5 CONS OF THE SONY FDR AX100 4K UHD HIGH END 1 INCH SENSOR CAMCORDER WITH SAMPLE VIDEO
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- After one year of using the Sony FDR AX100 Handycam video camcorder, I have worked with it long enough to know the good and the bad. This video concentrates on the 5 cons of this camera and what needs to be improved on it. Many of these cons are personal but to me and my workflow, they have been a downside.
For the sake of the sample footage, this video is in 4K
If you would like to buy this camera and support my channel click here:
AX100
goo.gl/Az6ghW
AX53 (Smaller sensor, less features)
goo.gl/fbTREC
AX33 (Smaller sensor, even less features)
goo.gl/1uefSc
Firmware update link. Make sure to chose your OS
esupport.sony....
Here is the list of cons
1 Buttons are counter intuitive and in the wrong place
2 Double push a manual setting and you will lose manual and go to automatic (Sounds like a good featrure but it is not at times)
3 Slow motion useless as usual for a camera in this price range
4 Focus is by wire. I deal with it but I am not a fan
5 FZ1000 lcd screen is very sharp compared to this screen.
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My gripe with this camera, that I have now had for 4 years is that the when recording in bright light, the view screen is just not bright enough. This has been true both in the desert (where I live) and in the Arctic (where I have been recording often). Annoying, I agree with Jacques that the buttons are a pain. Sometimes I really miss my Bolex.... Jacques, very good thoughtful review. I have been recording at 4K and compressing to 1080P and have found that HandBrake (a freebie!) works best because I can use a slider to tell the software to compress
V E R Y S L O W. I have not had good luck with a Wide angle adapter yet....
This camera is seriously awesome
Agreed
For the first con, that's the location of the manual buttons on most camcorders and video cameras.
And it sucks! However, I believe that what changes all is not the button placement but the monitor placement. Once you get at the pro level, they place the monitor itself elsewhere. Higher up knowing that you go to these manual buttons more than with a handycam. Examples of this are the FS7 and PXW Z150. It is too bad because this things kick ass when you use it manually.
Great review. I've had this camera almost a year now and never used the 120fps :)
Cool. I have an 8 pros video. So it is not only bad
th-cam.com/video/sygcsrXAFqU/w-d-xo.html
Cheers!
The Movingicon oh awesome, checking that video out now, thanks!!
Thanks for the review. I will stay away from 120 fps and hope to overcome the other issues you sited.
I just bought my first one from eBay for $700 and it appears to be in excellent condition. I got lucky.
I will be filming outdoors, plants, trees, landscapes, etc, and occasionally indoors for parties and weddings.
Another con IMO ... after watching some reviews of smaller/portable external mics, it sounds like you need to turn the sound gain up to 10 to accommodate. At that level you can introduce camera noise into your footage. I'm going to stay away from those and get a bigger pro mic that has its own power.
how do you only have 700 subs? great videos. hopefully one day I'll be able to afford a nice high quality camera for my videos. until then I'll keep watching your videos and dreaming lol. I need something with decent zoom( probably 30 tines zoom minimum). good in low light. amd records in 1080p or 4k. suggestions for something around 500 dollars? and suggestions for something around the 1k mark?
FZ1000 no doubt. Check out my playlist. The quality is amazing. The price is a joke
th-cam.com/play/PLqk3hjpD-yC2q27--vLTRKS-mwQ3--zE6.html
Awesome I've looked at that camera and when the funds are available I think it'll be the one I go with. Thanks for the reply!!!!!
As for the subs I have no clue. Some lame ass people get 30000 subs. I saw one russian girl who literally whispers and brushes her hair with 15000 subs. Most importantly though I enjoy it and F*ck the rest
+The Movingicon haha amen. Amazes me how many subs some people have. crazy.
Some wierd stuff for sure
I bought this camera when it first came out. Loved it since for it's 4K quality since I have a 4K computer monitor and a 4K flatscreen TV. I use it to convert 8mm, Super 8 & 16mm films into digital by directly recording to the projector film gate using a magnifier lens mounted on the Zeiss lens thats on it. Oh yes the Zeiss lens quality of the video makes a difference. The only thing it can't do is time lapse. That's my only gripe about this camera.
It doesn't have in camera timelapse?
This camera or the cheaper Cannon G40? 4K is great but not a huge deal to me. Will be shooting weddings, TH-cam videos, and vlogs Occasionally might produce a commercial for local business or org short film .
