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Sony's ultra-compact RXO waterproof camera

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Still too early for test results, this one can take an external mic jack without being enclosed in a waterproof housing, making for better sound (a topic in an earlier thread). Larger sensor size is said to provide better image quality, but still early days. Release is in October and maybe there will be some reviews coming up.


sony_rxo_actionsports_virtualreality_camera_1.jpg


One of the more optimistic reports... there are poorer ones predicting not a GoPro beater.

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2017/0...house-package/
 
The most important thing to me is can it shoot in non wide angle....
I need to check that out!!
 
Ok, looks like it is a winner if you ask me! Does everything I wish and more.... Maybe pricey for some but not bad in my opinion!

Hmmm....

We shall see
 
The most important thing to me is can it shoot in non wide angle....
I need to check that out!!


It has some important numbers on the lens face...
* 4/24 - It's an f/4 lens, so not very fast. Don't expect good low light performance. 24mm, which I'll get back to...
* "35mm equiv" ... the lens isn't actually 24mm, but you can compare the effective focal length to 24mm lens on a 35mm camera. That's at the wider end of "normal" or at the longer end of "wide angle". This is a good field of view to see things without obvious distortion. Maybe it'll appeal to you.

Since it's an action camera, it makes no sense at all to put a zoom lens on it. Some type of fixed focal length low-profile lens is really prescribed for this type of device.

I'm looking forward to some real world footage that wasn't done by a professional studio crew (seriously, speaking from the studio photography side, I can impress you with a bad camera if I have pro lighting). $700 is audacious for an action camera, but I think Sony is trying to create an upmarket segment for those who are willing to spend a little more for something remarkably better than the GoPro options.

I'm curious to see if they'll announce a 360 action camera offering in this market segment.
 
Canotrouge, you might be able to use a waterproof point and shoot if zoom is what you want... you might have seen BeaV's marathon Alaska trip recorded on a Panasonic P&S and it worked for 1000s (?) of km travelled, although the sound quality was terrible.

This Sony is probably be too small and expensive for me but the reviews whenever they show up might change something wrt image quality and use. The reason I posted here was the waterproof mic option... I've sent Sony an email on whether it's still waterproof with an external mic attached with no waterproof housing needed (which really lowers sound quality on other cameras with waterproof housings since the mic is enclosed inside the housing).

Anyway, something to keep an eye on... it's probably overkill for my needs, still, I'll be reading whatever reviews become available.
 
Is that the American or Canadian price point? Up here the new GoPro Hero 5 is $550 plus taxes so $700 isn't unreasonable if it can use all the GoPro mounts.
 
Mihun, $700 must be the American price... the reports I've seen are either American or British. However, the loonie is rising and the greenback is falling so maybe we'll still get a break.

Magnus, yes, the RX0 lens is f/4 while GoPro's IIRC is the the larger f/2.8 which will gather more light. But OTOH, the RX0's sensor is larger which will should also gather more light and from the preliminary reports out there, should make the RX0 about one f-stop faster than a GoPro. So I guess in theory there should be an improvement in low light performance with the RX0 but there will be reviews comparing GoPros vs RX0 and low-light performance will likely be included.

The larger sensor is a one inch, and how Sony managed to pack that into a camera body so small, I don't know... anyway, besides improved low-light performance, with a sensor that large in a compact camera, there should also be improvements in image resolution (a sharper image), dynamic range (greater shadow detail and highlight detail, should be improved without washing out or blacking out), and less image noise. The reviews will be out eventually and this should be covered.

The RX0's sensor should be several times larger in area than the typical waterproof point-and-shoot, resulting in better image quality. How much larger than the typical GoPro sensor, the info is probably out there, and the reviews will no doubt explain since this is being promoted as a GoPro beating design in the camera reports.

Sony replied to my email saying they don't know whether the external mic attachment and port connection without the waterproof housing will be waterproof since the RX0 hasn't been released yet. And maybe because it's a long weekend.

For better sound quality (which why this whole thing started), it seems there is an option now to connect an external mic to some GoPros without DIY hacks, but it still needs a waterproof housing and the connection is on a back door on that, rather than the port on the GoPro body. Submersible to one meter, so should be fine for canoeing.



