Sony NXCAM Handycam NEX with Larger Sensor Announced



The newest NEX in development is the NXCAM Camcorder. It uses the same E-mount as the NEX-3, NEX-5 cameras, and NEX-VG10 camcorder but it has a slightly larger sensor. The CMOS sensor in the NXCAM is a Super 35 format which is 0.980 x 0.735 in (24.89 x 18.66 mm). The current Sony NEX sensor dimension is 0.92 x 0.61 in. (23.4 x 15.6 mm). The NXCAM will shoot AVCHD at 1080p at 60p/30p/24p and 50p/25p. Since NXCAM uses the same lens mount as the other NEX cameras we can expect more lenses to be in development.


sony nxcam hd nex e-mount lenses
sony nxcam hd nex e-mount lenses

Sony NXCAM Camcorder with E-mount Lenses



Here is the official Sony NXCAM HD press release from Sony EU:
NXCAM HD camcorder under development, featuring E-mount lens system
17 November 2010

Sony to expand 35mm large format sensor camcorder lineup

Sony Corporation announced today that it is developing a new type of E-mount interchangeable lens camcorder for professional use that is equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent large format CMOS sensor. This new addition to Sony’s professional “NXCAM” line will be available in the middle of 2011.

Already a key player in the 35mm digital cinematography business with the highly acclaimed “CineAlta” F35 and SRW-9000PL for high-end digital cinema production, Sony has just strengthened its lineup in this category with the recent PMW-F3 announcement. In addition to this, with this new “NXCAM” HD camcorder now (still under development), Sony looks to further strengthen its position in the entry-level segment by providing an affordable yet highly capable professional solution for many applications including independent film, music video and corporate communications all looking for the cinematic look.

This “NXCAM” HD camcorder under development will be equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent sensor, a widely used film stock size in the film industry that is perfectly designed for capturing motion picture. This new sensor will have extraordinary performance in terms of picture quality and sensitivity, and is able to create rich “Bokeh” effect (beautifully defocused image) that is perfect for artistic story-telling in motion picture.

Thanks to the adoption of the E-mount interchangeable lens system that is identical to the “α” series NEX-5, 3 and “Handycam” NEX-VG10, the E-mount lenses will be compatible with this new professional camcorder. In addition, a very short flange back distance (the distance between lens mount surface and sensor surface) let various “α” A-mount lenses be mounted via a mount adaptor (LA-EA1). Furthermore, it is also possible to attach many other lenses using third-party mount adaptors*1. With such flexibility, users will be able to experiment with various creative expressions by exploiting the characteristics of different optics.
* 1: Not all types of adaptors and lenses are guaranteed.

The recording format for this new HD camcorder will be AVCHD, a widely supported format by many non liner editing software vendors and the same format as HXR-NX5 “NXCAM” camcorder.
There is also a plan to implement 1080p (60p / 30p / 24p*2 or 50p / 25p) recording modes.
(MPEG4-AVC/H.264 compression will be used for these modes.)
*2: 59.94p / 29.97p / 23.98p respectively.

Comments

  1. I am not so sure of the sensor size you mention.

    24.89x 18.66mm is indeed the size of 4-perf Super 35 camera aperture, but it is a 1.33:1 (4:3) format. There is also a 3-perf Super 35 with a native 1.78:1 (16:9) ratio, the ratio of Sony's new sensor. 3-perf Super 35 is 24.89mm × 14mm, hence a diagonal of 28.56 mm.

    But Sony said on 8th November, when presenting their new sensor, that the diagonal of its array is 27.1mm, thus implying a 23.62mm x 13.69mm sensor.

    The array of this sensor and its diagonal would therefore be equivalent to the ones of the NEX sensor: 23.4mm x 15.6mm and 28.1mm respectively.

    This is coherent with the new camcorder accepting current E-mount lenses whilst a larger sensor such as the one you describe would imply new lenses with an increased image circle.

    ReplyDelete

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