Anyone found f-stops yet?

Not yet!

I did a comparison between the HD1000 and the PD170 just now and if the exposure bar is set as Ron Evans states (and it certainly seems that way) I got some interesting results. A white piece of paper that is at 80ire on the PD170 (0db, f1.6) is 40 ire on the HD1000 (settings apparently the same as the PD170). To get the same ire reading on the HD1000 I had to up the exposure to what is apparently 15db. At 1/30 shutter I could go down to what is apparently 6db. The lack of f-stop or gain info makes this frustrating. This light is from a 27w single compact bulb about 5 feet from the paper.

The confusion for me is that Sony makes no mention of gain in the manual that I could find (I admit to bad manual reading habits but the index doesn't have gain listed). A visual notch were the gain starts on the on-screen exposure bar would be a great help, just like the notch that tells when you are in digital zoom on the PD170.

I tested the extreme exposure settings and noise becomes evident at the 6db and above settings.

The color chart arrives tomorrow.

For those of you that haven't had a chance to actually see the camera. Ive posted a video giving a short tour of the camera. Its just a brief over view. You can find the video at ...

http://www.vimeo.com/467253

This is about the same as I would judge on my other Sony consumer cams--PC10, TRV50, HC96 and also the AVCHD SR7. For the same level of noise my FX1 would be closer to 15db. I have put little marks on my cameras LCD monitors( and guess roughly for viewfinder use) to make sure I don't go past 6db.

Ron Evans

Nice video Greg, thanks. I look forward to seeing some actual footage.

Color Chart jpegs
 

Here are some color charts for you to look at and make your own judgements.

For comparision one jpeg is for the PD170 at 0db f6.8 which is where the auto exposure set itself.

The first HD1000 jpeg (test-2) is the camera shooting the white balance card after the white set.

The second jpeg is of the color chart as the camera set the exposure. It seems to be between f2.8 and f4. It is hard to tell especially since the manual exposure will not let me go to the same exposure the auto exposure can go to. It's also hard to tell what the increments are.

The third jpeg is of a resolution chart which I couldn't get square with the camera enough but it should give an idea.

The fourth is a (blurry) photo of the LCD while the camera is shooting the chart in "test-3" just so you get an idea of the LCD overscan which is considerable.

Greg,
That's a great video. Thanks. I'm looking forward to more of your videos on the camera and especially some low light results.

Jeff

Thanks. I was thinking about going out tonight to do some test shooting but its a little cold outside (about -25 Celsius). But i'll definitely post some more videos as soon as I get some footage.

Equipment: Sony HVR-HD1000U, Canon HV20, JVC GY-HD1U, PowerMac G5 dual 2.7ghz, 24" iMac 2.16ghz C2D, Macbook 1.83ghz CoreDuo.

http://www.sandstormstudios.com

Any more updates/observations from those who have gotten the camera? Thanks.

Hello and Happy New Year 2008,

I am french, HVR-HD1000 interests me very much, even if it is HC7 in a big box! The beast is its weight, 3.0Kg (6 lbs 10 oz) with NP-F570! My god, how SONY has done for this weight, it must lead or the carcass is super strong!

Thank you very much for members of this site. Especially William Hohauser gives us his remarks after the tests "with the star of the day" HVR-HD1000.

I had a CCD-V5000, I am nostalgic camcorders shoulder.
At my age, 54 years, I began to tremble !
Just kidding, but the only good rushes I have seen, with small cam, were all made on a tripod. Otherwise, it moves too! Ok boys, behind the camera there was not as champions!

I do not marriage or official reports. I am a good amateur, very mindful of the clear and beautiful pictures framed !

I have questions, please William or another, for the answers.

What is really the quality of the images in broad daylight with the HD1000?

By comparison, the images of the FX7 are better or worse than the HD1000?

Can you confirm that the only "manual" controls existing HD1000 are:
-- Camera Control Ring (with a choice of a single control)
-- Nigth shot
-- Back ligth

The very big problem in France, the HVR-HD1000E is € 2200 = $ 3237 !!!!!!

The HC7 is € 890! The crate's HVR-HD1000 is very very very expensive to France !!!!! I am not "a dove", I do not buy the HD1000E.

I am for a quick purchase, the following models HC7, HV20, FX7 and DVX102B. I rarely filmed in low light. The sound with mini-jack is enough for me. But, I often manual adjustments for the best video quality

Please, which, of these 4 camcorders, provides the best images in HD and SD? Thank you very much for your answers.

In addition to this camcorder, I will take the GV-HD700 WALKMAN for reading and first-assembly. I make my assenbly and editing on the PC after capture by I-Link.

Thank you very much for your answers.

Daniel

PS) I speak a little and I read very little English. I have translated the forum "Sony HVR-HD1000" with Google! So boys, Google is not known translate large spelling and expressions popular in the world of video! I suffered but I understood!

Posted a new video on vimeo.com in regards to gain with the HVR-HD1000U. still doesnt look like you can monitor during recording but you can at least check it out during playback. So if you have some time before your shoot you can check to make sure you are getting 0db gain.

http://www.vimeo.com/481069

Greg, Thank you very much for all the work you put in to show us the HD1000 "live"

I have a couple of questions.

Is it possible to assign different functions to the multiring and the touchscreen at the same time?
Would it be possible to assign Exposure to the multiring and Spotfocus to the screen when you are filming?

I am also interested in your opion about the quality of the camera, does it "feels" like it is well built or does it feel, I think the english word is, flimsy?

Cheers and once again Thank you

Hans

The camera itself has some actual weight to it, which is good. I think for the price tag its better then what I would have expected. In regards to the ring, you can use it and say the spot focus at the same time. Actually the spot focus works quite nice as long as you are on a tripod so that you can keep the camera steady.

Thank you!

Flimsy, no.

After a couple of hours of it on my shoulder, slightly uncomfortable. The padding is rather hard. The shoulder rest is adjustable but you need a screw driver to do it.