Sony PXW-Z150 Review (with picture settings).

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The Sony PXW-Z150 4K camcorder.

Although it’s been on the market for a while now I have not yet had a chance to write a proper review of the PXW-Z150. I’ve played with it a few times and I’ve felt it offers good value (approx £3k/$4K). As it’s starting to gain some traction amongst corporate producers and those looking for a straight forward 4K camera with lot’s of bang for the buck I though it’s time to share my thoughts.

Cameras like the Z150 are often overlooked these days as they don’t have the “cool” factor that comes with the large sensor Super 35mm cameras that are all the rage, cameras like the PXW-FS5 or FS7.

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Left side of the PXW-Z150

But not everyone wants shallow depth of field all of the time. In addition many people want zoom lenses that can zoom in to get a tight shot and zoom back out smoothly without a focus shift. If you add portability and ease of use into the mix then there is no Super 35mm camera that offers all of these. Want a big par focal zoom range – the lens gets big, heavy and very expensive.

This is where a one piece camera with a fixed zoom lens comes into it’s own. For a fraction of the the price of any of the 10 times or more par-focal S35m zoom lenses you can get a fully functioning camcorder. The PXW-Z150 has a 12x optical zoom that can be boosted up to 24x in HD (more on that later).

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Right side of the PXW-Z150

So lets take a closer look at the Z150.

From the outside the PXW-Z150 resembles many other handycam style cameras and is almost identical to the HXR-NX100. But this is from the PXW product line, I’m lead to believe that stands for “Professional XAVC Writer”. So this means it will have the XAVC codec. It’s also an XDCAM camcorder and in this case that means it also includes the MPEG2 HD codec. In addition in case you haven’t spotted it there is also a big “4K” symbol on the side.

CODECS AND RECORD FORMATS

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The PXW-Z150’s lens hood with built in shutter style lens cap.

So the camera can record UHD (3840 x 2160, the 4K standard for TV) at up to 30fps using Sony’s XAVC-L codec. This is the long GoP version of XAVC and comes in 60 and 100Mb/s versions in the Z150.  It is worth considering that this codec does require a pretty good computer to work with it in post production, ideally a minimum of a 4 core i7 processor with 16GB of main ram plus a good NVIDIA or AMD graphics card with 2GB of dedicated video ram. In UHD XAVC-L is limited to 8 bit 4:2:0, this still produces a great looking image but is not considered good enough for main stream UHD broadcast.

The image below is a UHD frame grab from the Z150. Click on the image to see larger versions including the full 3840×2160 image. The grab is a jpeg so may have some compression artefacts not in the original frame.

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UHD frame grab from the PXW-Z150. Click on the image to see a larger version or to view the full UHD frame.

If you are not shooting in UHD then you have lots of options. Again we have XAVC-L now at 25, 35 and 50Mb/s and up to 60fp. 35Mb/s and 50Mb/s XAVC-L is normally considered broadcast quality at 25/30fps. In HD XAVC-L is 10 bit 4:2:2.

As well as XAVC-L you also have two more 8 bit HD codecs, MPEG2HD and AVCHD. There are two versions of MPEG2HD, the regular HD version which is 4:2:0 at 35Mb/s as found in the older EX1 and EX3 camcorders as well as the 50Mb/s HD422 4:2:2 broadcast quality version as found in the PMW-200 and most of Sony broadcast camcorders. These older MPEG2 “XDCAM” codecs are still incredibly popular and accepted almost everywhere for broadcast HD. They are really easy to use and even though they are 8 bit still give great looking pictures. Finally if you just need something compact there is AVCHD, although frankly why you would want to use AVCHD when you have so many better options available I’m not sure. Perhaps those running older or consumer based edit software will benefit from the inclusion of AVCHD.

RECORDING MEDIA.

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In order to be able to record all the different formats available you must use SDXC cards. These are readily available and low cost. Please remember though that SD cards are consumer media. It is normally very reliable (probably more reliable than tape used to be) but card failures can occur and a duff card could result in the loss of everything on the card. Fortunately Sony have considered this and the camera features two card slots.

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The PXW-Z150 has two slots for SDXC cards.

