Over the last few months I have had the opportunity to use the Sony EX3 on various productions from Done and Dusted's quick turnaround/multi camera "T4 on the Beach" to corporate videos this camera will probably become the camera of choice for most lower budget productions. It does everything you want from an HD camera from 50fps slo-mo to easy-to-learn functions....it isn't by no means perfect. It is top heavy to hand-hold...the macro doesn't in anyway get close enough to your subject and it's expensive. When budgeting for any prosumer HD camera...always add 2 grand because you are always going to want extras e.g. memory cards, tripods, radio mics etc etc. The EX3 cost 5-6 grand without the bells and whistles...saying that I love this camera and so does everyone else i know who has used it.
I was also able to sling a letus on the front and attach my 35mm primes on.....amazing results.

Let me tell you a story....in 2003 I shot a skateboard DVD in California...part of which was filmed by the Oakley factory. I was told by one of their marketing guys that Oakley was putting it's  money into a microchip that could go into virtually any camera and that it would shoot film quality images at a budget price.....this microchip is now housed into
the REDONE!!

Have to thank my good friend Dave Miller for this one...Dave along with a couple of friends and like-minded individuals have pooled their REDONE cameras together and now are hiring out this landmark camera as well as an excellent range of glass.

Having seen so much stuff shot on it recently....I rushed down to south-central London to check this baby out. And what a camera!!

It's very modular like any Aaton/Arriflex film camera.....and very simple to operate....once you get your head round 2K-4K res....etc. etc. Owning a Panasonic HVX200 myself and having to deal with firestores and workflows...this was easy.

Now REDONE's are top-end cameras and they are heavy and bulky as the rest of them...but I found the menu operations/settings very straight forward to operate. Slap on the lens, hard drive, monitor and you are ready to go.

The pictures speak for themselves and with everyone from Steven Soderburgh-Peter Jackson using them for features incl. Che Guevera...it says alot about how far Oakley have come in 5-6 years since I first got wind of it's development.

It's the camera of  the moment (high/lo budget) and I am looking forward to it's little brother the Scarlet (out next year)!

 

I have got my own HVX200 kit but have been lucky enough to, recently, discover the HVX171. What a great camera. Panasonic have improved many features that made the 200 clunky and maybe some vary of it's full potential. The HVX171 disposes of the dv tape system that makes the camera alot lighter and therefore more flexible. WIth the new P2 cards being circulated firestores are soon going to be a thing of the past...but just in case the 171 has a firewire port. Also what i found really nifty were the BNC outs and waveform monitors...all at the touch of a button.

The 171 is a great pro-am camera...easily up these with it's competitors and perfect for low-key filming.

I used it on a feature film..."Infliction" as a second camera and the director was so impressed with the results...he wanted to take it off me straight away!! Also I have started a blog with TV presenter Jaspar Corbett. He/I feel totally at ease with the 171 that I am sure it helps us with his on-screen performance. It is a very intimate camera that Panasonic..have come up with here.

Please do one without a fixed lens (which I love) so it gives us....the users...the flexibility of hiring primes to put on it's front end!! Then this would be a home-run. Please Panasonic...Please.



Bob Callway