Camera Labs

Gordon thanks for your excellent review. I have my Sony HX5v arriving today and your review was enormously helpful to me in making my decision.

One question I have is, did you select Advanced Sports Shooting for your 10 fps shots of the boat? The manual indicates this scene mode uses predictive auto focus and you mention that the auto focus manged to keep the boat in focus as it approached. Of course, it may be that the camera automatically selects predictive auto focus whenever Burst is selected.

_________________
Frank

I actually used manual in order to ensure a sufficiently quick shutter speed - I assume the sports mode would have done something similar though.

Thanks. I expect I will be using Manual Mode most of the time and it is good to know how well the 10FPS burst can work in that Mode.

_________________
Frank

Well Guys and I suppose Gals,

I have taken the plunge and ordered the camera with delivery promised for tomorrow.

Having done my research over the past month and read all reviews available and the specs on each of the manufacturers websites, Cameralabs review being the most thorough I hasten to add!. I thought in this category of camera; this is the leader of the pack.

Very exited and can hardly wait for the postman tomorrow!!

Welcome on-board Mihangel, looking forward to hearing what you think!

PS - and to everyone else, I managed to get another HX5 in for further testing with HHT and will update my review in the next week or so. I've also used it for comparisons against Canon's latest SX210 IS for my upcoming review of that model.

I like it.

It's better than the TZ10 - why? Because I found the streaking to be too much of a sacrafice. I mean the bright light streaking on the TZ10 is what totally caused me to return it and buy the Sony HX5v.

So, now I'm playing with the sony, and haven't experienced any streaking. I reviewed as many videos I could on youtube from common folk video clips and didn't see any video streaking at night or day.

And oddly enough, in Gord's sample video for the TZ10, Ooop there it is! Man, what was panasonic thinking?

Do they really think that, at even the average consumer level, that that streaking will be "tolerated" or is this just me.

I've already read a member returned his due to this.

Now, as a video editor myself, this streaking is truly unacceptable.


Well, okay, I suppose everyone now knows I don't like the streaks.

I think the sony's little button tones are cool too, you find yourself trying to create songs when navigating the menus, at least I do.

Any cons so far? Uhmmm? The camera is kind slippery. Its very slick, and attracks finger prints - and along those lines, probably scratches as well.

I still have the TZ10, and before I ship it back, I'd like to do a side by side video comparison - hopefully showing the streaking on the panasonic and no-streaking on the sony under the same light condtions. It should be revealing.

Oh- something I also like to hear talked about more often regarding the accessories that actually "come" with the product. We don't here much about those things. Like is the av cable long enough, etc.

I did read that sony had a proprietary port for its output. That did concern me b/c I specifically purchased a mini hdmi - hdmi cable for the TZ10 - which will now go into the famouse cable box.

After opening the sony, I discovered that they actually put an adapter in there that will plug into their camera port, and provide an HDMI port for your standard hdmi cable. So, there, anyone worrying about that interface problem to your Large screen LCD, stop worrying.

Oh, I also like the playback features - allowing "playall" with video transitions and optional music (sounds like MIDI tones) but better than nothing.

_________________
MikesMultiMedia
"Photo-videograph Everything"

@MikesMultiMedia

I decided the same way you did and expect my HX5 to be delivered today.
I agree that video mode is important and the streaks are not tolerable even in consumer products.

And I had the same idea to compare the TZ10 / ZS7 and HX5 side by side in video mode.
Just to stack them on top of each other and start filming, then arrange the raw footage on a split screen in an editor and compare.

Unfortunately I don't have a TZ10 on hand.

Looking forward to your findings.

@Mamuco:

I still have the TZ10, I boxed it up, but as soon as I put out some fires here on my desk, I'll do that side by side video clip comparison before I ship it back, I still have a couple of days before the return deadline.

I think it should be quite spectacular to see how both the HX5v and TZ10 do under the exact same bright light day / night comparison.

I predict the HX5v will not have the streaks, because of the footage I've seen on youtube. It will be enjoyable to see the stark contrast of the two cameras, and to see just how intolerable this is.

I really can't believe that panasonic would put out this camera with the streaking issue. Especially when other top manufacturers have appeared to have resolved the problem.

I wonder just how many people have rejected the camera in just the same way.

Let me push away the paperwork and do the comparison/editing so we can check it out.

_________________
MikesMultiMedia
"Photo-videograph Everything"

Will be interesting to see the difference in movie quality.

Thanks to UPS my camera got delivered early and I took a few test movies.

This one is straight out of the camera.
http://www.vimeo.com/10619503

Here' is one with all the short movies joined and slightly edited.
http://vimeo.com/10624364

Got some very revealing comparison video footage between the TZ10 and HX5v cameras today.

I will mention first, however, that my day was completely ruined when I was approached by two armed police officers on bicycles who proceeded to violate my rights by detaining, interrogating, requiring that I identify, Name, DOB, and address.

So what was for a while a very interesting creative project, turned into a personally violational experience for me. All I could think about after having been detained by the police officers was my personal violation, and disgust with the situation. Completely squelched and truncated my further creative impulses to drive on with the project.

