San Diego, CA—The newest addition to Sony’s PXW series of shoulder-mount camcorders—the PXW-X400—is engineered with stronger network and wireless capabilities, improved weight balance, XAVC-Long 60p recording and pool-feed functions to give production professionals a more versatile tool.
The low-power (22W) camcorder uses a 2/3-inch, 3-chip CMOS image sensor and supports several HD and SD formats, including XAVC. It also supports Sony’s new HDVF-series Full HD OLED viewfinder.
“This new camcorder combines all the capabilities pro shooters need—connectivity, ergonomics and high performance—into a true production workhorse,” said Alex Rossi, marketing manager, content creation systems, Sony Electronics. “The addition of features like XAVC 60p recording and pool feed make the PXW-X400 a perfect fit for today’s demanding field content creation requirements.”
When a wireless LAN connection is unstable or unavailable, the camcorder’s Ethernet interface enables direct connection to a network for file transfer, live streaming and control from a web browser. Near Field Communication (NFC) capability gives users a one-touch link between the camera and a mobile device, while a Content Browser mobile app enables users to preview or remotely control camcorder settings.
The pool-feed function (HD/SD SDI) lets users record a 1.5G HD-SDI external signal on SxS cards, which is useful for recording a distributed signal from another camera on-site without a portable deck. And the camcorder’s “online button” lets videographers bypass a mobile device or the camera’s menu for direct on/off control of: streaming transmission of AV signals from a PXW-X400 to assigned destinations; auto-uploading of proxy files to cloud services and FTP servers; and on/off control over Sony’s PWS-100RX1 network server during shooting.
In addition, the camcorder body’s inner structure has a new design that improves the weight balance between the camcorder and lens to result in more comfortable shoulder-mount use, especially during long shoots.
The camcorder will come in three versions in February 2016 with the following SRPs: PXW-X400 body only, $16,500; PXW-X400KC with a 20x manual focus lens, viewfinder and stereo shotgun mic, $21,100; and the PXW-X400KF with a 16x autofocus lens, viewfinder and stereo shotgun mic, $20,600. sony.com