...this one is waterproof. That’s unusual for external microphones on GoPros. Normally when you add an external mic to a GoPro it exposes the USB port. The way they’ve gotten around the connection issue with this one is that the microphone is hardwired into a new backdoor for the camera’s housing. It has a waterproof rating of IPX7, a rating that specifies it can safely be submerged at a depth of up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.

https://havecamerawilltravel.com/gop...ke-2-elements/
 
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The other thing worth noting is that Sony is digitally time coding footage from these cameras, as they are meant to work collaboratively together. A digital voice recorder that similarly time coded its footage, and was synced to the same clock (likely your mobile phone itself), would be easy to sync up in post production. So if that's the case, the trick becomes... how can you plumb a high quality soundtrack into your phone? It becomes less of a problem for the camera to solve.
 
OLYMPUS TG-5 might be the ne for me... The TG-4 was voted best waterproof blablala point and shoot when it came out and look like the TG-5 is just better...
 
For anyone that still hasn't seen it, BeaV's epic Alaska canoe trip is still up on the BWCA boards... even though it was recorded with two ordinary Panasonic point-and-shoots, the sense of being there through all the grueling mileage comes through very well, and the rough edges to the video quality maybe add to it being something more than just another vid.

Access is password-protected so the password needs to be pasted in before clicking on any individual segment (several hours worth in total).

http://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction...ion=enterForum

PS... some great music, too... "The Ecstasy of Gold" from another rough-edged (but watchable again and again) film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, is a song that's repeated. From the movie, here's Tuco searching for the gravesite where the hidden gold is buried, before the movie's high point, the shootout duel in the middle of the cemetery.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubVc2MQwMkg
 
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Here's a little more from several days ago... "hands on" but still no formal reviews. IIRC will be selling in the states about Oct. 17 for $698, so reviews might begin at that time.

“Definitely not an action camera”... Sony explains this by saying that the large sensor makes for better image quality along with other things. Too much for me, still, price might come down at the end of the production run when something newer might come onto the market.

https://www.cinema5d.com/sony-rx0-hands-on-at-ibc-2017/
 
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I think they are intending it to be used for action. Their early buzz was definitely setting them against GoPro Hero cameras. In the context of the interview, I think what was happening there was the marketing guy was trying to position the RX0 in a new tier above the GoPro, almost like he was dismissing they were in the same league because of the size and quality of the sensor, not based on any weakness of the camera for the same purpose.

This should be one to watch. Color me curious.
 
An initial test & review is in...

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/sony-dsc-rx0-hands-on-review-31478

The test stills show good resolution, although, unlike the reviewer's comments, there is some blurring towards the margins of the frame on some of the outdoors stills. Low-light stills shot at ISO 6400 and 1/50 sec aren't bad, maybe due to the large sensor size.

It turns out that the external mic option is not waterproof and requires that a waterproof hatch stays opened. Sound quality with the two stereo mics on camera still not known.

There is no image stabilization option at all which might be a problem at low light levels. OTOH, the large sensor and capacity to shoot at faster shutter speeds might compensate for that.

One of the test vids seems to show that the larger sensor beats out GoPro at low light levels... however not the most credible sort of review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe66HXNW-cs
 
RX0s must be available out there now... good explanation of the RX0 in this dealer's vid with a recommendation on buyer suitability and who will most likely be buying. Probably film industry pros and not so much consumers, although the improved picture quality will appeal to those who want to go that step further.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwNzB4EQ3PA

Some of the pluses and minuses... the large sensor and high-quality lens should make for better image quality, with better low-light performance. Also capacity for extreme dynamic range... the option to shoot in S-log2 means that the sensor's response to extreme high and low light levels (gamma) will allow greater dynamic range in the picture, with greater capacity to retain detail in highlights and shadows which would otherwise be lost. The initial S-log2 picture looks dull and lifeless (like in RAW or HDR), and needs to be brightened up in post-production, more work but maybe worth it, if going that extra step further for higher quality is what's wanted.

Downside is there's no waterproof external mic capability since the internals have to be exposed to use the mic but maybe the sound quality isn't bad, still to be determined. Also inability to record in 4K internally while in waterproof mode, if that level of video quality is needed. More details in the vid.
 
Test vid under various situations from Japan with the RX0... image quality is good but during the hand-held walking scenes, there is some disturbing camera shake due to no image stabilization being built in.

Comparisons with Go Pro vids that do include IS aren't all that valid since GoPro uses a much wider-angle fisheye lens that on it's own tends to reduce visible shake while the RX0 is a longer 24mm equivalent. Still, IS could have helped a lot to reduce the shaky quality in the walking scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8IoO5ItuWs


PS.. by contrast, here's some walking and shooting done on a Sony RX100, which is a close match to the RX0 but the RX100 does have IS.... the photographer was probably making a conscious effort to keep it smooth, still the less-shaky quality is apparent.

https://vimeo.com/groups/150156/videos/63511215
 
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