Sony FDRAX1 manual

Operating Guide Before operating t he unit, please read t his manual thorough ly and retain it for f uture reference. © 2013 Sony Corporation 4-484-004- 11 (1) Digital 4K Video Camera Recorder FDR-AX1/AX1E[...]

2 Own er’s Rec ord The model an d serial n umbers are located on the botto m. Recor d the seria l numb er in the sp ace provide d below. Refe r to these numbe rs whene ver you call your Sony deal er regardi ng this produc t. Model No. FDR- Serial No. Model No. AC- Serial No. To redu ce the risk of fi re or electric shock, 1) do no t ex pos e th e[...]

3 SAVE TH ESE INS TRU CTION S. DANGER - TO REDUCE THE RISK O F FIRE O R ELECTRI C SHOCK, CAR EFULLY FOLL OW THESE I NSTRU CTIONS. • Read th ese instructi ons. • Keep t hese ins truct ion s. • Heed al l warnings. • Follow a ll inst ructio ns. • Do not us e thi s a ppa ratu s n ear wat er. • Cl ean only wi th d ry clot h. • Do not bloc [...]

4 Repres entativ e plug of p ower su pply cor d of co untries/r egions around the worl d. The repr esentativ e supply voltag e and pl ug type are desc ribed in this ch art. Depend on an area , Differen t type of plug an d supply vo ltage are used. Attentio n: Power cord mee ting dema nds from each co untry shall be use d. —For only the United Sta[...]

5 Oceani a North America Central Am erica South America Middle East Africa Countries/regions V oltage Frequency (Hz) Plug type Australia New Zealand 240 230/240 50 50 O O Countries/regions V oltage Frequency (Hz) Plug type Canada USA 120 120 60 60 A A Countries/regions V oltage Frequency (Hz) Plug type Bahamas Costa Rica Cuba Dominican (rep) El Sal[...]

6 Battery pack If the bat tery pack is mishandl ed, the ba ttery pa ck can bu rst, cau se a fire or even chemical bu rns. Obse rve the fol lowin g caut ions. • Do no t disass emble. • Do not cru sh and do no t expose the batter y pack to any shoc k or force su ch as hamme ring, droppin g or stepping on it. • Do not short ci rcuit and do not a[...]

7 UL is an int ern atio nall y reco gniz ed sa fe ty organiza tion. The UL Mark on t he product means it has been UL Listed. If you ha ve any questions about this p roduct , you may call: Sony Custom er Inform ation Ce nter 1-800-2 22- SONY (7669). The numbe r belo w is for th e FC C rela ted m atters only. Regulatory Information CAUTION You are ca[...]

8 This sym bol on the p roduct or on i ts pack aging indicate s that this pr oduct sh all no t be t reated a s househol d waste. Instea d it shall be ha nded over to the ap plicabl e collec tion point for the recyclin g of el ectrical and electr onic equi pment. By ensurin g this produc t is disposed of correct ly, you will he lp preven t potentia [...]

Table of Contents 9 Overview Location a nd Function o f Parts .......... ............... ............... ..... 12 On-Screen Indication s ........... .............. ............... .................. .. 19 LCD/view finder screen ...... .................. ............... ......... 19 Prepara tions Power Sup ply ........ .................. ...........[...]

Table of Contents 10 Thumbnai l Screens Thumbnail S creens ..... .... .............. ............... .................. ......... 36 Configura tion of the s creen ............... .............. ............. 36 Playing Clips ......... .............. ............... ........... .............. ............. 37 Playin g the select ed and subseq uent c[...]

Table of Contents 11 Appendice s Importa nt Notes on Ope ration ........ .............. ............... ......... 52 Recording time of movies ................. .............. ............. 52 Using y o ur ca m corder abroad ........... .............. ............. 54 Formats and Limitations o f Outputs ......... .............. ........... .. 59 Vid[...]

Location and Functi on of Parts 12 Ove r vie w For func tions and usage, see the pages in parent heses. 1. Hook for should er strap (15) 2. ASSIGN 7/FOCUS MAGNIF IER button (35) 3. Microphone holder* 4. IRIS PUSH AUT O button 5. Power zoom leve r (27) * W hen you use the microphone, refer to the operating instructions supplied with the microphone. [...]

