In July 2006, Sony
Electronics and Panasonic announced the delivery of a new camera acquisition format
known as "AVC-HD" or Advanced Video Codec-High Definition.
AVC is a format that stems from h.264/MPEG 4 pt10, and has a wide range of
profiles offering support for mobile communication devices to 4:4:4 10 bit
video. AVC-HD is in its infant state, but stands to become a broadly spread
format in years to come, provided hardware continues to develop to make the
process more efficient and as encoders mature in coming years.The first camcorders utilizing
the AVC-HD codec are scheduled to launch shortly, and during a recent
expedition to Southeast Asia, I had the opportunity to spend several days
shooting with a pre-production model of the new Sony HDR UX-1 camcorder in a variety of shooting
situations. This small, DVD storage-based camcorder is very impressive,
particularly given that it's a first outing of the format. The camcorder
offers approximately 12 Mbps of video bitrate; the efficiency of the AVC HD
codec allows for lower bitrates while maintaining high quality images.
A few comments on initial experiences
with AVC-HD;
It requires a fair amount of additional horsepower to work with than HDV or other
lesser-compressed formats, so for the professional editor, this will be a
bit of a challenge, though the average consumer will likely not know the
difference. Consumers will love the ability to put the disc in their DVD
player or computer and immediately play, index, and edit the content, even
if it's not at fast frame rates, just as it is now. Converting to an
intermediary format is likely going to be required in the shorter run, until
hardware and software can catch up to the decoding demands of AVC.
Keying is a challenge in this format; I shot against a well-lit Photoflex
green panel, and the results were less than stellar, but this is also a
pre-production model of the camcorder, so I'll offer it the benefit of the
doubt for the time being. I have to also constantly remind myself that this is a
lower bitrate, consumer aimed acquisition device, and the cost has to be
figured into the value-per-dollar, and not just pixel-per-dollar.
AVC-HD is very open in what it can do, and like MPEG 2, the decoder is where
the standard lies, not the encoder. Therefore, AVC encoders, like MPEG
encoders, will vary in quality, and while all in the same format, it's quite
possible that an uninformed user would blame the format and not the encoding
device when in actuality, the encoding device is the most important part of
the process.
 The
UX-1 is a palm-type camcorder, with a large preview screen that is a sweet
second generation screen. Sony is already well known for their preview
screen technology, and this camcorder doesn't disappoint. The Wide/Telephoto
and Record buttons are found on the bottom of the screen, which is a bit
unusual when compared to previous camcorders with the buttons to the left of
the screen, but for purposes of stability, this is where the controls truly
belong, from my point of view. The camcorder is slightly heavier than its
HDV-cousin, and while the heft is welcome to my hand, some users may not
appreciate the heft. I have little experience with other DVD camcorders, but
the couple that I've held are also a tad stockier in build and slightly
heavier than their tape counterparts, so I expect this is the norm.
Putting a disc in the camcorder, the system
was immediately ready to format the disc, and again, compared to previous
experiences with DVD camcorders, this one simply screamed in speed. 4
seconds, the disc was formatted and ready to roll. Using 3 inch
DVDs, these discs are capable of holding nearly half an hour of media,
depending on the acquisition quality selected by the user. Using the new
Sony dual layer, +R DVDs will extend recording time to 60 mins in long play
mode.
Sony has stated that the UX1 and its HDD-based
brother (HDR-SG1) use DSP and imaging similar to that found in the HVR HC3,
so on my excursions through Malaysia, I used both camcorders with which to
draw a few comparisons. Both camcorders were used in fully-automatic modes.
The camcorder has all the stock features
expected in a consumer-oriented camcorder; the only truly unique features
are found in the HDMI output, speed of disc formatting, and of course, the
compression format that AVC-HD brings to the table.
With a LANC control, microphone input, and
headphone output, the UX1 is also well-suited as a second camcorder in the
toolkit for small production crews. The AVC-HD format isn't supported in
most video editing applications yet, although Sony Vegas has already been
announced as a supporting NLE and other NLE manufacturers have stated
they'll eventually implement support for AVC-HD. However, with the AVC-HD reader software that
is included with the camcorder and any number of conversion utilities, the
AVC-HD format is ready for users at any point in time. It likely won't be
long until we find most if not all, NLE systems supporting this new format.
Although the DVD and HDD-based camcorders are aimed squarely at consumers,
serious video enthusiasts that are open to the DVD format will appreciate
this camcorder. I've never owned a DVD-based camcorder, but found myself
very much enjoying this camcorder. I don't care for the start lag of DVD
camcorders I've tested in the past, but didn't find that start lag as an
issue in the UX1 model.
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The rear of the
camcorder sports headphone output and LANC connector, with a still-photo
button just above the on/off switch. Note that the eyepiece may be
angled. |
On the left side of
the lens, you'll find a Backlight assist, Manual controls, and Nightshot.
Note that the UX1 uses a CMOS imager. |
One feature I really took a liking to is the way that the menu is laid
out, with fast access to the most common pages with a single click, without
having to set up a menu preference. With six pages of access found at
the bottom of the screen, getting to menu settings is fast, but more
importantly, the options are well-thought out.
The CMOS imager is clean and impressive,
and works surprisingly well in lower light modes. Historically, CMOS has shown noise in lower light, and
high pixel counts on a smaller imager only serving to amplify noise in the
frame, Moore's Law has applied itself to CMOS technology, and it plainly
shows in the recent camcorder offerings from Sony. While neither the UX1 or
the HC3 offer control over the application of gain in the image, the images
below were both shot near sundown at full optical zoom, with the camcorders
set in auto-mode, with Backlight compensation enabled. Note the clean lines
in the buildings, and detail found in the windows, towers, and clouds. I
fully expected the image to have blockiness in the lower light/shadows of
the frame, but didn't see this at all. There is some inherent noise that I'd
expect to find in any low-exposure image on a 1/3 chip camcorder.
