One of the more interesting features of the Sony F55 is its ability to record in 4K XAVC video while simultaneously recording in HD. This gives you the option of editing right away in the Sony MPEG2 HD format as a proxy, and then linking back to the 4K XAVC compression for finishing. Sounds great right?

Sony has just unveiled the new PXW-Z100, a compact 1/2" single sensor 4K camcorder with a fixed 20x lens. Utilizing the same XAVC codec first introduced with the PMW-F5 & PMW-F55, the PXW-Z100 can record HD, QFHD (3840x2160) and full 4K (4096x2160) up to 60 FPS.

The PIX240 is a popular external recorder that offers Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD recording codecs. An already powerful recorder, Sound Devices expanded on the capabilities earlier this year with the Aurora firmware update, adding ProRes 12-bit 4444 over 3G-SDI.

One of the big advantages of the Sony F55 is its ability to record both RAW and HD at the same time (this is true of the F5 as well). When paired with the Sony AXS-R5 recorder, the F5/F55 can record 16-bit RAW data to AXS media cards, and HD video (MPEG2 or XAVC) to SxS cards. This gives you an easy-to-use offline editing format as well as an extremely high quality online Raw format at the same time.

Our customers are always asking for "the perfect camera", one that fits all of their needs and then some. Of course, there is no such thing as the perfect solution for everyone; however, there are some key requirements that we hear all the time. Most new cameras today have features that set them apart from each other and sound great on paper, but when it comes time to go into production the camera needs to be a solid tool that preforms a required task.

Sony stopped by recently to show us the FS700 with the RAW output option enabled. This upgrade has to be done at Sony for a cost of $400. However, if you buy their HXR-IFR5 and R5 recorder the fee is waived.

4K was the definitive buzzword at NAB this year, as well as CES, with a number of manufacturers releasing 4K televisions, 4K game systems, and 4K cameras. With the consumer demand for 4K content just around the corner, one of the most often asked questions is "How much is this gonna cost us?!"

A few months ago, Andy wrote an article for HDVideoPro called Making 4K Plug & Play about how to use the Canon C500 with AJA's Ki Pro Quad to easily record and monitor 4K video. Getting these two to play nice isn't too difficult, but there are a few things to be aware of if you want to get the best results possible.

When the Sony FS700 was first released, Sony announced that a 4K Raw recording option would be forthcoming.