Locat ion and Function of Parts 13 Ove r vie w 1. Lens (23) 2. Lens hood with lens cover (23) 3. Intern al micr ophone (33 ) 4. Front re cordi ng lamp (46) The recording lamp flashes if t h e remain i ng capacity of reco rding me dia or ba ttery i s low. 5. ASSIGN 4/ZEBRA butto n 6. ASSIGN 1 button 7. ASSIGN 2 button* 8. ASSIGN 3 button 9. ASSIGN 6[...]

Location and Functi on of Parts 14 Ove r vie w 1. AUDIO OUT connectors/VIDEO OUT connect or (48, 60) 2. HDMI OUT connec tor (48) 3. UTILITY SD slot (To be supported by future upgrade.) 4. Handle zoom lever (27) 5. START/STOP button When t he lever is set to th e HOLD pos ition, the START/STOP button is not operabl e. 6. INPUT2 co nnector 7. INPUT1 [...]

Locat ion and Function of Parts 15 Ove r vie w 1. Hook for shoulder strap 2. Focus ring (28) 3. Lens cove r lever (23) 4. Zoom r ing (27) 5. Iris ring (30) 6. GAIN button (30) 7. WHT BAL bu tton* (32) 8. SHUTTER SP EED butto n (31) 9. AUTO/MANUAL switch (30) 10. i (headphones) c onnector For ste reo mini -jack hea dphones 11. BATT RELEASE butto n ([...]

Location and Functi on of Parts 16 Ove r vie w 1. OPTION butto n (37) 2. THUMBNAIL button (36 ) 3. Playback control buttons (PREV, PLAY/ PAUSE*, NEXT, STOP, F REV, F FW D) (28) 4. DATA CODE button (To be supported by future upgrade.) 5. DISPLAY but ton (19) 6. LCD s creen (24 ) 7. Handle zoom sw itch (27) 8. Viewfinder (24) 9. Large eyecup 10. View[...]

Locat ion and Function of Parts 17 Ove r vie w Camera st atus screen Displays the electronic sh utter setti ngs or the status of the lens. Audi o status scree n Displays t he input settin gs for e ach cha nnel, audio leve l meter, and wind filter setting . System status scr een Displays t he vide o signal settings. Video outpu t status screen Displ[...]

Location and Functi on of Parts 18 Ove r vie w Remaining capacity of Media B Remaining capacity of the recording media inserted in the slot B, expressed i n GB Media information o f the U TILITY SD card Media icon displayed when recording media is inserted in the UTILIT Y SD slo t Protect information o f the U TILITY SD card Protect icon displayed [...]

On-Screen I ndications 19 Ove r vie w While re cording, stan ding by to rec ord, or play back, th e statuses and settings of th is unit are superi mposed on the LCD/v iewfinder screen. The statuse s and settings of this uni t can be turned on/ off using the DIS PLAY button. Informat ion display ed on the screen wh ile record ing 1. Shutter mode/sh [...]

On-Scr een Ind ications 20 Ove r vie w 22. System frequency and scan method indication 23. Reco rding fo rmat (pi cture size) ind ication (page 30) Displa ys the pict ure size that is rec orded on an XQD memory card. Informat ion dis played on the playback screen The follo wing informatio n is superi mposed on the pl ayback pic ture. 1. Clip no./to[...]

Power Supply 21 Prepa rati ons You ca n char ge the “In foLITH IUM” ba ttery pac k (L seri es) with the su pplied Ch arger. Notes • You can use a large capacity battery pack, NP-F970 (supplied), with your camcorder. You cannot use NP- F570/F770 (sold separat ely). Notes • You cannot use the AC-VL1 to connect th e camcor der to an outside po[...]

Power Supply 22 Prepa rati ons Storing the battery pack If the batt ery pack is not in use for a while, run down th e battery and store it. See pa ge 55 for details on stora ge of the battery pa ck. Char ging t ime Approx imate t ime (minute ) req uired w hen you charg e a fully discharg ed batt ery pack. Notes • You cannot use the NP-F570/NP-F77[...]

Setting th e Clock / Attac hing Devices 23 Prepa rati ons When y ou turn the c amcord er on for th e first time after pur chasing or t he backup battery has comple tely disc harged, the Initial Se tting displa y appear s on the viewfi nder scr een and LC D screen . Set the dat e and time of the built-i n clock, using this displ ay. Time Zon e The v[...]

