Posted by Antony Lacey on 09/09/05 21:32

doc <doc@drdimento.net> wrote:

> anyone out there have any experience with the Sony FX1 or Z1U?

I have the FX1(E) - Uk based, so using PAL.

> i am thinking of buying one or two of them and need to know what kind of
> picture quality they/either produces AND how well they interface with
> firewire inputs AND their HDV quality.

The picture quality is excellent, even down converted HDV -> DV is
better than the DV from any other camera I have.

I should point out I'm no professional, more a prosumer, hence the
reason I bought the FX1 rather than the Z1. For me this camera is just
right, I don't need SLR inputs, or some of the other features the Z1
has. Price was the main issue when I bought, and I was about to buy a
GL1 (second hand) when I went to a show where the FX1 was available for
a lower price. The camera had been used for demonstration only at the
show, but a couple of hundred pounds lower than it should have been.

If I'd had the money I probably would have gone for the Z1 though. THe
extra features make it the better of the two.

Firewire is fine here (on a G5 Mac and a Powerbook) - the only problem I
had was a software related one, soon fixed. After that it takes HDV or
down converted DV seamlessly.

And the HDV is great. I tend to film and edit (FCP Pro 5 here) in HDV
mainly, then change to standard DV for output. For the odd project that
uses footage from standard DV cameras I still film in HDV, then down
convert to DV for editing.

I'm quite happy with this, and it gets used quite a bit. It's sturdy,
reasonably light-weight, and I find it very easy to use. I used it
mainly on auto to begin with, which was fine, but am now using it almost
completely manually.

I can' think of any problems with it as such. Most professional
cameramen I have spoken to have said it's useless at fast panning, but I
don't need (or plan to) do fast panning. Whether they've tried it or
read this I don't know, but it's the one thing they all seem to say - I
suppose I should try it to see for myself one day.

I'm beginning to ramble, so I'll stop there. But for me, the FX1 is just
the ticket.

--
Antony
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