Surprise! Sony Alpha A6000 video mode huge improvement

[Andrew Reid]

I have tested it.

 

Clean means no onscreen graphics or icons.

 

'Clean' in the sense of image quality means no moire, aliasing, false detail.

 

Uncompressed clean HDMI does not effect moire and aliasing.

 

On the A6000 the HDMI is free of onscreen icons so you can record from it. It is also uncompressed so you avoid the worse instances of break-up with the crappy internal AVCHD codec. However there's a lot of processing being done to the signal between sensor and HDMI output. I don't think it is 4:2:2 and the pixel binning process loses you quite a lot of the original sensor data making for a thin signal. End result is that although you can record it to a 10bit 4:2:2 file, it doesn't look like one. It looks only a little bit better than AVCHD!

 

Still lots of banding and blockiness especially in shadows.

[Quirky]

I have tested it.

 

On the A6000 the HDMI is free of onscreen icons so you can record from it. It is also uncompressed so you avoid the worse instances of break-up with the crappy internal AVCHD codec. However there's a lot of processing being done to the signal between sensor and HDMI output. I don't think it is 4:2:2 and the pixel binning process loses you quite a lot of the original sensor data making for a thin signal. End result is that although you can record it to a 10bit 4:2:2 file, it doesn't look like one. It looks only a little bit better than AVCHD!

 

Still lots of banding and blockiness especially in shadows.

 

Is there any way to confirm whether it's 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 out of the HDMI?

Do you happen to have any samples of that banding issue, espacially via HDMI?

 

I'm still somewhat curious about this camera as a potential b/hybrid camera, and I already have an Atomos Ninja, so...

[Glenn Thomas]

Thanks for all the insights here.

After shooting more than 50 music videos with my NEX5N, some idiot broke into our house yesterday while I was having a shower and stole it, along with my iPad 2. Thankfully the camera only had my old Nikon f2.8 28mm lens on it. They left behind the charger with spare battery, Lens Turbo and other lenses.

So I've just decided to get this A6000. To be honest, I never really had a problem with the image quality I was getting from the NEX5N. A bit of aliasing here and there, some loss of detail if I used noise reduction on low light shots, etc. But I never had an EVF, the thing always overheated, the LCD had a big splotch mark in the centre as I'd never bought a screen protector for it, it didn't have zebras, and I never had a kit lens which would have been good for travelling. So the A6000 with a kit lens seems like the perfect replacement. And affordable too, as money I've made from a couple of videos this past week will easily cover the cost.

From reading this thread though, I'll agree some of the Panasonics may have better image quality. The Nikon 5300 too. Although I've never owned a DSLR, and never will. I really need that focus peaking. With the NEX5N, as long as I could see a red spot in someone's eyes, I knew my focus was good. And with the Lens Turbo, I can get that full frame look if I need it. Which wouldn't be possible with any m43 camera, or even the 5300.

One other thing I do is always shoot in 50P, normally with a 1/100 shutter. Unless it's something on green screen. For music videos, being able to slow down a clip really easily I find to be a lot more important than a few possible artifacts the intended audience will never see. That slow mo can add emotion to a clip that you wouldn't get at normal speed. And for that reason, none of the affordable Blackmagic cameras are an option for me either. Or any affordable 4K camera. Better to wait until they can all do 4K 50P and without the rolling shutter. And to improve image quality, I use Neat Video followed by Boris BCC film grain.

Anyway, apologies for the rant, but I guess my point here is to not be too concerned about image quality, artifacts and all that, but to go for whatever camera has the most features that are important to you. In my case those are compatibility with existing lenses (including my Lens Turbo), portability, focus peaking, a file format that's simple to edit (AVCHD files work great in Sony Vegas!), good low light performance, and 50P. In which case, this A6000 appears to be my best option. I'm hoping to pick one up later today. After I enquire about getting some security screens for our windows :)

[Carlo]

Hey Glenn,

 

Your videos are great! Good luck with the A6000 and let us know how you get on:)

[Kwstas Poulios]

I've just found the video below that tests the a6000 for overheating in video mode, and it seems to pass the test. Did anybody else try to test the camera for overheating problems? Your feedback would be valueable. Thanks.

