What are the Sony Camcorders with Balanced Optical SteadyShot (B.O.S.S.) like?

Andy From Sligo

anyone got a Sony Camcorder with the BOSS optical stabilization ? - the inner optical lens 'floats' around individually from the camera body - wondered what they are like- the particular model I was looking at is an Sony FDR AX33 model (its an older model 2015 i think) lot of places doing around the 5/600 euro mark.

I was also wondering if the actual picture always stays level on this camcorder , ie if you lay the camcorder on its side will the picture always be upright ?

and also if someone could tell me is there a way of turning off manually the floating lens (or a button that pushes in) that lock's the inner floating lens to the outer body of the camcorder for when you want to use it like a normal camcorder without the optical stabilization feature?

thanks.

ED E

You're confusing an OIS system with a gimbal.

That camera has OIS, so the lens moves **tiny** amounts in order to reduce shake in the footage. Its not floating like a magic 8 ball.



Thats a gimbal, you can get them for larger units too, but a setup like that would be €1200+ all in.

dory

I have a Sony camera with 4k video. I wouldn't bother with a camcorder anymore unless you feel it has some feature a camera doesn't. My Sony A6500 does everything my camcorder used so I got rid of it.

Andy From Sligo

dory wrote: »

I have a Sony camera with 4k video. I wouldn't bother with a camcorder anymore unless you feel it has some feature a camera doesn't. My Sony A6500 does everything my camcorder used so I got rid of it.

sorry, what did you get rid of? - the 4K video camera or the A6500?

I have read reviews on the Sony AX33 Camcorder and people say they are so impressed with the features and quality that they have stopped using their DSLR

The AX53 specs look even better

ED E

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

sorry, what did you get rid of? - the 4K video camera or the A6500?

I have read reviews on the Sony AX33 Camcorder and people say they are so impressed with the features and quality that they have stopped using their DSLR

The AX53 specs look even better

Dory dumped the camcorder and uses the 6500.


Personally dont see the appeal of entry level camcorders. Take the AX53, it has a tiny sensor. The A6500 is more than 8x bigger.

Size isnt everything bug generally bigger is better. The AX53 is the smallest square, the 6500 is the yellow one (APSC Sony).

Both shoot 4K video, but the 6500 shoots great stills too, has lens options. Only place it might lose is battery life. Now they arent in the same price bracket, but you can get cheaper/older DSLRs that are almost as good with similar advantages.

dory

Yes, what he said! I love shooting video on the A6500. I can use different lenses and get different effects. Will never be going back to a camcorder again.

Andy From Sligo

i see the AX53 and AX33 have lens thread for filters - has wide range of zoom AX53 20x optical zoom and 1/2.5 sensor and 20megapixel still (hopefully not interpolated but true 20mp) . F2.0 widest aperture, but strangely the cheaper AX33 has 1.8 - would i be well to worry about the difference between F1.8 and F2.0 especially filming in low light or is the difference negligible?

there is something about holding a camcorder I like better still when taking video's in the way that to me it still feels so alien holding a stills camera to record a video.

ED E

Seems like you dont really want to take advice onboard. If your minds made up, /thread.

Andy From Sligo

ED E wrote: »

Seems like you dont really want to take advice onboard. If your minds made up, /thread.

Oh I do , I more than anything would like people to answer the question I asked , and no my mind is not made up at all