That Sony AX-53 looks very good

Justme · May 14, 2016

I own Sony Hi-8, Digital8 and Mini-DV camcorders. All tape. They were not cheap, the D8 model selling for about $1,500 about 16+ years ago. Bought them to record family memories so well worth the cost at the time.

Haven't touched camcorders much in the past 8+ years, not with other options nowadays like point and shoot cameras with video mode. Do a lot of video with the iPhone too. It was much more convenient and less intrusive to use these smaller devices over the larger and more noticeable camcorders.

A drawback to cameras shooting video is that they have a 29 minute limit for continuous shooting. I thought there had been talks a few years ago to remove this restriction and nothing ever came of it. Can't wait for them to get rid of this limit.

iPhones, while convenient don't have the best video quality especially indoors under low lighting. I'm getting back into camcorders now with models that have 4K, B.O.S.S. gimbal image stabilization. And I want Night Shot again. Mostly for video-taping (no tape, digital) wildlife in the dark - things like owls, etc. Sony tape camcorders had Night Shot and Super Night Shot.

The new Sony AX-53 looks like a fine 4K camcorder with BOSS stabilization and Night Shot. I will also have to invest in a stronger IR light to capture subjects from farther away. I think Night Shot is specific to Sony? No other companies have something similar?

Anyone here still use camcorders?

xx

xx

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Sagittarius · May 14, 2016

Justme said:
I think Night Shot is specific to Sony? No other companies have something similar?

Panasonic WX991 has night shot.

Justme said:
Anyone here still use camcorders?

Quite a few people.

Justme said:
xx

xx

Justme · May 14, 2016

Sagittarius said:
Justme said:

I think Night Shot is specific to Sony? No other companies have something similar?

Click to expand...

Panasonic WX991 has night shot.

I did not know. I wonder how good it is compared to Sony's Night Shot. I will be checking it out on YouTube.

Update: Just found one video comparing both - although one comparison is not enough. This person thinks the Sony does a better job in low light and also has the better Night Shot. By Night Shot I mean seeing in IR light.

Found a second video showing the Panasonic W850's Night Shot and it doesn't look bad at all.

You should check out a video on the B.O.S.S. gimbal/gyro stabilization on the Sony AX-53....the guy was walking up some stairs etc. and the image was like having a Steadycam.

I haven't purchased a Sony camcorder in a long time but the AX-53 looks to be a good time to get one. BTW, I also have the Panasonic TM900 3-MOS camcorder from maybe 5 years back. It has limited zoom range but very good low light due to having 3 sensors. But I want Night Shot, so soon as the Sony AX-53 is in stock here in Ontario, Canada - I will get one. Probably buy it off Amazon.ca

Sagittarius said:
Sagittarius said:

Anyone here still use camcorders?

Click to expand...

Quite a few people.

Sagittarius said:

xx

xx

Click to expand...

Sagittarius · May 14, 2016

Justme said:
Sagittarius said:

Justme said:

I think Night Shot is specific to Sony? No other companies have something similar?

Click to expand...

Panasonic WX991 has night shot.

Click to expand...

I did not know. I wonder how good it is compared to Sony's Night Shot. I will be checking it out on YouTube.

Update: Just found one video comparing both - although one comparison is not enough. This person thinks the Sony does a better job in low light and also has the better Night Shot. By Night Shot I mean seeing in IR light.

You should check out a video on the B.O.S.S. gimbal/gyro stabilization on the Sony AX-53....the guy was walking up some stairs etc. and the image was like having a Steadycam.

I've seen those videos.

Justme said:
I haven't purchased a Sony camcorder in a long time but the AX-53 looks to be a good time to get one. BTW, I also have the Panasonic TM900 3-MOS camcorder from maybe 5 years back. It has limited zoom range but very good low light due to having 3 sensors. But I want Night Shot, so soon as the Sony AX-53 is in stock here in Ontario, Canada - I will get one. Probably buy it off Amazon.ca

I already have AX-53.

And I have a Panasonic PV-GS400 camcorder with 3CCD.

Justme said:
Justme said:

Justme said:

Anyone here still use camcorders?

