ProVideo Coalition.com: Camera Log by Adam Wilt | Founder | Pro Cameras, HDV Camera, HD Camera, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, RED, Video Camera Reviews

The S270 is a full-sized, shoulder-mount camcorder that looks and feels just like other 1/2” and 2/3” professional camcorders such as Sony’s DSR-400 series (indeed, you’ll spend as much for an S270 as you will for a DSR-400; you’ll give up the 2/3” CCDs for 1/3” CMOS, but you’ll gain HDV recording in its place).

The only thing about the S270 that betrays its small-sensor origins is the relatively small size of its 12x zoom lens; while the body has the bulk of a 2/3” camera, the lens is more compact. However, there’s nothing in the heft or the operation of the package that feels small-time at all: the camera has the same satisfying mass as a 2/3” camcorder; all the switches are in their expected places; the lens grip, while slightly smaller than normal, has all the proper controls in the same positions as on higher-end lenses. Swinging the S270 up and onto the shoulder feels just like doing the same thing with a DSR-370 or DSR-570; the camera balances nicely and has a pleasing inertia to it, and none of the controls feel cramped. The viewfinder pivots through 180 degrees and adjusts forwards and back as well as side-to-side, and its crisp, colorful, richly detailed EVF is beguiling enough that I almost don’t miss the higher-resolution CRT EVF found on many 2/3” cameras.

The front of the camera has a start/stop button, white- and black-balance switch, a shutter mode toggle, and a thumbwheel for adjusting channel 1’s input level, all below the lens mount. XLR inputs for channels 1 & 2 reside above the lens.

At the base of the carrying handle there’s a switch for lamp power: the camera can power an onboard light, and this switch toggles between MAN (on) and AUTO (on when the camera is rolling). Behind this switch, on the top panel, is the array of buttons for scene transition and focus marking.

The S270’s left side has most shooting controls

The left front of the body holds the standard shooting controls: six assignable buttons (three preassigned with sensible defaults), slide switches for auto gain control, auto-tracking white balance, and full-auto modes, all with indicator LEDs. A “control console” of silver toggles handles gain, bars/cam/DCC (a.k.a. auto knee), white balance, and status check / menu entry. The power and camera/vtr mode switches occupy recessed niches below the console, along with a control thumbwheel.

The Picture Profile selector button sits behind assignable button 6, and is smaller and oblong, so it’s unlikely to be pressed by accident, yet is readily accessible. As on the Z7, having the menus and the picture profiles accessed from the same side of the camera makes tweaking the camera more convenient and less disruptive.

Aft of the main controls, the body is fully occupied by a monitor speaker with handy volume dial, a backlit status display, and the four-channel audio control panel, along with a Memory Stick Duo slot for still photo recording.

Full audio controls and monitoring switches reside behind a flip-down cover

The camera lets you choose whether to listen to channels 1 & 2, channels 3 & 4, or a mix; a compromise that’ll be familiar to operators of other 4-channel camcorders. My only quibble with this is that neither the viewfinder displays nor the side status panel offers a 4-channel level meter option; you can only see two channels at a time.

The EVF is housed in an ENG-style housing that adjusts back and forth and side-to-side, and pivots from straight up to straight down. The LCD is mounted atop it, and can be faced to either side.

The LCD pivots atop the EVF, which itself is fully adjustable

The ECM-XM1 mic clamps to the side of the viewfinder with a quick-release shockmount, and the front of the viewfinder has slide switches to enable peaking, the front-mounted tally lamp, and to toggle between the composite video output jack and the LCD (they cannot be used at the same time). There’s also a switch for a small, downward-pointing white LED under the finder; it’s used to illuminate the lens markings in dark conditions.

The carrying handle has the usual start/stop trigger with locking collar, and secondary zoom rocker which works in both fixed-speed and fully-variable modes, the way a zoom rocker should. It’s a bit less precise than the rocker on the lens itself, due to its smaller size, but seriously: all zoom rockers should allow variable speed control like this one does.

Both an accessory shoe and a 1/4x20 threaded socket are available for attaching lights, mic mounts, or other accessories. A lamp power socket supplies juice for an add-on light (Anton-Bauer Ultralight 2 or similar, with a 35 watt maximum load), and there’s a headphone jack on the left rear post.

Tapes load downwards though a hatch on the top right side of the camcorder; the S270 accommodates both miniDV and standard (large) DV cassette sizes. In HDV or DV modes, a large cassette holds 4.5 hours of material, or 3 hours in DVCAM mode. Transport controls are under a flip-up cover on the left top panel, next to the loading hatch.

Connector city: everything you need (except the front-mounted XLRs for channels 1 & 2), each with its own, standard connector: no special cables needed

The right side of the body has a pop-off panel for mounting the HVR-MRC1 CF card reader (described below); that panel has a flip-out cover for the camera’s six-pin i.Link socket.

The camera takes V-mount batteries on the sloping rear of the body, below which, on the rear and right side of the shoulder rest, there’s a veritable forest of connectors: 4-pin Cannon connector for DC power input; power tap for a WRR-series wireless mike transmitter; LANC (remote control); Y/C; BNCs for HD-SDI, analog component, timecode, and composite video outputs; RCAs for two audio outputs; XLR inputs for channels 3 & 4. All ports have pop-off protection covers, and nothing needs a custom cable—one of the benefits of a full-size camcorder is having the real estate for real-world, robust connectors.

In short, the camera is laid out like its 2/3” brethren. Controls and connectors are in their proper places, and the features and functionality match those of other well-designed shoulder-mount camcorders. If you’re coming from the 2/3” world, you might miss genlock, TC in, and RCU / multicore capabilities, which the S270 lacks, but aside from those, the camera will feel instantly familiar.

The camera also ships like its 2/3” brethren: in the box you’ll find a hefty shoulder strap and a tape, but you won’t find either a tripod mounting plate or a power source.

There’s a 1/4x20 tapped tripod socket under the front of the camera, but you’ll probably want to invest in a proper quick-release adapter plate just to get the camera properly balanced atop a tripod.

You’ll also want an AC adapter and/or a V-mount battery and charger, whether from Sony or the many third parties supplying these components.

Overall, expect to spend about $1000 more to get the S270 up and running. This may seem a bit shocking if you’re coming from the Handycam world, but if you’re in the interchangeable-lens, shoulder-mount world, you’re used to it—and you may have all the power and tripod-plate bits you need already in your possession.