The two card slots can be configured in a number of ways. To record long events you can use relay record where once the first card is full the camera will automatically switch to the second card. For security you can use simultaneous record where you record to both slots at the same time. This means you are creating an instant backup, so the failure of a single card should not be a drama. As a further option you can control the recording function of each card slot separately. You can use the record button on the hand grip to control one slot and the record button on the carry handle to control the other to give 2 independent recordings.

A further recording function is the ability to record a proxy file alongside the main recording. The proxy file can be used in a number of ways. One way is to provide an easier to handle 720p HD file for use as an edit proxy when shooting in UHD. Another is as a small compact file that can be uploaded to the internet via the cameras built in ftp  function, perhaps for a breaking news story or remote editing and preview. As this is a proper video camera there are none of the overheating problems or limited record time issues that effect many DSLR type cameras.

One word of advice: Buy your cards from a reputable source. There is a lot of fake media out there that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. The fake cards are often unreliable, so do make sure you only buy good quality genuine media from one of the main brands such as Transcend, Lexar, SanDisk etc.

1″ TYPE SENSOR.

The sensor that feeds all these different codecs is a “1 inch type” Exmor RS back illuminated CMOS sensor with 14.2 million effective pixels. What does all that mean?

“1 Inch Type” means the sensor size is bigger than the sensor on a 2/3″ broadcast camera but smaller than APS-C, Micro 4/3rds or Super 35mm (see this for more info on imperial type sensor sizes). So the depth of field will be deeper (more in focus) than a camera like Sony’s PXW-FS5 with it’s Super 35mm sensor, but shallower than most typical 2/3″ ENG broadcast shoulder cameras and other traditional handycams with 1/2″ or 1/3″ sensors.

Exmor RS is Sony’s latest generation of back illuminated sensor technology that gives better low light performance with small pixels compared to traditional front illuminated sensors. In addition RS stands for “Rear Stacked”. The stacking technology allows for a faster sensor readout among other things and this significantly reduces image skew and rolling shutter artefacts compared to the previous generation of these sensors. The faster readout also means that every pixel is used when shooting at up to 120 fps in HD using the cameras super slow motion function (note that this is 120fps interlace XAVC-L), so less aliasing and moire.

While RS does not eliminate rolling shutter artefacts from what I can see the Z150 offers a big improvement over cameras like the PXW-X70 and the A7S. You have to pan very fast before rolling shutter becomes a problem and in normal use skew and jello should not cause any significant problems.

12X OPTICAL ZOOM LENS.

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PXW-Z150’s 12x “G” series optical zoom lens.

Light is fed to the sensor by a 12x optical zoom lens. On the side of the camera there is a big and bold “18X“. That’s there because this camera also has Sony’s clever “Clear Image Zoom” technology. In the past if you mentioned a digital zoom it used to make people cringe as it normally meant a drop in picture quality. But Clear Image Zoom really is very clever.

First of all remember that in HD you have a UHD sensor, so you can crop into this by 2 times with virtually no loss in image quality anyway. So in HD you have an additional 2x zoom on top of the optical zoom giving a combined total of 24x. In UHD the camera uses a database of textures to determine the best way to process the image. This allows for a virtually transparent extra 1.5x electronic zoom on top of the optical one. This gives you the 18x zoom range indicated on the camera body. In use, the clear image zoom function works seamlessly with the optical zoom. So as you zoom in or out the electronic zoom takes over where the optical one finishes.

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PXW-Z100 full Wide.
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PXW-Z100 12 x optical zoom (click on image to see higher resolution versions)
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PXW-Z150 Full 18x zoom, 12x optical plus clear image zoom (click on the image to view higher resolution versions).

There is the very slightest of bumps in the zoom at the changeover point from optical to digital which I don’t think most audiences would spot. After shooting so much recently with Super 35mm cameras I really had forgotten just how much quicker it can be to shoot with a good par-focal zoom with a high zoom ratio (par focal – focus remains constant through the zoom range). The lens is reasonably wide at the equivalent of 29mm  going all the way optically to a 348mm in full frame 35mm terms. The only downside really to the zoom is that the widest aperture ramps from f2.8 to f4.5 as you zoom in. This is one of the penalties you pay for having a larger sensor.

