It just may be time to upgrade my camcorder...(Updated)
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 7:05 amWhen I went to Tehachapi, I brought that little 20mp/720p Nikon point & click camera. Although I did so as to travel light, I do have some regrets now with the video quality. It's the first time I had used it for video. I left my (2008-era) 1080i Sony HDR-SR11 handycam at home and kinda wish I had brought it. 
But it got me to thinking.... maybe it's time to upgrade my HD-cam after 7 years.
At first I was deciding between the $999.99 Sony FDR-AX33 which does 4K video.... OR...... the $1,299.99 HDR-CX900 which only does 1080p.
So why is the 1080p cam $300 more than the 4K cam? Cuz although that 4K cam has a higher output resolution, it has a smaller 1/2.3" image sensor with which to gather that image information. The HDR-CX900 on the other hand has a full 1-inch image sensor to produce that 1080p with. That's a sensor about 2x larger diagonally and about 4x larger in surface area. Bigger sensors matter more than output resolution. They gather more information which produces sharper images, better colors and better low light images. Recording bit-rate is also a huge factor too.
But what if I could have the best of both worlds.... a full 1-inch sensor AND 4K output resolution too? I popped over to Sony's Prosumer-line of handycams and found my answer..... the $1,699.99 Sony FDR-AX100.
http://www.sony.com/electronics/handyca ... ls_default
And not only that..... but thanks to a firmware update, it now records that 4K res at a whopping 100 Mbps bit-rate.
That means greatly reduced motion artifacts with fast moving objects or scenes with lots of movement/scene changes in general.
Here's it's sample 4K video (it looks really good even if played in 720p/1080p too).......
BUT..... I have a dilemma.....
The FDR-AX100 has the older Optical SteadyShot image stabilization method the moves just ONE lens element. That newer (and cheaper) FDR-AX33 may have a smaller 4K sensor, but it's one advantage is it has Sony's new Balanced Optical SteadyShot image stabilization that moves the entire lens and sensor assembly. Looks and acts like the cyborg eyeball of the T-1000 from the Terminator movies.
Here it is in action (jump to 1:20 if you just wanna see the lens move).....
So my choices are.... buy it now.... or wait until January's CES 2016 to see if they replace it with a better model that includes the new Balanced Optical SteadyShot. I'm leaning towards waiting but who knows.
Either way... my next videos of Tehachapi Pass are getting a significant increase in quality.
But it got me to thinking.... maybe it's time to upgrade my HD-cam after 7 years.
At first I was deciding between the $999.99 Sony FDR-AX33 which does 4K video.... OR...... the $1,299.99 HDR-CX900 which only does 1080p.
So why is the 1080p cam $300 more than the 4K cam? Cuz although that 4K cam has a higher output resolution, it has a smaller 1/2.3" image sensor with which to gather that image information. The HDR-CX900 on the other hand has a full 1-inch image sensor to produce that 1080p with. That's a sensor about 2x larger diagonally and about 4x larger in surface area. Bigger sensors matter more than output resolution. They gather more information which produces sharper images, better colors and better low light images. Recording bit-rate is also a huge factor too.
But what if I could have the best of both worlds.... a full 1-inch sensor AND 4K output resolution too? I popped over to Sony's Prosumer-line of handycams and found my answer..... the $1,699.99 Sony FDR-AX100.
http://www.sony.com/electronics/handyca ... ls_default
And not only that..... but thanks to a firmware update, it now records that 4K res at a whopping 100 Mbps bit-rate.
That means greatly reduced motion artifacts with fast moving objects or scenes with lots of movement/scene changes in general.Here's it's sample 4K video (it looks really good even if played in 720p/1080p too).......
BUT..... I have a dilemma.....
The FDR-AX100 has the older Optical SteadyShot image stabilization method the moves just ONE lens element. That newer (and cheaper) FDR-AX33 may have a smaller 4K sensor, but it's one advantage is it has Sony's new Balanced Optical SteadyShot image stabilization that moves the entire lens and sensor assembly. Looks and acts like the cyborg eyeball of the T-1000 from the Terminator movies.
Here it is in action (jump to 1:20 if you just wanna see the lens move).....
So my choices are.... buy it now.... or wait until January's CES 2016 to see if they replace it with a better model that includes the new Balanced Optical SteadyShot. I'm leaning towards waiting but who knows.
Either way... my next videos of Tehachapi Pass are getting a significant increase in quality.
