Sony FDR-AX53

Advantages: 4K. Lens suspension on an active stabilizer (like DJI OSMO) inside the body, without a rigid mount. The lens now seems to follow (move) the subject.

Disadvantages: Sony changed the tripod cable connector for the third time. Unfortunately, the bundle: Sony vct-50av tripod - Sony FDR-AX53 4K camcorder via the Sony A / V R VMC-AVM1 cable adapter (JJC Cable-MULTI2AVR) did not work. Working: Remote shutter type Sony RM-VPR1 / Sony RM-S1AM with tripod mount.

Comment: According to YouTube tests, the picture is brighter and richer than that of Panasonic 4K classmates. I recommend updating the firmware to 1.02 (at the Sony office, it is updated in the camera in 20 minutes), so that stabilization on the tripod does not turn off. It was 1.01 and when mounted on a tripod table, the green tripod icon lit up, now it doesn't. Thanks to the new stabilizer, the picture is more stable. In the dark, it shoots no worse than the previous 1080p Sony. https://youtu.be/olJqLyhsFpA https://youtu.be/xLOoqGIY2yU https://youtu.be/SzR10kjI2ZE https://youtu.be/v0OV9gYwD58

Advantages: 4K quality, the latest stabilization system.

Disadvantages: The camera is turned on by pulling out the viewfinder or opening the rotating display. When extending the viewfinder, you involuntarily catch the diopter adjustment wheel with your finger. A week later, the setting got lost and the wheel does not work out to the end. We'll have to go to the warranty workshop.

Comment: One of the main features of the new camera is the Image Stabilizer. This is just a breakthrough! The camera shoots from the hand, as if from a tripod. No matter how hard you tried, when walking, it was impossible to keep the frame with the previous cameras. Now, in motion, the camera shoots as if working from the rail. I'll make a reservation that with digital zoom, a tripod is still useful. So far I have been shooting only in automatic mode. 4K 60 Mbps mode. The card was installed 128 GB, 90/80. It is clear that the image is gorgeous in sunny weather. Color reproduction quality, picture detail at the highest level.The picture is so clear and deep that, perhaps, not much inferior to the 3D format. A little noise appeared under artificial lighting. There is no longer a clean image. But, perhaps, you already need to go into manual settings. I'll practice later. Focus works quickly, but not so instantly that the subject in the frame is not blurred when unexpected objects enter the frame. The zoom is conveniently located and works very obediently. There is no jerk or lag in the smooth handling. Optical zoom x30 amused. Especially when, after the maximum increase, the frame zooms out and the clip object turns into a point. The weight of the camera is consistent with the class. Neither light nor heavy. It is convenient to shoot, you feel the "unit", but holding it is not tiring. I did not buy an additional battery, but I think that for the day of household shooting, that's what you need. Filmed a long tour of 217 clips from 5 to 20 seconds, the battery showed a discharge from 2:30 hours to 40 minutes. I did not take a photo with a camera, since the experience of previous cameras weaned me from this. Happy with the camera, like an elephant! This is my eighth Sony camera since 1993. The HDR-SR12 lasted especially long, almost 8 years. One trouble, you have to buy a 4K TV set and a new computer for video processing. Clips are very heavy for an old computer.

Advantages: 1. Good picture quality. 2. Large zoom range (20x) 3. Extremely tenacious stabilizer 4. Reliable tracking autofocus 5. Capacious NP-FV70 battery (standard) - up to 5-6 hours with active zooming and monitoring on the display 6. Good quality in low light 7. Good quality built-in microphone 8. There is a viewfinder - in the bright sun it is irreplaceable 9. The sound is written in PCM format. 10. There is autoexposure correction 11. Small size and weight - you can carry it in your pocket 12. You can connect an external monitor, microphone, headphones 13. Doesn't buggy

Disadvantages: 1. Autofocus is slightly slowed down. This is especially noticeable at the long end of the zoom. 2. Information "record" on the display in bright sun is poorly visible. It would be nice to duplicate it with a bright LED on the case, and blinking (this way more noticeably).