Attaching Devices 24 Prepa rati ons LCD sc reen Open the LCD screen 18 0 degrees ( 1 ), then rotate it to the best angl e to record or play back ( 2 ). • Images are disp layed as mirror ima ges on the LCD scre en, but are recor ded as normal images . • You can switc h the brightness of the backlight of th e LCD scree n with “LC D Backlight ?[...]

Using XQD Memory Cards 25 Prepa rati ons This camcorder records a u dio and video on XQD memory c ards inserted i n the card slots. Use the following Sony XQD memory cards. XQD memory card S series XQD memory card H series XQD memory card N series Operat ions are not guarantee d with othe r memory cards. For det ails on using XQD memor y cards a nd[...]

Using XQD Memory Cards 26 Prepa rati ons If an XQD memory card is not formatted, or was format ted with anothe r system, the message “Medi a Needs to be Format ted” is d isplayed o n the L CD/vi ewfin der s creen. Form at the card as foll ows. Using “ For mat Me dia” (pag e 46) in the Med ia m enu, speci fy “M edia (A)” (slo t A) or “[...]

Basic O peration Proce dure 27 Recording Basic re cording ca n be perform ed with th e followi ng procedu res. 1 Make su re that the nece ssary dev ices are at tached to the ca mcorder and power is sup plied to the m. 2 Load the memo ry card( s). If you l oad tw o cards, re cording i s contin ued by aut oma tica lly s witc hing to the secon d card [...]

Basic Ope ration Procedure 28 Recording Notes • Turn the zoom ring C at a moderate speed. If you turn it too f ast, the zoom speed m ay lag behind the zoom ring rotation s peed, or the operation sound of the zoom may also be recorded. Adjusting the focus manually You ca n adjust the foc us manu ally fo r differ ent recordi ng conditio ns. Use thi[...]

Basic O peration Proce dure 29 Recording 3 Sear ch for th e desire d clip by p ress ing PREV or NEXT bu tton. 4 Press the PLAY/PAUSE button. The play back image app ears on the viewf inder. Playbac k operat ion is performe d as follows. PLAY/ PAUSE button : Pauses pl ayback. To resume pla yback, press th is button ag ain. F FWD button/ F REV button[...]

Changing Basi c Settings 30 Recording You can make changes to the settings based on the int ended u sage of the re corde d video or recordi ng conditio ns. Selecta ble format depe nds on the setting of th e region where t he ca mcorde r is u sed ( Countr y). To cha n ge th e format, use “Video F ormat” in “Rec F ormat” (p age 46) of the Sys[...]

Changing B asic Settings 31 Recording Notes • When you set AUTO/MANUAL switch H to AUTO, other manually a djusted items (iri s, shutter speed, white balanc e) also become autom atic. Adjusting the shutter speed You can ma nually adj ust and fix the shut ter speed. Yo u can make a m oving subject loo k still or em phasize the moveme nt of a moving[...]

Changing Basi c Settings 32 Recording You ca n adjust and fix the wh ite balanc e accord ing to the ligh ting condit ions of record ing environ ment. You can store white balanc e values in mem ory A ( A) and m emory B ( B ), respectivel y. Unless a white bala nce is readjus ted, values will remain e ven after the power has been turned off. When yo [...]

Changing B asic Settings 33 Recording The f ollowing c onnectors, switches a nd dia ls allow you to set the sound to be recorded . Externa l audio inpu t jacks and switch es INPUT 1 jack B INPUT 2 jack A INPUT 1 switc h C INPUT 2 switc h D Audi o source swi tch es CH1 (INT MIC/ INPUT 1/INPUT 2) swit ch E CH2 (INT MIC/ INPUT 1/INPUT 2) swit ch J Aud[...]

Changing Basi c Settings 34 Recording When the CH1 switch is set to INT MIC When the CH1 switch is set to INPUT 1 • When th e CH1 switch is set to INPUT 2, the INPU T 2 source is recor ded to CH 1. • When you use a ster eo mi crophone (2 XLR plugs) , connect the L (l eft) channel pl ug to the INPUT 1 jack, a nd the R (righ t) chan nel plug to t[...]

