Video Camera Question

[puretotty]

OK I am looking to buy a new video camera, want to go HD... I am not overly technical as to whats best... but the two I am looking at are as follows... opinions please

Sony HVR-Z1E HD

http://www.purelygadgets.co.uk/showprod ... wysiwyg=21

Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1

http://www.purelygadgets.co.uk/showprod ... FQodFB_PDg


I shoot content mainly for online stuff, but may move into other production such as DVD... these cameras might be a overkill... but want to get something that produces some real nice high end content.

[myson]

Don't know what your budget is (and it's not my business to know) but you might consider the Sony HVR Z7E.



It can record direct to CompactFlash cards (133mb/sec or above) as well as Mini DV tapes. The higher the capacity of card the longer your recoding time.

It can also record to a dedicated hard disc to give around 4.5 hours of continious recording.

Myson

[puretotty]

I dont really want to pay more than ?3,000... the Z1E is around that mark... the XDCAM works out more... but I have heard people say that the quality of the XDCAM is amazing... wondered if anyone had experience of either of these cameras...

[vickipeachx]

hi guys,

i use a sony z1j, my website not done yet but keep a eye out. it shoot perfect and is light and easy to hadle, the lcd screen is in a great position for porn aswell hehehe,

if you buy it from japan (hence why its the z1j) its about 2500 quid and is identicle to the european version (the z1e) and the usa version (z1u) infact the only difference is the instruction manuel has the local language but still everything in english too..

i have a sony fx1e for sale that i have only had 3 months if your interested, its identicle to the z1 but just has no xlr inputs and a few less menu features (mainly audio) but you can get a xlr adaptor for around 200 dollers so efectively its the same cam but a shitload cheaper....

sony released it as the consumer version of the z1

anyways

wish you luck with whatever you go with

vicki peachx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[wordsandactions]

Hi puretotty

I've used both the Sony Z1 and the EX1. Z1 is a good camera and is fine for online content though I have found it has some quality issues in certain lighting conditions.

The EX1 is an amazing camera and the quality is breathtaking. I just shot a mainstream project on it and we got an award for the cinematography (talents of the DoP contributed of course, it wasn't just the camera).

Do remember though that if you go for the EX1 it is not just the cost of the camera you need, you will also have to get a card reader and maybe upgrade your computer specs to handle the post production.

Hope that helps.

Doug

[puretotty]

Hey Peeps thanks for the input

Doug... I think I will have to upgrade my computer weather I go for the Z1 or EX1, even to get the HD stuff off on my computer will probs be hard...

What do you mean by card reader ? Is this some sort of special card the data is put onto ? What sort of card does it take ? How expensive are these cards ? When we shoot a days shoot we shoot maybe 2 or 3 hours of content... so thinking how many cards I would need...

Lighting is a issue... we use Arri 650 Juniors... 2 of them to be exact... but I am always worried about the brightness of the video, usually having to correct it in Adobe Premier... which makes rendering real slow...

We currently shoot with a old Sony PC120... I bought it like 6 years ago... it does what we need I guess... but definetly time to step it up I am thinking that the Z1 will have better scope to shoot in the lighting conditions we use, am I wrong thinking it will be better for shooting in bad lighting ?

[wordsandactions]

Hi puretotty

The reader is an external drive that takes in the data from the memory cards that the EX1 shoots on.

Yeah, HD needs a lot of processing power to edit and render. You can always offline at DV quality tho then online in HD which helps editing the film together.

Doug

[JonathanWilson]

I thought it was a gimick, but the video capabilities on canon's 50dMk2 DSLR seem amazing from some of the clips now doing the rounds.

That said, i'm not convinced that (despite its quality) its the way forward because of the physical characteristics of the slr body... maybe if they shove the electronics from the 50dmk2 into a cam-corder body that allows canons slr lenses to be attatched then they will have a winner as they will have a comfortable to use body with a hugely diverse range of lenses that just happens to also take very high res stills.

I can see the paps loving the ability to shoot vidieo and stills at high iso's and also being able to get vid and stills using 600mm+ lenses of "celebs"

Also the resolution of the vid is such that stills could be extracted from it that would be printable at small to mid sizes.

[Dave Wells]

Go for the Z7.

[one eyed jack]

I just got me a Z7. Just waiting on the wide angle lense forit now