With the release of the SxS-1 cards and the MEAD adapters (for Memory stick and SDHC use), Sony announced a firmware update to their XDCAM EX cameras to allow use of these new memory recording options. The Sony UK site has just made this update available, and the good news is that anyone can preform these updates. The EX1 and EX3 require software (for PC & Mac), but the EX1R and EX350 can be upgraded using an SxS Card. A comprehensive PDF is included in each download with upgrade instructions. They have posted some of these upgrades already, but the EX1 firmware may not be available until Monday. Visit the Sony UK site to start downloading. UPDATE: The Sony US site has also posted these updates, and our customers say that they have had better luck using them.

Here is a list of the updates for each camera.

…continue reading XDCAM EX Firmware Updates Now Available

Sony recently announced the MEAD-MS01, a memory stick adapter that works in the EX line of cameras. This is a low-cost alternative to the SxS card and is really handy when in a bind. For sometime now, there have been different SDHC card adapters that work with the EX cameras including the MxR and SxSxSDHC card adapters. Now Sony has come out with their own version – the MEAD-SD01. This will work in very much the same way as those other adapters, but it’s nice to see one officially sanctioned by Sony. The EX1 original and EX3 will require a firmware upgrade to work with the MEAD-MS01 and MEAD-SD01 adapters. Additionally Sony has announced that Class 10 SDHC cards will be supported with their adapter, but ALL EX cameras (EX1, EX1R, EX3, PMW350) will require a firmware upgrade to use Class 10 cards. The SD adapter will be available in mid-March, and you can look for this firmware upgrade earlier that month. Sony has officially tested and sanctioned the following SanDisk Class 10 cards – DSDX3-032G-A31A for 32GB, SDSDX3-016G-A31A for 16GB, SDSDX3-008G-A31A for 8GB.

Photo courtesy of Paul Cronin

Paul Cronin of Whitecap Video recently wrote a post on his blog detailing his first impressions of the Sony XDCAM PMW-350 (also known as the EX350) that he bought at Abel. A long-time Abel client, Paul had traveled to New York to attend our Sony EX350/EX1R launch event back in December, and was nice enough to bring along some footage that he had shot over the past year with his EX1.

In his post, Paul provides a pretty thorough round-up of the pros and cons he’s noticed, as well as a few helpful close-up shots of the various menus and controls. Some highlights he mentions are the quick power up (2.5 sec), the “cool” on-camera light options, and the pleasure of having a full size camera with easily accessible controls.

He concludes with: “I am keeping my EX1 as my B camera. With proper shoulder support the EX1/3 are great cameras. But from my first test they cannot match the sharpness, latitude, low noise, and better DOF the PMW-350 offers. Add to this having the endless choice of B4 lens options for your shooting style. The EX line of cameras just keeps getting better and the EX350 is a nice move by Sony!”

Read the full post over at Paul’s blog here.

If you’ve used XDCAM disc media before, you probably know that it writes both high quality video to the disc as well as low res proxy material. This proxy material is great for offline editing. The Sony PDW-F800 and PDW-700 cameras both have this function, as well as the ability to write proxy video to a USB memory stick (firmware 1.51 or higher required). This allows shooters to quickly hand over low res versions of their video without a disc reader.

Here is a quick “How To” guide for both Mac & PC:

…continue reading XDCAM Proxy on a USB Stick

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

We just received our first shipment of the PMW-350 cameras, including four that went into our rental department. The demo units I received in the past did not have the Fujinon lens that the camera ships with, so this was my first time seeing the new lens. Watch the video above to see my impression of the lens. You might also be interested in the two part series on the 350 camera that I did when the camera was announced.

Sony’s legacy of creating industry leading content creation tools took the next step today with the announcement of an HDCAM SR camcorder platform and upgrade roadmap that raises the price / performance standard for broadcast and Digital Cinema production. The new platform will exist in both 2/3” and 35mm formats and will work in seamless concert with both tape and memory based media for “full cycle” workflow and archival capability.

The first iteration of the new platform is the recently introduced SRW-9000, which is now available. This 2/3” triple CCD camera writes to a built-in HDCAM SR recorder for a combination of high performance and operational portability. Some key features of the SRW-9000 are 1080/60P “overcrank” recording in 4:4:4; and 14-bit A/D conversion, which translates to a dynamic range of over 12 stops.

…continue reading Sony Details SRW-9000 Future Proof Roadmap

[View with PicLens]

We first saw the SRW-9000 back in April at NAB. It made a real impression in our booth and had us all excited about a shoulder mounted HDCAM SR camcorder. Sony promised the camera would be out in December ‘09, and they delivered. Abel will have the SRW-9000 available for both sale and rental within days. There are a number of reasons to be excited about this camera. It has the same proven chipset as the F23, and it records to the visually lossless HDCAM SR format. It shoots in 720p at up to 60 FPS, and 1080P at up to 60FPS as well. It records in 4:2:2: and 4:4:4 modes, offering the ultimate in quality for broadcast and Digital Cinema – and all of these features come in a shoulder-mounted form factor.

The big news today, though, is that Sony has upped the ante on the SRW-9000. They have announced that the SRW-9000 can be upgraded in the future. The 2/3″ block can be switched with a 35mm size sensor, the same as found in the F35. Sony will perform the upgrades to switch the sensor and add a PL mount. This is a serious option for owner-operators and rental houses everywhere. Additionally, they will offer an option to switch out the HDCAM SR tape-record mechanism for an SR Memory recorder. The memory recorder will record in HDCAM SR compression (Mpeg4 Simple Studio Profile) to extremely high-speed and large capacity memory cards. This technology is still in the works but promises to be the recording media of future Sony cameras. Lastly, they have announced a new deck, the SRW-5800/2, and an upgrade to their SRW-5800 deck, which will enable MXF file download in the Simple Studio Profile (SStP). This means that HDCAM SR video can be downloaded off a tape as data files. These are the first steps in making HDCAM SR a full data format. Needless to say this is a serious announcement that lays out Sony’s longer term vision.

Lucky for us, Jesse and I got our hands on the SRW-9000 and did some testing. We spent an afternoon with it, shot some charts and walked out to the water to get some footage. Here is a quick overview of what we found.

…continue reading Hands On With the SRW-9000