FX7 24p / 30p playback
 

I'm curious to know if the FX7 can playback HDV tapes recorded in 24p or 30p. I know it can't record, but I can't find info on if it can play tapes recorded in progressive.

I don't know for sure, because I can't find any info either, but my guess is it would depend on how it was recorded. If it's 30p over 60i (like the FX1000 does) then you should have no problem. If it's true progressive (like the Z5 can) then you may be out of luck.

I have a Z7 & used to have a Z1, I know the Z1 couldn't playback tapes shot in progressive on the Z7.

I was just thinking the FX7 is so similar to the V1, that possible Sony didn't enable progressive recording, but left the output the same.

I used to work with a guy who found out that some Panasonic MiniDV cameras could play tapes recorded in DVCam. Something that I don't think was in the user manual, but worked anyway.

If you've got a HV20,30,40 handy you might wanna give one a try. They play back a lot of stuff.

So I just did a quick test with a Z5 and an FX7. The Z5 does both true progressive as well as p over i (24pSCAN mode), the latter of which is what I think the V1 does if the manual is to be believed -- it notes that anything you shoot in this mode is "converted to the 60i format and stored."

While the true 24p would not play back on the FX7 -- it resulted in a blue screen with a window that said "Change to correct format" -- the 24pSCAN footage played back fine.

So progressive footage shot on the V1 should play back on the FX7 (or any Sony HDV cam, for that matter), as I think it's really all in a 60i stream. Note that you can do this not only on the V1, but also on your Z7. Just make sure that HDV PROGRE > REC TYPE is INTERLACE but SCAN TYPE is 24, 24A or 30. In fact, I think this is the whole reason the p over i format was developed -- so this kind of progressive would work with HW and SW that did only 60i. But I guess doing this defeats the whole purpose of having a cam that shoots true p.

Ethan's idea about trying out the Canons is a good one.

Edit: just confirmed identical playback behavior on HD1000 cam and HD700 and M15U decks. The Z1 would have been the same in this regard as well.

Thanks Adam! Really went the extra mile. Gold star for you today.

I've thought about the HV30 or HV40, and will probably get one if my Z7 dies or I sell it. Out of the 100+ tapes that I've shot on my Z7, I've re-wound about 2 or 3 of them just because I capture 99% of things off the CF cards.

I just mainly saw a FX7 on ebay w/ a busted lens & was wondering if that would work as a playback device for my Z7 tapes. Guess not.