Another slight peculiarity of the aperture is that the minimum is f11. Most lenses go down to f16 or smaller, but this is limited to f11. I suspect this may be to prevent something called diffraction limiting. When light travels though a very small aperture it can become slightly defocussed. When you have very small pixels (like when you cram 4K’s worth of pixels onto a smallish sensor) this slight defocussing has a big impact and can lead to soft and blurry looking pictures. I suspect that Sony may be limiting the smallest aperture to f11 to prevent this and help ensure sharp pictures at all times. If you have too much light then don’t worry as you have a 4 way ND filter system where you can choose between clear, 1/4, 1/16th and 1/64 ND.

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The zoom rocker.

The lens has three control rings. One for aperture, one for zoom and one for focus. Unfortunately none of these have any markings as they are all electronic controls with no direct connection to the mechanics of the lens. Fortunately though the lens is quite responsive. The iris ring works well with almost no lag. The zoom ring is the weakest link as you can turn the zoom ring faster than the lens can zoom and this can result in some lag as you wait for the zoom to catch up. The zoom speed range is pretty good, using the rocker on the hand grip you can go from a very slow creeping zoom to a respectable 2.5 seconds (approx)  from fully wide to 12x.

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There are 3 control rings on the PXW-Z150’s zoom lens.

The focus ring is big and chunky, easy to find and easy to grip. While you can’t crash focus with it the manual focus, it is nice and responsive and doesn’t exhibit any nasty overshoots or other surprises. So manual focussing is nice and easy.  This is assisted by a good viewfinder peaking and a focus magnification system  that helps you determine the sharpest parts of the image with ease. One observation though is that if you leave the peaking on the default “White” setting it can make some scenes appear over exposed as white sparkles appear across areas of fine detail. For this reason I normally use the Red or Blue peaking colors.

INPUT AND OUTPUT CONNECTIONS

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The PXW-Z150’s built in stereo microphone.

For audio there is a built in stereo mic on the front of the handle that is adequate for background and ambient sound recording. You then have the usual 2x XLR connectors with switchable phantom power on the front of the hand grip plus Sony’s MI Shoe on the top. Using the MI Shoe you can connect Sony’s UWP-D radio microphones directly to the camera via a low cost mounting adapter (SMAD-P3) eliminating the need for wires or batteries in the microphone receiver. It’s a very neat system.

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Video output options on the PXW-Z150

To output your pictures you have an HDSDI connector on the rear of the camera for HD plus an HDMI port that can deliver UHD.  There is also a legacy standard definition composite video output, this is one of the few Sony professional cameras to still have this built in. There is of course also a headphone socket on the rear panel of the camera just above the DC in socket.

POWER AND BUILD QUALITY.

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The PXW-Z150 runs off NPF-F type batteries.

The PXW-Z150 runs off readily available and incredibly common  Sony NP-F series batteries. It’s a low power camera so a single battery lasts for ages. I got about 3.5 hours from one of the smaller F770 batteries. An F970 would give at least half a working day, so two of those is all that most people would need.

Build Quality:

When I first picked the camera up it felt good. Like most modern cameras it’s constructed from a mix of plastics and alloy. The plastics appear to be of good quality and it seems to be well constructed. Perhaps not quite as high quality as the PXW-FS5 or FS7 but this is a much cheaper camera.

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Audio switches and controls on the PXW-Z150

Buttons and switches:

There are very few switches on this camera. Just the on/off switch and switches for the audio inputs. But there are plenty of buttons including 6 user assignable buttons. For exposure control you have push buttons that select the gain, white balance and shutter settings and work in conjunction with a small up/down rocker button on the front left of the body. The rocker is used to scroll though the selections available for each of these. In practice this works quite well except that once you select one of these functions, lets say the gain, it remains selected and the rocker switch active unless you press a different function. If you press gain again to try to deselect it, gain will switch to auto and you have to press it again to go back to manual. It’s a minor thing but did result in me ending up accidentally going to auto gain or shutter when I didn’t mean to. I’m sure if you were to use the camera regularly you would soon get used to this.

Iris(aperture) is switched between auto and manual via a dedicated button as is focus. Autofocus works surprisingly well even in low light. It’s not fast but hunting is minimal once it’s focussed and it was able to track moving objects quite well.

