PMW-320, Sony expands the XDCAM EX family

Sony adds a new camcorder to its XDCAM EX range, the PMW-320, the little brother of the PMW-350 that retains practically the same features but in half an inch instead of two-thirds.

With half-inch Full HD EXMOR CMOS sensors, recording in DVCAM format with bitrates of up to 35Mbps, and the possibility of converting it into an EFP camera using an optional kit, Sony will expand the XDCAM family with the new PMW-320 next summer. Very similar to the PMW-350, but with half-inch optics instead of two-thirds, both camcorders feature three full high-resolution 1920x1080 Exmor CMOS sensors, and are configurable in the studio, with timecode input/output, genlock input, and HD-SDI and HDMI outputs. While the PMW-350 provides optional DVCAM recording and playback capabilities, the PMW-320 offers both features as standard.

Users, who can opt for a kit with or without optics, will be able to strengthen editing interoperability with Sony's XDCAM HD 422 camcorders, since the two camcorders PMW-350 and PMW-320 offer 1440x1080 recording mode at 35Mbps.

Both camcorders are usable in studio setups, using an XDCA-55 HD camera adapter, and an XDCU-50 camera extension unit.

Solid State Recording

At the Sony booth at NAB we were also able to see the new solid state memory options to complement these camcorders. Sony's affordable SxS memory card series, SxS-1 (model SBS-32G1, 32GB), offers compact sizes, high-speed transfers, and supports a wide range of motion.

The cameras are also offered with a MEAD-MS01 adapter for using Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX Series recording media, which can be used as an “emergency” recording option. Sony also offers an adapter to use SD cards (MEAD-SD01).

The hard disk recording unit, model PHU-120, offers 120 GB recording capacity, while the new PXU-MS240 mobile storage unit can be used to transfer data from SxS memory cards to the unit for near-continuous backup or downloading video segments. The unit stores content on a detachable hard drive, model PXU-HC240, capable of storing up to 240 GB of data or up to 17 hours of content in SP mode.