Sony HD422 TRI-CCD 2/3" PDW-850 XDCAM DISK - Shoulder camera

This reference acquisition tool for audiovisual production is lighter and requires less power. It's easy to use in the field, and offers live production at a very affordable price.

The PDW-850 is equipped with the latest Power HAD FX CCDs and records in HD, SD and MPEG HD 422 50 Mbit/s formats, on robust, archival-ready Professional Disc media, with high sensitivity from F12 to 50i and an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 62 dB. The PDW-850 is equipped with a high-quality 960 x 540 QHD color LCD side monitor, and features an HDVF interface perfect for connecting the latest optional monochrome and color viewfinders. This ergonomic, well-balanced camcorder now fully supports the CBK-WA100 wireless adapter, for proxy recording and proxy/high-resolution content transfer via a Wi-Fi/3G/4G/LTE connection, as well as for scheduling metadata management (available via a future update). USB, Ethernet and GPS interfaces included. Weighing just 4.2 kg (body only), this camcorder is lighter than the PDW-700, and its power consumption is lower than that of its predecessors. The PDW-850 can also be configured in a live production system by combining a CA-FB70 fiber optic adapter, or a CA-TX70 Triax digital transmission adapter, with the standard 50-pin interface.

High image quality thanks to three 2/3-inch Power HAD FX CCDs for recording in MPEG HD 422 format at 50 Mbit/s
CCDs offer the best image quality in the world, with high sensitivity (F12 at 50i), wider dynamic range and elimination of motion artifacts. What's more, the PDW-850 boasts an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 62 dB. It records in the most popular MXF broadcast formats: MPEG HD 422 50 Mbps, MPEG HD 420 35 Mbps and 25 Mbps, MPEG IMX 50 Mbps and DVCAM.

Lighter, well-balanced housing with reduced power consumption
Weighs just 4.2 kg (housing only) and offers lower power consumption than previous models (PDW-680, PDW-700 and PDW-F800) of just 37 W under normal operating conditions.

Full integration with live production systems in an HSC/HDC camera environment
Full integration with camera control units (CCUs) via CA-FB70 fiber-optic adapter and CA-TX70 Triax digital transmission adapter. The PDW-850 uses the same CCD sensor and digital signal processing system as the HSC and HDC system cameras, for perfectly uniform image quality.

Ideal for field acquisition
Support for the CBK-WA100 wireless adapter with USB connector and GPS included for synchronized proxy recording, low-latency tablet/smartphone monitoring, high-resolution/proxy content transfer via Wi-Fi/3G/4G/LTE connection, and improved planning metadata management.

High-quality side LCD monitor and optional HDVF viewfinder interface
Large, high-quality one-quarter Full HD 960 x 540 color LCD monitor with easy focus, and HDVF interface for attaching the latest monochrome and color eyecups or optional studio viewfinders.

 

 

Features

High sensitivity thanks to three 2/3-inch Power HAD FX CCDs
The PDW-850 is equipped with three latest-generation 2/3-inch Power HAD FX CCDs, each with 2.2 megapixels. These CCD sensors offer the best image quality in the world, with high sensitivity from F12 to 50i, wider dynamic range and elimination of motion artifacts. The camcorder also boasts an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 62 dB with the noise suppression (NS) option activated.

Lighter, well-balanced housing with reduced power consumption
The PDW-850 is designed to be ergonomic and well-balanced, offering a high degree of mobility and comfort in many shooting situations. Weighing just 4.2 kg (body only), it is lighter than the PDW-F800 and PDW-700. Compared with its predecessors, the PDW-850 also offers reduced power consumption of just 37 W when recording with a viewfinder.

Full integration with live production systems using CA-FB70 and CA-TX70 adapters
The PDW-850 is fully compatible for integration into the live production environment. The standard 50-pin interface enables full integration of Camera Control Units (CCUs) via the CA-FB70 fiber-optic adapter and the CA-TX70 Triax digital transmission adapter, as well as seamless integration with Sony HSC and HDC system cameras in OB van or studio applications.

Full support for the CBK-WA100 wireless adapter via SDI and USB, and GPS included
The camcorder supplies the CBK-WA100 wireless adapter with DC power, and features a USB and HD-SDI communication interface. The CBK-WA100 enables proxy recording on an SD card, transfer of proxy and/or high-resolution content via a 3G/4G/LTE/Wi-Fi connection, as well as remote control and streaming of content to a tablet/smartphone during recording. These functions are provided in the free Content Browser Mobile (CBM) app, available on Google Play and the Apple Store. The CBM app also offers functions for managing planning metadata and setting metadata markers (with a future update). What's more, the camcorder is equipped with a GPS function that helps you find shooting locations and reduces the time spent on post-production, by reducing the time spent searching through a large volume of files: thanks to the geolocation function, you can carry out a simple search via a non-linear editing system, for better organization of documentary and audiovisual productions.

