Sony HVR-Z5/FX1000 Official Thread

A fixed lens version of the HVR-Z7, the HVR-Z5 has just been announced in Japan. This version actually has a wider lens (29.5mm at 35mm equivalent) than the Z7 or Z1. In fact it is the widest of all the HDV camcorders Sony produces. At 169×188×451mm (width x height x length) , it is very similarly sized to the HVR-Z1 (163×194×365mm). The extra 94mm could possibly be the bigger battery the Z5 ships with, the NPF770 vs the normal NPF570 that shipped with older camcorders. It weighs in at around 2.2kg vs the Z1 at 2.1kg.

The Z5 does all the things the Z7 does including the 24/25/30P, 50/60i recording, DVCAM and the improved Super Slow Motion recording introduced by the V1. It will be interesting to see if the camera will fit into existing housings.

Like the Z7, the Z5 comes with the HVR-MRC1 , which is now sold separately and works with any HDV camcorders. The MRC1 allows HDV to be recorded onto Compact Flash Memory cards. A 16GB card can hold up to 72minutes of HDV, which is great for tapeless recording or backup in case of tape issues. It does not allow cache recording like the DR60 and the files have to be broken up at 4GB due to FAT32 issues. There is a Sony utility which "stitches" the files together for the NLEs. The unit sells for ¥98490 (or about US$930) which is very steep. However it is useful for extending recording time without opening the housing for water ever reason. The MRC1 attaches directly to the Z5 and Z7 and uses the power from the camcorder. External power must be used with a cradle that comes with the unit. It'll be interesting to see if the MRC1 can be fit into existing housings.

The FX equivalent for the Z5 is the FX1000. Obviously the removal of the XLR, DVCAM, dual system recording, much like the FX1 to the Z1.

One interesting thing is that Sony has dropped Leica as the lens and named it the G lens series.

A fixed lens version of the HVR-Z7, the HVR-Z5 has just been announced in Japan. This version actually has a wider lens (29.5mm at 35mm equivalent) than the Z7 or Z1. In fact it is the widest of all the HDV camcorders Sony produces. At 169×188×451mm (width x height x length) , it is very similarly sized to the HVR-Z1 (163×194×365mm). The extra 94mm could possibly be the bigger battery the Z5 ships with, the NPF770 vs the normal NPF570 that shipped with older camcorders. It weighs in at around 2.2kg vs the Z1 at 2.1kg.

The Z5 does all the things the Z7 does including the 24/25/30P, 50/60i recording, DVCAM and the improved Super Slow Motion recording introduced by the V1. It will be interesting to see if the camera will fit into existing housings.

Like the Z7, the Z5 comes with the HVR-MRC1 , which is now sold separately and works with any HDV camcorders. The MRC1 allows HDV to be recorded onto Compact Flash Memory cards. A 16GB card can hold up to 72minutes of HDV, which is great for tapeless recording or backup in case of tape issues. It does not allow cache recording like the DR60 and the files have to be broken up at 4GB due to FAT32 issues. There is a Sony utility which "stitches" the files together for the NLEs. The unit sells for ¥98490 (or about US$930) which is very steep. However it is useful for extending recording time without opening the housing for water ever reason. The MRC1 attaches directly to the Z5 and Z7 and uses the power from the camcorder. External power must be used with a cradle that comes with the unit. It'll be interesting to see if the MRC1 can be fit into existing housings.

The FX equivalent for the Z5 is the FX1000. Obviously the removal of the XLR, DVCAM, dual system recording, much like the FX1 to the Z1.

One interesting thing is that Sony has dropped Leica as the lens and named it the G lens series.

Here we go again - still it tends to suggest that Sony see HDV as having a place in the line up for some time yet.

For underwater HDV is fine, I think it will be around for many years as well.

HDV is so more user friendly than that nasty to edit AVCHD stuff.

Multiply tracks of raw HDV can be edited in real time very easy as well on a good NLE/computer.

XDCAM is better in quality but it's not a super huge jump in quality like HDV was from DV.

That HVR-MRC1 is a neat idea but still like the raw stuff on a simple cheap tape. Lost another 600 GIGS of m2t video files from a drive last week..silly me deleted the folder containing all the clips and did not have enough room to un-erase them back.

Took abit but I got it all back from the tapes.....just sucked back in the tapes why I worked here each day using the same computer so no time lost.

I just cannot bring myself to trusting delicate mechanical hard drives for ones master archiving even with backup backup drives.

I just cannot bring myself to trusting delicate mechanical hard drives for ones master archiving even with backup backup drives.

So you have trust issues......... :)

Peter

If you look at the HDV lineup from Sony, they have the Z7, Z5, Z1,V1 and A1 all available for sale. Talking about segmenting the market sideways! HDV is still a viable format but 5 pro cameras?

Sony is shipping the FX1000 as a replacement for the FX1 and re-introducing the FX7 (to be sold at $2000) this fall:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/HDR-FX1000.jsp

The FX1000 will have a 29.5 to 590 mm lens, improved low-light (lux rating of 1.5), 24p and 30p modes, and class-leading viewfinder and lcd resolution. It is said to be a little more compact than the FX1 and will weigh about four and a half pounds. At $3200 this could end up being a great option for underwater work. It's still HDV, but the wide angle native lens, frame rates, and great LCD could be very attractive especially if Phenom (or someone else) were to make a housing that makes use of that 921K resolution with an LCD port.

Pat

The only issue is housings. None of the big manufacturers seem to be interested in covering these cameras yet. I think they'll wait to see if they sell well.

Just noticed that Sony's taking FX1000 pre-orders starting Oct. 10th with shipment Nov. 10th.

any further info on this camera? i can't find anything where it is for sale

What? The Veitch itch returns?

Hi All!

Anybody that knows anything about a housing for this cam?? Seems like a cam for the deep dark and scary places....

H