Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I purchased this camera hoping to obtain video quality similar to Canon APS DSLR's. I have not yet reached that point. This camera is a good second camera for interviews, field production and events. It is somewhat front heavy due to the included lens. All buttons and controls are very well placed making it easier than the NX5U to control. The Viewfinder is simply GREAT. An ND filter and an Exposure Lock will make this product a 5 Star for its price.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I purchased this product 3 weeks ago and have been very pleased so far with its performance. Its very lightweight and easy to use. If you are used to shooting in manual mode, ie, iso, fstops , manual focus, this will fall into place very quickly, and you will adapt to its minor flaws.

By that i mean, if you are an auto everything shooter, then you will be dissatisfied as this camera is meant to be used in the manual mode. Take the time to Learn The Camera and what it can do for you.

The stock lens is great for day time shots and even some nightime shots as well, but it does have its limitations, thus , the need for prime lenses etc.
I have used a nikon 50mm 1.8f lens and its great for low light shots , as well as the sony 16mm 2.8 lens.

Overall, if you are coming from the HDV world, and are thinking about upgrading into the HDLSR world, this would be the camera to start that process.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

My brother-from-the-same-mother, just got this camera, and I am tempted to shell down the $$$ to get it as well. I am hoping that he (my brother) will advise on a good or bad, pro-con scenario environment that eminates the true reality of said camera. So far...I like what I am hearing on the reviews here, and hope it dont go up in price. Stay tuned for more. End of Message...

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I got it in 1/2013 because it looks beautiful and I am a fan of Sony brand. After I shot few test video clips in Auto Mode, I was surprised because either the 1080/60i or 1080/60p looks like a consumer camcorder in terms of video quality. I contacted Ask B&H and they referred me to Customer Service for return but it was over 30 days.

In 3/2013, I took it out for intensive tests and what I have found out is this camcorder performs much better in Manual Mode (Iris, ISO, Shutter Speed, Spot Focus, and built-in PP's). I like the Spot Focus feature the most.

This camcorder could be much better if the following features were available:

1) Multi-card slots instead of FMU unless FMU is used a high-capacity (1TB or more) hard drive for transferring files from card(s) to FMU.
2) Use FMU real estate for Assign Buttons rather than over-ride the existing buttons (1-6).
3) Move monitor above the handle like HXR-MC2000U so the monitor does not take half of the room from the carry handle space.
4) Time-lapse recording.
5) User interface software for pre-programmed shooting modes on-the-fly (camcorder is set for Manual Mode) so the user does not spend time for adjusting settings in the filed.
6) Spot Focus Marker on the monitor via a dial knob or like the EXEC button because the Spot Focus cannot be performed with Large LCD Viewfinder hood. Also, the Spot Focus feature offers Focus Tracking.
7) Focus distance and Focal Length information displayed on monitor which can be turned on or off.
8) Constant wider aperture zoom lens(es).

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I love this camera, i work for a broadcasting network in my city. Ive used cameras from Panasonic-Canon. By far this camera is the best. It has an amazing price for the broadcast quality. The only thing this camera is missing is an HD-SDI output. I run component into either a Newtek Tricaster 300 or 455. im also a big fan of the E-Mount lenses. Even for my hobby of filming skateboarding, i can use a E-Mount fisheye. Also the weight is perfect, not to light and not to heavy.
I will continue to use this camera everyday in my sports broadcasts.
Also BH shows that Recording Media isn't included with the camera, when i opened the box, there was a 16 gig sony card in the box with a note saying Thanks.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

IT'S GOOD FOR MY JOB.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Quick and easy order to make!

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

This baby is on it's way back. I hope the BH folks are good to me and will take it back without any problems.

I REALLY, REALLY wanted to like this camera! Great form factor, looks great, but the way it performs, what a shame.

This must be one of the weakest APS-C sensors ever made. So I took an hour and a half of a fashion shoot and the shots weren't up to a GoPro Level. Here are just some of the issues:

Bad Aliasing - much worse than an ordinary DSLR. Don't understand that. But in case you don't believe me, check the reviews across the web. Many have noted this issue with this camera. Much worse than expected.
Optical Zoom - at full speed, it hickups, and you can see it kind of shifting, in the recorded footage. Tried it several times. Performs fine at half speed, which isn't very useful. Very disappointing. Check the web, others have noted the same problem.
Focus/Lens - I could swear Sony claims this Lens is parafocal. I don't think so.
Color - dull and lacks vibrancy. This is the one that just floored me. Indoors, in a well lit store! Tried several color profiles, and I still had to color grade every single shot.

