SONY AVCHD MEMORY CAMCORDER HXR-MC2500

The HXR-MC2500 Shoulder Mount AVCHD Camcorder from Sony is designed for shooters looking for the inherent stability and professional feel a shoulder-mount form factor provides. It features a 1/4″ Exmor R CMOS chip that can work with as little as 0.8 lux illumination when in SD mode, and low light performance is further augmented by a built-in LED light shinning 800 lumens at 1.6; distance. The camera records Full HD in the widely supported AVCHD format and can record SD in the DV codec with an AVI wrapper. Using DV rather than DVD-style MPEG-2 compression for SD means a higher quality thanks to lower compression and compatibility with more editing software. The camera is Wi-Fi enabled allowing you to control it from an app as well as monitor a low-latency live feed on a smartphone or tablet.

Along with two cold shoes, the HXR-MC2500 features one Sony Multi-Interface hot shoe, which allows the attachment of proprietary accessories such as lights and microphones. The hot shoe design means no separate cables will be required for audio accessories and lights will not require a separate battery or power source since they can draw off the camera battery. The two standard shoes provide mounting for third-party lights, field monitors, microphones, wireless receivers, and other on-camera accessories. 

For live monitoring, there is an HDMI output, plus composite output which is on a locking BNC connector to ensure the cable doesn’t get accidentally get yanked loose during a live broadcast. Video can be recorded internally to the 32GB flash memory, which stores about 170 minutes hours at the 24 Mbps (FX) quality setting, or a SDHC/SDXC or MemoryStick memory card.

Wide 26.8mm Angle Lens

With 12x zoom, the lens features a 26.8mm equivalent focal length when at its widest setting, helping to minimize the times a wide angle adapter or converter will be required

Exmor R CMOS sensor

The Exmor R CMOS has been redesigned from the previous model to deliver up to 0.8 lux sensitivity in SD mode. In part this sensitivity bump comes from the use of backside illumination, which moves much of the circuity to the back of the sensor enabling larger photosites which can capture more light

OLED Tru-Finder and 3″ LCD Panel

The Tru-Finder viewfinder uses OLED technology for a better viewing angle and features a resolution of 1.44 million dots, adequate for critical manual focusing. There is also a 3″ LCD panel for when the camera is not being used over the shoulder, which features a 0.92 million dot resolution. The LCD screen can be close or disabled when not in use to conserve battery

Low-Light Shooting

The HXR-MC2500 is capable of up to 0.8 lux minimum illumination when using manual settings with the shutter set to 1/15 second, the iris at f/1.8, and the gain at 33dB. Plus, there is a built-in LED video light that casts 800 lumens brightness when 1.6′ from the subject

Wi-Fi Enabled with NFC Connectivity

Through Wi-Fi it is possible to operate a number of camera settings from a smartphone or tablet. You can also monitor a live feed, which is ideal for setups – such as a news conference – where the camera will be placed somewhere that people aren’t allowed during the event. The NFC feature saves time, allowing you to pair the camera with NFC-enabled mobile devices simply by tapping the device to the camera. Functions you can access through the app include:

• Record start/stop
• Zoom
• Iris
• Touch Auto Focus

Hybrid Recording

The camera comes equipped with 32GB of built-in memory, offering approximately 170 minutes in the 24 Mbps (FX) quality setting. There is also a memory card slot that can accept SD, SDHC, SDXC, and Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo cards – all available separately – for even longer recording times. Simultaneous modes lets you record to both media at once, while Relay will roller over from one media to the other once the fist fills up. Relay makes indefinite recording possible, as long as the battery lasts or AC power is available

Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe

In addition to the two standard cold shoes, the proprietary Multi-Interface shoe allows the camera to talk directly to a range of accessories from Sony without requiring separate wiring. Compatible accessories include microphones, wireless receivers, and even flashes 

Note: Multi-Interface shoe is not compatible with accessories that use the earlier Active Interface (AIS) shoe

DV Recording

In SD mode, the HXR-MC2500 records in DV codec – the same format used by MiniDV tape cameras – and puts the file in an AVI wrapper. This format is supported by most editing programs, and features less compression than the MPEG-2 SD mode found on many other cameras

Assignable Lens Ring

The lens ring can be set to manually control focus, exposure, white balance, iris, or shutter speed – giving you direct access without having to go through the camera’s menu

Time Code

It is possible to set SMPTE timecode or user bit (UB) for multi camera productions or to make it easier to locate footage in post

BNC Composite Output

The composite output uses a BNC terminal, which is a locking connector that reduces the risk of accidentally yanking the cable out during a live broadcast

Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization with Active Mode

In addition to normal optical image stabilization, Active Mode provides compensation for the sway that occurs while waking

Quick AF System

Designed to improve auto focus accuracy even in low-light conditions

L Series Battery

Support for Sony’s professional L Series battery line means up to 14 hours of battery life is possible when using the separately available NPF-970 battery