While a one inch sensor is bigger than 2/3″ or 1/2″ it’s still significantly smaller than the Super 35mm sensors that are all the range. The Z150 has a lot of pixels squeezed onto quite a small space, so don’t expect amazing low light performance, it’s not that kind of camera. However it’s low light performance is very good for this class of compact all-in-one UHD/4K camera. For all but the most critical applications you can add 12dB of gain without any major dramas to boost the low light performance. +24dB isn’t horrendous if you really have to push the camera and the top limit of +33dB is impressive but rather noisy. In low light the lens works best when it’s wide and at f2.8. Zoom in and it drops down to f4.5 and that does drop your brightness by over a stop or the equivalent of a little over 6dB of gain (1 f-stop = 6dB = Double/half the ISO).

So picture quality… that’s a pretty important factor.

Single small sensor cameras have come a long way in recent years and the Z150 is no exception. The picture quality is pretty good for a budget camera. The smallish sensor with it’s tightly packed and very small pixels does impose some limitations on just how good it can be, especially in dynamic range and sensitivity but it does produce a nice picture for what it is.

Colours are vibrant, noise levels are low and dynamic range perfectly useable. I estimate about 10 stops of dynamic range so it’s not in the same league as the super 35mm cameras, but respectable none the less. Noise levels are low enough that you can afford to slightly under expose the camera and tweak the pictures a little in post production if you need to. This can be useful if you notice the camera is struggling with bright highlights.  I used the cameras built in Histogram to help judge exposure and found that if I had bright highlights such as the bright clouds in the sky as seen in the frame grabs here, that the best results were achieved when ensuring the highlights were below the grey 100% line on the histogram. If you expose the highlights all the way to the far right of the histogram (109%) the highlight areas are flattened by the cameras knee and they can look a bit odd. I felt  it was best to expose just a little lower as this gives better looking highlights (about half to one stop). If using auto exposure, including a -0.5 to -1 EV offset to the auto exposure (in the camera menu) has the same effect. Chromatic aberration is very low, probably being hidden by in camera processing. and the sharpening/detail correction well balanced. The PXW-Z150 creates good looking images for a single smaller chip sensor out of the box.

But as well as the standard look the camera does include 6 picture profiles which can be found towards the bottom of the camera menu. Each profile gives a quite different look.

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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 1 (standard camera settings)
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 1 (standard camera settings)
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 2, DSLR Look.
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 2, DSLR look.
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 3 Rec-709 with Pro Color.
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 3, Rec-709 with Pro Color.
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 4, Rec709.
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PXW-Z150 Picture Profile 4, Rec709.
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PXW-Z150, Picture Profile 5, Cinematone 1, Negative Film.
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PXW-Z150, Picture Profile 5, Cinematone 1, Negative Film.
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PXW-Z150, Picture Profile 6, Cinematone 2, Print Film.
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PXW-Z150, Picture Profile 6, Cinematone 2, Print Film.

As you can see each of these looks is quite different (The Z150 also has several different scene settings that can be used for shooting in full auto under differing lighting conditions, these change the way the camera works out the auto exposure levels).

The dynamic range is no different in each profile. PP2, the DSLR look adds contrast by crushing the mid range and blacks, it’s also highly saturated to give stronger colors, particularly reds. The red flower in the frame grab was not that red.

Picture Profile 3 mixes Rec709 gamma with Sony’s “Pro” color matrix. I like the Pro color settings as it gives true to life colors and it grades quite well if you want to make tweaks in post production.

Picture Profile 4 is Rec709 (ITU709) gamma and color. To me the colors are not as accurate as they could be. The flower looks a little too “electric” compared to the real life color.

The Cinematone Gammas in picture profiles 5 and 6 flatten the image a little and bring up the shadows. This can help a little if you wish to tweak or adjust the images in post production. The Cinematone gammas are not the same as the Cinegammas found in the higher dynamic range cameras like the FS5 or A7.

Personally I did not like the colors associated with the Cinematone color settings. But one of the great things about the Picture Profiles is you can mix and match the various gamma curves and color matrix settings to create your own looks and styles. The “Pro” color matrix offers some very accurate colors and I quite like the look that you get when you combine Cinematone 2 gamma with the Pro color matrix. If you find the colors a little flat you can boost the saturation level a bit, I found that setting the saturation to +15 gave a great look straight from the camera. Don’t be afraid to go into the Picture Profile settings and experiment with different combinations of Gamma curve and Color matrix. Just don’t turn up the Saturation too high, I would not recommend going above +20.

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The Z150’s only menu controls are on the top of the handle.

