When the Sony EX1 was released, five years ago, it was an incredibly important camera, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it was the only handheld full HD camera on the block. Secondly, it had three half inch sensors, making it great in low light. Thirdly, it had a real lens which allowed focus, aperture and zoom to be set manually. Last, but not least, it was the first Sony’s handheld camera to record to solid state cards. All of this should have made it the ideal ‘small’ camera for long form documentaries. However, it had one fatal flaw, namely it could only record internally at 35Mb/s 4:2:0, meaning it was not ‘broadcast quality’ (as defined by the EBU or BBC). Continue reading “Sony PMW-200”
