DESCRIPTION:
This was the finale encore number to end a rather tuneful, dancey night. And it was also guitarist Will Graefe last gig with Tess before heading off on his own band projects. I should note that this was shot with a Sony RX10, along with a Zoom H2n audio recorder (extensive tech notes below.) For more info:
http://www.misstessmusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/misstessmusicpage
http://www.lizardloungeclub.com

Tech Notes

I've been on the lookout for an upgrade and replacement for my well-worn Sony HX9V for shooting club shows. I wanted something with a mic-in port and better low-light performance, while still compact. Apparently I was wishing for the moon and stars given what was on the market. The RX10 looked promising but its bulk was off-putting and maybe a deal-killer. The reviews and tests on the Internet weren't informative enough for me, so I rented the RX10 for 3 days, and the Lizard Lounge was my acid test: its lighting usually trips up all cameras to some degree. And since Tess and her band were conveniently playing there....

Setup

I already had a Zoom H2n audio recorder, along with a -25 db attenuation cable (Whirlwind WHH4NL3.5) from earlier experiments, so I mounted the H2n on the RX10 hot shoe with and adapter, and used the cable to connect the H2n's Line Out port to the RX10's mic-in.That made things even bulkier, but it worked out very well. I set the RX10 mic-in level conservatively low to 2 and then 3, and used the mic gain on the H2n for overall control. This resulted with audio track on the RX10 to very nearly match what the Zoom recorded to its SD card -- very clean and clear. The audio above is from the camera (after post-editing), so annoying syncing and dubbing from another source was needed.

The RX10

Bulky but solid, it's best to think of this as a high performance video camera that's also a stills camera. I think its real competition at its price point is the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema camera and maybe a Panasonic GH3 on sale. It also has all the pix tricks you now expect on higher end compact cameras: HDR, Wi-Fi, panorama, "creative," etc. It also some unusual features like a built-in ND filter and NFC. You can look up the full list on Sony's site:
http://www.sony.net/Products/di/en-us/products/4axb/index.html

What's not mentioned is that you can't make custom adjustments to the white balance in Aperture Mode, which is the default for shooting videos, and that you can't take a picture while recording. That's very odd considering that my HX9V lets you do both (although it's easier to find a good frame than to capture a fleeting moment.)

Shooting performance

Bulk is bulk, but it handled well, and the slow zoom, which reviewers have complained about, is actually the perfect speed for shooting videos. Low light performance turned out much better than I expected, and it kept its brightness level while zooming in, which the RX100 II I had briefly failed miserably at. As I mentioned, the Lizard Lounge was an acid test, and in this case, there was a lot of red lighting with bright spots on the perimeter. Here the RX10, aided by it not allowing custom tuning of the while balance, stumbled a bit: the resulting video was over-saturated in red and not really usable as is. The battery lasted throughout the entire set, and I as able to use a generic 16 Gb, Class 10 SDHC card I had lying around. I shot at 24 FPS/AVCHD. I should also note that I tweaked the brightness and shadows down for better balance and to tone down low-light noise.

Post processing issues

I use VirtualDub and Avidemux for video processing, but neither could really correct the color issues on its own, regardless of the filter combos. What you see above is from first running it through Avidemux and then running through VirtualDub for finer adjustments, including noise reduction. Not too bad, but you can see how the RX10 doesn't have that wide a dynamic range, especially with bright areas.

Verdict

If you don't mind the bulk, and you want a high performance, all-purpose camcorder/still picture camera, well, there you go. Its dynamic range may not be at Blackmagic's level, but it's still pretty good. The zoom is of high quality and a wide range. Unfortunately, it's too bulky for my needs, and extreme lighting trips it up like pretty much all conventional cameras. If it was little less bulky and a little bit cheaper, I would snatch it up in a second, but.... Also, where is HDR video? You can do it on Canons via Magic Lantern hacks, so why hasn't any camera maker incorporated it yet for video? For a $1300 bridge camera with a 1" sensor, Sony could have easily added it here and turned the camera industry on its ear, but....