Okay, before I start getting inundated will emails (why can’t you guy’s just leave a comment, I’ll never no), I’d like to clarify right here that I’m not getting shot of my Sony PMW-EX3. You know how much I love that camera. That aside I have been pondering for a while about getting a larger 2/3” full shoulder mounted camera. After much agonising I decided upon the Sony PDW-700. Well, I did until just before the ‘Big Announcement from Sony on the 20-10-2009’ when they announced the all new PMW-350.
Sony PDW-700
I suppose what draws me most to the new PMW-350 is the cost and the fact that I already have the solid-state tape-less workflow in place from my PMW-EX3, not to mention media as well. Whereas the PDW-700 uses an optical discs workflow. If I was to purchase the PDW-700 then I’d need to seriously look at implementing some hardware changes into my editing suite in order to handle the new workflow. This would set me back about £2,600 for a Sony PDW-U1 Professional Disc Drive Unit. Now the PDW-700 is a £25,000 camera and to bring it up to a comparable package of the PMW-350 I will need to purchase the following additional items;
- Sony HDVF-C35W (HD Colour LCD Viewfinder) Cost £6,500
- ALAC compatible HD lens Cost £8,500+
For those who aren’t sure what ALAC (Automatic Lens Aberration Compensation) is I’ll briefly explain here. This is a feature which decreases any chromatic aberration caused by the lens. It is only active with the PMW-350K’s supplied lens and with certain third-party lenses that incorporate compensation data.
Note: Fuji have stated that lenses currently being shipped are ALAC enabled and that suffix -58 lenses already shipped may be upgraded by software.
Sony PMW-350
Therefore to own a Sony PDW-700 I need to fork out a staggering £42,600. Okay I’d probably get a discount which will help bring down the price a bit. But for me the PMW-350 is a no-brainer. For just the cost of the VF and Lens I mentioned above I can own a PMW-350K. Furthermore the PMW-350 has a colour VF incorporated as standard and the PMW-350K version is equipped with a HD lens (16x zoom and a standard 2/3” bayonet lens mount). The PMW-350L doesn’t come with a lens.
The PMW-350’s chassis is based on the proven XDCAM HD422 chassis. However, it weighs in at a mere 3.2kg and is the lightest shoulder camcorder in its class. Furthermore it has exceptionally low power consumption making it environmentally friendly. It uses 60% less than a comparable HD shoulder camcorder. Another advantage of the 350’s is the XDCAM EX which is IT-friendly MP4 file recording and its solid-state media. One of the reasons I love my PMW-EX3 so much.
I suppose the only real drawback to the PMW-350’s over the PDW-700 is the 35Mbps data rate, 4:2:0 colour space and the CMOS sensor issues. The PDW-700 has CCDs sensors and a data rate of 50Mbps with a 4:2:2 colour space. Sensor issues aside for a moment the data rate and colour space doesn’t bother me as I am an owner of the Convergent Design nanoFlash (I’ll talk about the nanoFlash in more detail another post). By using the nanoFlash in conjunction with either my PMW-EX3 or the PMW-350 I can increases that data rate to 100Mbps and the colour space to 4:2:2 making them more than suitable for broadcast. I know the nanoFlash cost around £3,000 to set-up but it still works out a lot cheaper in the long run. Plus it’ll last longer than any camera (I believe it’ll see me through three or four cam’s – changing cam’s every two years). As for CMOS issue isn’t really a problem now that clip browser has flash band removal incorporated.
I do believe that the high resolution and low noise image quality that can be gotten out of the PMW-350’s is stunning as is. However, by taking the HD-SDI output and recording it on the nanoFlash at 100Mbps will hold much better in post, especially grading. Other advantages of the PMW-350 are hypergammas, step gamma and multi-matrix which are normally associated with cameras found right at the high end of the market. These features give more control over the images.
The PMW-350K will retail for about £16,500 while the PMW-350L at around £14,999 and are due out in January 2010. With dealer discounts this could mean that the UK street price of £12 / 14,000 for the PWM-350K and £10 / 12,000 for the PMW-350L. That represents exceptional value in my opinion and will no doubt be taking a huge chunk out of the PDW-700 market. Couple the Sony PMW-350’s with a Convergent Design nanoFlash and you have an unparalleled broadcast quality camera with exceptional unequalled image quality for the price!
Happy shooting,
Paul
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