I don't know why everyone is getting all excited over this Sony unit. I'm quite sure other manufacturers will come out with their own CF unit that will most probably be less expensive than most all Sony overpriced stuff :)

Bill
I can speak for myself only. I want the convenience of tapeless, it will make my work flow faster without having to use my camera as a tape deck. Use tape only as a back up and also save the camera from all that unnecessary wear and tear.
I know someone else will eventually make a cheaper one, but by then I will most likely have a tapeless camera.

It's definitely a cool thing, but I'm wondering why this is such a big deal with 40GB, 60GB and 100GB FireStores readily available at good prices now. And you can record to tape and the FireStore at the same time.

?

From my point of view, it would be portability. A firestore is quite a large item when you're following wildlife into awkward places - especially places where I'm doing infra-red with my Sony A1. And as I'm often doing video stuff for research and survey rather than just for making films, it is useful to be able to look at specific clips quickly on a laptop rather than run the tape back and forth trying to find the right places.

Brandon I got to see one of these first hand last night at our Video Showcase, where a Sony rep had the Z7 camera and accessories.

The CF recording unit is so much smaller nad lighter than any hard drive based unit I have seen.

Also, the advantage of the CF card is that they are small and easy to swap out, even dump on a laptop (insert a USB care reader into your laptop and drag and drop) if you have one on site with you.

Here you simply need to sway out to a new card. Or get back to the office and dump your footage on your server or system to start editing immediately.

And a big thing for me with the CF cards compared to hard drives, is that there are no moving parts like a hard drive has. Which is better for all working environments.

Wait.
Are you guys saying this will work with an A1?
If you are...
(sound of celebrating)

very cool.


David

Found this review
 

about the device - of course it's connected to a Sony, but you get the idea...

Web-address for the review is http://digitalcontentproducer.com/hd...01/index2.html

and there's a picture of the beast.

Peter in Denmark

....................................

Z7/S270 offers two choices of recording media for 1440×1080 HDV. The familiar option is tape, MiniDV, or standard DV (S270 only). The unfamiliar option (unless you're a pro still photographer) is CompactFlash (CF). And here, the Z7/S270 platform veers into wholly new territory, because it records to CF cards using a detachable 4oz. module about the size of the original iPod that, like a mini external drive, is capable of independently downloading video files to an NLE via IEEE 1394. Actually, “deck” is the better analogy, because it has a full set of play and record buttons for independent playback and recording. Sony calls it the HVR-MRC1 memory recording unit (supplied only with the Z7 or S270).


HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording Unit at rear of HVR-Z7U.
There will be much digital ink spilled over this innovation, and I'll merely sketch its outlines here. The MRC1 piggybacks to the rear of the Z7 and attaches to the side of the S270 opposite the operator. To be precise, it docks to a multi-pin connector and powers up from the camcorder, making cables unnecessary. (When detached, it fits a cradle that accepts an InfoLithium L battery on its backside. Sony says the little F570 will run it for 6.5 hours; the fat F970, 20.5 hours.) A CF status check is available in the viewfinder of both camcorders.


When docked to the Z7 or S270, the MRC1 records in response to the camcorder's record start and stop, capturing the same audio/video signals and timecodes on tape and CF — if desired. Why qualify this statement? Because there is a matrix of choices. You can choose to record only tape. You can choose to record only CF, making the Z7/S270 a true tapeless camcorder. You can record to both, saving the tape for your archives and using the CF for transfer to your NLE. You can record HD to tape and, simultaneously, downconvert SD to CF. You can record in “relay mode” so that after tape runs out, recording to CF continues without a break. There are other permutations, too. Needless to say, these novel production and post opportunities require a thinking cap. Consider this: two “time remaining” warnings to wax anxious about while recording to two media with mismatched capacities. Dummies be warned.

Ah, yes, I had forgotten this advantage.

Interesting. I hope that either Canon comes out with something like this for the XH series of cameras or Sony comes out with something that will work with it.

Or, both! Competition is always good. :)

Michaels covered several advantages over the Firestore, but there are even more.

Power consumption - the Sony unit will run for hours off an Info-Lithium battery, the Firestore's quite power hungry.

Noise - when the Firestore warms up, it needs a fan to kick in to cool it, and this can be unacceptably noisy in a quiet location. The problem disappears with the Sony unit. (Cooling issues also mean vents in the Firestore, and potential problems for use in bad weather - again not an issue with the CF unit.)

Boot up time. The Firestore takes quite a long time from initial power up to "record ready". A lot of that is due to the use of a hard drive for recording, solid state significantly reduces boot up time.

Combined (as Michael has said) with the big size/weight advantage, and the ability to swap CF cards (so edit with card1 whilst the unit can still be recording with card 2), the unit has overwhelming advantages over a Firestore, whilst maintaining the tape/tapeless workflow possibilities.

yes this is all good and well, but what is the price! hahaha

Alright guys sorry for taking so long to post back but I've been pretty busy this week.

How it works is you go into the A1's menu and choose System Setup -> DV Control -> ON DV(and what looks like a "Z")

Then you press both the red and black record buttons on the MC1 and it'll start recording to the CF card.

And to the person who asked why it's a big deal: It's quiet since it's fanless, you also don't have to worry about it breaking in a fall or something and it's expandable. Being able to pop in as many cheap CF cards s you want is way better than spending 2 grand on a drive you can't upgrade.

Hopefully when it's released separately it retails for between 70-1000, that already is another reason why it's better than buying a bulky expensive firestore.

edit: I'm having problems uploading the photos to dvinfo with both safari and firefox so here's my picasa link for all the pics: http://picasaweb.google.ca/ecking/Co...ashOnCanonXHA1

Now that is tight.

Please, Sony, make one for the XH-A1!

wait wait, seventy to a thousand? Or seven hundred to a thousand? Or seventy to a hundred?! hahahah good find!