Improved slow shutter speeds and 1080p slow and fast motion at 50 Mbit/s
The PDW-850's shutter speed can be slowed down for up to 32 frames (the shutter speed is adjustable over periods of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16 and 32 frames). During this period, electrical charge builds up on the CCD sensors, considerably increasing sensitivity. This makes it possible to shoot in extremely dark environments. The slow shutter function lets you use shutter speeds longer than the frame rate, and create an intentional blur effect on moving objects, for greater shooting creativity. The camcorder can record in slow and fast motion in 1080p at 50 Mbit/s.

HD/SD-SDI and composite inputs
For pool-feed operations, the camcorder features integrated composite, SD-SDI and HD-SDI inputs.

High-quality 24-bit audio recording
The PDW-850 records uncompressed 24-bit sound over 4 channels. It is also equipped with a range of microphones, and AES-EBU line and audio interfaces.

Multi-format HD/SD and interlaced/progressive recording
One of the PDW-850 camcorder's major assets is its multi-format recording flexibility. Users can choose a recording format from HD to SD. The camcorder records in MPEG HD 422 at 50 Mbit/s at 1080/59.94i/29/97p/50i/25p/23.98p and 720/59.94p/50p. It also records in MPEG HD 420 format at 35 Mbit/s and 25 Mbit/s at 1080/59.94i/29/97p/50i/25p/23.98p and 720/59.94p/50p. SD formats include MPEG IMX 50 Mbit/s and DVCAM 25 Mbit/s.

Optional HDVF viewfinders
The camcorder features an HDVF interface that enables optional color and monochrome viewfinders to be attached, such as the 2-inch HDVF-20A and HDVF-200 monochrome viewfinders and the 3.5-inch HDVF-C30WR color viewfinder. Studio viewfinders HDVF-C550W and HDVF-L750 are also supported.

Wide choice of optional microphones
The PDW-850 is compatible with a wide selection of microphones. It features a 5-pin XLR input for short-barrel stereo microphones. The camcorder can also accommodate Sony stereo digital wireless microphone receivers and a wide range of optional microphones.

High-quality side-mounted LCD monitor
The PDW-850's high-quality, one-quarter Full HD 960 x 540 color LCD panel, with easy-to-adjust focus, lets you instantly view recorded footage, access setup menus and view status indicators such as four-channel audio levels, disc capacity and battery level. It also enables advanced operations such as thumbnail search and shot selection.

Advanced LSI DSP technology
The all-new LSI DSP (digital signal processing) processor is at the heart of the PDW-850 camcorder's image processing. Combined with the 16-bit A/D converter, it produces images captured by the CCD with maximum precision. Adjustments to white balance, white spots and reflections are made digitally, enabling stable image correction. In addition, the PDW-850 provides a noise suppression mode that reduces high-frequency noise in a video signal using Sony's advanced digital processing technology. The ALAC-2 processing function significantly reduces horizontal and vertical chromatic aberration.

Interval recording
The PDW-850 camcorder features an interval recording function, allowing signals to be recorded at predefined intervals. This function is ideal for shooting over long periods of time, as well as for creating ultra-fast time-lapse images.

Cache recording
The PDW-850 includes a cache recording function, particularly suited to ENG applications. In standby mode, once the REC button is pressed, the previous 30 seconds are automatically stored in the camcorder's memory. This means that everything that happens 30 seconds before the REC button is pressed is still recorded to disk. What's more, this function is available even when the disc has not yet been inserted, preventing the loss of important scenes.

Smooth gain control
The PDW-850 camcorder features a wide range of gain settings and an easy-to-use control system. Easily adjust gain via the camcorder's assignable controls. The transition between each gain value is extremely smooth, avoiding abrupt changes that impair image quality.

ND and CC optical filters
The PDW-850 camcorder is equipped with dual ND (neutral density) and CC (color correction) optical filter wheels. The ND optical filter is controlled by a built-in filter wheel: clear, 1/4ND, 1/16ND/ and 1/64ND. With the CC filter wheel, the user can easily obtain the desired color temperature by rotating to reach 3,200 K, 4,300 K, 5,600 K or 6,300 K.

4x digital focal length multiplier function
The PDW-850's digital focal length multiplier enables images to be digitally quadrupled in size. Unlike traditional focal length multipliers, the digital focal length multiplier avoids any degradation in image sensitivity, often referred to as focal reduction. Using the 4x digital focal length multiplier quadruples image resolution.