Click to expand...

Quite a few people.

Justme said:

xx

xx

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

xi5 · May 14, 2016

Justme said:
A drawback to cameras shooting video is that they have a 29 minute limit for continuous shooting. I thought there had been talks a few years ago to remove this restriction and nothing ever came of it. Can't wait for them to get rid of this limit.

If Canada is same as US...when shooting in AVCHD, (HD/not 4K), the shoot time is only limited by the available storage space and power.

A caveat being the files get broken up into 4GB chunks during continuous record that later need to be joined into one seamless file on computer, with either the camera's included software or with editing software.

PabloSRT8 · May 14, 2016

Justme said:
I own Sony Hi-8, Digital8 and Mini-DV camcorders. All tape. They were not cheap, the D8 model selling for about $1,500 about 16+ years ago. Bought them to record family memories so well worth the cost at the time.

Haven't touched camcorders much in the past 8+ years, not with other options nowadays like point and shoot cameras with video mode. Do a lot of video with the iPhone too. It was much more convenient and less intrusive to use these smaller devices over the larger and more noticeable camcorders.

A drawback to cameras shooting video is that they have a 29 minute limit for continuous shooting. I thought there had been talks a few years ago to remove this restriction and nothing ever came of it. Can't wait for them to get rid of this limit.

iPhones, while convenient don't have the best video quality especially indoors under low lighting. I'm getting back into camcorders now with models that have 4K, B.O.S.S. gimbal image stabilization. And I want Night Shot again. Mostly for video-taping (no tape, digital) wildlife in the dark - things like owls, etc. Sony tape camcorders had Night Shot and Super Night Shot.

The new Sony AX-53 looks like a fine 4K camcorder with BOSS stabilization and Night Shot. I will also have to invest in a stronger IR light to capture subjects from farther away. I think Night Shot is specific to Sony? No other companies have something similar?

Anyone here still use camcorders?

I just got the AX53 yesterday. I've had many camcorders, I'm not a pro but I had small dv8s, then upgraded to Sony FX7, then FS100, and the just used my D800 for videos.

but the D800 is not a grab and go and make home movies cameras. Very shallow depth of field is terrible for kids movies (ofcurse is excellent for film like movies, but that's not what I was looking for)

so I got the AX53, as far as I can see and all YouTube videos, the ax53 is no where near the AX100 in terms of picture quality. I'm a pixel peeper and you can tell right away how the AX53 can't compete. BUT and that's a big $700 but!

i got it open box never used for 799 at Best Buy, so my savings where $900 compared to the AX100.

for the price, the AX53 is great and easy to use, but it's a pain if you want to shoot other than on auto mode since it does not have any dedicated bottoms for custom settings.

coody · May 14, 2016

[No message]

Sagittarius · May 14, 2016

Of course it does. But for the size of sensor it is surprisingly not too bad.

PabloSRT8 · May 14, 2016

Just watched the videos I made today, and...

Its 4K on a budget.

It will use every pixel on my 4K tv but it's only a thousand dollar camera, so don't spect anything pro-looking like I did.

I think the problem is that the lens is small, and the sensor even smaller.

But it's great for grab and go for the family.

its so easy to use, and so light in your hands.

its just missing something, like the warmth of my other cameras (D800, FS100) but those are harder to use, and because of that, they don't get much video use.

its like going from vinyl to cd...

CinnamonD · May 15, 2016

Hi,

I have an AX53 and have used in recording indoor/outdoor events and concerts in the past 6 weeks. So far, I would say that the AX53 meets my expectations.

I owned and extensively used an AX33, which is the previous generation of Sony $1K 4K camcorder. AX33 performed poorly in low light conditions and its 10X optical zoom is too small. Therefore, when AX53 was announced, I immediately sold the AX33 and waited a bit to see early adapter's reviews (which I did not do last year, kudos to the reviewers!) before getting the AX53. AX53 has clearly improved the low-light video quality over AX33 and and it has 20X optical zoom. The auto-focus+zoom+BOSS work very well (than AX33 and A7RII). All of these make AX53 a much usable 4K camcorder for camcorder duties: sport, events, travel, concert, ... etc.