One small annoyance I found with the PXW-Z150 was that the only menu button is up on the top of the hand grip. As I like to fiddle around with the Picture Profile settings I did find it a little awkward to access the menu controls on the very top of the camera, especially if it was at shoulder height or above on a tripod. You can’t see them up there!

Like most modern cameras the PXW-Z150 has a full set of WiFi features including the ability to transfer files wirelessly via ftp to a remote server, to stream live or control the camera from a tablet or mobile phone. A future firmware update will add Sony’s QoS (Quality Of Service) streaming error correction that promises much improved image quality over poor network connections when streaming to a Sony QoS server. To remotely control the camera you need to install Content Browser Mobile on your Android or iOS device.

SUPER SLOW MOTION

One more trick that the PXW-Z150 has is the ability to shoot continuously at up to 120fps (100fps when the camera is set to 50i area). The image is full HD but more highly compressed than the regular HD recordings, plus it’s interlaced, not progressive. In addition the inevitable faster shutter speeds mean that you do need plenty of light to get the very best results. I could definitely see a small drop in image quality when shooting at 100 or 120 fps, but the footage is perfectly useable and it is great to be able to slow down motion by 4 or 5 times. You do need to be a little careful if using the interlaced footage within a progressive production as very fast moving objects that travel through the frame may exhibit the combing artefact common in regular interlace material when show progressively. To get the full 5x slow down the camera needs to be set to 60i area to allow the selection of 120fps.

Summary:

The PXW-Z150 is a compact jack of all trades camera that’s easy to work with, has a great zoom range and delivers a respectable looking image. The largeish 1″ sensor gives a greater degree of control over the depth of field than you will have with a camera with a 1/2″ or 1/3″ sensor. But it’s isn’t going to give you that super shallow film look unless you are using longer focal lengths.

I think the Z150 will find a home in many corporate and industrial production applications. The ability to shoot in 4K gives the flexibility to crop int the image to re-frame shots for HD productions. And the price is good too, you get a lot of camera for the money.

62 thoughts on “Sony PXW-Z150 Review (with picture settings).”

    1. Well there are always some benefits such as being able to record using ProRes HQ or some other high quality codec. ProRes would give a very small improvement in picture quality as it’s less compressed, but the files will be much, much bigger. XAVC-L is a good codec, so the benefits will be small.

      1. Alister, some Sony cameras output a higher bit rate when recorded externally. I’m wondering whether it sends out a 10 bit 4:2:2 QFHD signal to an external recorder? Can’t seem to find those specs.

  1. I am little confused. As I read on user guide It says that when recording on XAVC QFHD you can use LCD or OutPut only (with output enabled LCD goes to black). Can you help me little?

    – This is occurred on both HDMI / SDI outputs or only on HDMI. (SDI can’t give 4K output, it’s a 3G type).

    – If I set HDMI (or SDI) output to lower resolution, for example 1080p or the native LCD 720p, LCD goes to black also?

    Thanks

    1. This is a limitation within the camera.

      When RECORDING QFHD you only have 2 video streams. One is recorded, the other is available to feed only one of the VF, LCD, HDMI or HDSDI.

      When set to QFHD but NOT recording the record video stream becomes free to feed another output. As soon as you press record this is diverted to be recorded which is why the one of the outputs goes black.

      When RECORDING HD you have 3 video streams. One is recorded leaving 2 streams, one feeds the VF or LCD, the other HD stream can be sent to either the HDMI or HDSDI.

      1. I’m not sure the argument over cost makes any sense. Why should the output have to be “diverted” rather than just passed through? The switching hardware would cost more than a simple pass through connection. I understand losing data but not the whole screen? This sounds more like a firmware limitation.

        1. The signal needed to drive the viewfinder is very different to the signal needed to drive the HDMI or HDSDI so you can’t just pass the VF signal through. You need to process it very differently.

          1. The raw signal is the same – yes it goes through a processor for HDMI and SDI (and that stuff is already in the camera) so the wiring is different but it’s still a video signal and the overlay is still an overlay- both can be sent externally or internally so there’s no special voodoo going on there). Pass through is maybe oversimplifying but you certainly don’t need a completely separate image processor unless you want to present different signals to different outputs (like they do on the F5 and F55).
            I would point out also that their are plenty of cameras in the Z150 price range that can do what it can’t.