Comment: 1.Good picture quality - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N16fWMLkcrA (handheld). Nice freeze frames can be taken. Example - pictures from July 11 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007867846223 3. Exceptionally tenacious stabilizer. You can shoot handheld even at the long end of the zoom (shooting at night) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkhzU2_c30I&t=1s 6. Decent quality in low light. Here is shooting at dusk, and hand-held - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjfiY_Fjg6o 7. Good quality of the built-in microphone - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDpcChh3dpE 8. Attracted by 4K since in theory, it should allow you to expand the zoom to 30-40x without losing the quality of 1080. But I have not used it yet. 9. Sound writes in PCM format. This is very important if you shoot with several cameras, write the sound to a recorder and then synchronize and process it in a video editor. I shoot mostly concerts - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAzsF6T8WmzES3GsPTdjq-A/videos?sort=dd&shelf_id=1&view=0 (here all frontal angles since February 2017 - Sony-53). Before the purchase by Sony, I shot video on a Canon-6D camera (lenses Canon 24-105 and Tamron 70-300). The long focus was lacking (300 mm was not enough). Tortured with focus. And shutdowns after half an hour of filming are inconvenient. Canon-6D became the "second point" of shooting. Sony-53 bought in February 2017 from a dealer - 80,000 rubles. Before buying, I carefully analyzed 8 models of different cameras in the price range up to 100,000 rubles - Canon LEGRIA HF G40, Canon XA20, Sony FDR-AX53, Sony FDR-AXP55, Sony FDR-AX100E, Panasonic AG-AS9000, Panasonic HC- VXF990, Panasonic HC-W850. I am quite satisfied with the purchase, the camera fulfills my tasks completely. Recently I bought another camcorder (for the "third point"), simpler - Panasonic HC-V770. It has no viewfinder, a very weak battery (it is possible to power it from an external one). But autofocus seems to be faster (I haven't really shot it yet). Canon-6D will be for general shots, where the sharpness of camcorders is a little lacking.

Advantages: Picture quality and stabilization are good. Inputs / outputs for all major options. The menu is not complicated. Design, dimensions and weight are thought out and comfortable. Quite a large set of functions.

Disadvantages: So far I have found two main drawbacks: 1) Sound 5.1. writes only in AVCHD format. XAVC S has stereo only.So you won't be able to shoot a 4K video with multichannel sound. 2) The photo button is very sensitive and inconveniently located. Often you accidentally touch it and all sorts of messages appear on the whole screen that interfere with the shooting.

Comment: According to its characteristics, it is well suited for video bloggers.

Advantages: Stabilization, matrix

Disadvantages: Either 4K or 5.1 sound

Comment: I put 5 current for the fact that nothing is better to buy for this money. I bought a 128 gig card kingstone class10 UI-3, writes 90MB / s for 4K recording, and was disappointed that in this mode you can't write multi-channel sound. In short, bullshit is vparivayut, the norms of the camera hike less than 200k is not worth it. I'll take another picture, I'll write it down.

Advantages: 1) light. 2) the stabilization is excellent. 3) video quality is (relatively) above average. 4) without a cap. (Important to me) 5) good sound writes 5 channels. 6) build quality. 7) the screen is a convenient sensor. 8) soft zoom

Disadvantages: 1) 4K - 25f / fhd 1080-50f 2) only for right-handers 3) there are many icons on the screen - they are not removed

Comment: If Sony FDR-AX100 had the same stabilization, I would buy better Sony FDR-AX100, but buying stabilizers is too much.

Advantages: Very good stabilizer. Probably the best camera in this class. The picture is good, not just fire, but very worthy.

Disadvantages: There is no way to charge while shooting from a power bank. Overexposures the picture periodically. You have to set the auto exposure compensation.

Comment: I love. There is something to compare with. The review and samples of the shooting can be viewed at the link on YouTube https://youtu.be/YuIhraVX0ic

Advantages: I also have HDR-SR12, I am thinking of switching to 53 while reading reviews.

Comment:

FDR-AX53 The picture is great, even in low light. Stub is the bomb! But - turn it off on a tripod, otherwise, when re-framing, the stub will quickly take the picture further than the operator. There are many pluses, but let the marketers write about them. With this lens design, a protective filter is highly recommended. And for him a cover is asked. Autofocus is moderately dull, but in some cases its inertia is useful. There is no fully manual control mode - either aperture, or shutter speed, or exposure compensation. I suppose you can finish with the firmware, but whether they will do it or not is a question. Zoom or focus control using the control ring is non-operative (not very responsive electromechanical connection, a large ring travel) and fingers climb into the lens. The annoying button "Photo" is located next to the zoom rocker and is VERY sensitive. If you accidentally touch it, a warning pops up on the half-screen, interfering with sighting and shooting. Dear Sony engineers! Please provide an opportunity to disable the appearance of this window! And I really want moisture and dust protection.