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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Sony NEX-VG10 Latest News

21 things You Should Know About the Sony Handycam NEX-VG10 Interchangeable Lens Camcorder
A list of interesting things about the NEX-VG10 at Cameratown.com. Two things that were a surprise:
8. LCD Pivots, but not toward front: The 3.0" LCD screen is both bright and sharp but it only pivots up or down - and not forward. This prevents you from flipping the screen to the front so that it's visibile when you're in front of the camera [...]
9. Lens lacks AF/Manual Switch: Yes, you can still manually focus but you'll have to press a menu button on the side of the camera (under the LCD) to make the change. There is a zoom 'lock' on the lens to prevent the lens from extending during travel.
Cameratown.com: 21 things You Should Know...


Sony NEX-VG10 Test Run
H. Paul Moon posted another text video from the NEX-VG10. This was shot hand-held because evidently it's illegal to use a camera with a tripod without a permit in Washington D.C.
Sony's Active Steadyshot image stabilization is best-in-class as a mechanism, but seems to perform slightly worse than their previous flagship high-end consumer camcorders, the HDR-XR500V and later HDR-XR550V (makes sense, since the sensor in the NEX-VG10 is dramatically larger and requires more than just micro-movements for stabilization). That's where I'm coming from.

Read about the video on the Vimeo page: Sony NEX-VG10 Test Run - nexvg10.info



Nex VG10 Day 1
Adam Mizrahi of Mizrahi Films has a short film shot with the NEX-VG10, which he loves:
Here is day one of my tests I will be doing the the new Nex VG10. MY first thoughts, I love this camera! It is amazing and feels amazing. I have no idea what everyone else is saying for what it is 9 out of 10 from day one I will let you know what I think in detail soon.
This includes some video shot with a 50mm f/2.8 Alpha lens, which just reinforces my belief that the camera will perform so much better in low light [and shallow depth-of-field] with a wider aperture lens.

Nex-VG10 from Adam Mizrahi on Vimeo.




Camera controls aperture on Alpha lens
I'm assuming (and that's dangerous) this applies only to the Sony Alpha-NEX lens adapter, not to the multiple third-party adapters that are out there, but the NEX-VG10 can control the aperture of Alpha lenses reports Steve Mullen on the dvinfo.com
I keep finding the so called "reviews" are wrong. For example, an Alpha 50(90)mm/1.8 does have its aperture controlled by the VG10.

However, everyone needs to understand HOW these STILL camera lenses work via the adaptor. They STEP from one aperture size to another. That means the step-size is determined by the lens itself. That means, you cannot use a STILL lens and have it work like a camcorder lens. Now that's not a huge surprise, but I'll bet there will be screams about it.
Amazon: Sony LA-EA1 - Lens adapter Minolta A-type - Sony E-mount
B & H: LAEA1 Adapter f/A-MOUNT Lens
dvinfo.com: Sony NEX-VG10 AVCHD E-Mount Lens Camcorder

1 comment:

Paul said...

I recall complaining about how expensive that damn Alpha adapter is ($250) but was beaten back a bit with the explanation that it actual has active circuity inside the adapter to facilitate just this thing you reported on.

I still think that the killer app (and really necessary move) for Sony is to come out with an E-mount 50mm f1.4 prime lens with auto-focus, auto-aperture and image stabilization compatibility. As you noted, Photokina is just one day away, and it would be wise for Sony to smooth the larger product launch with this essential accessory.