Us eful F unct ions 35 Recording The camcord er has sev en assignable b uttons (pages 12 , 13) to whic h you can assign vario us functi ons for conven ience. Chan ging f uncti ons Use “A ssigna ble B utton” (pag e 46) in the Syst em menu. The assi gned funct ions can be view ed on the assignable button status screen (page 17 ) . Defaul t assign[...]

Thumbnail Scree ns 36 Thumbna il Screens When yo u press the THUM BNAIL button (pag e 16) , clips recorded on the XQD m e mory card are displayed as thum bnail s on the screen . You c an start pla yback f rom the clip sel ected on the t humbnai l screen . The p layback pi cture c an be se en on the LCD/ viewfind er screen an d external mon itors. P[...]

Playing Clips / Clip Operations 37 Thumbna il Screens 1 Turn the S EL/SET dial (p age 16) to move the cu rsor to the t hum bnail im age of the clip wit h which yo u wish to start play back. 2 Press the SEL/SET d ial. Playba ck starts from the beginning of t he selec ted clip. Notes • The playback picture may be momentarily distorted or frozen bet[...]

Clip Operations 38 Thumbna il Screens Select “ Display Cl ip Pro perties” fr om the thumbnail menu . 1. Image of the current clip 2. Time code Duration: Duration of the c lip 3. Date o f recordi n g/mo difying 4. Current ly selected memory car d 5. Media pro tect icon 6. Clip number/Total number of clips 7. Batt ery icon 8. Clip name 9. Clip ti[...]

Clip Operations 39 Thumbna il Screens You can delete clips f rom the XQD memory card. Sele ct “Se lect Cl ip” from “Del ete Cli p” on the thumbn ail men u. Yo u ca n sele ct mult iple cli ps to be del ete d. Pr ess the OPTION button (page 1 6) after se lecting th e cli p to be d elete d. You c an chan ge in formati on of the clip/f rame t h[...]

Setu p Me nu Oper atio ns 40 Settings The Setup m enu al lowing you to perform va rious setti ngs that ar e needed for reco rding and p laying, appear s on the LCD/v iewfinde r screen by pressing t he MENU bu tton. (You c an display the Setup menu on the externa l video moni tor.) Menu c ontrols MENU but ton (page 1 6) To turn the me n u mode to us[...]

Setup Me nu List 41 Settings The f unctions a nd av ailable settings o f menu s are l isted bel ow. The defau lt se tting s set a t the f acto ry are show n in b old fac e (e xam ple: 18dB ). Setup Me nu List Camera menu Camera Menu items Sub items and setting values Contents Gain Setting f or the gain Gain<H> 0dB / 3dB / 6dB / 9dB / 12dB / 1[...]

Setu p Menu List 42 Settings Paint menu Paint Menu items Sub items and setting values Contents White Setting f or white balance Preset White Outdoor / Indoor / Color T emp. Selects th e type to be used as the preset. Color Temp. <Preset> 2300K to 1500 0K ( 320 0K ) Displays and sets the color tempe rature of white balance that is stored in th[...]

Setup Me nu List 43 Settings Skin Detai l Adjusting the skin detail compensation Setting On / Off T urns the skin detail compensation fun ction on/off. Area Detection Execute/Cancel Detects the color for the skin de tail compensation. Execute: Executes this f uncti on. Area Indication On / Off T urns on/ off the function that displays the zebra pat[...]

Setu p Menu List 44 Settings Audio me nu A udio Menu items Sub items and setting values Contents Audio Input Setting for audio inputs INPUT1 Reference –60dB / –50dB / –40dB Selects the reference input lev el f or when the INPUT1 switch is set t o MIC. INPUT2 Reference –60dB / –50dB / –40dB Selects the reference input lev el f or when th[...]

Setup Me nu List 45 Settings Outpu t Displa y Setting f or the output signal HDMI On / Off Selects whether to add the menu or status on the HD MI output signal. VIDEO On / Off Selects whether to add the menu or st atus on the video output sign al. Vi d e o Menu items Sub items a nd setting values Conte nts LCD/VF menu LCD/VF Menu items Sub items an[...]