I don't even care that it doesn't have an ND filter, although that's an annoyance. Not for me. I'll pass.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I just bought this cam for event and local commercial and web production. There is a lens focus/image shift issue that others have complained about. In the near future I will be sending it to Sony for eval. Otherwise the camera performs well for the money.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I shoot mostly corporate video: interviews, product demos and training. My clients want the shallow depth of field look these days - so I was contemplating the purchase of a 5D. Yet, I'm a long-time video person - I could simply not face the idea of shooting without XLR audio and Zebra. And I sure would miss my zoom.
Enter the NEX EA50: APC sensor in a ENG camera body, with all the professional controls one could possibly want.When I first tried it out, I fell totally in love with the ease of operation and the beautiful soft background focus this camera achieves. The controls are well laid out, and the picture is beautiful. I love the peaking, and the focus enlarge. The automatic focus is spot-on. 

As I kept testing it, I also noticed some shortcomings, but for the money, I still thought it was the right camera for me at this moment, and I did purchase it. The alternative would have been the 5D - or a FS100 at twice the money and no zoom.

Things I love about this camera:
You can achieve gorgeous shallow depth of field and give your clients the DSLR look without having to struggle with a DSLR.

Here's one especially intriguing feature:
You know those shots where you rack the focus from object A to object B in a shallow DoF scene? You remember how many takes you had to shoot to get it right? Well, with this camera you can pre-program the focus shift, and it will be spot on, and exactly the duration that you specify. Is that cool or what?

Another thing I absolutely love is the viewfinder diopter tube. Shooting outdoors, it takes away all the headache of bright light interfering with your LCD screen. Since you have expanded focus and peaking, there is no worry with resolution either, and the eye cup can adjust to your vision.

Here's another cool feature:
You can actually dial in the color temperature of your indoor and outdoor presets. So, if you find that your manual white balance is still not quite what you wanted, you can set a preset that is slightly different (let's say actual WB is 3200, and you set it to 3600) and thus warm up your image.



Here's the bad news: As everyone else reports, it has no built in ND, and, living in a bright climate, I can attest that this renders it almost useless outdoors until you buy some ND filter. (On a test shoot, I had to up the shutter speed to 100 in order to expose correctly at f25 and zero gain. So, forget about shallow DoF when shooting without a filter). The flip side to this is, that this camera needs the gain up when shooting indoors. This surprised me. I suppose it was some compromise in the manufacturing - they must have hampered the sensor somewhat to allow for shooting outdoors. To be fair, I did not see any grain, but it still freaked me out having to shoot at 9 dB under well-lit indoor conditions. Then again, the Canon C300 has a native ISO of 850, that strikes me as very high too. Maybe that's just the way these sensors are.

I fixed both of these issues by getting a 50mm f1.2 prime lens for indoor shooting, and a couple of ND filters for outdoors. I absolutely love the fact that I can set the servo zoom to digital, and actually zoom in on an interview while using my prime lens. This digital zoom is super smooth and I noticed no loss. So I can vary between MS and CU during an interview without having to interrupt the interview by moving the camera. I'm attaching a frame grab from my latest interview. If you want to see the actual video footage, go yo YouTube and search for "Sony EX-EA 50 footage sample interview".



The other bad news about this camera is that the servo zoom of the kit lens is really bad. Not only does it only go at one speed (even if set in the menu to "variable"), but it engages in a very rough way, actually shifting the image when you change directions. Both my test unit as well as my purchased unit have this problem, and I read other reviewers mention it, so I must assume it is a known issue with this camera. In a supposedly "ENG" camera, this is unforgivable to me, and is what costs this camera the missing star. You can actually zoom much smoother by turning the zoom ring on the lens itself. But come on Sony - you tease us video folks with a zoom rocker, and then it is no good? My ancient Z1U as well as my tiny JVC Hm100 have a better zoom than this camera!



One other thing that worries me about this camera is the tendency for aliasing. Have not used it enough to really run into problems, but I live in fear of my next interview subject wearing a fishbone patterned suit. Aliasing does get worse when you use the digital zoom, so be aware of that.



Overall, I am very happy with the purchase. It does what I need it to do, and it saves me from having to go out shoot with a DSLR. By the way, shooting handheld interviews outdoors, I use a $[$]monopod in addition to the pull out the shoulder mount - and the image is rock-steady.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Camera works great, no problems so far. Wish it had arrived with a few accessories such as a simple bag to carry it around and more sd card storage. Otherwise I would definitely recommend it.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Sony has put out a slew of new camcorders since I bought my trusty little V1U years ago. I also owned the Z1U until it was stolen. But this new EA50 is a game changer, and something I've been holding out for ever since the Nex series was born.

I bought the Nex5 DSLR and, while it is tiny and takes great pics and video, there is no professional audio, controls or viewfinder. It's fun for my personal use but not for making a living. The EA50 is the perfect blend of DSLR depth of field, ergonomics, professional controls and audio, and all flavors of HD ever needed with the advantage of being tapeless.

