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The Official: Sony PJ710 / PJ760 / PJ780 / PJ790 Owners Thread

23K views 99 replies 30 participants last post by  spyker1212 
#1 ·
*Updated June 19th 2013*

To add the new PJ790 & PJ780 to the thread since no dedicated thread exists and the specs for these cameras are very similar.



After doing multiple searches I was disappointed that there was no dedicated message boards to these 2012 / 2013 Sony line of cameras- only messages and threads all over the web- no Central Location for actual owners or those interested in these specific models. (My apologies to other threads that already have this information- but again when others search for info from owners on these cameras there are too many pieces of info in too many places.) Of course in North America model #s CX710 / CX760 are the same cameras without the added Projection feature of the PJ line. As well as other international variants such as the PJ780 etc.



Original review:


It's been a while since I had a Camcorder and recently picked up a Sony PJ710 for the past couple of weeks and I am still learning the features.


An FYI- there is a pre-installed rechargeable battery in the camera to keep the clock and other features going for up to three months without a regular battery installed . Sony suggest leaving the camera plugged in with the screen closed for 24 hrs to charge this built in battery. (Yes I read the manual and was surprised to see this buried in the manual. This should also be true for the other cameras in this line- check your manual! I found this info on page 85 of the US manual of the PJ710. Download the pdf file for your specific camera from Sony's website and check it out.)


Also if not using the camera for a long time, the manual states you should fully discharge the regular battery before storage. (The regular battery being the rectangular NP-FV50 or NP-FV70 etc.)

My first thoughts:



1.) I really like the built in mini projector. In my opinion The Projector is not a toy or after thought- those of you with kids will definitely understand. When I go to film an event with a lot people and want to show the recording right away without having to hook up to an external Screen / TV. Just find a blank wall, turn down the lights and everyone can view themselves in all their glory. I was very surprised at how well this little built in projector worked. It's not the highest definition, but for what it is, it is pretty clear and the colors were really good especially in a darkened room. I felt like I was at the drive in when viewing this. Really cool feature.


2.) The GPS is a very handy feature that I wanted to have with this camera. The time it takes to lock onto the Satellites was very fast- sometimes only a few seconds from the time I opened the screen to start the caemra. I will be circumnavigating the planet shortly and stopping in too many countries to list and I look forward to sorting and tracking my travels via Map View in the Sony Play Memories software on my laptop. (Normally I eschew manufactures' software but this is one feature I don't mind using.)


3.) I would have liked a viewfinder included at this price point like the PJ760. But to tell the truth I am not missing it as much as I had thought. (I am an old school look through the viewfinder and shoot kinda guy.) I also like the built in male USB cord. It is full sized male USB, but the housing behind the male plug is slimmer than a regular male USB 2.0 plug.

Note: the supplied Sony USB extension cord has a plastic collar that fits the slim male USB coming from the camera. I tried to plug in my other USB peripherals into the Sony USB extension cord but the propriety plastic collar prevents the regular USB male plug from fitting.


For traveling I wanted to have one USB extension cord that is universal. So I just used a regular male to female USB 2.0 extension cord and that works perfectly fine with the Sony PJ camera. (I know this sounds confusing, but I don't have pics of the Sony USB extension plastic collar handy right now. Just ditch it and use a regular USB extension cord.) Damn this propriety nonsense. I can see that it is supposed to lock on and support the slim male USB coming from the Camera- but it is seriously not needed.


4.) Dedicated manual twist style button that can be used for manual focus / iris control / white balance etc.


5.) Night shot mode. I played around with this and chased the cats and it works just fine from a distance of up to 10-12 feet. Anything longer and you need a dedicated IR light that you can stick in the active interface hotshoe on the camera to extend the night shot distance to 23ft up to 65ft


6.) Auto smile detection picture- this feature I really really like. Even though post processing you can select such stills from the video, I like the spontaneous shots the camera takes. The "smile" sensitivity can be set from low to hi in the settings. (Not all shooting modes offer this though- see My list of Quirks below.) Also the highest megapixel is listed as 2.1mp for taking a still picture while recording. This is not that great- but again it serves as a cue for me when later I view the video in post processing and use my video editing software to pull that exact same scene / picture at a higher resolution.


7.) The 10X Optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens / Exmor R sensor is not much compared to the PJ260 which has 30X optical zoom. But I prefer the superior lens in the PJ710 / 760 which makes it harder to get a larger optical zoom according to Sony. The Sony accessories pamphlet that came in the box shows you can get a tele conversion lens. I might explore this option in the future. I really like the fact that you can control the zoom speed from a very slow zoom to a really fast one. Also the zoom and record on the touchscreen gives more choice depending on how you hold the camcorder.


