2021-09-11T03:48:52
Rated 5 out of 5
Grab and Go camera solution, latest features, as you would expect from Sony.
Overall this is a great ENG camera with some of that latest features; constant lens aperture at f1.9, Variable ND just like the FX9, SLog3 and HLG profiles. 4K 60p is perfect for sports shorts with the ability to ramp in editing. And don?t forget AF with Face Tracking. There?s also a ton of support online and a great course by Doug Jensen.
My main camera is the Sony FX9. However, when recording for travel or news shows. This ca,era fits the niche perfectly. Then l17x contact f1.9 lens being one fo them. Overall just a great camera for almost any situation, that truly is a grab and go solution.
JEFF Z.
2021-04-30T08:52:02
Rated 5 out of 5
The camera has been used for a very short time, it was recently purchased, but when it has been used it has achieved very good images .
Excellent Camera
OSCAR M.
2021-03-02T10:07:46
Rated 5 out of 5
The great big Z280 3 chipper.
Lot's of Camera the Z280. More than the average Camcorder. Built for the true Professional and Broadcaster. It's a Camcorder, not Cinema Camera. It has all the Gammas' for that, but it has smaller chips and is better suited for Television and live remote. It will work good in multi cam set-up.
Kevin B.
2020-03-13T06:55:01
Rated 5 out of 5
Used for a year now and no serious complaints.
I've been meaning to write a review to counter the head scratching 1 star one for a year now. But to be blunt I've been to busy using the camera (well, three of them actually) to do so. Now that things are on hold for a month...
I have been using three of these cameras to film indoor staged shows (Theater/concerts/dance etc) for over a year (had tried the 190s initially, which are truly dreadful and should be avoided at all costs). While not 100% perfect, is any camera? These come pretty close, especially when one recognizes their strengths and occasional limitations.
Image quality is decent out of the box, but needs to be tweaked to really look its best. With the right settings, you'll be able to do a lot of your work in camera vs. doing it in post. I highly recommend Doug Jensen's excellent series on this camera. First chapter is free (and gives a great overview of the 280 and the 190). In it, he gives a couple setting options that I have found to be ideal for my filming needs. Can't post a link, but do a search on Vimeo.
I'm not sure why the other reviewer found the zoom to be sub par (I suspect he is using the small secondary rocker on the handle vs. the larger one on the side, as I am able to achieve incredibly slow speeds using it - down to 1 zoom number per second).
Things I really like: on closeups, detail is pretty fantastic and if you set your levels to match your needs/wants I think you'll be very pleased with the results. Focal depth is a lot better than I feared it would be and I've been able to film performers zipping around a stage, crossing up/down stage, etc. with remarkable clarity in the final image. A lot depends on light and the sweet spot is keeping the aperture at 5 or higher if at all possible. gain set to 9 is remarkably clear and noise free. I've been shooting on XQD Cards using the adaptor and have had zero problems (knock wood). I haven't been filming using the XAVC Intra format as it's not recommended on those cards (but from what i hear is possible...i just film way too many 'one night only' events to risk it). XVAC Long works beautifully though.
What I'm less than fond of: the battery that comes with the camera is a joke. On a long/wide shot, having a bit of zoom is recommended as 0 zoom tends to have a bit of curvature on the sides. Also, be aware that this camera is really hit by triangulation in regards to focus - the sides tend to be softer on a wide shot than the center due to standard geometry. And keeping aperture at or above 5 is crucial to combat it. One thing I'm really not fond of is that the viewfinders do not show what your settings have done to the footage, so it's not very 'WYSIWYG' which can be an issue if your settings allow for more low blacks and high whites. But that's easy to get used to and compensate for.
The much touted 'facial recognition' features are...very hit or miss, I find and pretty useless, especially if you are in lower light situations or...have subjects who are, shall we say, not the palest (really horrible at locking in on persons of a darker complexion)
The audio capture is great and zero complaints.
Overall, this is a great workhorse camera. I've been using them multiple times a week for over a year and would absolutely purchase them again.
Jonathan F.
2018-12-19T18:13:11
Rated 1 out of 5
Really bad
I have had several cameras in this Sony line including the two predecessors such as the PXW-x200.
The thing I hate about this camera is the zoom. I film a lot of professional dance. I need very slow and smooth zooming. Generally I set the handle zoom's control to a very slow speed. It ramps up and down nicely and looks very smooth. With the z280 the slowest setting for handle zoom is far too fast for me to use. It is almost as if the engineers designing this camera have never watched a television show. I spoke to Sony about this and they know about the issue but do not even seem to care. If you film sports you might have the same problem. The rocker zoom does have the ability to do very slow speed zooms however it is easy to accidentally put too much pressure on that and cause the zoom to be way to fast--or not enough pressure and have it jerk on and off. Using a LANC controller will not resolve this problem. The camera zoom will be too fast for even some sports videography.
Keith F.