I also have a Sony A7RII full-frame camera which I used to take 4K videos occasionally and have a friend who owns an AX100. Yes, it is true that A7RII and AX100 both offer superior video quality than AX53 but my assessment is that the quality gap has reduced (compared to AX33 at least) a lot. However, using the A7RII (or any DSLR) for video taking is a hassle and it costs way more (camera + lens + mic). Video/Image stabilization, recording time limits, and form factor differences still lead me to using camcorders instead of cameras in traditional video tasks.

CD

Justme · May 16, 2016

Sagittarius said:
Justme said:

Sagittarius said:

Justme said:

I think Night Shot is specific to Sony? No other companies have something similar?

Click to expand...

Panasonic WX991 has night shot.

Click to expand...

I did not know. I wonder how good it is compared to Sony's Night Shot. I will be checking it out on YouTube.

Update: Just found one video comparing both - although one comparison is not enough. This person thinks the Sony does a better job in low light and also has the better Night Shot. By Night Shot I mean seeing in IR light.

You should check out a video on the B.O.S.S. gimbal/gyro stabilization on the Sony AX-53....the guy was walking up some stairs etc. and the image was like having a Steadycam.

Click to expand...

I've seen those videos.

Sagittarius said:

I haven't purchased a Sony camcorder in a long time but the AX-53 looks to be a good time to get one. BTW, I also have the Panasonic TM900 3-MOS camcorder from maybe 5 years back. It has limited zoom range but very good low light due to having 3 sensors. But I want Night Shot, so soon as the Sony AX-53 is in stock here in Ontario, Canada - I will get one. Probably buy it off Amazon.ca

Click to expand...

I already have AX-53.

And I have a Panasonic PV-GS400 camcorder with 3CCD.

Sagittarius said:

Sagittarius said:

Sagittarius said:

Anyone here still use camcorders?

Click to expand...

Quite a few people.

Sagittarius said:

xx

xx

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Justme · May 16, 2016

xi5 said:
xi5 said:

A drawback to cameras shooting video is that they have a 29 minute limit for continuous shooting. I thought there had been talks a few years ago to remove this restriction and nothing ever came of it. Can't wait for them to get rid of this limit.

Click to expand...

If Canada is same as US...when shooting in AVCHD, (HD/not 4K), the shoot time is only limited by the available storage space and power.

A caveat being the files get broken up into 4GB chunks during continuous record that later need to be joined into one seamless file on computer, with either the camera's included software or with editing software.

Thanks.

Justme · May 16, 2016

PabloSRT8 said:
PabloSRT8 said:

Anyone here still use camcorders?

Click to expand...

I just got the AX53 yesterday. I've had many camcorders, I'm not a pro but I had small dv8s, then upgraded to Sony FX7, then FS100, and the just used my D800 for videos.

but the D800 is not a grab and go and make home movies cameras. Very shallow depth of field is terrible for kids movies (ofcurse is excellent for film like movies, but that's not what I was looking for)

so I got the AX53, as far as I can see and all YouTube videos, the ax53 is no where near the AX100 in terms of picture quality. I'm a pixel peeper and you can tell right away how the AX53 can't compete. BUT and that's a big $700 but!

i got it open box never used for 799 at Best Buy, so my savings where $900 compared to the AX100.

for the price, the AX53 is great and easy to use, but it's a pain if you want to shoot other than on auto mode since it does not have any dedicated bottoms for custom settings.

Thanks PabloSRT8. I looked at the comparisons between the AX100 and the AX53. The big difference is size and $$. I do not want to spend the extra $$ for the AX100 and the AX53 is much smaller in size for travel. The AX100's bigger sensor will do better in low light and offer shallower DOF. I read that the AX53 is a good improvement over the previous AX33. For my use, the AX53 is the ideal camcorder. Hey, anything is better than my older Sony Hi8, D8 and Mini-DV.

--
I know you mean well but please do not embed my images into the forum. Thanks for respecting that.
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/some_recent_shots
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/a_red_fox_family
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/55043863/small.jpg

Justme · May 16, 2016

CinnamonD said:
Hi,

I have an AX53 and have used in recording indoor/outdoor events and concerts in the past 6 weeks. So far, I would say that the AX53 meets my expectations.

