 |
I've reached the point of wanting to speak with greater specificity about cameras, making a distinction between video cameras and digital cinema cameras. If you read product literature carefully, you'll notice this distinction. Sony, for example, recently announced that its new PMW-F3, a Super35-size sensor camera, will ship in February. You won't shoot the evening news with the F3 or use it with ease in run-and-gun situations. It offers tremendous promise in the whole production realm, but, like any tool, it has its uses and misuses.
Now we put that into perspective with the PMW-500. For the moment, 2/3" video cameras remain the standard of video production. That's not to say that smaller-chip cameras have no room in the process, but 2/3" is still the gold standard. But why CCDs? There still remain any number of content creators who remain concerned over the potential jello-vision and flash banding that CMOS-based cameras potentially can create. While CMOS chips often have superior low-light performance, Sony has utilized its PowerHAD FX CCD chips to create the optimal image that the CCD can deliver.
The PMW-500 represents the apex of the SxS-format cameras that Sony has delivered thus far, a family that now includes the PMW-EX1R, PMW-EX3, PMW-320< and PMW-350. The PMW-350 broke new ground by utilizing 2/3" CMOS chips, and now the PMW-500 crosses yet another barrier by adding XDCAM HD422 50Mb/s, previously available only in the optical drive-based PDW-F800.
 |
While the PMW-500 borrows features and functionality from the $42,700 (minus lens) PDW-F800, it fits more into the XDCAM EX family of devices. And at a body-only price of $27,900, it represents a step upward from the $20,000 PMW-350. In fact, Sony itself refers to the camera as the pinnacle of the EX product line.
My test camera came equipped with a Fujinon HA18x7.6BERM lens with 2x extender, manual focus and servo iris. The first thing I noted upon unpacking the camera/glass pairing is how lightweight and balanced the package is. The camera itself weighs in at just under 7 lb., some 2 lb. lighter than the PDW-F800 body. The lens weighs just over 3 lb. A well balanced 10 lb. rig represents, for me, the ideal combination between something my aging shoulder can handle and having sufficient inertia to steady the camera. In short, it was an absolute delight to shoot, whether shoulder-mounted, shooting from the waist, or held high overhead to get that shot over all the other camera operators vying for the same angle.
Even more amazing than the weight is the fact that this is a solidly built professional camera—with none of the "plastic" feel that is present even in the PMW-350. The PMW-500 just feels like something you can take into the field and subject to heavy use. While I'm on the topic of ergonomics, all controls are exactly where a professional operator would expect them.
The PMW-500 shoots DVCAM and IMX 50Mb/s in its SD modes, and in HD shoots both XDCAM EX HQ 35Mb/s 4:2:0 and XDCAM HD422 50Mb/s. All frame rates and regions are available—NTSC and PAL DVCAM, 1080/720 HD in 59.94 (interlaced only at 1080), 50 (again interlaced only in 1080), 29.97, 25 and 24 fps. HD recording writes to two SxS cards in UDF mode, writing the MXF structure. In other modes, there is a choice of UDF or Fat32 formatting, the latter writing in the MP4 format that EX users know.
I had no issues in reading those MXF files on my test Macs using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and Avid Media Composer 5. Apple Final Cut Pro 7 read 1080i and 720p60 files without a glitch, but for some reason the XDCAM Transfer software message returned an error that it could not find a suitable codec for 720p 23.98. Those files imported perfectly into Premiere and MC5. So I simply imported my files into Media Composer and exported as ProRes HQ for FCP use. I suspect this is more related to FCP than it is in any way to the camera and the format.
Another feature borrowed from the EX line is under/overcranking, which Sony calls "Slow&Quick" motion. Access is as simple as selecting S&Q motion in the menu structure and using the knob on the front left of the camera to scroll through and select options. In fact, the entire menu structure felt very much like the EX series—meaning that I, as an EX shooter, barely had to look at the manual.
As a full professional camera, it has a front mic input (I tested with the optional stereo microphone) as well as two rear XLR inputs with mic, mic+48V and line options. Sony wisely included level controls for both front and rear inputs and the ability to map and monitor channels 1/2 as well as 3/4.
Power consumption is a stingy 29 watts (33 watts with viewfinder+microphone). I did indeed get three hours of shooting from a 90-watt InfoLITHIUM battery.
As noted, the PMW-500 records to two SxS slots. I would have preferred that Sony expand this to four slots for maximum recording, but we do need to keep in mind that with the MPEG-2 compression of XDCAM HD422 50Mb/s, a 64GB SxS card will hold two hours of video. Let's face it: Four hours on two cards could represent a day of shooting.
The camera sports a full range of outputs, but most notably only one SDI output. Thus there is no option to use this camera in a situation where one would want Dual Link SDI. That would be in line with the intended target market of the PMW500, again indicating that it is a production video camera. A pool-feed operation add-on device will be available in March. Likewise, a firmware update available in the same time frame would permit a digital extender to double image size without any loss in f-stop.
The standard viewfinder is an extremely sharp monochrome viewfinder, as expected in professional cameras, with adjustable peaking for focus assist. Zebras are activated on the viewfinder, and their respective limits may be configured in the menu structure. Again as one would expect, the switches for white/black balance and shutter are on the front, white balance A/B/Prst and gain on the side. Options can be set in menu structure for gain and preset white balance or auto tracing white balance (ATW), while a side knob allows color temp adjustments. Finally, a 3.5" color LCD—the same screen as on the EX-1R—tucks neatly into the side of the camera or can be adjusted for viewing by operator or talent.
Not apparent either in the documentation index and buried in the manual is the histogram feature. At first glance, it seemed to me as if Sony had pulled this feature and I was concerned. The combination of the histogram display and configurable zebras represent highly useful tools in setting exposure. I owe a debt of gratitude to Doug Jensen of Vortex Media for point this out to me. While the histogram is nonetheless helpful, I would prefer to see a waveform monitor in on-board scopes.
Who is the target market for this camera? Anyone involved in high-end ENG or field production. For example, the BBC has just placed a large order for a combination of PMW-500s and other EX cameras. I would use it in run-and-gun situations as I could depend on the greater stability of the CCDs over CMOS. In other words, this camera is designed for the quality requirements and rigors of broadcast production and as such combines the broadcast-useful and easy-to-edit XDCAM HD codec with a highly maneuverable and comfortable body. It's an operator's dream and, when compared with the higher-priced production cameras in the Sony line, represents a tremendous value.
