Four K is a buzzword at the moment - TVs, computer displays - everyone wants to show off their new super high resolution screens. Lest we forget, in order to appreciate these giga displays, the video playing on them has to be shot in 4K as well.
Now, even most news outlets - take ours, for example - don’t have that kind of equipment. Most of what you’ll see is first shot in 1080. Broadcast cameras are really expensive, by the way - the Canon 5D setup we often shoot with cost around four grand, and it can shoot 1080 at 60 frames.
So you’d imagine that shooting 4K video would be out of reach for most people. Well, for the most part you’d be right - but Sony has just announced a new Handycam that shoots 4K video - the FDR-AX100. What a name. Right up there with “Mustang,” isn’t it? - for only two thousand dollars.
Heh. “Only” two thousand. Sounds like a joke, but when you consider what it’s capable of, plus its portability - seriously, have you ever tried to shoot video on a DSLR without a tripod or a monopod? It’s a joke! - the price seems much more reasonable.
The new Handycam FDR-AX100 - seriously, the camera naming convention is horrible, I’d gonna have a hell of a time not referring to this thing as “that little Sony that shoots 4K” - will shoot at both 24 and 30 frame in 4K, putting it above DSLR footage in its price range.
This main version will also be able to shoot 120 frames per second, albeit in 1080 instead of 4K. That’s still awesome, and combined with the AX-100’s small size, will probably give you access to some wicked shots.
But if you don’t have 4K displays and you don’t plan on getting any - Sony’s also gonna release a cheaper version of the Handycam for $1500. So far we know it’ll do everything its more expensive brother will do, except for the 4K. If it retains the same processor, it’ll do 120 frames a second as well.
The still photos Sony has shown look great, too. Combine all this, and it’s a very interesting camera. We’ll have to wait for March to see if Sony will steal business from Canon and Nikon.