Superb low light sensitivity, larger camera than expected but light and well designed, records excellent quality AVCHD files to regular Memory Stick or uncompressed HD to an HD capable recorder via HDMI (recorder not included). I was a tape holdout until I flew to another state, shot clips of subjects all day, returned to the hotel room at night, reviewed the clips and FTP'd the ones we would use to my editor while I went out to dinner. Try doing that with tape.

Another cool thing about SD card recording is that there is no spool up time. Record starts instantly. It also takes 16 megapixel photos.

The only caveat is that if you are shooting a subject up close and throwing the BG out of focus, make certain you switch to manual focus and use the expanded view often. It is easy to lose focus over repeated takes and then you'll have a soft subject.

Otherwise, this is the perfect camcorder for shooting in the field.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Love the dual memory path storage, lovley glass and large image sensors to make for some beautiful shooting in any condition and really nice looking HD video. The lens package with 18-200mm servo zoom allows for wonderful versatility and shallow DOP. I've greally enjoyed every moment of working with this camera!

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

If I could I would returning the Sony NEX-EA50U as it has very poor low light performance. My 3-chip Panasonic AG-AC160A had much better low light performance. Example when shooting with the Sony NEX-EA50U inside a house with adequate lighting when you set the gain manually to 0db, AWB, Auto Shutter, iris fully opened, no scene profile, the image is very dark like there are no lights on in the room. When shooting in 1080x1920 60p you could reduce the shutter speed to 30 and the image will become more useable in very low motion settings. Even when bumping the gain to 14db the image is still dark, not until you bump up to 24db does the image look bright enough but the black areas become very grainy making the image look poor. I also have previously owned the Sony HXR-NX3D1 NXCAM 3D that performed better in low light than the Sony NEX-EA50U.

I love this camera other than how it handles in low light.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I shoot mostly corporate video: interviews, product demos and training. My clients demand the shallow depth of field look these days - so I was contemplating the purchase of a 5D. Yet, I'm a long-time video person. I could not face the idea of shooting without XLR audio and Zebra. And I sure would miss my zoom. Enter the NEX EA50: APC sensor in a ENG camera body, with all the professional controls one could possibly want. When I first tried it out, I was totally in love with the ease of operation and the gorgeous soft background focus this camera achieves. The controls are well laid out, and the picture is beautiful. I love the peaking, and the fous enlarge. The automatic focus is spot-on.

As I kept testing it, I also noticed its shortcomings, but for the money, I still thought it was the right camera for me at this moment, and I did purchase it. The alternative would have been the 5D - or a FS100 at twice the money and no zoom.

Here's the bad news: As everyone else reports, it has no built in ND, and, living in a bright climate, I can attest that this renders it almost useless outdoors until you buy some ND filter. (on a test shoot, I had to up the shutter speed to 100 in order to expose correctly at f25 and zero gain). The flip side to this is, that this camera needs the gain up when shooting indoors. This surprised me. I suppose it was some compromise in the manufacturing - they must have hampered the sensor somewhat to allow for shooting outdoors. To be fair, I did not see any grain, but it still freaked me out having to shoot at 12 dB under well-lit indoor conditions.

I fixed both of these issues by getting a 50mm f1.2 prime lens for indoor shooting, and a couple of ND filters for outdoors. I absolutely love the fact that I can set the servo zoom to digital, and actually zoom in on an interview while using my prime lens. This digital zoom is super smooth and I noticed no loss. So I can vary between MS and CU during an interview without having to interrupt the interview by moving my camera. I can also zoom in live.

The bad news about the zoom is that the actual servo zoom of the kit lens is really, really bad. Not only does it only go at one speed (even if set in the menu to "variable"), but it engages in a very rough way, actually shifting the image when you change directions. Both my test unit as well as my puchased unit have this problem, and I read other reviewers mention it, so I must assume it is a known issue with this camera. In a supposedly "ENG" camera, this is unforgivable to me, and is what costs this camera one of the missing stars. You can actually zoom much smoother by using the zoom button on the lens itself. But come on Sony - you tease us video folks with a zoom rocker, and then it is no good? My tiny JVC Hm100 has a better zoom than this camera!

The other missing star is because of the bad aliasing. Again, I knew about it, and purchased the camera anyway, but quite frankly, it is very noticable, and it worries me. If a later firmware update could fix this, I'd be first in line.