Now that was my personal feelings, which I currently still feel inside, and quite frankly will be writing a complaint to the appropriate persons, news entities, and constitutional rights advocacy groups, regarding the incident.

Basically, because I looked like I new what I was doing with my cameras, was why the felt prompted to approach, and do what they did. they did say the did receive serveral complaints from ??, after having to ask them two or three times (your asking what complaints?) about me.

Well, if anyone has taking pictures in a public place, you know how people can get. But when someone, who basically just on impulse, can perhaps complain, or just dial 911 and say hey, there is this guy taking pictures, in a public park mind you, and where that simple information is enough for the police to approach me, well, there is something very wrong with that.

So, now, when I reach for my camera to engage in creative activity, I have flash-backs of today, and the threat of being arrested, or coerced, humilitated in public (by being surrounded by cops as If I did something wrong), etc., that is how I feel now, and what many photographers probably feel if they have taken enough photographs in their lives.

And what about the security surveilance cameras probably covering the area anyway, well, this was a definite rattling experience that is not over yet. I intend to pursue this matter as best I can, just think of all the people that are harassed like I was and who just shrugged it off.

I just can't stop the thoughts of personally being violated today from racing through my mind. I now have to carry those feelings with me into the night video surveys I'll be doing shortly after posting this post.

So let me put those personal feelings aside, and get back to the comparison footage I took today.

Well, the TZ10 totally has the light streaks as you will see. And the Sony, did not. In fact the Sony had the customary lens flare reaction at times when the sun was really in the shot, but that is expected. Where the TZ10 completely put a white streak from the top of the frame, to the bottom.

Bot cameras were shot using their automatic or intelligent modes to avoid any in camera alternations which may lead to operator bias.

I'm recharging the batteries right now, and will venture off to some night spot locations prone with bright lights, most likely around downtown atlanta, GA.

The night time video surveys should really be intersting, just think of all those car headlights.

I did confirm that the white streaks did not appear in the photographic version of the scene that when videoing, would produce the light streaks. That was interesting. That suggests the actual censor can at least receive the information without the streaks, so somewhere in the video recording process, either in the encoding, or what not, is where the streaks are allowed to fester.


Okay then, I'm waiting for the batteries to recharge so I can head on out.

I already find my thoughts as to how to decide which locations will produce the good testing results for the project, are being interupted with the thoughts, and fears that come from the apprehension of feeling that I will again be approached by police officers, who will the proceed to interrogate me, taunt me, make me feel as if I am doing something wrong for simply having a camera in my hand.

You would think in this day and age this type of harrassment would be uncommon, but after today's experience, it is not.

Editing Note:
I'm not sure how I'll go about compiling the video comparision views, if I create a video out of the original footage, I'll have to render it, and I suppose that may disrupt the integrity of the video survey of the results. Or perhaps not. I do not intend on adding any enhancement effects to the final video, and I am curious if the mere rendering of the original video will alter the light streaks in the TZ10 footage.

I'll make a determination after rendering some clips. My guess is, and after seeing the degree of light streaks which are produced on the recorded video, that any rendering of the original footage will not distort the actual recorded results. If so, then I'll simply upload.

In any case, I believe the video will already be re-rendered by youtube or vimeo, so any re-rendering is perhaps inevitable.

_________________
MikesMultiMedia
"Photo-videograph Everything"

Yesterday I conducted a side by side camera survey of both the Pana TZ10 and the Sony HX5v.

What I noticed by simultaneously conducting video and photo clips, that the Sony HX5v's battery drained significantly faster than the Pana TZ10.

Do I describe how long the Pana TZ10 lasted, or how fast the Sony HX5v used its power?

Okay, lets try this. I put two fully charged batteries in the cameras, and the Sony HX5v's battery expired while the Pana TZ10's battery was still at 4 bars power.

The Sony HX5v's 2nd battery then used all its power down to its last bar by the time I was done last night taking video/pictures.

The Pana TZ10 was still on its 1st battery, and had only used one bar.

I will add that the Pana TZ10's battery also charged faster than the Zony HX5v's. That is after an hour, the TZ10's battery charger light went out, while the HX5v's battery charger light was still lit.

AFter I got back, I put both the batteries in their respective charger again, and again the TZ10's battery recharged in very little time (the light went out) and the HX5v's battery charger light was still lit.

After leaving the Sony Hxv's battery in the charger over night, the charger light eventually did turn off - indicating it in fact was fully charged.

I just placed the 2nd Sony battery into the Sony HX5v's charger to see how long it will take to charge the battery (that is, for the charger light to turn off).

Unless I am missing something here, there were two physically observed issues with the Sony HX5v's battery and battery charging system - 1) Battery takes much longer time to recharge/charge and 2) The battery drain is significantly faster than the TZ10, almost rediculous. At the rate of battery charge loss, it appears you will need about 1 battery every two hours of continuous use to feel really secure about recording video for a day. Perhaps if you went to the zoo or to universal studios or disneyland. Then, as those batteries drain, you'll be subjected to unusually long recharge times.

I'd be curious to here specific experiences people have had with the Sony's batteries with respect to 1) Fast it drains (under what kind of use); and 2) How long it takes to recharge the batteries.

