I'm stumped by what I'm sure should be a simple answer.

Capturing footage from a Z1E into FCP 5.1.3. No problem capturing native HDV via the standard log & capture process, using all the HDV presets.

However I normally downconvert from the camera into the Mac and capture as SD - I never had a problem with FCP 4.5.

Nothing has changed with my workflow, but none of the Log & Capture presets in FCP seem to enable me to capture with downconvert enabled on the Z1. I can control the camera via the Firewire connection as before, but the capture window gives me 'Preview Disabled.'

Someone please tell me where the missing price in the puzzle is! Thanks.

You should have no problems capturing using the PAL DV easy setup, I do it all the time myself. Confirm that you are indeed using the correct capture settings - close all open projects in FCP so only the menu bar shows. Now go to Easy Setup and choose PAL DV. Then create a new project - that will ensure that you have the correct settings.

If still having problems, confirm that your Z1 is correctly set to downconvert (i.LINK CONV). OTOH, I read about lots of capture/firewire issues somewhat like this using FCP 5.1.x. In fact, it's convinced me to stick with 5.0.x since it ain't broke for me... :-)

Thanks Boyd, but no luck.

I can't believe something so fundamental can be flawed.

I didn't have the option to stick with 5.0.x as this was a new purchase of the latest release.