Introduction
Sony’s unveiling of the RX0 marks a significant moment in the action camera market, reflecting a trend that many didn’t anticipate. As many consumers have shifted from traditional compact cameras to using their smartphones, the rise of action cameras stands out as a remarkable evolution in consumer preferences.
The appeal of action cameras lies in their adaptability and compact size, characteristics that Sony has embraced and understood in the development of the RX0. Sony’s experience in the action camera and compact camera sectors has evidently influenced the design and functionality of the RX0, making it a noteworthy successor to the earlier Sony U-10 from 2002. The U-10 was a compact, portable camera comparable in size to modern action cameras, known for its ease of use and wide 35mm equivalent lens.
With the RX0, Sony seems to have merged the best aspects of its past compact cameras with the robust features of contemporary action cameras like the FDR-3000, creating a device that’s versatile and suitable for a wide range of photographic situations.
The RX0’s introduction not only expands Sony’s footprint in the action camera market but also signifies the ongoing evolution and diversification of compact, durable cameras in the industry.
Something New and Unique: Sony RX0
A Fresh Perspective
The Sony RX0 distinguishes itself from conventional action cameras by offering a novel approach to capturing visuals. Unlike the typical ultra-wide, fish-eye lenses of standard action cameras, which are great for action shots but less flattering for personal portraits, the RX0 sports a 24mm equivalent lens. This choice moves away from the extreme wide-angle view, providing a more standard field of view that’s versatile for a range of photographic styles.
Beyond Single Viewpoint Limitations
Having a single, fixed field of view feels outdated, especially in the realm of video editing where flexibility is key. The RX0’s standard wide-angle lens opens up exciting possibilities, akin to the innovative leap seen with 360 VR editing. This camera, with its more conventional focal length, could revolutionize how we approach video production, offering new creative flexibility.
The Power of Multi-Camming
Imagine the potential when using multiple RX0 cameras to capture various perspectives of the same event. This setup could transform action and sports filming, allowing for a dynamic multi-angle view of any moment, like a spectacular crash during a bike ride captured from different viewpoints. The ease of syncing and editing footage from multiple RX0 units could lead to a new era of video content creation.
Future Editing Possibilities
The RX0 hints at an exciting future where traditional and 360-degree video editing converge, enabling editors to choose the point of view in post-production. Although current 360 cameras may lack the resolution for high-quality action footage, the concept of adjusting the focus point during editing is a game-changer. The RX0, with its potential for hardware multi-camming, teases a future where combining multiple perspectives and 360-degree edits could create a novel video editing style.
The Sony RX0 represents more than just an evolution in action camera technology; it’s a leap towards a new paradigm in video production, offering creative possibilities that were previously unattainable with conventional single-viewpoint cameras.
Something new and unique
The RX0 breaks away from all other action cameras and really seems to be offering something new and unique.
Let’s take the lens first; one thing that really makes action camera footage stand-out is the ultra-wide fish-eye perspective. It’s great for filming fast action, but a little unflattering for selfies.
Action camera lenses are also really designed to capture video and the persistence of vision hides the fact that edges are soft and suffering from chromatic aberration. The RX0 is fronted by a 24mm equivalent lens, ok still wide-angled but nothing near the fish-eye view that we’re used to.
This is definitely a good thing. It means we have the first action camera (not thinking of the DJI X3) which has a relatively normal field-of-view. This makes it infinitely more adaptable for different types of use.
I like the 24mm focal length, but having a single field-of-view really is very last century, especially when it comes to video editing. For video editors out there this is the most exciting thing to come along since true 360 VR editing, in fact the potential of the RX0 with a VR camera in tow is incredible.
Let me explain. We all get excited about 360 video, especially Jeff, because with a headset on you can look around the scene that’s been filmed.
Forget that and think of it this way, 360 enables you to set the POV (point of view) in editing, so if you want to shift the camera’s central point of focus when editing at 16:9 you can. In effect you’re swinging the camera round in the editing suite rather than when filming.
The resolutions of the types of 360 camera that most of us get to use are still a little low for this type of action in high quality, but it works. OK so that’s 360, one camera and a 360 degree view from one fixed view point. Lets look at the RX0 with just one lens which is 24mm.
One camera, one view. Add a camera s for two cameras, two views. Hardware multi camming – we’re not yet sure how many cameras can be linked, but for all sorts of sports and action this could be great fun.
Image you’re out for a ride with friends or family, all filming your ride and then you stack it. Big style. Your camera bites the dust with you and the footage, although amusing, doesn’t show much. But then that incident could have been caught on one of the other cameras, and that footage can be easily synced and edited back in the studio. Now we’re cooking!
Details of how this will work and whether it will come with an automatic edit app that will enable you to sync all units and rewatch the action from multi angles on the fly has yet to be detailed, but I certainly hope that’s how it’s going to work.
Push that editing further and drop in some 360 spins edits and you’ve got yourself a completely new style of video editing.
Everyday use
For everyday use this camera is certainly exciting, but look through the specs, really look at them, and it shows that this isn’t a camera for the faint hearted, it has 40x slow motion, S-log2 profiles and shutter speeds. Up until this point I’ve been very excited, this could be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.
The more I read, the more I want this small camera, for those of us who don’t work in imperial weights and measures the details are: 3.9 oz (110g) and 2.38 in. x 1.63 in x 1.19 (WxDxH) or 71 mm x 41mm x 30mm.
Sadly this is going to be expensive – the FDR-3000 is near £500 and the announced a price of the RX0 is $700. I want a minimum of three, but I really need five to do what I want, so that’s $3500!