Sony's New HDVCam with 20x Lens

I'd like to get a professional opinion on this if any of you experts would read on this.

[bssc.sel.sony.com]

In my opinion the best thing about the camera is that it comes with the 20x lens, Finally! I was just about to pull the trigger on a XL-2 because of the lens. But I'm going to wait. I could care less about the HDV, it's the lens and being able to shoot in DVCam is what I am all about. Mini DV is good but as we all know if you could shoot and cut DVCam, it's much better. Let me know if the changes to the HDV are worth wild.

Dave
elevationpost

it depends on what kinds of work you do. there are a lot of things HDV does NOT do well at all.

for overall multi subject shooting - ive used them both extensively and id prefer the xl2 ANY DAY.

oh and just in the spirit of enriching our word power, i think the term you wanted to use is "worthwhile", not "worth wild"

I have the Sony HVR Z1U. I like the Sony cameras because they come with the Zeiss lenses. There are a number of zoom ranges, depending on your work. I have the normal zoom lens with my camera. There's a longer zoom and a wide angle zoom as alternates.

The DVCAM mode is excellent. I've used it, resulting in beautiful footage that I was able to intercut with the rest of my 35mm feature.

I've also used the HDV. There are several modes for shooting HDV. I like the Cinema mode. It really looks like film -- to the extent that video can look like film :-) I still prefer the look of film -- they don't call me filmman for nothing. LOL

If you're in the habit of whipping the camera around or shooting fast moving objects/vehicles you might experience some artifacts. I haven't myself, but I've been told by people in this user group who tested the camera on such subject matter.

Good luck with your purchase, whatever you decide. Let us know how you like the new Sony camera with the 20x zoom.

how soon the filmman to go byebye

I have done many projects with the Z1 and after doing the video in HDV have down converted the footage to dvcam and it looks great! Opinions are everywhere, for docs I shoot it works great.

Kevin

This model looks juicy, smack dab in the middle between my A1 and the Z1! 3 CMOS sensors on a chip! Porgressive 24P. Hoo hah! The longform film folks will love it. How much is it? I'm guessing 3.5K.

- Loren
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Less than the Z1?
It seems on the surface that it's a more capable camera than the Z. Especially with the 20x lens. I use the Z all the time and the 12x lens has kept me from purchasing one.

Guy's thanks for your feedback on this camera. It's good to hear all your input. To all who care to know I do alot of outdoor hunting and fishing shows and I take my hat off to the XL-2 everyday because of it's great lens and the great balance it has on your shoulder like a Pro Size camera plus it gets me the long distance shots I need to get. And thats what sparks my interest in this new Sony camera. You get DVCam - most inportant to me, The lens also very important to me and HDV, I've never worked in HDV because no one has got the format down solid and every camera has it's issues. Don't get me wrong it looks great! But you have to craddle the technology so much because of the issues that come with it. I'm sure I'll like it once I start using it and figuring how to shoot and edit with it.

Keep the messages coming if you'd like and I'm open for suggestions thats why we are here.

Dave