8.) Balanced Optical Steady Shot- works. Moving up and down stairs, following my precocious little niece as she scampers around- if it can handle those two events- then I know this camera can handle whatever I throw at it. Short of me being stupid and hanging off the side of a 4X4 while off roading.


There are three settings for image stabilization aka Steadyshot:

Off

Standard - Digital image stabilization

Active - Balance Optical image stabilization- aka floating lens- the reason you bought this camera


Depending on what you are shooting- you can use Standard or Active for best effect.

In my experience when moving Active works great. When standing still or using a tripod Standard is good enough. There are some subtle differences, pros and cons when using either mode. The manual sucks at explaining them. I generally just leave the camera in Active mode and forget about it.

Note: A word about zooming out and trying to following a moving subject when using Active Image Stabilization. There are times, not always, where I found that the Floating Lens still wants to move very slightly until it auto corrects itself. A type of slow jerky movement that can be disconcerting when you first see it. I bought my Sony PJ710 from the Sony store and the sales guy showed this to me at the store and made me aware of it. So I was not surprised by it when it happened during my home shoots. Others won't even notice it if you don't mention it to them while viewing the videos on a big screen. They might just think you have a nervous twitch or something.


This is the inherent nature of this new type of floating lens. Just like any new technology- get used to it, adapt your shooting style to eliminate or else compensate for it. I expect this to get better as the technology matures and other manufacturers bring out their version of the floating lens.


I have not really experimented with the other Standard Steadyshot image stabilization mode to see if this still occurs.

Someone please chime in and let us know.

A few other quirks:


1.) Touch screen seems to be single point touch only. Not sure if this is because of the way Sony has the firmware / software setup on the camera, but when trying to zoom in on the GPS map you have to use the hardware zoom buttons located on the top of the camera itself. There is no + or - zoom icons on the touchscreen itself. In otherwords no pinch to zoom in or out on the touch screen, I find this rather annoying.


Also you have to press the arrows to scroll up and down- you can't flick up and down like I am used to on any touch screen interface. (Smart phone, tablet, convertible laptop etc.)


Hopefully this can be added in a firmware update. (Unless the touchscreen really is only a single point touch interface... argh!)


2.) Some of the shooting modes don't have all the features. For example- you can select 60i and get the auto smile detection picture as well as recording in AVCHD. But chose to shoot in 60p or 24p mode and you cannot get the auto smile detection picture or AVCHD recording. This might be because of the inherent nature of the compression / recording format but Sony has not really explained why this is the case. I am still looking for an answer to this.



Btw- what are you shooting modes? I have mine set to 60i / FH High Quality and 16:9 12.3mp still picture. This seems the best compromise since I really like the auto picture smile detection capability. Later on when I get more familiar with the camera I 'll bump it up to 24p or 60p and see what the differences are.

[EDIT: 2014-5-28] - I have now switched all my settings and now permanently use the following:

Frame Rate: 60p

HD / STD: Setting: HD Quality

Image Size: 16:9 L (24.1)


More thoughts later as I use this camera.

Feel free to add your own or if you have any questions I'll do the best I can to answer.


Rob
 
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#2 ·
Thanks for your comments. I have the sister camera, the HXR-NX30 but with the exception of the XLR audio everything else is the same. I have been using the camera to shoot street interviews in Miami for my wife's blog. I always use it in 1080/60p to allow for smooth slow motion. I also like CINEMA COLOR ON. One interesting thing about the zoom: The NX30 has no option to set the optical only zoom. It's either 17X or 120X if you select the digital zoom. I can't see any degradation at 17X and as I said there is no way to limit it at 10X.


The software that comes with the camera is also different and is called "Content Management Utility". Pretty basic, no editing.


Overall, a great little camera .
 
#4 ·
You are right. Changing the stabilization to "STANDARD" makes the zoom 10X instead of 17X. There is nothing on the manual about this and when setting "DIGITAL ZOOM" there is only two options: ON or OFF. No mention whatsoever of 10X or 17X.

Sony instructions are terrible! Thank you, Mark.
 
#5 ·
All right. Thanks for this dedicated thread. Question: When I use a tripod with my SR11, I have to turn off any stabilization or else the video scene that I shot is slightly jittery. But with the stabilization off, everything from the tripod is smooth and still. Is it the same way with the 760?


Mike
 
#6 ·
Good heads up on how to get the 10x vs 17x.


On another note: I played around with the digital 170X zoom by turning it on in the settings just to see what it would do.

