It’s been a long time since Sony launched an XDCAM camcorder, but here it is, the new PXW-X200 along with the similar but ever so slightly lower spec HXR-NX800 NXCAM (basically missing the SDI out and won’t have MXF recording).
Why release 2 new cameras with smallish 1″ sensors in a market dominated by super 35mm and full frame cameras?
It’s all abut the lens!
Well a lot comes down to the lens. As many will know you cannot get small, fast, light weight zooms with a very big zoom ranges for the bigger sensor cameras. The laws of physics and optics get in the way. But, build a camera with a smaller sensor with an integrated lens and you can have a big zoom range in a very compact and lightweight package. This type of camera can be very handy for news and documentary production and a market for them still exists. Those that shoot weddings and events will also find the ability to get a wide range of different shots from one position beneficial.
The Z200 and the NX800 both feature a Sony G series lens that will give the equivalent field of view to a 24-480mm lens on a Full Frame sensor. This is a 20x power zoom lens with maximum apertures of F2.8 (wide) and F4.5 (telephoto). If you need a longer reach then you can combine the optical zoom with Sony’s electronic Clear Image zoom function to gain an additional 1.5x or 2x.
Stabilisation.
The lens is optically stabilised and in addition to the optical stabilisation you can add Sony’s electronic Active Stabilisation to help combat camera shake and unwanted movements. There is a small crop when you use the Active mode and it can’t be used when shooting at 100fps or higher.
AI Autofocus and object tracking.
Throw in a good dose of Sony’s excellent AI enhanced auto focus and object tracking and getting great shots in a wide range of scenarios becomes easier than possible with previous generations of similar cameras. The camera can identify and track not only faces but the profile of a human, so the AF can follow a moving person whether they are facing the camera or not.
Variable ND.
Behind the lens is Sony’s now almost universal variable ND filter which goes from 1/4 to 1/128th density – 2 stops to 7 stops of ND plus a clear position.
1.0-inch-type Exmor RS™ CMOS stacked sensor
Both cameras have a 5K, 14 megapixel 1.0-inch-type Exmor RS™ CMOS stacked sensor. There is a full oversampled 5K readout of the sensor when shooting at up to 60fps. I have not tried the camera yet, but these specs suggest that overall you should get reasonable sensitivity and decent noise performance. The back illuminated stacked sensors tend to have bigger pixels than non-stacked sensors with a similar pixel count as the readout circuits are separated and on different sensor layers from the photosites. The extra space for the readout circuits also allows for higher speed sensor readouts. If you want to shoot faster than 60fps then there is a small crop as the sensor appears to be read at 4K (23%) and then you can shoot at up to 120fps in 4K and 240fps in HD.
The cameras use the same BIONZ XR processing as found in the most recent Sony Alpha and FX series cameras.
Recording Codecs.
Both new cameras both support a wide variety of recording formats including XAVC HS, XAVC S, XAVC SI, and XAVC HS Proxy (up to 16 Mbps). These will be recorded using the .mp4 wrapper in the same way that the FX series camera do. They also support proxy recording.
- XAVC S-I, HS-L, S-L, HD/QFHD Recording
The PXW-Z200 will also support XAVC MXF recording through a future firmware update expected summer 2025.
The cameras record to Dual CFexpress Type-A/SD Card Slots, again this is the same as the Alpha and FX series cameras, so the same media can be used for both.
Gamma Curves and Colour Profiles.
These cameras do include Sony’s S-Cinetone colour science and colour profile. In addition there are profiles for ITU-709, Sony’s new 709Tone (matches previous generations of cameras) as well as HLG for direct to HDR applications. S-Log3 and the ability to add a LUT IS included via a flexible ISO shooting mode but I do have to wonder if the sensor actually has enough dynamic range to make full use of it.
Outputs and connectivity.
Both the HXR-NX800 and PXW-Z200 are equipped with various interfaces including HDMI Type A, USB Type-C™, LAN, and REMOTE terminals. The PXW-Z200 also has a 12G SDI output and TC input/output.
