Above: the Sony A55, which died today.
UPDATE #1: Sadly the same applies to the Sony A580 – the full sized DSLR which has also been announced. It also has interlaced footage, low bite rates and limited manual controls (aperture priority and that is all). Who is responsible at Sony for these blanket movie mode limitations?
UPDATE #2: Not everybody gets the DSLR video revolution and it is these customers Sony are catering for. Could their stance actually HELP sales of the Sony A55 overall and will video modes continued to be dumbed down without manual controls and 24p on future video DSLRs? It looks like it! [url]http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=36121582
The Sony A55 has been announced and picked up one glowing review after another. My view of the video mode, is very different. You may remember I was very excited by this innovative transparent mirror DSLR when we heard the rumours (which turned out to be correct) a few months ago. But they have crippled the video capabilities.
Dear Sony… Canon and Nikon are market leaders in DSLRs. If you’d like to compete, I recommend recognising their strengths.
Canon offer switchable PAL / NTSC frame rates in movie mode and FULL manual control along with 24/25p on all their latest DSLRs, even the entry level 550D. Nikon have stuck to 24p, even in their entry level DSLRs and compacts.
These are consumer products, not professional video cameras so let there be no mistake – I am going to list the reasons why Sony are taking the WRONG approach to their movie mode, purely from a consumer stand-point. This has nothing to do with the demands of a small niche of advanced users or video professionals.
They are just flat out mistaken.
(For the record, Sony even take the same approach to interlaced video formats in the expensive pro video NEX VG10, but allow manual controls – it seems the use of interlaced formats and ugly 30p is an actual engineering led choice! And the lack of manual controls on their DSLRs is a marketing lead choice and strategical, to protect the NEX VG10 USP – unique selling point).
Today Sony announced their innovative high end DSLR – the Sony A55. This could have been my next camera and a true Panasonic GH2 competitor, with a next generation sensor, clean ISO 3200, innovative AF system and a great stills camera. But my primary passion in life is cinema, filmmaking, video, cinematography – and look at the number of ridiculous quirks and compromises in the movie mode:
• No option for manual control. My creativity weeps.
• Awkward AVCHD 1080i (interlaced wrapper) at a pitifully low 17Mbit (same as their cheap compacts)
• NTSC version records in 30p off the sensor and gets put into interlaced wrapper, no way to have 24p
• When Steadyshot is enabled, maximum clip length falls to 9min due to overheating
• The ultra fast phase detect AF only works in video mode when the aperture is wide open
• Rolling shutter is worse than most of the competition
• 1080/25p MP4 on the PAL camera (30p on NTSC models) is 1440×1080 and just 12Mbit
• AF focus motors are picked up by the onboard mic
• PAL version capped to 29min clip lengths due to import tax reasons
• No 60p. The GH1 is 18 months old and has it. The Canon 550D has it.
Hear that noise? It’s not the AF motors. That’s the sound of a large ball being dropped.
Sony have chosen to do a carbon copy of the Sony HX5 compact’s video mode on their latest DSLR, and their blanket interlaced approach even extends to their top of the range video camera with large sensor, the NEX VG10 at £1700.
Dear Sony…
Should I ever travel (I know, it’s rare in these times of cheap international flights) I’d like to be able to switch between PAL / NTSC regions to avoid flickering lights in my movies.
Luckily I don’t have an old TV only capable of displaying 1080i from an HDMI source. If I did, I would still much rather just have a TV output format switch in the menu for compatibility. I don’t want my footage to be interlaced. In fact if you forced 1080p down the consumers throat as much as you are doing 3D, maybe you’d sell yet more TVs to replace those mythical 1080i only ones.
I would rather have better image quality than to save space on my hard drive.
Interlaced footage is a throw back to the 1990’s and all my editing software works best with 1080p.
You offer two completely different video asthetics depending on the region I live. 25p looks different to 30p. Are you seriously suggesting that instead of 24/25p the customers in the US prefer smooth looking video-like recordings and your more discerning Europeans prefer cinematic 25p? (Or are you just doing a cock-eyed ‘good-enough’ implementation of regional video standards?)
If you think a lack of advanced video features is acceptable on your consumer cameras and I will be happy to spend £2000 on whatever your next pro-camera is, please don’t bank on it. The Canon 550D costs £1500 less.
Maybe I would consider your next full frame top-end DSLR over the consumer crap you come out with, but you recently told me you’d discontinued the full frame DSLR product line *
Your CMOS sensors, my laptop screen, my NLE software, my TV and my projector all work on progressive scan technology.
Dear Sony – have you seen the sales figures and firmware updates for the Canon 5D Mark II recently?
Yes these are consumer cameras first and foremost, but Dear Sony, your consumers just became filmmakers. Wake up.
* My source today tells me that the digital imaging division are taking time out to reconsider the full frame DSLR market strategy and approach, but that development of full frame sensors (for Nikon, and designed to Nikon’s specifications?) at least continues inside Sony’s semiconductors arm.