          2. The signal for the EVF’s is 960 x 540 progressive. HDSDI is HD and HDMI can be 4K which requires twice as much processing power. HDSDI is always interlace or PsF while HDMI may be progressive or interlace, Each of these signals is very different and as a result each needs to be handled separately. The output limitations are hardware limits. Do you honestly believe that Sony would deliberately cripple a camera in this way through a firmware limitation. Why would they do that, there would be no benefit as the X70, Z150, FS5, A7II etc (which all have this same hardware limitation as they all use the same chipset) do not impinge on any other Sony products.

  2. Thanks for this explanation, there are a lot of processor limits (not only on output) with this camera. Personally I will pay 100 or more dollars/euros to have better processor.

    This limitation could be problem if you need for example to record on 4K and stream live on internet or if you give output to a video wall. Even with external monitor and a pass-through solution, you can’t control for example “menu” or to see on screen info. because this will appear on output also. That’s why I ask if you can output at least at native LCD resolution 1280×720.

    So output on 4K recording is useless, and it’s only for field monitors. Instead operator can’t control the camera.

    But at least for this quality it’s a cheap camera, so you can live with these limitations if you don’t need that often.

    1. The development of dedicated image processors is very expensive. The Z100 shares the same image processor as many of their latest cameras. I suspect this particular processor was originally developed for the A7 stills camera range. It’s by sharing the expense of developing a chip like this across many cameras that we are able to have such high performance cameras at low prices (low compared to what previous generations cost). But unfortunately that does mean in this case some limitations.

      In UHD the camera can only generate 2 video streams, so even reducing the resolution would not help.

      1. Yes I understand that, but if they are need to give lower performance/characteristics in lower prices they can do that with firmware limitations. This processor limitation destroys the meaning of output on a 4K recording. It’s totally useless. Thanks again.

        1. OK, so double up on the electronics and processing, increase the power consumption, make it a bit bigger and increase the cost of the camera by 50%.

          I agree the limitation is immensely frustrating for those that want to monitor or record externally, I’m sure that will come in a future more expensive camcorder.

          1. You know that is not exactly true. The main cost of a camera is the research/developing and not the material. There are a lot of companies that they sold the same hardware with software limitations in different prices (not only in camcorders).

            But for me it’s a mistake of Sony to have in the output specifications that HDMI can show up to 4K , it’s only for playback or external recording. This is a feature of consumer, not of prosumer cameras and of course not for XDCAM series. Thanks again for your help.

  3. It is true because as you point out, R&D costs money. So who pays for the R&D required to create a new image processing chain with greater capabilities?

    This is a hardware limitation in this camera. But even if it were a firmware limitation it is normal these days to use common hardware and then sell different versions at different prices. That way high R&D costs can be recovered with those that need the higher end features paying a premium while making a more affordable product available to those on a budget.

    This is no different to a skilled camera operator choosing to charge less for a simple shoot and then charging more for a complex or difficult shoot where he will use more of his/her skills.

  4. Thanks for the review… I’m in the market for both a large sensor-style camera and an all-in-one “run and gun” style camcorder. I’ve been considering the FS5, and was wondering if the Z150 would be a good match for the FS5 if I ever had to use both cameras in the same project?

  5. Odd that this camera, whose sensor seems to be a sibling to the Sony DSC-RX10 mark II, doesn’t include an S-Log2 picture profile. Seems like it could be added in a future software update. Any hint whether that might be in the offing, Alister?

    1. There is no point adding S-Log2 to this camera as the sensor dynamic range is limited to about 11 stops. S-Log2 would bring no actual benefit.

  6. Hello,

    I’m an absolute novice. We are having trouble saving and importing the 4K footage from this camera using Adobe Premiere Pro CC. It’s difficult to Google the answer because most of the results are thinly veiled advertisements for software.

    Here’s what we’ve done:

    1. Take the memory card out of the camera and put it into a card reader.
    2. In Adobe Premiere Pro, choose ‘Import’ from the dropdown menu under ‘File’
    3. Select the drive that is the memory card.

    The results > we end up with a folder labeled “Private”. When you click into it, there are a series of other folders, but none of them allow you to view any of the video clips.

    Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. We’re stuck!

    Thanks!