I owned and extensively used an AX33, which is the previous generation of Sony $1K 4K camcorder. AX33 performed poorly in low light conditions and its 10X optical zoom is too small. Therefore, when AX53 was announced, I immediately sold the AX33 and waited a bit to see early adapter's reviews (which I did not do last year, kudos to the reviewers!) before getting the AX53. AX53 has clearly improved the low-light video quality over AX33 and and it has 20X optical zoom. The auto-focus+zoom+BOSS work very well (than AX33 and A7RII). All of these make AX53 a much usable 4K camcorder for camcorder duties: sport, events, travel, concert, ... etc.

I also have a Sony A7RII full-frame camera which I used to take 4K videos occasionally and have a friend who owns an AX100. Yes, it is true that A7RII and AX100 both offer superior video quality than AX53 but my assessment is that the quality gap has reduced (compared to AX33 at least) a lot. However, using the A7RII (or any DSLR) for video taking is a hassle and it costs way more (camera + lens + mic). Video/Image stabilization, recording time limits, and form factor differences still lead me to using camcorders instead of cameras in traditional video tasks.

CD

Thanks for the feedback and comparisons.

TRIODEROB · May 17, 2016

I played with the fdr-33 and 53

I bought the 33 because it was on sale for half price at best buy for one day !

next day sale was over

also tried the rx10m2

also the x100

indoors the only one that was not great was the 33 - but outside its fantastic

the boss stabilization works like a dream

the rx 10 m2 had horrid ergonomics but great indoor quality and did slo-mo

the ax100 had same image quality indoors as rx10m2 but is a large clunker

fdr-53 had ok image quality in doors - not rx10 m2 quality

the fdr-33 /53 are small but heavy so keep that in mind

to me the ax100 seemed to be the worst of all worlds - heavy - no boss - not versatile like rx10m2

side note: color accuracy seemed much better on all than the canon gxx series - they kicked its ass - canon on the other hand had better ergonomics

californiagardening · May 18, 2016

TRIODEROB said:
I played with the fdr-33 and 53

I bought the 33 because it was on sale for half price at best buy for one day !

next day sale was over

also tried the rx10m2

also the x100

indoors the only one that was not great was the 33 - but outside its fantastic

the boss stabilization works like a dream

the rx 10 m2 had horrid ergonomics but great indoor quality and did slo-mo

the ax100 had same image quality indoors as rx10m2 but is a large clunker

fdr-53 had ok image quality in doors - not rx10 m2 quality

the fdr-33 /53 are small but heavy so keep that in mind

to me the ax100 seemed to be the worst of all worlds - heavy - no boss - not versatile like rx10m2

side note: color accuracy seemed much better on all than the canon gxx series - they kicked its ass - canon on the other hand had better ergonomics

Nice comparisons!

In the perfect world, we would have an AX53 equivalent with a 1'' sensor

TRIODEROB · May 18, 2016

yes - bingo

1" sensor with boss and very important the rx10 slo mo via a stacked sensor

also raw video out

xi5 · May 18, 2016

californiagardening said:
Nice comparisons!

In the perfect world, we would have an AX53 equivalent with a 1'' sensor

Well, if they can make small, Panasonic ILC micro four thirds cameras and fixed lens cameras like the GM5 and LX100 that have no overheating issues, then perhaps they can just make one or two designs of small camcorder-shaped bodies with m43 or 1" sensors.

Keep the still and video function the same, have the flip screen and perhaps tweak the OIS. I think they're holding that design back :-( ...hopefully that will change. ;-)

I know you mentioned Sony, if they can avoid overheating, then sure. Panasonic seems to have mastered the overheating issue with the larger sensors for video.

coody · May 18, 2016

[No message]

xi5 · May 18, 2016

coody said:
coody wrote: AX100 4k is still a king. Panasonic FZ1000 4k is good too

Both still too big and the FZ is not a camcorder.

That Sony AX-53 looks very good

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