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As a still imaging camcorder, the HDR UX1
is a smooth combination of both still image acquisition and video. A still
image resolution of 2.3 megapixels during video recording or 4 megapixels as
a still-only acquisition provides for high quality still images without
having to carry a second camera around; stills are saved to a memory stick
that inserts in the side of the camcorder beneath the LCD screen. With a 3.5
inch LCD, shots are easy to compose, expose, and focus on this camcorder.
The Clear-Vid image sensor is a serious step forward in CMOS technology, as
the pixels are angled at 45 degrees, offering greater exposure, and also
contains a boost in green pixels, therefore increasing image quality. While
cramming high resolutions onto small chips generally means loss of quality
in low light and less light sensitivity, between DSP and design
improvements, I'd suggest Sony is doing every thing possible to dispel the
issue while providing the ability to capture pretty pictures. If they take
this design implementation forward in other camcorder lines, it will be a
terrific upgrade.
The Vario-Sonnar Zeiss lens found on the front
of the camcorder, like its cousins in the HDV world, is a sweet lens
with a 30mm thread for adapters, and a zoom range of up to 10X optical and
80X digital. Zoom control is touch-sensitive, and is incredibly smooth for
this size and type of camcorder. The zoom is not ring-controllable as found
on some of the earlier camcorders, but given that the camera only goes to
80X suggests that Sony recognizes users of this sort of camcorder are savvy
to marketing hype from some camcorder manufacturers boasting ridiculously
high zoom/magnification ratios. While the 80X zoom is likely to satisfy
consumers with no video experience, the serious video hobbyist won't be
impressed.
Along with the lens, you'll appreciate the manual access to exposure that operates
in steps via the multifunction ring or touchscreen menu. Combined with the
AE adjustments, this provides for a more-than-reasonable control of
exposure. Having a manual shutter might be nice, but this is a feature
rarely found in consumer-oriented products. The front end also offers
stabilization; this is an electronic system and I found that like most
electronic stabilization systems, I was happiest with it disabled in order
to obtain the sharpest images. 5.1
Surround ready, the surround sounds quite good, even to a doubting ear like
mine. This isn't 5.1 uncompressed audio, and the microphones aren't high end
surround mics, but for true-to-life accuracy of most events, the format will
satisfy most users very well. Just be aware of heavy breathing noise on the
back channels if you're exerting yourself at all. There is even a Bluetooth microphone that
allows for remote recording of up to 100 feet away, although that was not
accessible during the time I had this camcorder. The microphone is built
into the camcorder, or an optional mic plugs into the Intelligent Shoe, just
as found on other Sony camcorders.
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Note the marking of
"Front" and "Rear" on the microphone of the camcorder. This is due to
the Surround Sound option on the HDR-UX1 camcorder. |
The bottom
offers a metal receiver for a tripod mount/plate, as opposed to plastic
as found on some lower-cost camcorders. One small complaint; the DVD
access is somewhat hampered by the hand strap if you have a smaller hand
and the strap is even marginally tight. |
Another newer feature is the super Slo-Mo
recording or "Smooth Slow Motion" option. This is found on the HC3 and on
the DCR-DVD 505 camcorder, but no other camcorder I'm aware of. Incredibly
impressive slow motion is possible with this camcorder, albeit for short
periods of recording due to the way the slow motion is buffered into the
camcorder memory. Three seconds of video are recorded, which in turn becomes
12 seconds of playback as it records 240 fps, or four times the standard
60fps. It takes a moment to get used to how the memory buffers in all of the
various camcorder models with this feature, but the picture quality is well
worth becoming familiar with. The quality matches or is superior that of
much more expensive camcorders with overcrank capability, but it's very
short in the amount of time that slow motion may be used in acquisition.
Unique to this sort of camcorder is the number of inputs/outputs. I'm
tickled at the number of options, as this
camcorder offers component, composite, HDMI, Memory Stick, USB2, Advanced
Accessory, LANC, headphone, and microphone connections. Owning an HC3, I was
a little disappointed in the lack of headphone or microphone connections in
this small camcorder even though I'm very happy with the image quality in
such a small format camcorder, yet I was delighted to see Sony had returned
these necessary tools in the DVD model using similar features and
technology. Battery life is
impressive; nearly 2 hours of shooting time with the LCD screen in use, but
I'd failed to take note of the length of time the camcorder was actually powered up.
However, I'd used the UX1 during most of a half-day event, and the camcorder
still had plenty of juice to shoot into the evening, and the overnight
charge took me well into the next evening. I didn't keep the LCD open the
entire time, however. I did continually expect the big LCD screen to let me
know I was on my last second of juice, but I never reached the point of
total battery discharge over the course of the week.
The UX1 uses
already-existing batteries, so obtaining
batteries is easy and inexpensive. With new camcorder models, it's always a
concern when manufacturers switch battery formats on users.
All in all, the experience with this camcorder
was not only pleasant, but just plain fun. It fits the hand very nicely, feels
solid, and has a plethora of features that I was happily surprised
to find on a low-cost camcorder. The controls are very well placed,
and the menu contexts are very intelligent and user friendly. While the
camcorder is marginally heavier than other camcorders in the palm-corder world,
it's a comfortable heft, well-balanced and actually preferable I believe,
to most users. This likely will be the first (and maybe only) DVD-based
recorder I'll ever purchase.
The Sony HDR-UX1 is scheduled to begin shipping in mid-September, 2006 with
a street price of around $1400.00.
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