Overall, I am still happy with the purchase. It does what I need it to do, and it saves me from having to go out shoot with a DSLR. By the way, shooting handheld interviews outdoors, I use a monopod and pull out the shoulder mount - and everything is rock-steady.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I bought this camera because I had good luck with the NEX-VG10 (never had to mix the footage with another camera) when it first came out. The EA50 was a dream come true with it's XLR audio, interchangeable NEX lenses, and shallow DOF. Unfortunately, the production environment in which I now work requires more speed and precision than this camera can muster. The digital zoom is NOT lossless as Sony claims and is unusable in a professional environment. The kit lens with its slow optical zoom can't acquire any decent footage in low light because the moment you zoom in the aperture closes down to f/6.3. The footage doesn't mix well with our existing footage (acquired on a Z7U), mostly because the detail gets lost somewhere in the downscaling or compression (not sure which). The end result is a slow camera that can only be used with lots of light and yields mushy images that make a 4 year old HDV camera look good.

Returned it after 2 days and bought a PMW-200.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

We shoot weddings. We have been waiting since October of last hyear to get this baby. We love everything about it. It looks, feels very professional. We needed the XLR mic plugins, and we needed a camera with some type of shoulder mount to do walkarounds at the Wedding Reception. AHHHHH and the changeable lenses, WOW what more can a person ask for!!!!!!!!

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I shoot mainly natural history subjects and have had a couple of outings with the camera. The glass is fantastic and switching between HD recording and a full feature digital still camera takes only the push of a button. Very slick. I've abandoned the digital zoom after noticing some loss of detail. All the menus are clean and easy and the camera is tight and solid. Everything works without a hitch including the bundled content browser software. A couple of the wires fit funny but have smoothed out with a little use(USB out, AC adaper in).The servo zoom is slow but all the manual and auto features work flawlessly. A very flexible design and forgiving image sensor (very nice color repro. and super low noise) with a slightly cumbersome viewfinder. This camera works great for me locked down, shooting and moving around, and on the shoulder. It takes about 6 seconds to fire up but starts recording almost instantly when triggered. The steady shot is very steady, much better than the FX-1. The on board data storage options are great. I'm initially using dirt cheap SD cards and haven't had a single data error in 50GB of recording outside down to 5 degrees F. This is an amazing piece of technology, basically 2 cameras in one and they both work wonderfully.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

The avchd format in this camera is problematic. Bought the camera in the middle of video job deadlines thinking it would be similar to another Sony camera I own but it is impossible to import the files onto final cut 7. Here's the problem I am having and someone else wrote about it."I just got a new Sony NEX-EA50 but when I try to import the footage using Log and Transfer, it does not show up. When I try to drop the card folder into the window I get the ""PRIVATE" contains unsupported media or has an invalid directory structure. Please choose a folder whose directory structure matches supported media." message. The only way I can import the footage is using Toast, but that is a pain in the *** because it is a hassle to rename and scan the clips before I import. Does anybody know whats going on? Did Sony purposely change their file directory system so it couldn't be read by FCP?" I have personally not tried Toast but I don't want to go that route either. Have done two shoots, the first shot at 108060p, the highest setting, and nowhere says about all the problems you will encounter when shooting at the highest setting. Sony also makes you buy a program to convert mts files onto viewable files which I did buy and it changed the frame rate from 29.97 to 30 fps making the mouth and sound out of sync. It has been nightmarish to deal with this. The camera looks very nice, very plasticky though but it looks professional but the learning curve seems to be ridiculous. If I don't figure this out fast I will be returning it. Did a second shoot at 108060 I thinking now it is going to import the files normally. Well, it imports the files but it opens one as a QT movie and not two others saying I need a program to open them. I am in the middle of that one now.Lesson: Do a lot of testing before you take it out in the real world. Oh and Sony directions in English might as well be written in Martian. There's no info addressing these issues. Also, noticed rolling shots when panning. It seemed unacceptable. I shoot with the sony hvr v1u and it does nothing like this.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I have been a media production professional for over 30 years. My last video camera purchase prior to this year was a Sony HVR-Z1U which is one of the first Prosumer HDV cameras. I have been wanting to purchase a new video camera for a couple of years and have been watching the technology change. This summer before an Alaskan vacation I purchased a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V and was so blown away with the video quality on such a small camera that I knew I had to finally spend the money on a new video camera. After a ton of research I pre-ordered this one an waited like everyone else. I agree with most of the positive things said by others here but there are a few negatives that I believe potential buyers should be aware of:
1. This camera has no LANC control. I don't know if I missed that in all the reviews or it was never mentioned but in my world where I do a lot of tripod shooting it is a big deal and I cannot understand why it was not included on this camera.
2. In several reviews and even statements by Sony it was said that the "Digital Zoom" is "Loss-less". That is definitely NOT true and in the manual it admits that.
3. You set the "Zoom Rocker" to be either for controlling the zoom on the lens or the digital zoom. If you set it for lens zoom you cannot control the digital at all. Since there is also a handle zoom, why not allow the handle zoom and the rocker zoom to both be selectable between digital or lens.

Just thought you might like to know...

