Thanks for the comments, Mark, much appreciated!

For Bill, yes, sadly it is an Annoying Little Knob.

The 20X lens does not suck... it requires a bit of song and dance to master but the glass is great and the controls are manageable. The only thing I cannot do on the OIS lens that I can with the manual lens is a snap zoom. I can rack on the fly, anything really. The key is mastering the "feel" of the electronic control. Move the ring fast, it racks faster, move it slow, it racks slower. Untraditional in that the distance you move it is not as important as the speed.

Even with the manual lens, I never mark anything, I still go by feel but that is a result of over 5000 hours of shooting DV!



ash =o)

Chris, a pro section would of great interest.

Chris...I would also very much be interested in seeing more pro products covered here. You done great job with the prosumer info and I really think a lot of the people here have one foot in pro and one in prosumer.

I think it could be a great idea as well.

A Pro section would rock and would be very much appreciated. You got my vote Chris.

With media convergence, the economics of the marketplace require boutique production houses to be able to produce projects in any format a particular project calls for. Usually that entails owning a limited range of "prosumer" equipment, and simply having a rental account to temporarily access the high end equipment you need. The versatility to work in any format and with any type of video equipment simply enhances your bank account. If a project budget and "look and feel" determine a "prosumer" format and camera - that's what I use. Conversely, if a project budget and "look and feel" call for a highend format and equipment, that's what I use. It's harder to make your business flourish if you are a format and/or equipment "specialist". I regularly work with every video format and level of equipment. One day an F900, the next an XL2 or DVX100A. Right now I have to leave DV Info Net to access tech forums on high end video equipment. Chris, I think it would be awesome if you expanded to include some high end forums!