For audio there are two full size XLR connectors as well as an MI show on the top of the handle giving the ability to input up to 4 channels of audio.
The cameras also have built in RTMP/RTMPS or SRT streaming capabilities along with 2.5/5Ghz wifi connectivity.
Versatile file transfer options include HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264) codecs, automatic upload to the cloud or an FTP server, and the ability for proxy chunk for high-quality and secure file transfer.
Furthermore, by combining it with Sony’s new portable data transmitter, PDT-FP1, the two new camcorders can support higher quality streaming with the company’s proprietary QoS technology and Creators’ Cloud for enterprise services, including the camera linking cloud service, C3 Portal (paid service), XDCAM pocket, and the cloud broadcast system, M2 Live.
Monitoring.
The cameras have a folding 3.5″ LCD screen and a removable hood can be attached to the screen to create a sun shade.
So who’s it for?
I guess this is the big question. We are seeing more and more organisations that would have once used cameras like the Z280 moving to large sensor cameras like the FX3, FX6 or even A7S3 because they prefer the way the images look. When you put a high quality photo lens on an FX3 it’s pretty easy to create good looking images. Plus an FX3 with a lens is cheaper than what a lot of “professional” camcorders used to cost.
These cameras are expected to be available September 2024 for a suggested retail price of $3,299.99 (USD) (EUR 3000), and$3,999.99 (USD) (EUR 3750), respectively. So, they are cheaper than previous similar cameras. But is that enough? A lot will depend on the actual image quality that these can deliver “in the wild”. How easy will an average camera operator find it to get a good looking image. That big 20x zoom range is certainly highly appealing, it would be great for something like filming a breaking news story – it would have been easier to take a camera like this to have shot the volcanoes in Iceland than a camera plus bag full of lenses. It will definitely appeal to those that shoot weddings and events as an all-round general purpose camera. So, who knows, maybe these will do well for Sony. Only time will tell and I look forward to testing one properly.
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Hi Alister
All those screen shots look soft – pretty sure it’s not the camera (least I’d hope not) as even the controlled studio lighting one looked soft.
cheers
John
I’ve been using for 10 years SONY FDR AX100 and AX700, they were perfect for me. I’ve been waiting for a long time for the successor, but now it looks like Sony will not upgrade AX700, and the two new models are quite expensive
The AX100 and AX700 were consumer models. 10 years ago there was still a market for consumer camcorders. These days there is no longer an appreciable market for consumer camcorders. Most shoot video with their phones or stills cameras. As a result we are unlikely to see new high quality consumer camcorders.
I only have images from Sony at this stage so I’m not going to make any image quality judgements until I get to play with one. On paper it should be reasonably good as it is a 5K 1″ sensor. The old Z150 isn’t bad and this is a newer sensor with a better image processor. You will have to watch for diffraction at smaller apertures, so the variable ND is going to be key to managing the exposure so the lens can deliver the optimum results.
La vecchia PXW-Z150 non era male, ma aveva un sensore assolutamente non veloce nell’autofocus. Infatti molto meglio è stata poi la PXW-Z90.
Questa 200 ha tutto ciò che mancava alla 150, con in più funzioni impostanti come ND automatico
Thank AC.
Seems like a lackluster attempt by Sony.
I agree that these are not revolutionary or ground breaking. But I am not sure what else you would do or add.
You can’t go to a bigger sensor without hitting lens limitations. You can’t realistically go to a higher resolution because of diffraction issues. You are very constrained by physics/optics/weight which is why we don’t really see any other “wow” products in this category from other brands. The new AI enhanced AF (and AI is also used to improve white balance and auto exposure performance) will make this a very easy camera to use compared to the previous generations.
Hai ragione Alister… in effetti ha ciò che mancava alla 150: ottica più lunga, ND automatico, 4 canali audio e AI efficace per autofocus
How so? I think it ticks a lot of boxes that are missing in the form factor in the market now.