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I purchased this camera hoping to obtain video quality similar to Canon APS DSLR's. I have not yet reached that point. This camera is a good second camera for interviews, field production and events. It is somewhat front heavy due to the included lens. All buttons and controls are very well placed making it easier than the NX5U to control. The Viewfinder is simply GREAT. An ND filter and an Exposure Lock will make this product a 5 Star for its price.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I purchased this product 3 weeks ago and have been very pleased so far with its performance. Its very lightweight and easy to use. If you are used to shooting in manual mode, ie, iso, fstops , manual focus, this will fall into place very quickly, and you will adapt to its minor flaws.

By that i mean, if you are an auto everything shooter, then you will be dissatisfied as this camera is meant to be used in the manual mode. Take the time to Learn The Camera and what it can do for you.

The stock lens is great for day time shots and even some nightime shots as well, but it does have its limitations, thus , the need for prime lenses etc.
I have used a nikon 50mm 1.8f lens and its great for low light shots , as well as the sony 16mm 2.8 lens.

Overall, if you are coming from the HDV world, and are thinking about upgrading into the HDLSR world, this would be the camera to start that process.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

My brother-from-the-same-mother, just got this camera, and I am tempted to shell down the $$$ to get it as well. I am hoping that he (my brother) will advise on a good or bad, pro-con scenario environment that eminates the true reality of said camera. So far...I like what I am hearing on the reviews here, and hope it dont go up in price. Stay tuned for more. End of Message...

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I got it in 1/2013 because it looks beautiful and I am a fan of Sony brand. After I shot few test video clips in Auto Mode, I was surprised because either the 1080/60i or 1080/60p looks like a consumer camcorder in terms of video quality. I contacted Ask B&H and they referred me to Customer Service for return but it was over 30 days.

In 3/2013, I took it out for intensive tests and what I have found out is this camcorder performs much better in Manual Mode (Iris, ISO, Shutter Speed, Spot Focus, and built-in PP's). I like the Spot Focus feature the most.

This camcorder could be much better if the following features were available:

1) Multi-card slots instead of FMU unless FMU is used a high-capacity (1TB or more) hard drive for transferring files from card(s) to FMU.
2) Use FMU real estate for Assign Buttons rather than over-ride the existing buttons (1-6).
3) Move monitor above the handle like HXR-MC2000U so the monitor does not take half of the room from the carry handle space.
4) Time-lapse recording.
5) User interface software for pre-programmed shooting modes on-the-fly (camcorder is set for Manual Mode) so the user does not spend time for adjusting settings in the filed.
6) Spot Focus Marker on the monitor via a dial knob or like the EXEC button because the Spot Focus cannot be performed with Large LCD Viewfinder hood. Also, the Spot Focus feature offers Focus Tracking.
7) Focus distance and Focal Length information displayed on monitor which can be turned on or off.
8) Constant wider aperture zoom lens(es).

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I love this camera, i work for a broadcasting network in my city. Ive used cameras from Panasonic-Canon. By far this camera is the best. It has an amazing price for the broadcast quality. The only thing this camera is missing is an HD-SDI output. I run component into either a Newtek Tricaster 300 or 455. im also a big fan of the E-Mount lenses. Even for my hobby of filming skateboarding, i can use a E-Mount fisheye. Also the weight is perfect, not to light and not to heavy.
I will continue to use this camera everyday in my sports broadcasts.
Also BH shows that Recording Media isn't included with the camera, when i opened the box, there was a 16 gig sony card in the box with a note saying Thanks.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

IT'S GOOD FOR MY JOB.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Quick and easy order to make!

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

This baby is on it's way back. I hope the BH folks are good to me and will take it back without any problems.

I REALLY, REALLY wanted to like this camera! Great form factor, looks great, but the way it performs, what a shame.

This must be one of the weakest APS-C sensors ever made. So I took an hour and a half of a fashion shoot and the shots weren't up to a GoPro Level. Here are just some of the issues:

Bad Aliasing - much worse than an ordinary DSLR. Don't understand that. But in case you don't believe me, check the reviews across the web. Many have noted this issue with this camera. Much worse than expected.
Optical Zoom - at full speed, it hickups, and you can see it kind of shifting, in the recorded footage. Tried it several times. Performs fine at half speed, which isn't very useful. Very disappointing. Check the web, others have noted the same problem.
Focus/Lens - I could swear Sony claims this Lens is parafocal. I don't think so.
Color - dull and lacks vibrancy. This is the one that just floored me. Indoors, in a well lit store! Tried several color profiles, and I still had to color grade every single shot.

