Z1 = Future Proof ?
 

Hello all... Next week I'll be receiving my new Z1 ( upgrading from an XL1s ). Yay! So this post is almost moot. I guess I'm looking for a little justification :)

For the past 4 months I've been shooting on a new BBC1 documentary, using a Z1 ( shot in SD ). Over that time I've fallen in love with it and am constantly amazed at the quality it can produce.

I decided to bite the bullet and buy one as it's always nice to have your own kit, plus I can always hire it out.

My question is this: Is the Z2 around the corner? Will I be kicking myself for not waiting? Or will it do me just fine for a while to come ?

Anyone have a crystal ball ;)

Lee

Hi Lee, and welcome to DVinfo! Unfortunately nothing is really "future proof" so you need to buy gear based on whether you think it will meet your needs until your next upgrade cycle comes.

Nobody knows what Sony is up to, and even if they did they couldn't tell. But everyone has an opinion, and you can read some of them in these threads:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=65575
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=56732

We keep all discussion of rumors and non-existent products in our "Area 51" forum, and that's where this thread is going to find a new home! :-)

Lee, the way I look at it is, Does your camera make pretty pictures?

There you go....

You will drive yourself crazy chasing the technology train. The part I hate more is not keeping up with the technology as much as if the price gets cut in half the day after I buy it.

Now that will drive ya crazy.

The way I see it, is that the FX1/Z1U series spits out 1080i which can be converted quite nicely to 24p, and if you're in the market, printed to film which can be shown on the big screen with really nice results.

If it looks good on the big screen, it's future-proof enough for me.

I haven't seen any convincing rumors that a Z2 is imminent, but I suppose anything's possible. The important question then is whether the Z2 will be a major revision with new recording features, or just a minor upgrade with a few tweaks. I wouldn't worry about it, and just enjoy the camera!

Lee,
We're buying another Z1 for some TV docs we're shooting, so I wouldn't worry about it.
The camera has everything we need for now - and it isn't expensive should we decide to buy a new model later...

Robin

The only thing I see groundbreaking right now is RED. The price point on that is even at a different level than the Z1U.

I'm more interested in the SI-1920 than Red, and the former is apparently much closer to being a shipping product.

I haven't read much about this format. RED must be getting more of the press. I will check it out.

See our forum here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=129