 

http://youtu.be/vywYewnw9RU

[EyeSoul]

yea I did some testing today and I could not get it to over heat in the hot sun,I also let it run three 29 minute cycles and it didn't over heat,but that was at room temperature..I have to do more testing but I'm loving this little camera.

[Prefabsprout]

Same here..no overheating 29 min ..at room temperature.

[Glenn Thomas]

Hey Glenn,

Your videos are great! Good luck with the A6000 and let us know how you get on:)

Thanks Carlo! I actually have another 4 to post on my blog there.

Anyway, I did manage to pick up an A6000 yesterday. So far though I've just been taking a few photos with it and seeing how good the higher ISO settings are. Not too bad actually.

Compared to the NEX5N, and I presume some of the other older NEX range, the A6000 is a lot bulkier and not as comfortable to hold. Although I'm guessing that extra bulk may accommodate whatever cooling system they've implemented, so it doesn't overheat like the 5N did, along with the pop up flash, larger hot shoe etc. I'm sure I'll get used to the size though.

It's good to have extra function switches and that dial on the top. I just need to figure out how to best customise those. The default settings actually work well, except for white balance which appears in a multi menu thing.

A couple of quick questions though. Firstly, can anybody recommend a good screen protector? I saw this two pack on ebay for around $25 which includes a glare reduction protector and a normal one. The glare reduction one sounds decent, but apparently reduces the brightness of the LCD to around 92%.

Also, what colour and profile settings are optimal for a really flat image? With my NEX5N I always used the sunset profile Andrew had recommended way back, with saturation, contrast and sharpness normally each set to -3. Which I always found to work well, although I sometimes bumped up the saturation a bit. I'm tempted to use the same settings, although I remember reading that the NEX7 had some kind of film look option. I'm not sure if that exists in the A6000 though? Of course I'm still yet to RTFM, so might check that sometime when I get a chance as there's a bunch of new options I'm not familiar with in the menus.

Overall though, it seems to be a solid little camera with good image quality.

[Kwstas Poulios]

yea I did some testing today and I could not get it to over heat in the hot sun,I also let it run three 29 minute cycles and it didn't over heat,but that was at room temperature..I have to do more testing but I'm loving this little camera.

 

 Thank you for the feedback! It seems that Sony has solved the overheating bug on this camera. Did you test it in the hot sun for at least one full clip of 29:50? I'm going to have a first hands on of the camera on Monday , and I'm really willing to buy this camera!

[Quirky]

Compared to the NEX5N, and I presume some of the other older NEX range, the A6000 is a lot bulkier and not as comfortable to hold. Although I'm guessing that extra bulk may accommodate whatever cooling system they've implemented, so it doesn't overheat like the 5N did, along with the pop up flash, larger hot shoe etc. I'm sure I'll get used to the size though.

 

To me the added bulkiness is good news, whatever the reason is. I think the 5N/5R was almost too small and poorly equipped. I'm also happy that they got rid of the annoying NEX menu/user interface. If only they also put some 'serious' guts inside a reasonably bulky consumer model, and got rid of the AVCHD codec, as well as the low pass filter. The jury is still out about whether a touchy-feely display would be essential or not. 

 

New a6000 reviews are popping up these days, done with the production model, but I'm still looking forward to some more video-centric reviews. I think we've all established by now that it's got a pretty fast AF system, so I wouldn't mind reading about something else for a change.

[EyeSoul]

 Thank you for the feedback! It seems that Sony has solved the overheating bug on this camera. Did you test it in the hot sun for at least one full clip of 29:50? I'm going to have a first hands on of the camera on Monday , and I'm really willing to buy this camera!

yes I was in the sun but only ran like 2 to 3 minute clips for over a hour period doing some testing. I'm no colorist or anything but here is a example of images straight out the camera and another version I graded. I feel with this camera if limitations are kept in mind you can capture some great images.

