14 DAY TRIAL // Sony's imaging division seems to be on quite a roll lately, since it keeps pushing out of their design laboratories high-end photography and video recording products at a very impressive rate. So, after Sony introduced its first full-frame DSLR, the alpha A900, the company has just announced the release of the HANDYCAM FX1000, equipped with a very innovative new lens, the G Lens.
According to the company's statement, this particular camcorder is able to deliver quite an impressive HDV picture quality, supporting HDV 1080i recording with new 25p progressive scan mode. This is possible due to the fact that the FX1000 is completely built around a 1/3-inch type 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor with a large cell size that offers superior sensitivity and dynamic range. The Exmor-derived technology also does a pretty good job of enhancing the level of performance in low-light and high contrast scenes.
However, the main selling point of the FX1000 is represented by the Sony G Lens (developed especially for this particular camcorder), which delivers an extended wide-angle performance of 29.5mm (35mm equivalent). Additionally, the lens delivers 20x optical zoom range, which can be further improved by a 1.5x factor with the Digital Extender.
The lens also sports two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements that reduce chromatic aberrations caused by differences in light refraction to minimize color fringing. The advanced 10-group, 15-element lens structure also features compound aspheric lenses for clear images even when shooting at high zoom ratios.
Furthermore, the FX1000 delivers a low-light sensitivity of 1.5 lux (at 1/25 fixed shutter speed with auto iris and auto gain), while video and stills shooting in available light is further improved by the built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation system.
Sony has also introduced with the HANDYCAM FX1000 an entirely new recording mode, namely the 25p progressive scanning mode, which captures cinematic HD images as an alternative to interlaced (50i) recording. As Sony's press release reads, "Signals scanned at 25p are converted to 50i before recording on tape. This allows progressive-scan images to be viewed and edited seamlessly in an existing HDV environment. 'Filmic' quality of progressive scan images can be enhanced by new CinemaTone."
For viewing and controlling the camcorder, users are provided with a high-contrast 3.2-type Xtra Fine LCD, accompanied by 0.45-type Xtra Fine electronic viewfinder. The most important controls include independent zoom and focus rings, a new iris ring, selectable exposure/iris control, Exposure Brightness control, as well as gain, white balance and shutter speed controls.
The Sony HANDYCAM FX1000 is slated to arrive in stores at some point in October, but there's no official info on the pricing, at least for the time being.
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