Sony’s Sub-$10,000 PMW-300 Is the EX3’s Successor

Latest XDCAM Records 50 Mbps MPEG HD 4:2:2 from 1/2-type 3CMOS Sensors in Semi-Shoulder Configuration

Sony announced the PMW-300 camcorder, refreshing its XDCAM line-up with a semi-shoulder mount camera that uses the same EX-mount interchangeable lens system as the PMW-EX3, meaning both 1/2-inch and 2/3-inch lenses can be used. And it adds the broadcast-friendly 50 Mbps MPEG HD 422 codec to its recording options.

At some point, Sony said, it plans to offer an upgrade to enable support of the XAVC codec announced with the F5 and F55 last fall.

The standard recording mode for the camera is 1080/23.98p, with 2.5x slow motion enabled at 720/23.98p. Footage can be recorded to SxS memory card, SD, Memory Stick, and XQD cards.

The PMW-300 features a 960×540 3.5-inch color LCD viewfinder, timecode and genlock, an 8-pin remote connector, and HD-SDI and HDMI outputs, as well as slots for Sony UWP series wireless mics. An optional wireless adapter is in development.

The PMW-300 is slated to ship in October with a 14x zoom lens at a suggested list price of "less than $10,000," Sony said. At this writing, Sony's U.S. website had not been updated with information on the PMW-300, but the company's U.K. site, below, has the specs.