Mi domando solo se a questo punto Sony abbandonerà il 3 CMOS su altre nuove camere
3 cmos isn’t really practical for a low cost 4K camera. The bigger the sensor, the larger the prism. This makes the lens design more complex, the lens must be bigger and it is more expensive, if you want to also have the variable ND the lens design becomes even more complicated. Also you have to deal with the abberations from the prism. But with higher resolutions you want the sensor to be bigger to avoid having to reduce the pixel pitch in order to avoid the refraction issues that come when the pixels get very small. 4K bayer works very well, a bigger single 4K bayer sensor avoids these issues.
Yes, the integrated long range zoom is the big drawcard there so they would be ideal for the sort of international travel doc and local conference work I do but….. I’m now buying fully rigged FS7 IIs with XDCA backs for peanuts here in Australia (eg: for the equiv of about a thousand UK pounds) so mated to my 18-110mm servo zoom or super fast modern S35 Cine primes and when you’ve come from prosumer camcorders or DSLRs, the good ole FS7 II is a breath of fresh air and still does what it says on the tin.
I fully expect these cameras to FINALLY have the long lost and forgotten HEVC, 29.97p frame rate. Thank you Sony for remembering that on this camera. Now, can you please go back to all of your recent Alpha cameras and fix that oversight? It’s OK…everybody forgets stuff sometimes. 😉
Hi Alister,
My thought would be the main competitor for this is the Sony RX10iv with its 24 – 600 zoom, 1′ sensor and great high speed output. I have htis camera and it is wonderful to use. Love to see you compare the images on these new cameras to the RX10iv.
Warm regards, Scott and Rachel
Very different cameras. The lens on the RX10IV isn’t parfocal so smooth zooms mid shot are challenging as the focus shifts as you zoom, unless you zoom slow enough to allow the AF to keep the subject in focus. It also has the older bionz chip set where in UHD the recordings are limited to 8 bit and I think we will find that for video the AF in the NX800 will be substantially better. But – this is speculation until someone does a side by side test. I hope to be able to do some proper tests very soon.
Hope you are both well.
I film weddings in 1920×1080, l have been waiting for a replacement for my brilliant colour quality x200 for a long time now. The z200 looks to be it! but am l right in my understanding that, to film in H264 10 bit 4.2.2. you have to use an “intra” codec, with higher file sizes?
P.S. thanks Alister for showing me how to set uo the colour profile settings in my Sony camcorders many years ago.
Thanks!
The nx800 has no 4.2.2. 10 bit option, unless you select intra and are ok with massive file sizes. The z200 will have an option for mxf xavc but not untill June next year. I use a x200 at the moment and am more than happy with the image quality, but it would be great to get AI auto focusing and a godsend if the auto exposure is AI and usable.
I notice now that there is a xavcs codec, on the nx800, that will do 4.2.2.. 10bit in 1080 x 1920. Do you think that would produce the same picture quality as the xavc on my current pxw x200?
The NX800 appears to have the same codec chip as the Alpha series cameras. The XAVC-S codec in these cameras supports 10 bit 422 in both HD and UHD (A7SIII/FX3 etc has 10 bit UHD XAVC-S, while the FX6 is 8 bit). There is virtually no difference in the compression between mp4 wrapped XAVC-S-I and mxf wrapped XAVC-I. The final image quality is more or less the same with the 100Mb/s long GoP 10 bit S codec as the the I frame SI codec, although differences will occur depending on the amount and type of complex motion within in the scenes being shot. On low motion scenes the XAVC-S is likely to deliver the best final image. With scenes with a lot of complex motion (water, leaves, vehicles) the SI may deliver the better image.But some users find editing and working with the .mxf files to be smoother and more fluid. Additionally the .mxf files carry more metadata and applications such as DaVinci Resolve are able to use the .mxf metadata to provide automatic correction of the exposure index etc.
“ There is virtually no difference in the compression between mp4 wrapped XAVC-S-I and mxf wrapped XAVC-I.”
Isn’t one VBR and one CBR?
