Hvr-z!
 

Guys,

I have been shooting for a number of years with a PD-150 and now a PD-170. I have been working overseas, and will go again this summer to some archeological sites in Russia and Turkey. Even though final output will be SD, I am trying to plan for the future, and believe using the Z1 for HD capture for archives 18 months down the road will be a good idea, particularly as the demand rises for this format.

Is this the time to buy? Also Infinityphoto.com looks like the best deal. They say the camera is US with all the docs.

Anythoughts?

Jack Hubbard

The time has never been better, and I think that you'll want to check out B&H's price, I keep hearing they've got something going.

Future-proofing your work seems to be a valid and intelligent thing to do. I can't see the benefit at all of buying a standard DV cam these days unless they are ridiculously cheap and you need crashcams. :-)

Be SURE that even if it's a "U" that you're buying the full package, and from a Sony dealer. Grey market or not, sometimes they part these things out. Ran across a grey market/split box packages here in Orlando tonight. Was sad to hear the woman's experience.

Also if you shoot for international markets, shoot 50i. It converts to 60i lot better than other way around.

Radek

Very few people have reviewed infinity photo at reselleratings.com:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller9662.html

But of the 8 that did, they gave it a 0.31 on a scale of 0-10. Doesn't that worry you? Their price of $3,600 for the Z-1 is way too low. Look at pricegrabber, you just aren't going to get a legit camera that cheaply.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_g...sony%2520hvrz1

Also notice that B&H has the highest rating. I just bought my Z-1 there two days ago and paid $4,800. I don't think you'll do significantly better at any reputable dealer. And when you buy from B&H you will also help support this site, and have the peace of mind of knowing their customer support is excellent.

Getting back to your main question, your rationale for upgrading is pretty similar to my own, however PAL capability was really the closer for me. If you need the camera now and can afford it, why not buy? Will the price go down? Of course it will, so if you aren't in a hurry there's really nothing to lose and everything to gain by waiting. But the price just dropped by $100 at B&H last week, so we probably won't see another drop for awhile IMO.

Z1 Startup
 

Thanks Guys,

Great information. Spot, disregard my phone msg. Sounds like B & H is the way to go, especially if it supports this site.

Regards,


Jack

Tried them all and just scam after scam
 

B&H is the way to go, th rest just promise heaven and give you hell!!! Digitalliquidators offers the best deal. What they don´t say is that it is without the lens, without the battery and without a warranty for the back bone of a camera. What is the catch? After you have fallen for the scam, you can buy everything needed to complete the camera again from them, but at a discount price of anywhere between 6,500 and 8,000 US Dollars!!!!! Killer deals...HUH? from HELL!!! Good luck...oh, price photo...they take your credit card, charge it and then you never get your camera, nor a response nor anything...try Joseph at 718-928-2259...he is always out, or attending customers or simply busy, but good luck getting your money back!!!

A Z1 without the lens would be pretty ugly... ;-)

Actually, this raises another point which I hope people have enough common sense to keep in mind. Always make online/mail order purchases with a credit card, and never use a debit card. If you can't resolve a problem with a vendor then you have the option of placing the item in contest with the credit card company and not paying the bill until it has been resolved. With a debit card, the money is withdrawn directly from you checking account and it's just gone. In the case of outright fraud you can probably get it back, but it could take weeks and you will have to jump through a lot of hoops.

Just a couple weeks ago I saw yet another example of how debit cards can be disastrous. Our company provides housing for our stage manager when she's in town, and the bill is supposed to be sent directly to us. Like all hotels, they ask her for a credit card when she checks in, to cover phone bills and other incidentals. Well, they screwed up somehow and charged the whole $5,000 tab to her debit card instead of billing our office. She woke up the next morning to find her account overdrawn and frozen. We got it straightened out finally, but it took several days and was a huge hassle.

Jack, already called you back! I hope we see you on the HDV tourstop in SFO. We arrive there in two weeks.
Anyway, I already called you back:-)

For the rest...
HDV Solutions tour (free) in
Atlanta today
NYC on the 22
Chicago on 24
LA on 27th
SFO 28th

I registered for your tour in Chicago (I'm in Kansas City but it's easy to go to Chicago), but had to cancel it today due to scheduling conflicts. Hope to catch one one of these days.

In SF, where will you hold the HDV tourstop?