    1. Similar issue here, I pull the card and put it into the reader on my Mac, inside the Private folder is the AVCHD file that QuickTime usually opens (always worked on my Sony PJ-650) but with the Z150, operation fails. Internet is full of nonsense on “download this converter”, nothing works. I have my first official shoot using this camera on this coming Friday, and it looks like if I don’t figure this out quickly, I will have to downgrade the camera to stay on schedule for principal photography!!! BUYERS REMORSE IS SETTING IN

      1. This is a professional camera, so it uses a pro file structure. The video clips are found in the XDROOT or M4ROOT folder and are MXF or .mp4 files. Unfortunately quicktime will not play these directly. You should be using Sony’s Catalyst Browse to view and play back the files or a professional level edit system such as FCP-X or Adobe Premiere CC.

        1. Apple just released a new Pro Video Formats codec upgrade (11/16/16?) that allows QuickTime and even the space bar file browse to see MXF files. Using a one-year-old iMac and Sierra .

      2. If you’ve recorded in AVCHD then you’ve recorded in a domestic low bitrate format. On new Macs you must right click and choose show package contents on AVCHD folders and you must do it twice (there’s a second folder in there). Use Catalyst Browse instead. It’s free. But I would strongly advise you record in XAVC and your resulting clips will sit in a different folder -XDROOT.

        You’ll need an editing application that understands XAVC – you can use FCPX, Avid, Premiere Pro, Edius Pro – but you will have to use relatively recent versions as the codec has only been around for a about 2 years. Avid will not work directly with XAVC-S (Sony A7 series and RX10 and other consumer cams) and you’ll need the corresponding AMA plug in from Sony (PDZK-MA2) to link and consolidate the files. Z-150 uses XAVC-L or I – so I think its fine.

  7. Hi Alistair, thank you for the Z150 review. I am looking at the camera for ITV News VJs. They currently use the PMW200s but we are looking at the next step when the cameras start failing. I have had a 1 day test (at HD not 4K) and it is clearly more prosumer (but a great price) yet the image quality looks much better. I am very surprised at the lack of sensitivity. When matched side by side with the 200 it appears 2 to 2.5 stops darker. So gain will be needed regularly. There is little noise at 18db but it feels wrong to use by default. I would expect with a larger sensor and no prism (ok smaller pixels) for this to be unexpected. Is the new sensor much less sensitive than previously? Surely they could add more gain in the processing to compensate for that? What are your thoughts?

    1. Sensitivity is primarily a function of pixel size. A 1″ sensor is not a lot bigger than a 2/3″ one. The Z150 has 14 megapixels compared to the 2 megapixels of the PMW-200, so the Z150’s pixels are going to be around a quarter of the size of the PMW-200. In addition the PMW-200 lens is f1.8 while the Z150 is f2.8-f4.5, so really it’s no surprise that the PMW-200 performs quite a bit better in low light. We had the same issues when going from SD to HD, the old Sony SD PDW-150 was a much better low light camera than the HD cameras that replaced it. Adding gain will increase noise (2x more noise for each +6db). Noise reduction processes are getting better, but there is no free lunch when it comes to NR and it introduces other artefacts such as image smear and softening. It’s likely that the 0db point of the Z150 already has more gain in the A to D converters than the PMW-200 to compensate for the very small pixels.

  8. Thanks for your review Alister as I am considering buying this camera. I already have the Sony PXW-X70. One of the huge annoyances of the 70 is that I like flick back and forward from using the LCD to the EVF. If you even go near the EVF, the LCD shuts off. Is this the same with the 150?

    1. The Z150 is similar in that you can only have the LCD or EVF and it auto switches between them via a sensor on the eyepiece. However the Z150 does have a switch on the eyepiece that forces the LCD to stay on and the EVF to stay off.

  9. I have the same problem loading the mxf files into Premeire…
    I tried loading the ENTIRE folder via media browser, thru the import option, individual files, thru the camera, from the hard drive, from the original disc. All without success…

    Always get the error message, “the importer reported a generic error”. Just the thumbnail jpegs load….

    I’m using Premiere Pro 6.05 on a HP workstation 64 gb RAM, Windowa 10pro, intel i7 2.6ghz

    I really don’t want to have to convert these files to load them in Premeire.

    Any help is greatly appreciated!

    1. You are using software written before the codec was released, so I’m afraid it isn’t ever going to work. You need Premiere CC.

