Have just finished unboxing my nice new Bluefin HDV and 80 degree wide lense assy - what a fantastic piece of equipment. It certainly is the best HDV housing that I have seen so far - the finish and quality of design just ooze excellence. Certainly it has been well worth waiting for
The thought has crossed my mind regarding which camera is better if we put the audio issue's aside.
Wondering what the members valuable opinions and experiences are . Is the Z1 worth all that extra money ? Do I really need to have balanced bubbles & muffled voices .. or just fix it all in post.
All opinions appreciated as I need to order camera shortly one way or the other.
In advance
Peter
Z1 has PAL/NTSC, 3 more assign buttons with more functions (althought don't remember if your housing can access them all), black IRE adjustment (important to some), BW vf (great for manual focus), hypergain mode etc etc.
I believe sonyhdvinfo.com has comparison charts. You may want to check there.
Peter - Connor here from L&M.
Don't usually stick my nose into this business but this question warrants an answer. FX-1..all the way. For the $1500+ price difference...the only thing you are really gaining on the Z-1 is the ability to use SMPTE time code and....drum roll...if you plan to sell your video on the international circuit the Z1 can switch between NTSC and PAL...
All the extra features (audio/menu) will be of no significant value underwater. Just my two bits. Cheers, CK
I went through the same deliberation and came to the same conclusion as connor. If you are planning on multi format shooting, you need the Z1 (our can adjust in post with some heavy elbow grease). For most, i would rather put a USD3K cam underwater than a USD4.5K cam if their isn't a quality difference.
This is what threw me..
BBC said that the Z1/ FX1 or even HDV as a whole has no timecode for editing. Unless they ment their system couldn't recieve it. They said it was like editing back in the dark ages..Time consuming, memory overloading and money wasting
Please tell me if that's wrong..
Dive safe
DeanB
Who did you speak with Dean? SMPTE code is in the Z1. What he is complaining about is the interframe HDV. Which is why everyone upconverts to DVC Pro HD or HD SDI before editing.
Beebs are a bit slow on the tech curve. Discovery NY are better (bigger budget). Richorn will tell you more about HD conversions.
Drew, Question regarding converting and editing. I know many FinalCut users who are editing in native hdv then converting to whatever format they desire. You indicated most users are converting first...is this a PC thing or all thing from what you are seeing?
Editing as in cutting. yes. But not for Color Correction and other layer/transitional effects. HDV is just crappy. It also depends on who the FCP user is. Production houses whose product is HD broadcast and/or film, then they do convert from the offset.
Hi Drew,
I spoke to Steve (that's all I remember) he was the editor on the Planet Earth programme.
He was saying how he thought HDV was not as good as the hype. Sort of agreeing with you on a lot of principles.
I now really feel in two minds about HDV especially the A1.. But I suppose I can bare with it for now until the next generation of HDV...