Setu p Menu List 46 Settings This menu is not av ailabl e when th e media is not loade d. Media menu Media Menu items Sub items and setting values Contents Format Media Formatting a memory Media(A) Execute / Cancel Formats the XQD memory card in the slot A. Execute: Ex ecutes format. Media(B) Execute / Cancel Formats the XQD memory card in the slot[...]

Setup Me nu List 47 Settings Language Setting t he language Select Sets the language to be displayed. SET: Exec ute this function. Clock Set Setting t he built-in clock Time Zone UTC –12:00 K wajalein to UTC +14:00 Sets the time-zone diff erence from UTC in steps of 3 0 minutes. Date Mode YYMMDD / MMDD YY / DDMMYY Selects the display mode of the [...]

Connecting Ex ternal Monitors and Rec ording Devices 48 External De v ices Connection To display re cordi ng/play back pict ures on an extern al moni tor, selec t the ou tput sign al and u se an approp riate ca ble for the monitor t o be connec ted. An ou tput signa l from t he camc order c an be recorde d when a re cordi ng device is conne cted. T[...]

Managing Clip s with a Computer 49 External De v ices Connection To use an XQD car d reader (s old separately) When you co nnect the MRW-E8 0 XQD card reader (sold separat ely) using a U SB cabl e, the memo ry card in the s lot is ac knowl edged as an exten ded drive by the co mputer. When two memo ry cards are moun ted in this camcor der, th ey ar[...]

Playing Imag es on a Computer 50 External De v ices Connection The “Pl ayMemories Hom e” software al lows you to import movi es and still ima ges to your comput er to use them in a va riety of wa ys. • Impor t images fro m the camcord er • Export images stored in a computer to t h e camcor d er • View ima ges in a calend ar “PlayMe mori[...]

Playing Ima ges on a Computer 51 External De v ices Connection • If the “ PMB (P icture Mo tion Browse r)” software is inst alled on your computer , it will be overwrit ten by the “PlayMemori es H ome” software . In this case, you cann ot use some functi ons that were ava ilable with “PM B” with thi s “P layM emor ies Ho me” s oft[...]

Important N ote s on Oper ation 52 Appendic es Estim ated durati on of reco rding and p layback Recordi ng time Approx imate tim e availa ble when you use a fu lly charg ed battery pa ck. (unit: minute) Notes • Typical recording time shows the time when you repeat recording s tart/stop, zooming, an d so on. • Times meas ur ed when using the cam[...]

Impor tant Notes on Op eration 53 Appendic es Notes • Available r ecording tim e may vary dependin g on the recording conditions, s ubject condit ions, etc . • You can re cord m ovies to a maxim um of 9,999 scenes in total . • The maxi mum conti nuous recor ding time of movi es is approxi mately 13 ho urs. • Your camcor der uses t he VBR (V[...]

Important N ote s on Oper ation 54 Appendic es Power supp ly You can use yo ur camc order in any c ountry/ region using th e AC Adapt or or Charger supp lied with your c amcorder w ithin the A C 100 V to 240 V, 50 H z/60 Hz rang e. View ing on TV Before re cording a movie with you r camcor der for vi ewing on a TV, set “NTS C/PAL Area” in “Co[...]

Impor tant Notes on Op eration 55 Appendic es • Be s ure to s et the POW ER swi tch t o OFF when not rec ording or playi ng back on you r camcor der. The b attery pac k is also consu med when your camcord er is in reco rding stand by or playb ack pause . • Have sp are battery packs ready fo r 2 or 3 t imes the ex p ected recording time, and m a[...]

Important N ote s on Oper ation 56 Appendic es About handling o f your cam corder On use and care • Do not us e or st ore the camcorde r and accesso ries in the follo wing locatio n s. —Anywh ere ex tremel y hot or cold . Never leave th em exposed to temp eratures ab ove 60 °C (140 °F ), such as under direc t sunl ight, near heaters or in a c[...]

Impor tant Notes on Op eration 57 Appendic es LCD scre en • Do not exert excessive pressure on the LC D screen , as it may caus e damage. • If your camcor der is us ed in a col d place, a resid ual ima ge may appe ar on the LCD scr een. This i s not a mal function. • While usi ng your cam corder, the back of the LCD screen may heat u p. This [...]