I don't even care that it doesn't have an ND filter, although that's an annoyance. Not for me. I'll pass.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I just bought this cam for event and local commercial and web production. There is a lens focus/image shift issue that others have complained about. In the near future I will be sending it to Sony for eval. Otherwise the camera performs well for the money.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I shoot mostly corporate video: interviews, product demos and training. My clients want the shallow depth of field look these days - so I was contemplating the purchase of a 5D. Yet, I'm a long-time video person - I could simply not face the idea of shooting without XLR audio and Zebra. And I sure would miss my zoom.
Enter the NEX EA50: APC sensor in a ENG camera body, with all the professional controls one could possibly want.When I first tried it out, I fell totally in love with the ease of operation and the beautiful soft background focus this camera achieves. The controls are well laid out, and the picture is beautiful. I love the peaking, and the focus enlarge. The automatic focus is spot-on. 

As I kept testing it, I also noticed some shortcomings, but for the money, I still thought it was the right camera for me at this moment, and I did purchase it. The alternative would have been the 5D - or a FS100 at twice the money and no zoom.

Things I love about this camera:
You can achieve gorgeous shallow depth of field and give your clients the DSLR look without having to struggle with a DSLR.

Here's one especially intriguing feature:
You know those shots where you rack the focus from object A to object B in a shallow DoF scene? You remember how many takes you had to shoot to get it right? Well, with this camera you can pre-program the focus shift, and it will be spot on, and exactly the duration that you specify. Is that cool or what?

Another thing I absolutely love is the viewfinder diopter tube. Shooting outdoors, it takes away all the headache of bright light interfering with your LCD screen. Since you have expanded focus and peaking, there is no worry with resolution either, and the eye cup can adjust to your vision.

Here's another cool feature:
You can actually dial in the color temperature of your indoor and outdoor presets. So, if you find that your manual white balance is still not quite what you wanted, you can set a preset that is slightly different (let's say actual WB is 3200, and you set it to 3600) and thus warm up your image.



Here's the bad news: As everyone else reports, it has no built in ND, and, living in a bright climate, I can attest that this renders it almost useless outdoors until you buy some ND filter. (On a test shoot, I had to up the shutter speed to 100 in order to expose correctly at f25 and zero gain. So, forget about shallow DoF when shooting without a filter). The flip side to this is, that this camera needs the gain up when shooting indoors. This surprised me. I suppose it was some compromise in the manufacturing - they must have hampered the sensor somewhat to allow for shooting outdoors. To be fair, I did not see any grain, but it still freaked me out having to shoot at 9 dB under well-lit indoor conditions. Then again, the Canon C300 has a native ISO of 850, that strikes me as very high too. Maybe that's just the way these sensors are.

I fixed both of these issues by getting a 50mm f1.2 prime lens for indoor shooting, and a couple of ND filters for outdoors. I absolutely love the fact that I can set the servo zoom to digital, and actually zoom in on an interview while using my prime lens. This digital zoom is super smooth and I noticed no loss. So I can vary between MS and CU during an interview without having to interrupt the interview by moving the camera. I'm attaching a frame grab from my latest interview. If you want to see the actual video footage, go yo YouTube and search for "Sony EX-EA 50 footage sample interview".



The other bad news about this camera is that the servo zoom of the kit lens is really bad. Not only does it only go at one speed (even if set in the menu to "variable"), but it engages in a very rough way, actually shifting the image when you change directions. Both my test unit as well as my purchased unit have this problem, and I read other reviewers mention it, so I must assume it is a known issue with this camera. In a supposedly "ENG" camera, this is unforgivable to me, and is what costs this camera the missing star. You can actually zoom much smoother by turning the zoom ring on the lens itself. But come on Sony - you tease us video folks with a zoom rocker, and then it is no good? My ancient Z1U as well as my tiny JVC Hm100 have a better zoom than this camera!



One other thing that worries me about this camera is the tendency for aliasing. Have not used it enough to really run into problems, but I live in fear of my next interview subject wearing a fishbone patterned suit. Aliasing does get worse when you use the digital zoom, so be aware of that.



Overall, I am very happy with the purchase. It does what I need it to do, and it saves me from having to go out shoot with a DSLR. By the way, shooting handheld interviews outdoors, I use a $[$]monopod in addition to the pull out the shoulder mount - and the image is rock-steady.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Camera works great, no problems so far. Wish it had arrived with a few accessories such as a simple bag to carry it around and more sd card storage. Otherwise I would definitely recommend it.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Sony has put out a slew of new camcorders since I bought my trusty little V1U years ago. I also owned the Z1U until it was stolen. But this new EA50 is a game changer, and something I've been holding out for ever since the Nex series was born.

I bought the Nex5 DSLR and, while it is tiny and takes great pics and video, there is no professional audio, controls or viewfinder. It's fun for my personal use but not for making a living. The EA50 is the perfect blend of DSLR depth of field, ergonomics, professional controls and audio, and all flavors of HD ever needed with the advantage of being tapeless.

