It's hard to remember a time when the digital video market has been more crowded than it is today. And while it's no doubt exciting to read up on all the new and innovative technologies being announced on an almost-weekly basis, it can be hard to know how to find the right camera to fit your specific needs.
In ministry every dollar counts, and every investment needs to meet multiple requirements. This is especially true for churches in the earlier stages of building a video ministry. If you're going to drop thousands of dollars on a professional camera, it needs to accomplish several different tasks within any given week. Over the past few years many churches have invested in DSLR-based video setups, only to discover that, while they sometimes create beautiful, “cinematic” imagery, they're almost useless when it comes to weekend broadcast or run-and-gun-style documentary work.
Finding Your Workhorse
For most churches the first video camera a growing video ministry needs will be a workhorse camera, one versatile enough to be used effectively in a number of different environments and on multiple applications. It needs dependable, rock-solid performance, and it needs to include a number of essential features, without requiring external devices to make it usable.
The Sony PXW-X180 is exactly that kind of workhorse. It's small enough to take out in the field, yet powerful enough to integrate easily into your weekend worship environment. It also incorporates wireless streaming, built directly into the camera itself. More importantly, it's an extremely mature product, incorporating the kinds of refinements you'd expect from a device designed for working professionals.
From the Top
The form factor of the PXW-X180 will immediately be recognizable to videographers who cut their teeth on the venerable Sony Z1U or PD170. As someone who shot a number of documentaries on the Z1U, I was almost immediately at home navigating my way around the camera's controls and menus. Having said that, it was soon apparent that this camera was a whole different animal beneath the surface.
The PXW-X180 records at 1080p in XAVC-I 10-bit 4:2:2 color depth, at frame rates up to 59.97, as well as the standard 29.97 and 23.98. Initially, it may be surprising that Sony would release a camera in 2015 that doesn't shoot 4K. To many videographers, however, higher bit-rates and color depth are far more important than a 4K frame size, which comes with it's own special set of headaches.
The flip out LCD is a 3.5-inch screen with a 960x540 resolution. It has reasonably good brightness and contrast, but you'll want to take advantage of the magnification button on the side handle in focus-crucial situations. Far more impressive is the viewfinder itself, which is an OLED screen that just looks sensational. For documentary filming you'll find yourself defaulting to the viewfinder over the LCD, even if that's not your normal workflow.
The image quality coming off the camera is very good, with great sharpness, contrast and color representation. The CMOS sensors produce a very distinctive look, tending towards a deeper depth of field and greater color separation. The sensors will excel filming in environments with solid lighting, but the camera's decent low light performance is actually a nice surprise. Traditionally these smaller sensors need lot of light to produce great images. With the PXW-X180, however, it's possible to add a significant amount of gain in-camera and still get imagery that's usable.
"Variable ND allows you to precisely set the desired amount of motion blur and depth of field, regardless of how bright the day is. It’s brand new, proprietary tech from Sony."
Introducing Variable ND
One of the most striking new features on the camera is something Sony's calling Variable ND. Most professional cameras include two or three built-in neutral density filters, allowing you to knock down the amount of light hitting the sensors without affecting the aperture or iris settings. The Variable ND incorporates a dial on the side of the camera, allowing the user to carefully set exactly the amount of ND needed to achieve proper exposure.
When filming outdoors the Variable ND allows you to precisely set the desired amount of motion blur and depth of field, regardless of how bright the day is. It's brand new, proprietary tech from Sony, and the PXW-180 is one of the very first cameras to incorporate it. The effects are remarkable, and it's going to be very difficult going back to cameras without it.
On Location
If you're like me, you may have spent more than your fair share of time trying to make a camera designed to shoot still images act like a camcorder. A device like the PXW-X180 immediately reminds you how great a dedicated video camera can feel, especially out in the field. Things like manual zoom, focus and iris rings, as well as the aforementioned Variable ND, makes pulling solid exposures manually a snap. The camera also features two built-in XLR audio inputs with phantom power, a feature often taken for granted until one spends time using cameras with no audio inputs at all.
I was also impressed with how intelligently the auto settings functioned on this camera. They're not something you'd necessarily default to, but when you're in a stressful situation they can be the difference between getting the shot and missing the moment.
When shooting out in the field with the PXW-X180 there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, the camera's a fair bit heavier than it's predecessors, coming in at seven pounds. Not a big deal for short projects, but you'll want some sort of support system for prolonged shooting. Also, the included battery only provides about 70 minutes of operation when using the LCD. You'll want to seriously consider budgeting for at least one additional large-capacity battery.
Safety in Numbers
The camera utilizes Sony's proprietary SxS cards and includes the ability to record footage to two cards at the same time. Filming to two cards simultaneously is such a stress-reliever that the lack of this feature in other cameras has become deal-breaker for many video producers. In a nice twist, the PXW-X180 will also record smaller H.264 proxies to an SD card, a feature that could come in handy when you're on location and need to share footage via cellular networks.
As mentioned earlier, the camera is capable of shooting in the same XAVC-I 10-bit 4:2:2 codec used in many of Sony's higher-end filmmaking camera. While this codec might be overkill for typical day-to-day projects, having the ability to push the footage around in post is pretty amazing. For times when you don't need that kind of latitude the camera also shoots in AVCHD, MPEG2, and even DV.
Going Live
For live event and broadcast applications the PXW-X180 offers an number of higher-end features, including SDI, Time Lock, Gen Lock and HDMI connections built directly into the camera. It also features an 25X G series fixed lens that has a zoom range of 26-650mm at a 35mm equivalent. The lens also has a built-in servo zoom that can be controlled via the camera body toggle or via remote.
In addition, many of the PXW-X180 settings can be controlled over Wi-Fi utilizing a computer and dedicated HTML browser interface. Camera settings can also be adjusted using a mobile device and dedicated Sony control app over an NFC connection.
Internal Live Streaming
One intriguing feature that many churches will find compelling is the PXW-X180's ability to stream live over Wi-Fi, LTE, 4G or 3G connections. High Definition streaming is available at 720p or 1080i utilizing a Wi-Fi-connected computer or Teredek. The camera streams in the standard mpegTS, or utilizing Sony's unique Quality of Service (QoS) protocol.
For churches just beginning to explore event or sermon streaming, the PXW-X180's live streaming capabilities could be a great way to get high quality imagery before deciding to invest in an entire live-cast system. Running a separate feed from the sound console into the camera's XLR input could prove a great way to provide higher quality audio to the feed streaming from the camera.
Closing Thoughts
There's no denying the Sony PXW-X180 offers a whole lot of camera for the money, especially if your focus is documentary or live production. While there's no such thing as a “magic bullet” camera that's perfect for every production type, it's the kind of workhorse device that growing video or tech ministries could grow to depend on week in and week out for a number of years. Which, in my book, is the definition of a solid investment.
List Price: $3,995