It does gets you close up- but something I would never use unless absolute necessary. Optical zoom is still the best for recording.

If I wanted to see what was going on in the distance and didn't have my travel binoculars handy then I would use the Digital zoom in a pinch.


@Mike


With the image stabilization set to Standard I didn't notice any jitteryness. The manual states Standard is the better image stabilization to use for tripod / wide angle non zoom use. Come to think of it I didn't see any jumpiness using Active wide angle non zoom either.


I haven't really used the zoom features that much since I prefer to actually physically move closer to the subject and get different height and angle shots.
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobAC  /t/1429201/the-official-sony-pj710-pj760-owners-thread#post_22402880


I haven't really used the zoom features that much since I prefer to actually physically move closer to the subject and get different height and angle shots.

That's the way to go. Professional videos very rarely use zoom during a scene.A video without a lot of zooming in and out looks much less amateur.


The discussion about leaving the stabilization on while using a tripod is interesting. I always heard we should turn it off but when I left it on "standard" it doesn't show any jittering.
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Railfan  /t/1429201/the-official-sony-pj710-pj760-owners-thread#post_22403138


Thanks. That is good to know about the stabilization and tripod. Another question: Has anyone used the LCD on a bright sunny day? Any report on how it works with the sun shinning on it?

Mike

Unfortunately I have and the short answer is: Terrible! The viewfinder is also pretty bad, too small.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Railfan  /t/1429201/the-official-sony-pj710-pj760-owners-thread#post_22404077


Thats too bad. I keep having my hopes that someday the LCDs will work up to their potential. Sorry to hear that the viewfinder is not very good also. Thanks for your views.

Mike


Try a little low tech solution ....


Grab a matte or antiglare cellphone or laptop screen protector. Cut it to size and install on the Camcorder's touchscreen.

I am paranoid the screen will get damaged so I already used a left over clear piece from my laptop's screen protector on the Camcorder's LCD touchscreen.


I might eventually switch over to an Anti-glare screen protector.

The LCD is really good looking with the high pixel count resolution when viewing and playing back recordings- so you will get a little lower brightness if you use the matte antiglare screen protector.


[Edit- also turn up the brightness of the LCD to its highest setting will help in bright sunlight.]
 
#13 ·
Update: Half way through our trip and I have put this came through various extremes and it has held up really well.


From Winter conditions to bone dry Desert conditions and in between- no issues with the functions.

I now closing in on over 300 Gigs of raw footage from the various places / locations and still counting. I originally thought a 500 GB HD would do- but had to break down and buy a 2.5" external 1 Tera byte HD as a backup. (The laptop I am using is a Lenovo X230T Wacom digitizer touchscreen enable / Convertible Laptop with 500 GB HD. Upgrading to an SSD and Windows 8 with Classic Shell later.)


Some tips on usage- to protect the lense from getting dinged and damaged when on the go I always screw on either the little plastic stepdown lense ring or the Sun Hood. The majority of times I just leave the Sun Hood on. I have lost count of the many times it has protected the lens from getting messed up when I the camera bangs into something. (I have the extra insurance so I can just walk into any Sony Store and get a full replacement if the camera is busted- but to find a store in the middle of traveling and a day or two of missing good shoots would be a pain.)


The floating lens is really making a difference and helps smooth out the recordings. Also it learning to move physically and do nice smooth movements really makes a difference in addition to the floating lense. I will post some footage later.


I gave it the ultimate torture test on the deck of a ship in rough seas. With me limping along from a back injury and jerky hand and walking movements, swaying back and forth... it did pretty well. It won't be the smoothest under such circumstances of course, but a far cry better than what I was expecting. (Again, still in the midst of traveling and finding the time to edit and upload, as well as a solid net connection, will take another month or so til I get back to North America.)


Another thing I am finding is that the Sony Play Memories software has become my defacto quick viewing prgm for all my still and videos. I also use it to do quick trims of the video and to grab still frames. For more in depth editing I use my dedicated Picture and Video editors. I don't bother to take out the SD card, the built in camcorder USB cord has become indispensible for file transfers. The Play Memories imports and copies to a dated folder, which I rename with a proper description- leaving the date as is. (The only thing is when in the Import screen the thumbnail that shows of what is being transferred is pretty small- I would like to be able to select a larger sized thumbnail to see what the still or video is when I do a quick glance at it during transfer.)


The GPS feature is also working great. Fun to track our progress across the planet. I have everything in folders by date and description- but the GPS tags can ID what, where when etc, if I ever send or move them to elsewhere. Believe me- one nice sunny beach or forest starts to look the same - the GPS helps to ID them.


