Just stumbled upon a very brief review of the Z7U. Check in out at the following link:

http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=41396

It's certainly brief, but at least it's one of VERY few reviews that one can find. Can't wait to hear more from more reviewers about this camera.

Ian

Seems like a very positive review.

Wondering if my mate from New Orleans would aggree with it thou?

There's an excellent review in French at http://www.cameravideo.net/forum/haute-definition-hdv-dvcprohd-xdcam/9156-test-complet-de-sony-hvr-z7e-hdv-progressif.html

Chris

I cant read French is there a translation

Rob

Looks to be a very good review.

Does anybody know how to get a translation to English on this ?

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

not sure if you've seen it already, but here's what some of us in PAL land think about the camcorder.

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

Thanks
Alvin

There's an excellent review in French at http://www.cameravideo.net/forum/haute-definition-hdv-dvcprohd-xdcam/9156-test-complet-de-sony-hvr-z7e-hdv-progressif.html

Somebody translated this into English here:

http://techthoughts.org/2008/04/02/incredible-sony-z7-information/

That sure is a happy review. I think he was actually kinda giddy about the whole thing. Other than the focus issues which some people are having and others aren't, the Z7U is a great camera. It does great in low-light situations and if you find yourself in those a lot, you really can't get a better camera out there (for under 10k). I think there are a lot of us out there holding our breath hoping to hear Sony speak up and say "Ok, we might have goofed on the first batch" or something close to that. It just doesn't seem like a company like Sony would release something like this without extensive testing. Before this camera came out, we all knew that it would have all of these great features and we were all ready to throw down the money. Was Sony just in a huge hurry to get it out?
I'm kinda over the focus issues for what I do. We have a work-around that we have been using and it takes care of things. Nothing technical at all. We just use the FX-1 for the aisle shots and the Z7 for the altar. I did notice several times last night when I picked the Z7 up on the monopod and held it about 8-9 feet in the air looking down on the dance floor that it went out of focus almost every time. It was just general dancing and nothing important, but again, pretty consistent. I would consider it low-light, but the band did have a bunch of dancing lights. I wish I would have capped it on the CF card.
So, lastly, for the low-light capabilities and CF reader, I'm just going to deal with it for now. I spoke to several people at the RED booth about the Scarlet. I'm sure its over my head, but its something I'll be looking into ;)

-Chad out

......and on another event related note, when booking a wedding 14 months in advance, always make sure there aren't any big events going on in that location. We have two weddings next Saturday, both in the French Quarter. Next week is Jazz Fest!!!!! How did I let this happen? I'm probably going to have to parachute in to avoid the traffic!