my Z7; first impression.
 

I got my z7E (PAL version) a few days ago and I cant really say I am 100% happy with it. I shoot wedding videos (mainly Asian) and a few corporate events, like ads / interviews etc and its just not holding up to my expectations.

I have been using a pd170 and have had access to a Z1 for a few years now and can honestly say that they are far better in the functions that are important to me;

I took it out my new Z7 for a test run along with my 170 and this is what ive found;

AutoFocus; yes I know for pro use; esp with a high definition camera you should stick with manual, and that’s not a problem for me, I can use manual just fine; its just that after spending more than £4K I would expect a camera to AutoFocus properly. I mean how can I perform a fast zoom in and keep it in focus at the same time – my clients like this kind of shooting esp around the dance floor.
They had it right with the Z1/FX1, so I find it hard to accept that a camera of such calibre can’t do it – esp when compared to similar Sony’s.

Also in certain situations especially in Asian weddings which can be quite erratic and uncontrolled at the best of times, a good autofocus system can really help you catch the action.

That brings me to the next point, the servo zoom is useless, you don’t have the control and speed like the 170/Z1 etc when using the rocker; its just way too slow. Manual is good though, but this is supposed to be a hand held camera not shoulder mount if you get my point.

Push Auto Focus Button? How does it work? you would expect this to work in manual mode where you would want the camera to auto focus instantly so you could pull back and frame the shot, but in this camera this function only works in auto focus mode, why would you want that ? Have I missed something here?

I cant seem to get the Macro focus to work properly; maybe its just me but its drifts in and out of focus way too much.

Rolling shutter, this is a little hit and miss, most of the time its not too bad and perhaps over-hyped, but I did notice it during a quick pan, maybe because I was looking out for it.

Im not too sure what to do from here now, I mean the rest of the camera is fine, better than fine – the optics are awesome and it produces very clean HDV, I prefer the picture quality over other HDV cams any day, but when it comes to being 100% satisfied, im not sure I am.

If any of you guys out there are looking to move into HD with the Z7/270; (especially if you’ve been using pd170 / dsr250 and the like) make sure you take the time out to play with them first, I know I should have!

if only the pd170 could do HDV, now that would be awesome.

Raju

Raju,

thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. Very useful information albeit a bit disappointing. I've been sitting on the fence for a while now trying to decide if I should get one of these Z7's and I'm more and more deciding I won't -at least not until some of these things are sorted. Looks like the HC1 and PD150 will have to soldier on!

My thoughts exactly. I own the Sony FX1 myself and I am very happy with the auto focus.

So why didn't Sony improve on the Z7 instead of going backwards?

I think the problem lies with the lens, it should of been built in to the body, just like the Z1/FX1 camera.

Sounds like you should have got the HVR-V1E.

Similar............ but you sacrifice it's low-light performance. The V1 does not handle low light well at all.

Hello guys, I thinks the Z7 is built to be mostly manually used. The focus and iris rings are what the pros expected from such a mini camera.

I found that the V1 showed very little grain until it got up to 18dB, so that kind of makes up for the lower light sensitivity.

I didn't really notice until I started reading this forum. :-)

I think our friend was very concerned about being able to shoot with fast and acurate auto focus, with a layout similar to the Pd-170. That's the V1 for you, besides the fact that I think the V1 is superior as far as color and definition are concerned.

That's my experience anyway.

It definitely seems that the onboard servos have a hard time controlling the “pro” lens that comes with the Z7 hence the slow autofocus and zoom speed.

In full manual it’s a joy to use and after playing with it for a few days I can nail exposure / focus and zoom quite quickly, perhaps a touch slower than my pd170 in auto but still usable in the edit. It just means more work me, and has made me realise at how lazy I had become using the 170.

I’m not sure if Sony intend on doing anything about the auto focus issues, does anyone out here know any more regarding this?
I would still like to have workable autofocus for shots that I find difficult to pull manually; like subjects walking towards / away from camera etc.

Push Auto is designed to be used when you're in manual focus Raju. So tripod, manual focus, closest focus, push 'push-auto'. It should instantly latch onto the greatest contrast subject in front of the lens.

Hi Raju, hi everyone,

Actually, we've done a Z7 review for the videography scene in Singapore and found the exact same problem. We were testing a " for mass production " model btw.

Just to share, here's our review on the Z7. the portions on macro focusing in page 3 shld be of interest.

http://www.videolifestyle.com/reviews/z7/z7.html

Btw, i know i don't post much, but i'd just like to add that there are many videography enthusiasts in Singapore that respect and appeciate DVinfo alot, including myself.

Cheers :)

thanks Alvin Ang, do you have any test footage with multiple Photography flashes or any review for real wedding situatutions

Excellent review! Thanks Alvin.

hi Steve,

unfortunately not, as we only had the Z7 for a few days. Plus, we'd prefer not to take a cam for review on an actual shoot. I'm sure there will be members that have used the cam for a wedding situation, so they'd be in a better position to answer your qns.

hi Gabriel, thanks :) It was a joint effort with my boss & I.

thanks Alvin, great review.

I might post some of this exact footage you are requesting. It is a mess.