In your case, down conversion makes only sense if you intend to crop into the 4K footage, if not, just record on the AX100 in HD too. Color wise, the cameras should match just fine.

@OldSmoke
Understood.. I am not prepared to work with 4K footage adequately at present and I planned to jib/crane the AX100 like with one of my CX900.
I'm a little nervous about autofocus in the crane sweeping movements.
I will practice a bit before I deploy in a real project.

decisions decisions ...

I really want to stay under $1000. I really should go with 4k, so I am narrowing it down to:
Sony AX53
a decent Panasonic, anyone?

Or go a little more and get:
Sony's
AX100
or
CX900

Help! LOL

As the old saying goes [I]"You get what you pay for"[/I]

@OldSmoke
+1

I had a Sony HDR-AX2000 which by the way was a excellent camcorder. I sold it and wanted to get the Sony HDR-CX900 but Best Buy online had a open box Sony FDR-AX100 for $1,189 and it came with a 15 day return. How can you beat that.

I bought the AX100 and added on the one year Best Buy drop and spill warranty for just over $100 dollars more.

I used my Best Buy credit card for the purchase which gave me %5 back in a Best Buy gift card. I used the gift card to buy a Sony large capacity battery and a 64 gb UHS-1 SDXC Y3 class 10 card. Best Buy did price match B&H pricing on these two items.

The Sony AX100 is a fabulous all around camcorder and produces a very sharp image under almost all lighting condition. The XAVC S codec .MP4 @ 1920 x 1080 / 60 fps which is what I use, this new codec plays back much better with Sony Vegas pro 13 compared to my old camcorder which only recorded AVCHD.

I love the AX100 camcorder and I'm very happy I made the purchase.

Jerry K.

@Jerry K
Great deal on that AX100.. Almost criminal...LOL.
This particular litter of Sony camera has been out a few years now, and is holding it's value quite well..
This model slip through Corporate's fingers.. If someone at the top at Sony realized what a great tool the AX100 and the CX900 were, they might have put a higher $$$$$ on them.
I transitioned from SD to HD with the CX900 and never looked back.

@FFP.

When the Sony AX100 first came out a few years ago MSRP was $1999. Yes I agree the price I paid was almost criminal.

If your'er a fan of the AX100/CX900 large sensor and do not need 4K the real deal might be
the Sony HXR-NX100.

The HDR-NX100 has the same 1" Exmor R CMOS sensor, Sony G Lens 12 X optical zoom 24 Clair image zoom except this G lens has 3 rings. It also has 2 card slots, takes the NP-F970 battery which is a big plus. Another big plus it has a handle, 2 XLR inputs, shotgun mic holder and 2.5 mm LANC jack.

The down side of the NX100 for some people might be the weight and size. The price on this camcorder is only $1699 which in my opinion could be double the price and still be a good deal.

Jerry K.