 

frame rate 24P
creative style portrait  -3,-3,-3,
shutter 50
iso 100
post-curves,color corrector
filter-neewer variable nd
glass-sony 35mm 1.8 OSS
editor-Vegas Pro 12

 

 

[Kwstas Poulios]

yes I was in the sun but only ran like 2 to 3 minute clips for over a hour period doing some testing. I'm no colorist or anything but here is a example of images straight out the camera and another version I graded. I feel with this camera if limitations are kept in mind you can capture some great images.

 

frame rate 24P
creative style portrait  -3,-3,-3,
shutter 50
iso 100
post-curves,color corrector
filter-neewer variable nd
glass-sony 35mm 1.8 OSS
editor-Vegas Pro 12

 

 

 Your capture proves that the camera is capable of capturing so "film style" video, the feel is great, I even like the ungraded, straight from the camera film, and the graded film proves that the file is elastic for grading.   ;)

 If you did many 2-3 minutes clips in an hour or so, and in the hot sunny day, it's a sign that the camera passes tha test of overheating too.

 That's great news!!!

[Andrew Reid]

Pretty good example. Any lighting other than natural sun light?

[EyeSoul]

Pretty good example. Any lighting other than natural sun light?

thanks,nope just natural sun light.

[Kwstas Poulios]

 Here we have another test of the video overheating in the a6000, this time it shows that it didn't pass the test, so the problem even though it's less present in this camera, it is still there , and that's disappointing. I was at the Sony central offices yesterday, and they have confirmed that the problem still exists. That's a drawback for me, and I was willing to purchase the camera soon.

 

http://youtu.be/2OZEoQmes-E

 

[toxotis70]

big sencor ,small body... you cant have it all!

[Kwstas Poulios]

 I have the camera on my hands today, I'll do some testing. Until now I've taken some photos, and some footage, the af speed is the most quick I've ever seen for sure!!!  ;)

[pablogrollan]

Well, if it overheats after 25 minutes of continuous use in a hot room, I'd hardly call it a problem, more of a limitation, which is a given in pretty much any camera... Some don't overheat but they either have a smaller sensor or a bigger body or a higher price...

[Glenn Thomas]

To me the added bulkiness is good news, whatever the reason is. I think the 5N/5R was almost too small and poorly equipped. I'm also happy that they got rid of the annoying NEX menu/user interface. If only they also put some 'serious' guts inside a reasonably bulky consumer model, and got rid of the AVCHD codec, as well as the low pass filter.

 

Yeah, I guess it's not too bulky. If I'm going for a stroll somewhere, it will still fit in my cargo pants pocket, although not as comfortable to carry that way as the NEX5N was. It's the lens that's the chunkiest part. But if I decide to use the tiny Fujian 35mm CCTV lens that I've used to shoot about 20 music videos, it's fine. Or Sony's 16mm. And yes, the AVCHD still sucks. But unless you're doing a lot of fast whip pans or shooting locations with excessive detail, it's not too bad. 

 

yes I was in the sun but only ran like 2 to 3 minute clips for over a hour period doing some testing. I'm no colorist or anything but here is a example of images straight out the camera and another version I graded. I feel with this camera if limitations are kept in mind you can capture some great images.

 

These look great! Watching them the other day actually inspired me to get myself that SEL35F18 lens. 

 

 Here we have another test of the video overheating in the a6000, this time it shows that it didn't pass the test.

 

27 minutes is fine. When shooting music videos, my old NEX5N would overheat after shooting just two 3 or 4 minute full length song takes. And sometimes it would cut off half way through that 2nd take. 

[Dom]

I am in a big dilema!

 

I had bought a old GH1 for 200$ ( I had intall the hack on it )   since i was waiting for the GH3 to come down in price and instead of giving that extra 200$ to the store I could use it as a B camera later when i get the GH3 . I dont really like the colors witout post prod and i found the footage a bit jerky as soon as i move the camera .

 

So before I invest too much in lens and getting a GH3 I was hoping to see some nice footage and a good review of the new Sony A6000 ( since i had a Sony in the past and it as a aps-c sensor) but so far the footage of eyesoul :