@Xenogears

Yes it had Moire and alaising...show me a single APSC sensor cam that does not. Ive yet to see one. Even on camcorders you get some wierd artifacting anyway.

I myself have become able to use the awful and dumb buttons with intuition. All it takes is practice. This is true for any camera when given a chance.

The VG20 does autofocus. The VG20 has a couple of lenses to be had with stablisation (18-55mm O.S.S,18-200MM O.S.S, 50MM O.S.S) all work very well.

Powerzoom is a missing thing I agree. But fixed? Then it removes the ability to use multiple lenses which is what the VG camera is about.

Agree with the EVF but its far from terrible. Much worse on similar priced cameras.

The handycam line can be anything from consumer to prosumer. The vg20 isnt a professional spec cam. Its a high end consumer camera for those who want the DSLR image in a different form factor. The larger sensor has its benefits.

The XA10 is nice camcorder and I did consider it but felt the XA10 results gives a more video-ish image not so hot in lowlight conditions. Ive been there before...this is why I moved away from camcorders years back to dslr and m4/3 and nex.

Also I have Nex lenses anyway and had a max budget of £1000. XA10 was over that. I also was happy with the Nex 5n image,wanted 50p but pissed off with the overheating.

It really depends what you want from a camcorder. Be it pro enthusiastic or average Joe.

I myself wanted a camcorder that gives me great results that I can get from a dslr but without the fuss. So the VG20 gives me both these things.

Theres always room for improvement...but that can be said for ANY camera.

More notes

Jog dial (not "loose" but smooth so you dont hear clicks in your videos) can be assigned to Gain,iso,shutter speed by holding the manual button. two presses. same as 5n basically.

Expanded focus can be used while recording video which just like peaking is handy when going manual.

Peaking function in one setting only (5n has low,med,high) Peaking looks like medium on VG20.

Photo button can be pressed by accident (and locks fuction while pressed) bit annoying.

Took me a little while to get used to layout. will try to do total video overview when I get some free time.

I no longer read anything Andrew writes.

LOL.

Considering camera, I agree that you did smart thing.

This is true, I saw a comparison video on a forum between the VG10 and the VG20 in low light. The person doing the testing noticed that the field of view was wider on the vg20 than it was on the VG10. From this I'll assume that the crop is the same as the 5n which has a lower crop factor than the Nex-5 in video mode. Also in case anyone was wondering, the low light performance is improved over the VG10 and is able to handle higher gain levels with much less noise.

What's your usual sequence of operations from power up to power down on a scene?

Power on. Then which buttons? wheels? menu options?

Hey I was reading the specs on the NEX VG20 and I noticed that the crop is much more than I thought it was. It's 1.8x in video mode, instead of the 1.5x it is in photo mode. The 18-200mm lens has a real world view of 27-300mm in photo but only 32.4-360mm in video mode.

Is this different in the 5N?

Do all of the new Sony cameras force the same crop factor?

If there is one thing I've learned Vitaliy, it is not to stop by here any more, it just isn't worth the abuse.

Given my resources at IFA I think I did a good job of getting to grips with the cameras in a short time for the first time and giving the details and opinions in the review. All this fuss about details really annoys me on forums. Blogging is never 'final', situations are dynamic and they change. A book is a static source. A scientific paper is final. A hands-on review isn't a dissertation and I'm not publishing peer reviewed scientific papers. If I did this you'd have 2 reviews a year and it would be 6 months late :)

It's an extreme conclusion on the VG20 because I believe, genuinely, that it isn't a good option for aspiring filmmakers. It doesn't handle well. It feels cheap. It gives you barely any advantages over the 5N for the vast amount of extra cash and the one good point it does have - manual audio - the GH2 does for less money and with better handling.

It isn't acceptable for me to get smeared by you Vitaliy time and again. If I felt I deserved it, maybe I wouldn't have such a strong opinion and defence in response. 'Bunch of inaccurate facts and articles'. I mean WTF - am I meant to take that as a compliment? I am entitled to defend myself against rude attitudes like this, I don't care who from.