      1. Thank you for trying to help.
        It irks me that Adobe has a brochure that it can work with mxf files……..
        Are you sure there isn’t a fix?

        1. mxf is a file container. It can contain all kinds of different things. Premiere CC can indeed work with mxf, it can look inside the mxf container and if it supports the codec inside the mxf container it works. But Premiere CC was written before the XAVC L and S codec was released so it cannot open the codec.

          The fix is very simple, bring your software up to date.

          1. I use Sony Catalyst Browse to identify/preview the files I want to work with, and then in the Premiere CC bin, go into the subfolders and import. Works fine for me.

          2. I thin Alister meant PPCS6 – not CC. Using CC will work if it is up to date (ie 2015 or 17 (or maybe they jumped straight from 2014 – 2017. Your only other option is to transcode to DNxHD or similar prior to ingest. I’m not sure if you can do that in Catalyst Browse or whether you need Catalyst Prepare.

  10. Have you done a comparison between the Z150 and the Panasonic DVX 200.
    I found their UX 180 to be noisy in low light.

  11. I’m a this point to buy a good run and gun camera. And no need for 4K. Just want decent 4:2:2 HD. Good for ease of production and quality. I found two. Almost same price range. Both with issues.

    Canon XF200 and Sony PXW-z150. The first has a much smaller sensor, no physical ND lever. Is known as noisy even in broad daylight. But a very good one overall.

    The Sony is like 800 euros more expensive, has only one menu entrance control on top of the camera (really?) Uses a codec that will make me to use the Adobe CC menu deal per month. But better picture? Better light lovin’? Also HD 4:2:2 10 bit compliant.

    I’m lost : )

    1. XAVC works in Premiere CC, Avid and FCP-X, you have lots of choices. Don’t expect a modern codec to work in old software.

    2. And if you have a mac you can use FCP-X plus there is other cheaper software out there that you can use to edit with. Edius comes to mind. Might be more expensive up front though. I use Avid and Adobe .

  12. Hi
    i want to buy professional camera for indian based wedding function & outdoor . which one is best plz any suggestion me..?
    which one is best pxw-x200 vs pxw-z150?

    thank
    sakthi

    1. Depends on exactly what you need. If you need 4K and/or HDR then the Z150 is going to be better. If not perhaps the X200. Do you need the Z150’s bigger zoom range or do you want the X200’s better codec options?

  13. Hello. I just purchased a Sony PXW-Z150 camcorder after reading many reviews. I wants to use this camera for recording church services and thought it would be easy to transfer recording to a DVD for members who wanted them. I found out that was not the case and with me being new to this process I now have a couple of recording and unable to place to DVD’s. Can you assist me with what I need to get recording to a DVD. I do not need to edit at this time,

    1. For a simple drag and drop solution I would suggest something like Nero or Roxio. You should shoot using the MPEG HD420 (1920 x 1080) codec for the best compatibility with the DVD burning software.

  14. Hi Alister, I’m working for some years with the Sony EX3 and it did a good job. Since 3 month we start recording scientific workshops to produce DVDs and so I bought – after observing some internet forums – 2 more cameras, the PXW-Z150. Because I work for nonprofit organizations, I have very a small budget. Thats why i decided for this cameras. Now I’m looking for picture profiles for this different types of cameras and I know that the color grading could only be related with this different ‘inner life’ and not not the same. I was really searching in different forums and did not find someone. Do you know some picture profiles I can use? Thanks, Michael

    1. I would suggest purchasing an X-Rite color checker chart and shooting the chart with each camera at the start of the shoot. Then use the color chart matching tool in DaVinci resolve to match the cameras.

  15. I shot an event using this camera, rented by the production company, and found it to be quite nice. It took a while to locate the playback buttons, but other than that its a sweet little camera.

    Does the PXW-Z150 has an ISO display option (instead of gain)? I downloaded the manual and see no mention of an ISO display setting.

  16. I cant record HEVC codec with this camera, because I have SDHC memory card.
    It can record only AVHD!

    Is there any solution to solve this with SDHC card ?

    1. You can’t record HEVC because it doesn’t have that codec. For XAVC you need SDXC U3 cards which are not expensive.

  17. sony pxw z150 this cam not capture low light indoor light minimam (4) B4 light total 4000 wt light required that time minimam 6db gain in cam

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