Z7U or EX1...tough decision.

[Stu Holmes]

Good feedback Tom - thanks for posting up your report.

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

Sony have a wide-angle zoom that starts at (equiv) 28 mm in the pipeline, but that's only wide, not dramatic.

That new lens will be 24mm at max. wideangle, not 28mm.

[Tom Hardwick]

oops sorry Stu - my mistake. 4 mm down that end sure make a big difference.

[Phil Bloom]

The progressive isn't horrible jerky...it's just Sony were using monitors at the show that couldn't handle 25p!

Just look at the f900r, that had the same crappy looking progressive as the Z7, ex1 etc...it was just the monitors. I spend most of my time explaining to people who switched it into progressive why it looked so bad.

Sony told me that my JVC HD Fujinon glass would work on the Z7.

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Phil Bloom

Sony told me that my JVC HD Fujinon glass would work on the Z7.

Badabing, badaboom. Thanks for officially confirming that. Wasn't sure if I found out by accident. That's five lenses from two manufacturers from the get go:

- 13x 3.5 (3.5-46) - a beaut. £4.4k but top notch
- 16x 5.5 (5.5-88) - standard HD100 lens, is a little challenged
- 17x 5.0 (5-85) - £1700 for the lens that SHOULD have been standard
- 18x 4.2 (4.2-76) - at this price level, maybe 2/3" and lesser glass is cheaper? Never seen it for rent either.
- 20x 5.0 (5-100) - No info other than what was posted in the XLH-1 forums

The 16x is documented in full here (chromatic aberration, lens breathes (no, gasps)), but other than the 13x and a couple of whiffs second hand of the 17x, these lenses are hard to find. As in 'invisible'.

Any 2/3" owner will need two lenses: a wangle and an ENG. Most committed Canon XLx owners go for either their wangle or the manual lens (or ditch the standard and operate with the wangle and manual). Maybe because they're less than the cost of the camera.

What I'm getting at is that anything other than budget glass is going to cost more than a 1/3" camera. In the 2/3" world, you're going to spend the same on glass as you are on camera, but in the 1/3" world this is anathema (or 'an anthema'? Please advise).

Barrack room banter has had it that the EX-1 fixed lens is modeled on a £7k lens (I'll accept $7k). Either way, it's a good lens. Sony says 'heck, we know who buys this camera, and how many will buy this camera, so we can give away the lens because you ain't gonna change it for a $10k lens, you're going to add a $750 converter.

So if the Z7's wangle is as good as the JVC's, but for $2k, the Z7's interchangeable lenses are good to go. JVC mount lenses are good, hard to find and most cost more than the Z7 which will not surprise the 2/3" crowd but they're the minority group in the Z7 field. If I had the budget for a Z7 and a wangle and perhaps the ENG, I'd probably be in the F330 camp. If I had the budget for a Z7 with the realistic vision that I ain't never going to change that lens, then perhaps I may get an EX-1 after all.

[Phil Bloom]

don't touch 2/3rd inch glass. The magnification factor makes them pretty much unusable for anything on the wide end. I have that problem with 2/3rd inch on my 1/2inch f350 so imagine how bad it will be on the 1/3rd inch.

To be able to put a really good wide or a really nice long lens with 2x on a z7 would be quite stunning.

People say why isnt the ex1 interchangeable. Sure, it would be great and I am sure in time they will but what you get is a quite stunning fixed lens, better than most hd glass out there with no breathing. My $10,000 20 x canon on my f350 has way more breathing and chromic aberration than the ex1 fixed lens and of course no back focus problems. Something which has stuffed me a few times of my f350.

I really really want a z7, to have an hdv cam that good that i could take to dodgy places where ex1 offload is not possible. I dont like my z1, dont like the only 50i, dont like the lens or the controls. The z7 solves everything and then some, you could go off with a great piece of glass on the front and get wonderful results.

[Ryan Lester]

i got to check out the Z7 the other day. Awesome camera. Great design. The manual zoom felt a little choppy but i'm thinking it was due to it being a demo model.

Cannot wait to purchase mine.

I'd say the perfect camera since the PD170.

[Tom Hardwick]

So you're jumping from the PD170 to the Z1 Ryan? Good move! From a Z1 to the Z7? Not so sure.

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

From a Z1 to the Z7? Not so sure.

- Better lens
- Better lens control
- Better focus aids
- Better image controls
- Better features (soft change of gain/wb/etc)
- Shoot HDV to CF and never suffer the agonizing wait for the Rec lamp
- Shoot SD to CF when you're changing tapes
- Shoot Progressive
- Shoot Rolling Record on a 7 second buffer (IIRC)

My Z1 paid for its self in 40 working days. My PDX-10 is getting a little senescent and its standard video gamma is SO-O 1998. The Z1 will make an acceptable wide/b-roll/backup to the Z7.

[Tom Hardwick]

Agree with every word, Matt - it's just that I'm a believer in 'leap-frogging'. So a TRV900 man buys a VX2000, not a TRV950. A PD150 man buys a Z1, not a PD170. A Z1 man buys an EX1, not a Z7. Just a tom theory.

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

A Z1 man buys an EX1, not a Z7. Just a tom theory.

I'm not sure the EX1 is the next step forward from a Z7 - more a step forward and a step backwards at the same time. Each aimed at it's own market.

[Jamie Allan]

In regards to FCP compatibility, anyone who spoke to me at broadcast on the sony stand would've seen the new log & transfer plugin for the DR60 and CF recorders which basically work the same as the XDCAM transfer tool, looking to be released towards the end of this month. And despite what some people were saying I've been told by the product manager that it'll work with all the sony HDV DTEs when its released.

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

A Z1 man buys an EX1, not a Z7. Just a tom theory.

And that theory rings true. I am fighting the urge to get an EX1. Not an urge - its almost a compulsion. It's like fighting off the temptation of a high performance coupe whilst faced with a nice safe Volvo estate. I may have sounded decisive but now I'm all wobbly and torn between the two again...

Originally Posted by Jamie Allan

the new log & transfer plugin for the DR60 and CF recorders which basically work the same as the XDCAM transfer tool

Cue warm fuzzy glow - that's great news! No need to rely on FCP to update, then.

[Tom Hardwick]

Matt, you know as I do that the quality remains long after the price is forgotten. I sweated many years ago when buying the VX2000, but never regretted the decision the following week, month, year, half decade. If I'd stepped sideways and gone for the TRV950 I'd have been happy for - oh, 20 minutes.

The Z7 is a Z1 with a lot of the silly production faults ironed out (at a big price increase I might add). The EX1 is a head and shoulders look over the ramparts, and might take you 80 days to pay for.

I always say it's much better to buy kit that you can grow into ~ rather than grow out of.

tom.

[Laurence Kingston]

To me, the Z7 looks like kind of the ultimate evolution of the HDV format, whereas the EX1 looks like a first generation of a new (albeit better) format. I'm still having pangs of doubt, but I really feel that for me at least, the Z7 will be the better fit.

[Gabriel Chiefetz]

For me, the Z7 is the only realistic option, because I knock out 2,3,4, or even 5 tapes in a shoot (documentary). And I can't drag a laptop around everywhere to offload. I imagine that for many this is the case. Until the price point on SxS cards changes significantly, the EX will be an interesting novelty, but basically unusable.