Dear Sony Claus- My Christmas Wishes for Successor HD Camera
 

Dear Sony Claus:

I’m 55 years old, Sony Claus, and, you know, there are a lot of insecurities that go with that age. So my camera is kind of my symbol, if you know what I mean....

So last year, you brought me an FX1, and I was so elated. So I feel so bad about asking you for something more this year, but you know, these Canon people are making my head spin. 3 new HDV cameras in the last week or so, and pretty amazing too !!!

So Sony Claus, I’ve always believed in you, so here is what I want for Christmas this year:

--A successor the the Z1/FX1 line with a bit better light gathering capability (1 lux is fine) and an even cleaner image.. Does that mean 3 CMOS technology, or what, I leave that to you.

– that successor needs variable frame rates and progressive capability– even 1080 P ??? And how about 120 FPS for slowmotion

– how about a 25 x zoom

– interchangeable lens capability. There is only so much you can do with adapters.

- as part of that interchangeable lens capability, how about designing a one piece adapter that can be used in place of the prime lens to create a relay lens system to give us more control of
depth of field.

– leave the tape transport system, but why not have some kind of slot that will take a small laptop disk drive so we can record to “tapeless” simultaneously. (I know, your elves may have to design a drive, but I sure would like it to be fairly generic so I could use as many as I want.) That way I will have my archive material already on tape, and the disk will be usable immediately for editing, dailies, etc.

Now Sony Claus, I am sure other will have additional wishes, but this is a good start...

One feature I wish my Z1 had is the ability to downconvert to 480p.

...AMEN!!!!!

Moved to Area 51, where Sony Claus will have a better chance of seeing it.

Chris: an elf told me that they're working on something along those lines for you, and you can find more info about it at the following link.

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Broadcastan...AMHD_broch.pdf

Oh, I forgot something-- pricing at FX1/Z1 levels....

When reindeer can fly...

:-)

Hey, put 'em in a cargo hold of a 747, they fly with the best of 'em.

So Sony's running out of metaphorical excuses:)

But for us po' folk, I'd be happy with just improved light levels and 24p...

... Okay, and better compression rate:)

Honestly, I'd be happy with a second FX1/Z1U with a bit better low light capabilities (without turning up the gain) and a little more zoom...probably would need some bigger chips, which would also shorten the depth of field (something else I would love) 24p would be nice, but I'd rather have 60p for slow-motion playback. A higher resolution LCD would be awesome too, sometimes it's hard to check the focus while recording!

But the gain is so clean on the Z1/FX1, I love that about the camera.

heath

Yes, I think a bit more reach on the zoom would make the camera better for nature and sports videography. Right now I put a 58mm 1.7 Teleextender (HG1758) on the FX-1 and that helps, but it is a bit soft, and I also lose lower end zoom range.

Perhaps the interchangeable lens thing is a bit of a stretch, but I was thinking of the "film look" crowd when I suggested that some manufacturer someday may have to consider a well designed 35mm adapter system. I would seem to me that an interchangeable design with a specially designed "35mm adapter" would be a heck of a selling point. I think someone in Itally already took one of the FX1 or Z1s apart and bolted on their own one piece adapter. Been a while since I saw that.

So as far as more light, I'm thinking 3 cmos chips will help that. Sony already has a 3 cmos sd, and a single cmos HD (A1, HC3 and HC1), so why not go the next step... is there a technical issue there ?

I am surprised how well slow motion does come out with my FX1 footage. I've gone down to 40% speed with a pretty good result. Lower than that it becomes a little more problematical.

Chris,

I agree about the slomo--I remember doing some slomo with XL1 footage a few years back and the quality dropped like a rock!

heath

Actually, SonyClaus already granted that wish. The Z1 can downconvert to 480p.... 576p also - look at your manual. The caveat is that the conversion is only available on the analog component outputs and not via firewire.

You can do 480i via the firewire, but I like to downconvert in my NLE for a higher quality DV format than just donwconverting from the camera.

heath