Sony PXW-Z150 4K XDCAM Camcorder, PXW-Z150

Sony PXW-Z150 Overview
The Sony PXW-Z150 4K XDCAM Camcorder brings high-quality performance, adaptability, and ease of use to a compact, handheld body that is the same size as the HXR-NX100. Suitable for corporate video, house of worship, and legal deposition recording. The camcorder features a single Exmor RS sensor with a UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution, Sony G lens with 12x optical zoom range, and 18/24x Clear Image Zoom in 4K/HD. It can record 4K in XAVC Long at 4:2:0 8-bit, and HD in XAVC Long at 4:2:2 10-bit at 50 Mb/s, as well as MPEG2HD at 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 in 8-bit only. The integrated zoom lens features individual lens control rings for focus, iris, and zoom, and produces smooth-rounded-out-of-focus highlights. The lens can be used in either full-auto mode with servo control or as a completely manually operated lens.

The camcorder supports storing up to 6 picture profiles and allows you to share profiles; the camera also supports Sony’s Slow and Quick Motion for shooting HD video at variable frame rates, including 120 fps. Recording to a variety of formats, frame rates, and codecs, the camcorder supports 100 Mb/s XAVC Long GOP recording of 4K UHD video at up to 29.97p, HD up to 59.94p, MPEG HD up to 59.94p, and AVCHD 2.0 up to 59.94p. Your footage is recorded to media via two SD memory card slots. You can choose to record simultaneously to both cards or use the relay mode which switches recording automatically to the second memory card when the first one is full. It features built-in Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity. The PXW-Z150 features two 3-pin XLR audio inputs that support line, mic, and mic +48V (phantom power) for using external microphones; you can also use the PXW-Z150’s built-in microphone to record audio when shooting. The camcorder also includes Night Shot capability for shooting in extremely dim lighting conditions as well as date/time stamp, and timecode functionality.

1″ Exmor RS CMOS Sensor
The PXW-Z150 incorporates a 1.0″-type Exmor RS CMOS sensor with approximately 14.2 million effective pixels. The R designation signifies that this is a backside-illuminated sensor, and the S designation refers to the buffer design and that it can read the information off the sensor much faster than a non-S designated sensor.

Depth of Field
The 1.0″-type offers more shallow depth of field than 1/2.88″-type or smaller sensors.

Sony G Lens with 12x Optical Zoom, 24x Clear Image Zoom
The PXW-Z150 is supplied with a fixed 12x optical zoom wide-angle Sony G lens, equivalent to a 29 to 348mm 35mm lens. The 12x optical zoom can be extended via Sony’s Clear Image Zoom technology to deliver an apparent 18x zoom range in 4K. In HD the 12x optical zoom can be doubled to 24x with Clear Image Zoom, and the Digital Extender function can double this range again, up to 48x zoom.

Frame Rate Flexibility
The camera records UHD 4K video (3840 x 2160p) at 29.97, 25, and 23.98 fps, in XAVC Long GOP in a choice of 100 Mb/s or 60 Mb/s. You can also select to record HD video instead of 4K, which allows you to not only record at standard frame rates up to 59.94p, but also engage Sony’s S&Q Motion, for recording HD video at 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, and 60 fps.

Multiple Codec Choice
You can select to record in XAVC Long GOP (4K/1080p), MPEG HD at 4:2:2 or 4:2:0, or AVCHD 2.0 at a variety of data rates.

Lens Control
Three lens rings enable smooth, natural adjustment of focus, zoom, and iris control. The rings are not mechanically linked to the lens movement, but there is a mechanical feel to the rings. However, they are endlessly rotating, which protects your lens elements from pinning, and the faster you rotate the lens ring the more reactive the result. The lens can also be used in full-auto mode or completely manual for maximum creative control.

Built-In ND Filters
The PXW-Z150 is equipped with an ND Filter function, allowing you to choose four conventional mechanical ND filter positions (Clear, 1/4ND, 1/16ND, and 1/64ND) for better exposure and depth of field control.

Media Slots
The PXW-Z150 is equipped with two memory card slots, one of which is for SDHC/SDXC cards only, while the other slot is compatible with SDHC/SDXC and Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark 2)/Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo cards.

Two media slots can be used to record in either “SIMUL” or “RELAY” mode. “RELAY” mode automatically switches recording from the first to the second memory card when the first is full, while “SIMUL” mode permits simultaneous recording to two memory cards. You can choose to record the same file to the second slot, creating an instant copy, or record a lower quality proxy for post.

Multi-Interface Shoe
The Multi-Interface Shoe expands your options to use accessories without cables, such as the optional HVL-LBPC Video Light or the UWP-D wireless microphone series.

Picture Profiles
You can fine-tune the look of movies before shooting by adjusting up to 99 parameters such as gamma, knee, black level, color model, color level, color phase, and more. Adjusted parameters can be saved along with other settings as a profile, and up to six profiles can be stored for later recall.

You can copy the settings from one PXW-Z150 to another PXW-Z150 so that the user can shoot with multiple cameras in the same settings. The picture profiles only work with the same model of camera.

Wi-Fi/NFC
Using the camcorder’s built-in Wi-Fi capability you can FTP files directly from the camcorder or live stream over Wi-Fi without having to add any additional accessories. You can also use the camcorder’s Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity to remotely pair it to your iOS or Android mobile devices running the Content Browser Mobile app, giving you remote control over focus, zoom, iris, white balance, REC start/stop, and more.