This new Sony camcorder is aimed directly at the DSLR-Video market which has been dominated by the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Mark III for the last few years.
It’s clear that Sony have been working hard to conjure up a package that will enable them to regain lost ground, as the NEX-EA50H features all of the things users like about HD-DSLRs without many of their ergonomic and operational drawbacks. Where the primary function of DSLRs is capturing great still images, with video as a secondary function, the EA50EH is primarily aimed at the entry level large sensor video market with high quality stills capture as its secondary function.
The fact remains that the EOS 5D is a great piece of kit, but if you buy one for anything other than very occasional video acquisition you will need a whole host of accessories such as a viewfinder and shoulder support rig in order to make it work efficiently, and a servo zoom lens isn’t even an option unless you spend a small fortune! With the EA50H it’s usable straight out of the box with a versatile servo zoom lens and high quality viewfinder borrowed from the FS100 / FS700 range. The camera is compact enough for handheld use, yet it features an innovative slide-out shoulder pad which can provide additional support as required – We wouldn’t call it a balanced shoulder-mount camera by any stretch of the imagination, it’s more of a ‘semi-shoulder mount’ because the camera’s centre of gravity remains well in front of the shoulder pad when extended…
It features a large APS-C format CMOS sensor (23.6×15.8mm, identical in width but slightly taller than a Super 35mm sensor) which can capture full HD video in AVCHD format at 59.94p, 50p, 59.94i, 50i, 29.97p, 25p and 23.98p frame rates as well as 720/59.94p, 50p and 480(576)/59.94i, 50i; There is no Slow / Quick function as with the higher end NEX-FS700, however it does offer high quality 16.1MP digital stills capture in both JPEG and RAW format. Video recording conforms to the AVCHD standard which means 4.2.0 colour bit depth and a maximum data rate of approximately 24Mb/s. It’s worth noting that because the camera’s sensor features over four times the number of pixels of the NEX-FS100, less light falls on each pixel and as a result the camera is not as light sensitive…
An interchangeable E-Mount power (servo) zoom lens with a zoom range of 18-200mm and aperture of f/3.5-6.3 is included as standard, and this can be controlled through the zoom rocker in the camera body for fluid ENG style operation. This feature alone makes the EA50 ideal for any ‘live’ professional videography application where a more film-like depth of field is required.
With a List price of just under £3,000+VAT we think the EA50 is great value and sure to be a big hit…