Superb low light sensitivity, larger camera than expected but light and well designed, records excellent quality AVCHD files to regular Memory Stick or uncompressed HD to an HD capable recorder via HDMI (recorder not included). I was a tape holdout until I flew to another state, shot clips of subjects all day, returned to the hotel room at night, reviewed the clips and FTP'd the ones we would use to my editor while I went out to dinner. Try doing that with tape.

Another cool thing about SD card recording is that there is no spool up time. Record starts instantly. It also takes 16 megapixel photos.

The only caveat is that if you are shooting a subject up close and throwing the BG out of focus, make certain you switch to manual focus and use the expanded view often. It is easy to lose focus over repeated takes and then you'll have a soft subject.

Otherwise, this is the perfect camcorder for shooting in the field.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

Love the dual memory path storage, lovley glass and large image sensors to make for some beautiful shooting in any condition and really nice looking HD video. The lens package with 18-200mm servo zoom allows for wonderful versatility and shallow DOP. I've greally enjoyed every moment of working with this camera!

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

If I could I would returning the Sony NEX-EA50U as it has very poor low light performance. My 3-chip Panasonic AG-AC160A had much better low light performance. Example when shooting with the Sony NEX-EA50U inside a house with adequate lighting when you set the gain manually to 0db, AWB, Auto Shutter, iris fully opened, no scene profile, the image is very dark like there are no lights on in the room. When shooting in 1080x1920 60p you could reduce the shutter speed to 30 and the image will become more useable in very low motion settings. Even when bumping the gain to 14db the image is still dark, not until you bump up to 24db does the image look bright enough but the black areas become very grainy making the image look poor. I also have previously owned the Sony HXR-NX3D1 NXCAM 3D that performed better in low light than the Sony NEX-EA50U.

I love this camera other than how it handles in low light.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I shoot mostly corporate video: interviews, product demos and training. My clients demand the shallow depth of field look these days - so I was contemplating the purchase of a 5D. Yet, I'm a long-time video person. I could not face the idea of shooting without XLR audio and Zebra. And I sure would miss my zoom. Enter the NEX EA50: APC sensor in a ENG camera body, with all the professional controls one could possibly want. When I first tried it out, I was totally in love with the ease of operation and the gorgeous soft background focus this camera achieves. The controls are well laid out, and the picture is beautiful. I love the peaking, and the fous enlarge. The automatic focus is spot-on.

As I kept testing it, I also noticed its shortcomings, but for the money, I still thought it was the right camera for me at this moment, and I did purchase it. The alternative would have been the 5D - or a FS100 at twice the money and no zoom.

Here's the bad news: As everyone else reports, it has no built in ND, and, living in a bright climate, I can attest that this renders it almost useless outdoors until you buy some ND filter. (on a test shoot, I had to up the shutter speed to 100 in order to expose correctly at f25 and zero gain). The flip side to this is, that this camera needs the gain up when shooting indoors. This surprised me. I suppose it was some compromise in the manufacturing - they must have hampered the sensor somewhat to allow for shooting outdoors. To be fair, I did not see any grain, but it still freaked me out having to shoot at 12 dB under well-lit indoor conditions.

I fixed both of these issues by getting a 50mm f1.2 prime lens for indoor shooting, and a couple of ND filters for outdoors. I absolutely love the fact that I can set the servo zoom to digital, and actually zoom in on an interview while using my prime lens. This digital zoom is super smooth and I noticed no loss. So I can vary between MS and CU during an interview without having to interrupt the interview by moving my camera. I can also zoom in live.

The bad news about the zoom is that the actual servo zoom of the kit lens is really, really bad. Not only does it only go at one speed (even if set in the menu to "variable"), but it engages in a very rough way, actually shifting the image when you change directions. Both my test unit as well as my puchased unit have this problem, and I read other reviewers mention it, so I must assume it is a known issue with this camera. In a supposedly "ENG" camera, this is unforgivable to me, and is what costs this camera one of the missing stars. You can actually zoom much smoother by using the zoom button on the lens itself. But come on Sony - you tease us video folks with a zoom rocker, and then it is no good? My tiny JVC Hm100 has a better zoom than this camera!

The other missing star is because of the bad aliasing. Again, I knew about it, and purchased the camera anyway, but quite frankly, it is very noticable, and it worries me. If a later firmware update could fix this, I'd be first in line.

