By Alberto Lima
Today, Sony announced their latest offering for their professional line of compact camcorders, the Sony HXR-NX100. The HXR-NX100 is Sony’s entry model into its line of professional camcorders that promises high resolution, excellent low-light performance, accurate color reproduction, and ease of use without skimping on features or quality.
Inside the Sony HXR-NX100 is a 1.0-inch type Exmor® R back-illuminated 20 megapixel CMOS sensor which delivers the equivalent of a Super 16mm film frame. The backlit sensor helps the HXR-NX100 deliver high-resolution images with low noise even in the most challenging low light conditions – even at a minimum illumination of 1.7 lux. It also enables greater depth of field control for even the most demanding projects.
The Sony HXR-NX100 gives users a variety of recording options, you can record in AVCHD, DV and XAVC S 50Mbps; it’s the kind of production flexibility you’d expect in a professional-grade camcorder. The HXR-NX100’s flexibility doesn’t end there, you can record onto SD memory cards, and have the option of dual media slots to record onto two memory cards either simultaneously or via relay mode. The HXR-NX100 can automatically hand off recording duties once the first card is full.
On the business end of the camera, Sony is ensuring high picture quality with a fixed Sony G lens. The HXR-NX100’s fixed lens offers 12x optical zoom from a 29mm angle of view on the widest end and can be increased to 24x with Sony’s Clear Image Zoom while retaining full resolution. Zoom performance can be doubled up to 48x at any point using a Digital Extender. Rounding out the lens features on the HXR-NX100 is a built-in 4-step ND filter for greater exposure control in bright scenes.
The HXR-NX100’s ergonomic and lightweightdesign makes this one of the easiest pro-sumer level camcorders to pick up and use for a wide range of projects. The three independent manual lens rings give you easy access to zoom, focus and iris functions while the camcorder’s connectivity options, including HDMI, Multi/Micro USB, XLR terminals, REMOTE, Composite (BNC), allow you to adapt the HXR-NX100 to your workflow. The camcorder even has a Multi Interface Shoe for use with a wide range of wireless accessories made by Sony, including the UWP-D wireless microphone series.
With the Sony HXR-NX100, Sony is introducing the gateway model for it’s full line of professional camcorder models by giving seasoned pros the tools and options needed for the HXR-NX100 to meld easily into their existing workflow, but still being easy-to-use for a pro-sumer or high level enthusiast to jump right into film making. The key features – including the 1.0-inch type backlit CMOS sensor, dual media slots, independent lens rings, 48x zoom, and multiple recording format capabilities – make the HXR-NX100 a strong option for documentary film producers, event video production, but still accessible enough for student filmmakers and web content creators.
The Sony HXR-NX100 is expected to be available later this year, October 2015. Be sure to check the product page for additional updates and pre-orders once they are available.
