Went to PhotoPLUS a couple of months ago to speak to manufacturers about cameras for motorcycle touring. Sony chose to show off the RX100, a camera most of you know about and might even drool a bit over. Here’s what they had to say:
Shooting video in a convention center (Jacob Javits in NYC) is horrid. Let me count the ways – poor lighting, noisy, crowded, etc. This year I brought the K-01 with the FA31mm F1.8 mounted on a Vanguard CF monopod (Elite) with Manfrotto 701HDV fluid pan head. I also had a Sennheiser MKE400 mic and Switronix TorchLED mounted on the hotshoe via a v-bracket. I wish that I had a boom mic. I wish I had more lights. I wish I had other people to operate the gear so that I could ask more questions. But you do what you can when you’re essentially a one man show.
Overall, the K-01 did just fine. I only needed web resolution and the ability to edit and upload via my iPad, so the K-01 got the nod over the Panasonic GH2, whose AVCHD files can be cumbersome to deal with on slower systems. My biggest gripe is the lack of audio monitoring, which is especially difficult since the K-01 doesn’t even provide levels on the display. So it’s totally spray and pray. I’d also love focus peaking while recording, not just before. With just these small changes, the K-01 could be a much better video tool, especially because you can use lovely lenses like the FA31.