HDMI port without the YAGH external HD-SDI unit. However there are still benefits to using the HD-SDI outputs.



And Sony seemed to like one of my Tweets about the FDR-AX100...



Interesting
So I'm puzzling through the Italian/Greek manual included with the FDR-AX100, and it appears to say that the 4K XAVC video is 60 Mbps, and the 1920x1080 XAVC video is 50Mbps (which is fascinating in itself, because 50Mbps has been the widely rumored minimum requirement for the BBC.)

So that's interesting. And by the way, if you don't care about 4K, but would like some 1080 50Mbps action, you could buy the HDR-CX900, which is essentially the same camera as the FDR-AX100, but without the 4K support and $500 cheaper.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t...
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some...
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera ...
Read more