Sony HVR-A1U--My view.

[Tom Hardwick]

I'm a bit suspicious of Stu Holmes' 84 second slow zoom (though as always, when I've been shown irrefutable scientific proof I'm happy to change my view).

Stu - are you sure this was a continuous zoom and not one interrupted by minute gaps which would lengthen the time? I ask because Sony's LANC protocol has always been to program in 6 or 8 zoom speeds into the lens, and this cannot be over-ridden, even if you zoom manually (PD170, say) or zoom using a LANC zoom controller which can be set to only use the slowest speed available (Zoe, say).

All Sony zooms lenses I have tested have started off with a tiny little jerk. This is the LANC protocol accessing the first of the zoom speeds available, and as far as I can see there's no way around this.

tom.

[Todd Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

I'm a bit suspicious of Stu Holmes' 84 second slow zoom...

That was a "24" second zoom, and achieved only with a high quality outboard LANC controller.

It has now been established that the A1's zoom rocker and ring achieve no better zoom times than the ~ 10 seconds of the HC1.

[Tom Hardwick]

Sorry Todd, don't understand that. How can a 24 second zoom be an 84 second one?

[Todd Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Stu Holmes

Yes, both HC1 and A1 have LANC facility.

Users have used variable-speed-zoom LANC controller on HC1 and they managed to achieve an end-to-end slowest zoom of 24seconds, a substantial improvement on the 'native' 10seconds.

A1's are just starting to be delivered and i note that someone natively achieved approx. 30secs. end-to-end slowest zoom, but no idea of what adding a LANC-controller to the A1 would do. Maybe 75secs ??

Where did '84" seconds come from?

And it is now confirmed that like the HC1, the zoom rocker on the A1 is also currently capable of only a 'native' ~ 10 seconds.