Overall, I am still happy with the purchase. It does what I need it to do, and it saves me from having to go out shoot with a DSLR. By the way, shooting handheld interviews outdoors, I use a monopod and pull out the shoulder mount - and everything is rock-steady.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I bought this camera because I had good luck with the NEX-VG10 (never had to mix the footage with another camera) when it first came out. The EA50 was a dream come true with it's XLR audio, interchangeable NEX lenses, and shallow DOF. Unfortunately, the production environment in which I now work requires more speed and precision than this camera can muster. The digital zoom is NOT lossless as Sony claims and is unusable in a professional environment. The kit lens with its slow optical zoom can't acquire any decent footage in low light because the moment you zoom in the aperture closes down to f/6.3. The footage doesn't mix well with our existing footage (acquired on a Z7U), mostly because the detail gets lost somewhere in the downscaling or compression (not sure which). The end result is a slow camera that can only be used with lots of light and yields mushy images that make a 4 year old HDV camera look good.

Returned it after 2 days and bought a PMW-200.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

We shoot weddings. We have been waiting since October of last hyear to get this baby. We love everything about it. It looks, feels very professional. We needed the XLR mic plugins, and we needed a camera with some type of shoulder mount to do walkarounds at the Wedding Reception. AHHHHH and the changeable lenses, WOW what more can a person ask for!!!!!!!!

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I shoot mainly natural history subjects and have had a couple of outings with the camera. The glass is fantastic and switching between HD recording and a full feature digital still camera takes only the push of a button. Very slick. I've abandoned the digital zoom after noticing some loss of detail. All the menus are clean and easy and the camera is tight and solid. Everything works without a hitch including the bundled content browser software. A couple of the wires fit funny but have smoothed out with a little use(USB out, AC adaper in).The servo zoom is slow but all the manual and auto features work flawlessly. A very flexible design and forgiving image sensor (very nice color repro. and super low noise) with a slightly cumbersome viewfinder. This camera works great for me locked down, shooting and moving around, and on the shoulder. It takes about 6 seconds to fire up but starts recording almost instantly when triggered. The steady shot is very steady, much better than the FX-1. The on board data storage options are great. I'm initially using dirt cheap SD cards and haven't had a single data error in 50GB of recording outside down to 5 degrees F. This is an amazing piece of technology, basically 2 cameras in one and they both work wonderfully.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

The avchd format in this camera is problematic. Bought the camera in the middle of video job deadlines thinking it would be similar to another Sony camera I own but it is impossible to import the files onto final cut 7. Here's the problem I am having and someone else wrote about it."I just got a new Sony NEX-EA50 but when I try to import the footage using Log and Transfer, it does not show up. When I try to drop the card folder into the window I get the ""PRIVATE" contains unsupported media or has an invalid directory structure. Please choose a folder whose directory structure matches supported media." message. The only way I can import the footage is using Toast, but that is a pain in the *** because it is a hassle to rename and scan the clips before I import. Does anybody know whats going on? Did Sony purposely change their file directory system so it couldn't be read by FCP?" I have personally not tried Toast but I don't want to go that route either. Have done two shoots, the first shot at 108060p, the highest setting, and nowhere says about all the problems you will encounter when shooting at the highest setting. Sony also makes you buy a program to convert mts files onto viewable files which I did buy and it changed the frame rate from 29.97 to 30 fps making the mouth and sound out of sync. It has been nightmarish to deal with this. The camera looks very nice, very plasticky though but it looks professional but the learning curve seems to be ridiculous. If I don't figure this out fast I will be returning it. Did a second shoot at 108060 I thinking now it is going to import the files normally. Well, it imports the files but it opens one as a QT movie and not two others saying I need a program to open them. I am in the middle of that one now.Lesson: Do a lot of testing before you take it out in the real world. Oh and Sony directions in English might as well be written in Martian. There's no info addressing these issues. Also, noticed rolling shots when panning. It seemed unacceptable. I shoot with the sony hvr v1u and it does nothing like this.

Comments about Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens:

I have been a media production professional for over 30 years. My last video camera purchase prior to this year was a Sony HVR-Z1U which is one of the first Prosumer HDV cameras. I have been wanting to purchase a new video camera for a couple of years and have been watching the technology change. This summer before an Alaskan vacation I purchased a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V and was so blown away with the video quality on such a small camera that I knew I had to finally spend the money on a new video camera. After a ton of research I pre-ordered this one an waited like everyone else. I agree with most of the positive things said by others here but there are a few negatives that I believe potential buyers should be aware of:
1. This camera has no LANC control. I don't know if I missed that in all the reviews or it was never mentioned but in my world where I do a lot of tripod shooting it is a big deal and I cannot understand why it was not included on this camera.
2. In several reviews and even statements by Sony it was said that the "Digital Zoom" is "Loss-less". That is definitely NOT true and in the manual it admits that.
3. You set the "Zoom Rocker" to be either for controlling the zoom on the lens or the digital zoom. If you set it for lens zoom you cannot control the digital at all. Since there is also a handle zoom, why not allow the handle zoom and the rocker zoom to both be selectable between digital or lens.

Just thought you might like to know...