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1. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
Christian Jolly Mar 2, 2010 6:41 AM (in response to jdmoor)Have you seen the Sony HXR-NX5U? Unless you need a MiniDV casette, the NX5U looks like a pretty elegant solution.
There have, however, been some early reports that the focus is a little soft, noticeably so...that may just be a development bug that has since been ironed out, but worth checking out.
The price and features on that NX5U do make it work a look, though. I've been a Panasonic man for many years, and have always tried to avoid Sony, but this camera makes me reconsider.
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2. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
Mark Morreau Mar 14, 2010 8:37 AM (in response to jdmoor)I have a couple of Z5Us.
I do mostly performance-related work.
The low light capability is excellent. I cannot compare it to your Canon, but it's far better than the Z1, and on-par with the PD170. The gain-up is less noisy than the PD-170, and I will happily use 6db gain, and 9db only gives me a little concern. So I think you'd be fine with it in both your settings.
I don't use auto-focus.
My two little annoyances about this camera are 1) the aperature ring is too close to the zoom ring, so it's easy to just nudge the zoom ring as you're going to adjust the exposure, resulting in a little jolt in your recorded image. However, in the year I've had the cameras I've done this less and less. 2) the menu selections are made with a knurled roller. You scroll with it to choose the item you want, and you press it in to execute the choice. It's far too easy to push it in, making an inadvertent choice. Again, with practice, I do this less often, but it definitely takes a gentle touch.
I have MRC1Ks for both cameras with Transcend x133 32GB CF cards. I can't tell you the 60i recording times, since I'm recording in 50i and PAL, but I get 144 minutes on the 32GB card. It's the same, though, for SD and HDV. One "gotcha" is that the MRC1K records SD AVI files as type 1 AVIs, which not every editing system is happy with. To use them in my RT.X2 system I have to convert them to Type 2 AVI.
I always record to tape at the same time.Why not? The cost of MiniDV tapes is negligible. I like the tape as archive, rather than feeling I need the tape as backup. I haven't yet. When the tape runs out the CF Card keeps recording, so I can just swap tapes with a very short gap in the tape recording, and none at all in the CF card recording.
HTH
Mark
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3. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
jdmoor Mar 14, 2010 2:42 PM (in response to Mark Morreau)Mark,
Thanks for the tips. I did go ahead last week and order from B&H here in
the US. The Z5u, MCR1 and other extras should be here Wednesday of this
week. I can't wait ... almost like a kid at Christmas! I did a lot of
research and I hope I've made a good choice.
In addition to this new Z5u, I have two Canon XL-1s and I purchased a Sony
HVR-HD1000u about 18 months ago, which frankly, I am disappointed with. The
HD1000 does fine in really good lighting conditions, but if the lighting
gets anywhere near less than optimum, the cam performance is poor. The LCD
screen is way too small too and I had to add a Beachtec XLR adapter for pro
mics. The HD1000 is really just a glorified consumer camera in a larger
body. I may try to sale the HD1000u or just keep it for a backup. If you
are shooting outdoors or with Aux lighting, it has a good picture, but it is
a single chip camera.
Thanks again,
jd
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4. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
sneedbreedley May 8, 2010 6:04 AM (in response to jdmoor)After shooting weddings with SONY DSR-500s for many years, they were starting to show their age so I needed to find a replacement. I got an HVR-Z5U about 6 months ago. It's the best choice in the price range. The big problem with ALL the HD camcorders is that they need so much light. In the past every time I bought a new camcorder it needed less and less light. To me (being in the wedding video business), that's progress. So, I could not believe how light thirsty all these new HD camcorders were. And I had thought that their smaller design would make them easier to use. Not so. In fact there is no way to hold these cameras for any extended period of time. You need some sort of shoulder mount. I just bought a SONY HDR-FX7 to use as a backup. What a joke. The FX7 needs so much light it is unusable for weddings. I thought of buying an FX1000. That is the "consumer" version of the Z5U with the same specs; but without a good microphone or XLR inputs, I may have to splurge on another Z5U. I loved the idea of the SONY HVR-HD1000. A new HD camcorder in a lightweight shoulder mount design that takes the NP-F970 batteries. I tested it on a job. Wow. What a piece of crap. The quality of this atrocity is similar to a Panasonic AG-460 2 chip Super VHS camera I owned years ago. Awful! So I'll stick with the Z5U until something better comes out.
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5. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
Christian Jolly May 8, 2010 10:43 AM (in response to sneedbreedley)Not to get too far off topic...
Talking about low light at things like weddings and such. I've always used an on-camera light. Previously I used the NRG Varalux and now I use the Comer 1800. Both lights are powerful enough to bounce off the ceiling at most events and get pretty decent lighting on a crowd.
Also, I turn the lights up a little bit at every venue
I know some people prefer not to hassle with a camera light, but the difference in the image quality is astounding. The Comer is actually an amazing little LED light that has a great color (halfway between 5600K and 3200K...very nice) and costs almost nothing. Also uses the standard Sony batteries (check out LA Color Shop for the best price).
Anyway, just suggesting that.