Remember, if you have perhaps 4-6 batteries to manage, you'll mostly likely need to purchase several battery chargers to make the battery management system worth while, otherwise, you'll have to recharge all the batteries in series (one after the other) rather than parallel (all at the same time). Which means each battery perhaps will take an hour (at the least) to recharge, and if you have 4-5 batteries to manage, then you'll have to swap out each battery every hour. If your trying to recharge at night, forget about it, unless your going to set an alarm to wake you up on the hour to swap the batteries so all the batteries are charged for the next day's use.

_________________
MikesMultiMedia
"Photo-videograph Everything"

Hi all. I am a newbie to this site....just purchased my Hx5V mainly for its video 1080p capabilities to augment my 5 year old Sony mini DV tape camera.

I totally agree with MikesMultiMedia that the battery drain is more than average to excessive. I used the newer batteries that provide remaining power readings in minutes and the camera readings indicated that a fully charged NP-FG1 will provide about 70 mins to 80 mins of pure video recording with LCD set to normal "brightness" and batter consumption to "stamina". I have no charge time reading as requested by mikesmultimedia yet because I haven't had a chance to charge from empty to full yet

The battery power depletion rate raises my paranoia level because I will be on a 15 day out of country trip. I ended up buying 4 more batteries to add to the one in the box - total 5 batteries. I will take MikesMultiMedia advice to get a second charger as I don't fancy waking up setting an alarm to wake me up every hour during the night to swap batteries from the charger....unless I have a baby to feed every hour of the night... then I will not need an extra charger.

To feed my paranoia, I also bought 3 SD cards, one class 4 and two class 10 with 16GB in each card. When setting the video quality to 2nd level HQ AVCHD (not the top finest one), each SD card can hold about 220 mins of pure video. My observation is that class 4 card work as well as class 10. While setting to the highest burst rate of 10 shots a second, it took 16 sec to write to the class 4 SD card. It also took the same 16 sec time to write 10 shots for class 10 card as well. In that case, what is the advantage of using a class 10 card vs class 4? anyone?

@Ric01

Battery/Chargers:

Totally good idea. Especially in the charging department, do they make a multiple battery charger? How about a large batter pack that attaches like on an SLR? They need it.

It is rediculous. What makes it totally crazy is the fact that I only used 1/4 of the 1st battery using the Pansonic TZ10- but mind you, the Pana TZ10 only shoots at 1280x720 so its processors are managing that much less material in the digitizing process. But give me a break!

Good luck.


SD Cards:

I got the 16GB Class 10. I used an 8GB class 4 (as bundled with a Zoom Q3 I got) and that seemed to work just fine. Only problem I had was during the transfer from the SD card to my laptop. Even using the build in SD reader on my laptop, it only read it at about 10-12 mbps. Seemed slow. So plan on about 8-12 minutes of transfer depending on your connections/CPU speeds.


The entire battery life issue is completely making think about returning the thing and waiting for the pansonic to rise to the occasion to:

1) Fix the light streaking (WTF?) across the video; and
2) provide at least 1440x1080 HD video and up.


Photo comparison:

I've looked at the photos taken during my side by side video survey and the pansonic totally upstages sony in low light, and crispyness during the day - faster focus, but the TZ10 is 12mpx, but I think I"m looking past that.

I do like the Sony's video quality, and it looks promising with post production enhancements. This is as far as the AVCHD codec is concerned. Its much smoother, and no artifacs in the AVCHD playback of the original clips. Its a little dark and soft, but that can be tweeked in post using contrast and sharpening features.


My day today:

I am venturing off to do more video today with both cameras, but I'll use the MPEG / MOV format to see if that makes a difference - especially with the Panasonic TZ10 - too many artifacs in the AVCHD clips.

I'll definitely avoid the Centennial Park - don't need anymore visits from the bike mounted police simply because they don't like my cameras.

_________________
MikesMultiMedia
"Photo-videograph Everything"

MikesMultiMedia

Batter/charger... I saw from the Hx5V packaging that if I register my camera purchase with sony.. I can get 20% off accessories particularly the high speed battery charger... it says, it can charge at twice the normal speed.. I will find more about this from Sony later.

Your suggestion of attaching a larger battery pack is a good idea. I did think of that. However, personally, I think attaching a larger battery pack will negate the big advantage of Hx5v; the ultra portability of the Hx5V as one of the smallest high-def 1080p video camera around at this point after tx7. Ultimate portability is the main reason I bought this Hx5v.

My personal problem is that even if (big IF) if I can afford the best and most expensive camera in the world but if it is bulky and heavy, chances of me lugging it along every trip, be they long or short would be less compared to grabbing a palm size camera unit with respectable 1080p recording.

Thanks for the heads up regarding the SD card data transfer

For your sake, I hope Panasonic will step up to fix the light streaking across the video; and provide at least 1440x1080 HD video and up.

Battery/charger...

Correct me if I am wrong, but im sure with the supplied charger it takes 3-4 hours to charge the battery, and if you leave it for a further hour after the light goes out it gives it an extra boost! (I'm sure I read that in the brouchure somewhere)