I think that this is a great choice. You might want to check out my whole playlist on this camera before you buy.
th-cam.com/play/PLqk3hjpD-yC3Ut269OFCay65oqY4Zc4La.html
Jacques Gaines Photography I did. Just to be safe
Does it have any limitation for 4k like 5mins in RX100? Also, what are its limitations for 4k max length, full hd max length, 120/240 fps max length?
What makes this camera a little more expensive is the Zeiss lens. Zeiss lens are the best lenses and that's the reason I both this camera.
I often use the AX100 with my Rodelink Filmmakers Radio mic system but tend to get dreadful interference which I never got with other cameras?
Have you tried bringing the trim up on the the mic and lowering the trim on the camera to its lowest level possible? On board preamps always kinda suck.
should I go with this camera or the pxw 70 sony 4k doing camera footage for my dj shoots/ interviews
As soon as you decide to do interviews, the pxw 70 becomes very attractive. As I said in the 8 pros video of the same camera, many people do not know this but Sony is second to none on audio so I trust their preamps for XLR 100%. The pxw is essentially the AX100 with preamps. If ever you steal audio from a sound console or mixer at these DJ events you can also go directly into the pxw. Hope that helps.
Check out my playlist. It has sample video, a critique of the camera and the 8 pros video
th-cam.com/play/PLqk3hjpD-yC3Ut269OFCay65oqY4Zc4La.html
so at this point if you had to do it all over again would you buy it?
I adore this camera. Still use it and continue to keep it in my collection. It is getting worn out for sure. Remember that I also have the 8 pro video of the same camera
th-cam.com/video/sygcsrXAFqU/w-d-xo.html
ok well im considering buying this camera
does the screen flip all the way around so you can see yourself in selfie mode?
Yes
Hello, do you know if there is any rack-focus or pull-focus function in the menu of the AX100? Thank you.
Good question. Do you mean like touch to focus because rack-focus or pull focus can be done in manual mode. All be it with focus by wire but doable.
Hello, in my Lumix G7 I can change the focus between two point enabling this specific function in the menu. Not to need to use a follow focus attached to the camera.
I believe that with the touch screen you will be able to do the same thing
Probably.
I have the Sony AX100. If you're using HD, it's simply perfect. Videos are clear and very smooth.
Everything works perfect except when you try use 4K. The minute you switch it to 4K, the screen becomes VERY SLOW and laggy. You will notice is even before you start recording. The videos you record will be clear but any kind of movement in the video such as someone moving or a waterfall and so on would be VERY LAGGY. I couldn't find a setting to fix that whatsoever. I tried all the different settings. I displayed vidoes directly from camera to 4K TV, after burning them into Blu Ray discs and using UHD Blu Ray player, through computer, every possible way. Still the same problem. The 4K videos on this camcorder are simply too laggy and not worth the price NOR the size of the camcorder.
I think you have a dudd
?????
Well the lag you speak of I have never experienced. Therefore, I think that your camera might be defective. 4K never caused this problem for me in any way shape or form. It would definitely merit you calling Sony service to talk about the behavior you are experiencing.
Hi there, it's definitely not my specific unit that's the problem because I tried 5 other ones at different stores and they all have the same problem. So it's the actual model that has the problem.
If you still have the camcroder please do the following:
Set the camcorder to 4K mode, no need to actually record. And move it around and try to have a moving object in front of it, even moving your hand if you have no other option. Then switch the file type on the settings to HD and try do the same thing. You will notice how it's 1000x smoother when it's on the HD mode.
Please try it and see if you notice ANY difference. Thanks again.
Sorry to post this a year late. I just picked up my first one used on eBay.
Like most HD camcorders, I'm guessing you should keep it stationary on a tripod when filming in 4K, then use 1K when moving or filming very fast objects. I'm wondering if 120 fps works okay on a tripod when filming fast moving objects, cars, trains, plains, etc ... I'm going to test and compare.
It doesn't seem to have digital zoom either?
I think it does under another name. But stay away from something that you can do in post anyway. Burning in a digital zoom into a recording is not a good idea. Take your shot from a bit further away and digitally zoom in post (It is exactly the same thing. And in the case of Adobe Premiere CC even a better zoom option). The first thing I do with every video camera I get is to disable the digital zoom.
which 4k camcorder you consider then ?
