Earlier this week, Sony announced the a9, a full-frame 4K mirrorless camera with 24.2MP CMOS sensor and a new FE 100-400mm telephoto lens. During a live stream today at NAB, the company released new gear and firmware updates to existing products. In addition, Sony has acquired Crispin, which "develops master control automation and asset management solutions for broadcasters."

Here's what you need to know.

NAB 2017 Sony Firmware Update for F5 and F55

  • Sony PMW-F55, PMW-F5 firmware update: With version 9, both cameras now have the capability 4K shooting frame rates of 72, 90, 96, and 120 fps.
  • Sony PXW-SF5 firmware update: Continuous shooting will be available in full HD at 120 fps.

DVF-EL200 Viewfinder Update Nab 2017

  • Sony DVF-EL200: Sony's latest viewfinder for the F55 and F5. It's a full HD (1920×1080) OLED offering easy focus and framing. Sony has said it's nearly twice as bright as the DVF-EL100 and features an improved eye sensor for "increased sensitivity and better positioning, along with enhanced brightness, contrast and peaking level settings."

UMC-S3CA

  • UMC-S3CA: This tiny 4K full frame sensor E-mount camera has an ultra-high sensitivity and interchangeable lens. It offers Genlock support to sync multiple cameras and "widens the camera’s range of applications for shooting from multiple points or Virtual Reality." Ideal for cranes, sliders, crash cams, or when you just need a camera with a small footprint.

AXS-AR1

  • Sony AXS-AR1: A new high-speed card reader that uses a Thunderbolt 2 interface. The connector has daisy-chain capabilities and it's Sony's first reader to have AXS Memory A series and SxS Memory card slots. The reader supports simultaneous recording workflow, i.e., RAW (or X-OCN) and XAVC (or MPEG50) files recorded by F55/F5 and AXS-R7.
  • PSZ-HC1T, PSZ-HC2T: Two re-imagined HDD shuttle drives in 1TB and 2TB flavors. Both feature a trusted USB Type-A tethered cable and Type-C port, are bus powered and come pre-formatted in exFAT. Data transfer rates have been increased to 138MB/s (read/write) with the units being resistant to shock, splash, and dust. Additionally, they come packaged with a library box for additional protection while storing.

Updates to the PVM-A250/A170 OLED

  • LCD HD Monitors: : Sony has upgraded its line of LCD HD production monitors to include the U-R BT.2020 color space and a graphics application. The new LMD-B240 is an LCD basic grade full HD production monitor featuring a unique Sync-Free Side by Side function. The monitors include SDI and HDMI inputs as well as HD, SD, various frame rates, interlace, PsF and progressive can be configured. It also has focus assist for the main image and delivers a low signal processing latency. Sony has added these upgrades to LMD-A240/A220/A170 monitors.

Sony has not yet announced an update to the A7 line of cameras, as many expected; instead, we have a number of incremental changes for existing Sony users. Stay tuned for more this week.


No Film School's complete coverage of NAB 2017 is brought to you by My RØDE Reel, Vimeo 360, and Blackmagic Design.

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