Not that this changes my view of the VG20 - it's still piece of crap - but the creative styles were not on the VG20s at the Sony stand and yet Sony told me at the IFA these were the final cameras. Yes it looks possible that the camera had a pre-release firmware but it doesn't really change a lot for me anyway. It's still a piece of marked-up old baloney and that jog dial rubbish. Prefer the dial on the 5N and that costs $600.

Sure I can get small things wrong due to misunderstandings, who doesn't? What human being on planet Earth is always 100% perfect? Vladimir Putin maybe? But far better to get the broad picture than the details. I few of you could learn that on this forum.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev I spent a good deal more time and effort than a slap-dash 2 minutes at a stand on the test. If you can't have a good word to say about me, probably better not to say it all.

I'd like to get more clarification on the VG20 features because Sony lists "sunset" as one of the options:

"Six Creative Style settings

Control how the camera processes your images with six finishing styles: Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset and B&W. You can even fine-tune contrast, saturation, and sharpness to your personal taste."

Also Sony lists "Gain" as one of the manual adjustments that can be adjusted by Hot Key or the Jog Dial:

"Full Manual Control

With full manual control of Iris, Shutter Speed, Gain, White Balance , Recording Volume, via convenient hot keys and jog dial, you will be able to adapt to almost any lighting condition to get the best shot."

Anyone know more about just how the Creative styles work and how he Gain is adjusted via the Jog Dial?

Andrew short and hard view on VG20



How does the NEX 5N compare to Sony’s higher end dedicated video cameras?

Well first of all let me tell you that the VG20 is an absolute piece of crap. This is a camera that is meant to sit below the FS100 and is a good $1700 more expensive than the NEX 5N and yet it has a plethora of disadvantages compared to the diminutive mirrorless camera. It brings so little to the party for that extra $1700 namely a top handle and better audio. But in adding those, it also brings massive operational and build quality frustrations to the hapless operator.

The VG20 has just 3 meaningful physical buttons on the body, the other 4 are rather wasted on small things like EVF/LCD toggle and cannot be programmed. You have just one absolutely tiny scroll wheel at the bottom of the camera behind the LCD in an awkward place and it feels cheap and loose. Working with this camera is hell. The 3 meaningful buttons are Iris, Shutter Speed and a button to toggle between AF and MF. You find yourself heavily relying on the touch screen every time you use it, there isn’t even a physical button for the main menu on the camera so to change ANYTHING that doesn’t have a dedicated button you have to delve into the PlayStation style menu on the screen. There’s a button on the top for expanded focus, but you can’t assign peaking to a button! Most shockingly of all there isn’t even a dedicated Gain or ISO button. The touch screen doesn’t seem as responsive as the capacitive one on the NEX 5N either and build quality is exceptionally plasticy.

@EOSHD "VG20 certainly is an improvement on the VG10 and I am looking forward to it, but first I am getting the NEX 5N.

Low light performance is superb

Just an FYI (.. and I understand we don't shoot rez charts for a living) :-) but...the following rez charts compared the NEX-5N 50/1080p detail with th Olympus E-P3 and Panasonic TM700 and it doesn't look too good for that Sony camera.

Sony
http://img1.focus-numerique.com/focus/articles/1294/sony-nex-5n-test-review-video-detail.jpg


Olympus
http://img1.focus-numerique.com/focus/articles/1261/olympus-e-p3-test-review-extrait-video-1080.jpg


Panasonic
http://img1.focus-numerique.com/focus/articles/1077/panasonic-tm700-mire-1920.jpg


From:
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.focus-numerique.com%2Ftest-1294%2Fcompact-sony-nex-5n-mode-video-17.html

I got a kick out of these Sony promotional shot:



It seems to me that they do clearly understand what many out here have been doing and want to target the DSLR market with what they think is a better solution for the filming community.