Important N ote s on Oper ation 58 Appendic es 2 Remove dust in side the eye pi ece and viewf inder w ith a bl ower. To prev ent elect romagn etic inter ference from portable t elephones, wireless devices, etc. The use o f portab le telephon es, wire less devices, etc., near th is un it can resu lt in m alfun ctio ns and interfere nce with a udio a[...]

Format s and Limit ations of Outputs 59 Appendic es Output formats from the HDM I OUT connector * Compatible with the Sony transmission system. You can co nnect the camcorder t o a Sony 4K television, or a 4K monitor. Picture resolution is Y:Cb:Cr=4: 2:0. Formats and Limitat ions of Ou tputs Video for mats and output si gnals Region set ting Record[...]

Formats and Limit ations of Outputs 60 Appendic es Outpu t form ats from t he VID EO OUT conn ector Signals t o the VID EO OUT con nect or cannot be output whe n “HDM I” in “Outpu t Format ” of the Vid eo menu is set to “384 0×2160 P.” Video o utput sig nal Settin g for the region where the camcord er is use d VIDEO output “NTSC/ P A[...]

Error/Warn ing Indications 61 Appendic es The camc order info rms you of situati ons where w arning, cauti on, or an ope ration ch eck is require d, through m essages on the LC D/view finder scr een, the record ing lamp, and a bu zzer. The b uzzer is output to t he hea dphones c onnect ed via t he h eadphon e conne ctor. The camc order stops op era[...]

Error/Warni ng Indications 62 Appendic es * “Media(B)” for the card i n slot B. Unknown Media(A)* Please Change A partitio ned memory card or one that cont ains recor ded clips exceeding the number permitted with this camcorder is loaded. This card cannot be used with this camcorder. R emove it and load a compatible card. Media Erro r Media(A) [...]

Lic enses / S pecif icat ion s 63 Appendic es Thi s prod uct uses s oftw are to whic h the G PL/ LGPL applies. This informs you that you have a right to have access to, modi fy, and redistr ibute source co de for thes e software pr ograms unde r the cond itio ns o f the GPL /LGP L. The sour ce code is provid ed on the interne t. Use the foll owing [...]

Specifications 64 Appendic es AUDIO OUT connectors Pin conne ctors -10 dBu ( at load impeda nce 47 k Ω (kilohms)) , Output impe dance wi th less than 2.2 k Ω (kilohms) (0 dBu = 0.77 5 Vrms) HDM I OUT connec tor HDMI con nector (Type A) i (headphones) connector Stereo -minijack (Ø 3.5 mm) INPUT1/ INPUT2 connecto rs XLR 3-pin , female, M I C : - 5[...]

Specifications 65 Appendic es Dimensions (approx.) 136 mm × 51 mm × 90 mm (5 3/8 in. × 2 1/8 in. × 3 5/8 i n.) (w/h/d) exclu ding the pro jecting pa rts Mass (approx.) 270 g (9.6 oz ) excludi ng the pow er cord (mains lead) * See th e label on the Charger for other specifications. Rechar geable b attery pack NP -F970 Maximu m output voltage DC [...]

Index 66 Appendic es A AC Adaptor 22 All Reset 47 Assignable Butto n 35, 46 Audio 29 Audio Inp ut 44 Audio me nu 44 Audio Ou tput 44 Auto Exposure 41 AUTO/MANUAL switch 30 C Camera menu 41 Char ging ti me 22 Clip 29, 37 Clock 23 Cloc k Set 47 Color Bars 41 Count ry 47 Cueing u p 29 D Delete Clip 47 Detail 42 Disp la y Clip Pro perti es 38 E Error I[...]

Index 67 Appendic es Output signal 59 P Paint me nu 42 Peaking 45 Power cord (main s lead) 21 Power zoom lever 2 7 Pre-installe d rechargeable batte ry 57 PUSH (lens hoo d relea se) butt on 23 PUSH AUTO bu tton 28 Push auto focu s 28 R Rec Format 46 Rec Lamp 46 Record butto n 27 S SEL/SE T dial 40 Setup me nu 40, 41 Should e r strap 15 Shutter spee[...]

Addi tional infor mation on this produc t and answers to frequently ask ed questions ca n be found at our Custome r Support Websi te. Printed in China[...]