Looking 4 feedback on PMW-350!!!!

JCTV

PRO user
I have had some great success with it. It’s a combination of the images and workflow of the EX1/3 combined with the form factor of a normal full size ENG/EFP camera. I like being able to use EFP lenses that I have already invested in, that give me a wide range of options.

Keep in mind that even thought it’s a new camera, Sony has also come out with the PMW-320 and the PMW-500. The 320 being basically the same as the 350 but with ½” image sensors and the 500 takes it up a notch with more options and recording at HD422 50mbps.

One little peeve I have is with the color viewfinder. The viewfinder itself is great, but the connector they used to attach it to the camera body is a thin flat piece that seems like it wants to break at any moment. I have had no problems with it, but it’s a weak link.
 

cameragod

Well-known member
Loving the PMW-350. We bought it as a way to dip our toe in the muddy waters of HD, still very few productions wanting HD over here but the PMW-350 meets all the needs of the clients who do want HD and it is an amazing camera for the price.
 
ty
and I'm interested in overall reliability as well.
Any problems interfacing with PCs or notebooks?
How do you find it as a news gathering unit?
What's the weight in full operational mode?
 
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zac love

Well-known member
ty
and I'm interested in overall reliability as well.
Any problems interfacing with PCs or notebooks?
It should be as reliable as any other SxS camera. I've shot with the EX1 a lot & mainly use SDHC cards w/ an adapter. After a firmware upgrade & slightly faster cards, we haven't had any problems recording to SDHC instead of SxS.

I'd assume people are getting the same experience with the 350.

If you don't want to go the SDHC route, get the $300 USB card reader. Then you're all set with any computer with a USB port (which is all of them) & NLE software that can do XDCam HD (and if your NLE can't take tapeless media, maybe it is time to get a new NLE).
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
My buddy purchased three 350's for his work. He really likes them. Only weakness is the "plastic lens". Still a good picture, but with better glass, much better.
 

HokiePhotog

Well-known member
My station is supposed to be getting either the PMW-320 or PMW-350 to start replacing our fleet of aging DNW-9WS BetaSX field cams. I wasn't aware Sony had come out with a mid-level model (the PMW-500). I'll have to look up more info on that (such as pricing... how does it compare to the 350/320?) Which size sensor does it have, etc etc etc, yadda yadda yadda...
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
The PMW-500 has the same CCD Chips as the PDW-700/800. Records to SxS cards at 35mbs or the newer SxS cards to 50 mbs 4:2:2. Cost is just for the body. I believe $28k? Same body style as PMW-350/320 With an option card, the camera will do pool feeds..
 

tedyasi

Member
I have been shooting on a PMW-350 for a little over a year and really loving it.
I am a freelance who has news clients who shoot in various frame rates, aspect ratio ect.
This camera offers a great picture and is easy to use.
The advantages if you are switching over from a disk or tape based camera is you will get a lot more battery life. I can run mine with out camera light for over 5 hours on a Dionic 90. True the lens it comes with is not super high quality, but because it is a b4 mount you can always add decent glass later.
The option of being able to record on both SXS cards as well as high speed SD cards is both a huge financial incentive as well as a help with work flow. If you are using the SXS cards your client or producer needs to have a laptop with an express card port.
However if you shoot using the SD card adapter you can just use a USB to SD card adapter to pull it in to any computer. I have been using the hoodman adapter with a 32 gig class 10 SD card- it works flawlessly and will fit 116 min. at 1080 30p.
The one issue that did catch me a bit by surprise and needs to be looked at especially in the news market is the "flash banding" issue.
Until I did my first "Red Carpet" with the camera i did not know what the issue was, but basically when you are in an environment where there are no stop flash going off it causes a grey band to move through the image, my understanding that this is caused by the combination of the use of a "rolling shutter" and the CMOS chips.
Sony includes a "flash band repair" utility with the cameras software. You really need to use it if you have this problem- I think if all I did was red carpet, I would use another camera.
Some of the other great features of the camera is is is switchable PAL/NTSC in the New York market, this is a huge help with international clients.
All in all it has been a super addition to my camera line up, seems to be well built and has been asked for on a regular basis by my clients.
Two major clients have switched this year from DVCAM making this there new in house format.
 

stix

Member
PMW 350's coming

We will be getting the PMW-350's in June. Any suggestions for the SDHC cards? And how do you handle card labeling? We are a very busy newsroom and our concern is, should we assign a fixed number of cards to each photog? We will be the guinea pigs for our network. Any help would be appreciated.
 

acton

Well-known member
"The one issue that did catch me a bit by surprise and needs to be looked at especially in the news market is the "flash banding" issue."

Is that what that is? I see it in my Z7 which has that CMOS but not in my XD 355.

Is the repair done post shooting or is a fix that can be installed in to the camera via software?
 
We will be getting the PMW-350's in June. Any suggestions for the SDHC cards? And how do you handle card labeling? We are a very busy newsroom and our concern is, should we assign a fixed number of cards to each photog? We will be the guinea pigs for our network. Any help would be appreciated.
Sandisk extreme class 10 cards.
 
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