I don’t know how much difference that makes in reality!
I wonder if what you say (if correct) applies to long GOP also.
A wedding can take up 2 1/2 hours of filming, I need efficient and high-quality storage and that is what MXF 4.2.2. currently gives me in my x200
I believe that the MXF wrapper allows the files to contain data that the non MXF wrapped files do not? But I could be totally wrong on that one.
Ok, so intra footage will be just as good MXF or not MXF, does that also apply to long GOP?
Thanks for the reply Alister. I don’t really want to use an intra type codec and also not H265.
If XAVC-S – 10 bit, 50 mhz – 4.2.2. – 1920×1080 50P
is as good as XAVC MXF, on my X200, for recovering hi-lights and shadows and adjusting colours in Premiere, then it will do the job for my wedding films.
My X200 is a low light king when set to 25P(no shutter) indoors.
As you said, when you get your hands on a copy you can see what the creamieness of the recorded footage and the cameras low light capabilities will be like, cheers, mike
XAVC MXF can be long GoP or I frame depending on which coded you choose.
XAVC .mp4 can be long GoP or I frame depending on which coded you choose.
There is very little difference in the codecs in each wrapper type, when the bit rate and coding type are the same, the image quality will essentially be the same.
The XAVC-S codec is Long GOP, Only XAVC-I and XAVC SI are I frame only.
There is one notable exception to this which is that XAVC-S on the earlier MXF cameras including the FX9, FX6, FS series etc is 8 bit in UHD, while on the .mp4 cameras it is 10 bit in UHD. I don’t know what it will be in the Z200.
Thank’s again Alister, the reason that I am being a pain asking these questions is,
I have pre-ordered a nx800, as I don’t need SDI out.
I’m just praying that I don’t end up kicking myself in the future because the z200 has something more than just sdi out and picture quality would be the big one, if xavcs in the nx800, will give me the same as I am presently getting from my x200 (mxf) thenthere is no need to spend the extra on the z200. cheers, mike
P.S. I bet a lot of wedding video people are pondering the same question at this moment in time.
Many of us have not bought a z280 over the last few years because we were waiting for the long overdue replacement, I know that this is not an updated z280 and that Sony might announce an updated z280 later on, but this does contain all of the AI features that we had hoped for and is over 1/2 a kilo lighter.
The 1″ sensor might give just as nice a picture as good as the three 1/2″ sensors in the z280 , this 1″ sensor could be just as good, let’s see!
I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine with the NX800 codecs and that in essence there will be no image quality difference between it and the Z200. MXF tends to be more about compatibility issues within existing workflows for larger organisations that have standardised on MXF.
The Z280 is an industry workhorse but the 3x 1/2″ sensors always seemed a slightly odd choice when there are options for larger single sensors. On paper 3 chips should offer a superior image as you have equal R, G and B sampling. But the reality is the prism aberrations and small pixel sized limits sensitivity, the apertures that are useable etc. So a lot will depend on how well the sensor in the new cameras is being processed.
Yes Alister, the three 1/2″ chips was possibly the best set up when the EX1 (which l used for many years) was first announced, to enable a small, light zoom 2.8 lens to be used. And for some factory tooling reason or 1/2″ chip manufacturing deal, the set-up stayed in place long after it was necessary. Perhaps now Sony have found a nice chip size compromise for us wedding video “grafters” , videographers who need super quality but not top quality, and who don’t really mind if the background is in focus, but ultimately need a camcorder that has all the helpful features that AI can offer, to make filming easy and not a chore. If it uses AI for intelegent auto exposure that actually works, that would be the icing on the cake (but they will probably hold that back ) , cheers Alister, mike concannon
If the z200 is going to get .mxf wrapper in a future firmware, I wonder if the FX3 and FX30 could get it too?
I just had a call from the Sony distributor here in Ireland, the NX800 is in stock now, so should have mine by early next week. I will give a report back on what the rec 709 footage is like, once l have set up the colour matrix to imitate my z200 as near as posaible)