The only thing is the Navteq maps are basic. I would prefer a more in depth mapping like the one on my Nokia smartphone or Google maps- with Satellite and different terrain type features, as well as local landmarks, traffic patterns etc.. (Not to mention 3D street views when in the urban environment would be a nice addition in the future.)


Rob
 
#14 ·
Hey folks, I know it's been a while.

Back home now and just upgraded my laptop to the new OS, added more RAM and a larger Hybrid HD, plus had to learn this new editing software suite from the beginning.


(Figuring out Youtube was also enlightening.) I converted the default Sony M2TS AVCHD video file to a .WMV file encoded to 1280 X 720 / 30p before uploading.

The WMV was actually 100k smaller than when I originally converted to an MPEG-4 / MP4 file. So I chose the smaller WMV for a quicker upload.


It really didn't matter - Youtube did its own conversion / compression - inevitably resulting in a loss in video quality.

So I consider it pointless to try to upload 1080p when 720p is smaller and faster for what I am doing.


As promised behold my first ever editing effort:




Enjoy- comments and queries welcome of course.

More to come later on.
 
#18 ·
Hi everyone. My first post here! I'm in the market and looking at the PJ760 mainly because it has a viewfinder (dont care if its not that great, as long as there's one), and the larger 96gb internal flash memory.


I have a couple questions about it and hope anyone who knows can answer.


1. I'm currently working overseas in asia (korea). If I buy the PJ760 here, can I take it back home to Canada without any problems in terms of power/charging issues? I just use a adapter plug converter right? I think its the same 110/220V?


2. Is there a way to turn off the built-in GPS? I don't intend to track and log the whereabouts of my videos and I don't want anything or anyone tracking me also. I just get paranoid that someone or something could hijack my videos via GPS/wifi or whatever and scoop them all up in the clouds.


Thanks everyone....I was going to get the Canon HF G20 coming out in February 2013, but they don't have 60p still and I heard the image stabilization on Sony is a lot better too.



Oh, I just remember another question. Does the PJ760/CX760 have a different optional lens hood available anywhere (ie. ebay) that doesn't have a hole for the flash? I don't intend to use flash much either and the lens hood that comes with the PJ760 is awfully BIG due to the room it needed to make for the flash hole. Most lens hoods are just for the lens of the camcorder. I don't like the oversized shape of the lens hood and looks too wacky (reminds me of the Pontiac Aztec car). I just want a normal lens hood.


Thanks.
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by wonderweiss  /t/1429201/the-official-sony-pj710-pj760-owners-thread#post_22907831


Hi everyone. My first post here! I'm in the market and looking at the PJ760 mainly because it has a viewfinder (dont care if its not that great, as long as there's one), and the larger 96gb internal flash memory.


I have a couple questions about it and hope anyone who knows can answer.


1. I'm currently working overseas in asia (korea). If I buy the PJ760 here, can I take it back home to Canada without any problems in terms of power/charging issues? I just use a adapter plug converter right? I think its the same 110/220V?

.

get a sony HDR-PJ790V. it's about same price as pj760.


just make sure the camcorder is NTSC system. not PAL system.


PJ790 allow wifi.


i am saving to buy a PJ790... i have the gw77 and love it.

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666519687
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by wonderweiss  /t/1429201/the-official-sony-pj710-pj760-owners-thread#post_22907831


Hi everyone. My first post here! I'm in the market and looking at the PJ760 mainly because it has a viewfinder (dont care if its not that great, as long as there's one), and the larger 96gb internal flash memory.

I almost got the PJ760 - precisely for the larger memory and eyepiece. But in real world use I have found the built in 32 GB plus an extra 32GB memory card on the PJ710 can hold a lot of HD video. I once ran out of space on my 32GB memory card because I forgot to delete the previous days videos. I just switched over to the empty built in memory and kept on filming.


I do miss having an eyepiece though at times, but since I will be using a C-Loop holder for smoother and more interesting shot angles then I won't be able to use the eyepiece since it blocks the rear of the camcorder. Right now I am so used to the fold out screen and twisting it all over to get the proper perspective it has become second nature.


Now that the new model PJ790 is released though- if I was in the market for a new camcorder, I would wait a bit to get the PJ760 on sale for a cheaper price.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wonderweiss  /t/1429201/the-official-sony-pj710-pj760-owners-thread#post_22907831


I have a couple questions about it and hope anyone who knows can answer.


1. I'm currently working overseas in asia (korea). If I buy the PJ760 here, can I take it back home to Canada without any problems in terms of power/charging issues? I just use a adapter plug converter right? I think its the same 110/220V?