This same camera really. I mention the cons but I also have a video on the 9 pros of the same camera. If you can live past these minor cons, I would go for this thing. It is totally worth its weight in gold. Check out the playlist on sample footage and such:
th-cam.com/play/PLqk3hjpD-yC3Ut269OFCay65oqY4Zc4La.html
Hope this helps
I have had this camera for over a year. The clarity is amazing but I find the record button sucks. It is horrible. It is not a soft press and kind of catches as it presses in. Also the zoom has poor control. Some of my old cameras from the 90's have much better controls. Also the 25p at 4k is too slow a frame rate and when panning or shooting birds it's possible to see the animated frames. Also the digital zoom is actually not too bad in some situations but could do with a settable limit so as not to totally lose quality. I have had it switched off till recently but thought I would try it and in lowish light on full zoom it deteriorates a lot as the ISO increases and the pixel depth changes for the worse. At normal 18x zoom though it gives a stunning image. Pity it couldn't do 60p at 4K.
A couple of points
Digital zoom always sucks IMHO, 25P You are in Europe? How fast do you pan? 60P 4K , for now at least, is only on the higher end cameras like the GH4 and such. And last point. How often do you use 4K?
Jacques Gaines Photography i agree about the digital zoom and that's why I switched it off from the start but on a recent visit to a bird hide I decided to check it out to get closer to a marsh harrier. In actual fact the digital zoom gave reasonable results at about half digital zoom. My point about that was it would be good to be able to lock it at a preset digital zoom. I have mostly used the camera on 4K and it works great. At half digital zoom it is probably somewhere around the same pixel depth as HD and works reasonably well. Remember the sensor is 20 megapixels. But I'm not sure how the video is extrapolated from this. I did experiment using HD at 60p and the flicker effect on moving objects or whilst panning is far better at the expense of losing definition. I try to pan very slowly when using 4K but filming birds at 25 p gives an obvious flicker of their wings and beaks as they move. Some people wouldn't even notice this and I guess it depends how critical the viewer is. I agree with just about everything you say in your review. I bought this video camera after seeing how good the quality of the video is and comparing it to other models. I still think it's a great camera but wish a few things were different on it.
Hey Terry
The filming of birds changes everything for sure. It is good to hear from someone who's workflow is completely different from mine. I can see why you would want the 60P. I now see how the digital zoom and 4K crop become important because it is, in essence, a zoom. You might want to check out the 8 pros I made of the same camera. Tell me if you agree with those points
th-cam.com/video/sygcsrXAFqU/w-d-xo.html
Hi Jacques.
Great reviews.
I already checked out your other review and I agree with your points. I totally hate the menu system. It has to be the worst I've encountered on a camera.
The hardware of the camera is very good but driving it isn't good at all.
2 other points that I find difficult when using this camera are :-
1: getting precise focus when filming a bird in a tree or something along those lines where the autofocus snaps onto the branches and it would be great if I could just turn the manual focus and override the autofocus but instead I have to locate the manual/auto button and select manual by which time I might have lost my subject especially when it is camouflaged in a tree and I am zoomed in a long way. I find the touch screen focus doesn't work very well for me either in these circumstances.
2. The viewfinder screen and flip out screen aren't bright enough to see what I'm filming when I'm outside in bright light. Just try and locate and film a bird flying in the sky on a sunny day.
Terry
Does it have overheating issue that doesn't allow you to shoot as much time as you want?
No overheating issues. I have also filmed shows that are 2 hours long with no interrupts. It is a great camera
@@JacquesGaines Once i filmed for 4 hours , it was very hot but didn't overheated not like AX-33 did after 2 hours. But 3x times i have had buffer overload problem, idk because i used to much manual settings all the time. AX100 also has really good sound
had this for 2 years and 1st the power button stopped working, now it does not stay on for more than 2-5 minutes.
Oh boy
you ever film with ax53?
No I have not but I heard that it was excellent as well. A good option that is cheaper. Sensor is a tad smaller though
And #1 is still a problem their engineers don't get for some reason, the PXW-X70 is just as bad, if not worse. Its like Sony is actually taunting us.
What is so frustrating is that video image is stunning and they do not offer better workflow ergonomics
Jacques Gaines And it’s not like the video business is new to Sony. Bizarre behavior on their part.
why did you buy a camera you hate so much🤣🤣 the buttons didn't move between looking and ordering
Hey. You might want to watch this: th-cam.com/video/sygcsrXAFqU/w-d-xo.html