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6. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
sneedbreedley May 9, 2010 8:51 AM (in response to Christian Jolly)I always use a video light on my cameras. Previously it was the Lowel i-light, with a variable 100W lamp. Recently I switched to the Comer 1800. Though I like the light for it's compatability with SONY NP-F970 batteries, I hate the fact that all LED lights are balanced for 5600k daylight. The Comer 1800 is slightly less blue, but why they can't balance these at 3200K is beyond me. Of course it has an amber filter which in turn cuts out some of the illumination. And if I bounced this light off the high ceilings in almost any catering hall that I know, it would have almost no effect on the video. Fianlly, at $400 I would never say this light "costs almost nothing". It is by far the most expensive light I have ever purchased.
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7. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
jdmoor May 9, 2010 9:58 AM (in response to sneedbreedley)I actually made the purchase of the Sony Z5U about two months ago. I did a good deal of research and came to the conclusion, it probably was the best bang for the buck. I also purchased the Sony HVR MRC-1 to compliment the camera and give me that tape-less option. I purchased the Sony HVR HDV1000u over a year ago and was very disappointed in it's performance. Of course, it's a 'prosummer' grade camera. Although it does a fairly good job outside in full daylight...bring it inside and you've got light issues. The Z5u is truly a professional camera. Although it isn't perfect, I like it better each time I use it. The light sensitivity is equal or in my opinion, better than the Cannon XL's I've been using and sill use in multi-cam situations. I wouldn't hesitate to suggest the Sony Z5u to anyone looking for a good pro HD cam in that $4k range. I'd also suggest to get the MRC-1. The unit is about $740 at B&H. I also purchased two 32gig cards (Kingston 266x about $140 ea) which have performed flawlessly. I'm telling you, this tapless thing is GREAT!!. Not sure about CS5, but those who shoot and edit HD know there is no 'scene detect' and therefore, you get a single HUGE file from which you have to manually split your scenes...like years and years ago before 'scene detect' was available for standard DV. Anyway, using this tape-less unit, I get a separate HD file (.m2t) each time I start/stop the camera. The camera has a lot of pro features that I've come to really enjoy and use. The LCD screen, although smaller than would be my preference, is much larger than the HVR-HD1000u screen, and much, much shaper. I can use the Z5u LCD to get and maintain focus, not just to frame a shot.
The biggest con is the weight of the camera and you are sooooo right!!! There is NO way to hand-hold this camera for any length of time at all without your arms falling off. I purchased a shoulder rest from B&H but sent it back because, even a shoulder rest without a front brace to your mid-section isn't usable. The weight of the camera is so far forward, using a un-braced shoulder support is no better than going purely handheld. A monopod is a better solution for support over a standard shoulder support. I did find a shoulder support sold out of the UK that looks like it would work, but the shipping is more than the actual product and that pushes the cost over what I'm willing to pay....so I just make sure I use a tripod, monopod or use it for short 'edgy' type handheld shots.
I did a short promo for a church music conservatory using the Z5u; shooting in HD but oputing to SD. This worked out GREAT. I used CS4/PPro to scale the HD video down to SD size (I think it was like 43 or 44% scaling) but then if I wanted a tighter shot than I had, I could scale up and reposition the clip without loosing any quality....what a bonus!!
Here's a link if you'd like to see some actual Z5u footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r59-PVMUVf8
Bottom line: I like it more each time I use this camera.
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8. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
Christian Jolly May 10, 2010 7:07 AM (in response to sneedbreedley)sneedbreedley - sorry you don't like the Comer. Remember there is a difference, though, between "expensive" and "most expensive."
The most expensive car I ever bought was not necessarily expensive ($30,000). In fact, by some standards, it was very affordable. For me, it's the most expensive car I have bought.
The home I bought was the most expensive home I could afford, but at under $200K, I know plenty of people who would call it a "good deal" or "affordable" or whatever.
The Comer 1800 comes in under $400 for a bare light, or a little over $400 with a battery and charger. The light delivers more lumincance that any of the other 15 LED camera lights I have tested. As for the light color, at 4500K it is a good color. It mixes well with 5600K and 3200K lights. It gives a slight blue hue in 3200K and a warming effect in 5600K environments. As for the 3200K filter, I removed it because I never needed it. I replaced it with the white diffuser. However, if you insist upon using the 3200K filter you can also flip down the spot filter in conjunction and achieve excellent luminance. Even if it cuts the luminance down by a factor of 10, you would be still talking about a light that is brighter (and less "blue") than any other light out there except perhaps the Zylight (which, at $1,000, is not "inexpensive" either).
Point being, the Comer delivers the light, and that's what you need to get images. You can always white balance an off-color light as needed, but you can't make a dim LED light brighter.
My previous combo of the NRG Varalux (at 100W) and the battery belt ran me almost $350 when I bought it. It put off probably the best dimmable light quality I've ever seen, but it weighed a ton and made me look pretty conspicuous.
As for why they can't balance the LED lights at 3200K...well, they can. Just not for a low price, or a price that you'd be willing to accept anyway (again, see the Zylight Z90...awesome light, finely tunable, versatile, wallet-emptying power). The history of LED development is a pretty good read. Search google sometime and you'll see why this problem exists for low end LEDs and why it's more cost effective to incorporate 3200K filters on the low end lights.
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9. Re: Anyone use the Sony HVR Z5U Cam?
sneedbreedley May 10, 2010 7:41 AM (in response to Christian Jolly)True I'm very critical of my gear, but let me clarify something about the Comer 1800. I checked out a lot of lights that are currently on the market. The Comer 1800 is by far the best choice right now. That's why I bought 2 of them.