2. Is there a way to turn off the built-in GPS? I don't intend to track and log the whereabouts of my videos and I don't want anything or anyone tracking me also. I just get paranoid that someone or something could hijack my videos via GPS/wifi or whatever and scoop them all up in the clouds.


Thanks everyone....I was going to get the Canon HF G20 coming out in February 2013, but they don't have 60p still and I heard the image stabilization on Sony is a lot better too.


Oh, I just remember another question. Does the PJ760/CX760 have a different optional lens hood available anywhere (ie. ebay) that doesn't have a hole for the flash? I don't intend to use flash much either and the lens hood that comes with the PJ760 is awfully BIG due to the room it needed to make for the flash hole. Most lens hoods are just for the lens of the camcorder. I don't like the oversized shape of the lens hood and looks too wacky (reminds me of the Pontiac Aztec car). I just want a normal lens hood.


Thanks.

1. The battery charger is universal that came with the NA PJ710 I bought in Canada. It is rated as 100-240V & 50/60hz which is perfect it will do Asia no probs.

I had no issues using it in the Pacific and Europe. Again as long as you get the appropriate adaptors.


Spyker also raises a very good point- you want to make sure you have the appropriate NTSC or PAL / SECAM etc. depending on where you live.


2. Yes there is a setting to turn off the GPS. Located in the Menu / Setup, just scroll down GPS on / off is there.


3. I also at first thought that lens hood was ugly and cumbersome as can be. But now I love the darn thing. I always leave it on the camera no matter what time of day it is or even at night. Why? Because I can't count the amount of times it has saved the front and lens of the camera from getting seriously bashed to heck and gone!


I got a cheapo sturdy shoulder strap. I just throw the camcorder over my neck and one arm through the shoulder strap and away I go. I am no longer as paranoid the camera will get banged up because that big honkin lens hood always swings around and gets smacked first.


I have had it slam so hard against metal objects like gates / poles with such a loud cracking sound while flying off, that I swore the camcorder was busted.

But every time it was saved. (Yes I am hard on my equipment



Rob
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the positive reinforcement to my new found madness- I mean hobby, video editing.

I now dream of shifting time lines and why the darn sound volumes keep changing!


Anyway here is another video for your viewing pleasure:

(Oh, btw- I met a fellow with a Panasonic 900 forgot the model- but it was the latest one and we did a side by side comparison of the bumpy gravel road. They both did very well.)

 
#23 ·
Thanks for the replies.


I really like the PJ790V the more I look at it, but it probably is more than I really need. I think it's starting price is 1599, which is getting out of my range. I like the mic on it but I always wonder who the mic protrusion might interfere with the "smoothness" of the camera when trying to "slide" it in and out of big pockets, bags, etc....the protruding mic must get stuck or in the way often. I wonder if that mic is removable or movable? It looks like it's permanently fixed as a protruding device. Even with larger camcorders, I always like to slide in my big jacket pockets or whatnot and I fear that mic will get in the way and make it virtually impossible to do that.


I'll either wait and see if the PJ760 sells for cheaper later (PJ710 doesn't have a eye viewfinder, so that's why I don't want that. Normally the 32gb inbuilt is enough for me + an additional 32 gb card...but I need a viewfinder, and they are a lot more convenient and handy than ppl realize).


The other camcorder I was looking at was the Canon HF G20. It's only 1099 and just a minor upgrade to the award winning G10. The only drawback I think is that it doesn't have 60p....still.

I love the lens hood on it. I doubt the stabilization is as good as the Sony. Overall, I think the Sony 760v or 790v is a better camcorder but at much higher price point. Maybe the G20 at only 1099 is a more suitable camcorder for me at this price range.


Hmm....decisions.
 
#25 ·
Hi guys, is there any way to turn off the floating lens of the camcorder and have the fix lens with the image stabilization quality of the old cx550 model for example ?


When I switch the image stabilization to normal, the lens still floats. If I turned it off, the lens is fixed.... But my question is , when it is off, does it mean I have no more image stabilization at all ? Or I am having the same image stabilization that I had in old models with fixed lenses (ie. cx550)


The reason why I do not want the floating lens is because , when screwing my old lens over it , the lens , with big shaking, focus on the Tim of the lens losing then focus...


Thank you
 
#26 ·
Perhaps the PJ740, PJ780 and PJ790 should also be incorporated into this thread as they too are typical the same camera, just with a few minor modifications to the PJ780/PJ790 most noticably the microphone. If you agree perhaps the topic title can be changed accordingly.
 
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