Sony HVR Z5 vs HVR Z7 Which one should I buy?

Hi guys,
I've got until 9am monday to choose between these two cameras. I've been reading countless reviews which haven't really got my any closer to a decision. I've been offered a great deal on the Z7 making it only $400 (AUS) more expensive than the Z5.

Pro's on the Z7:
Its got a lever on the zoom ring which isn't featured on the Z5. This allows fast manual zooming.
Interchangeable lens
It also comes with the flash card reader for that price.

Pro's on the Z5:
A bit smaller than the Z7
20 x soon compared to a 12 times zoom on the Z5

Has anyone used the Z5 yet? I would love to hear from you before I make a decision.

Thanks alot!!
Dom
www.dominiclocher.com

When I make a camera purchase, I do crazy research...but not on an editing forum. This would be a great place to find out if those cameras are compatible with FCP, but to get accurate insightful feedback on zoom rings / lenses / etc, I would be pounding camera forums hard right about now like dvxuser or something like that. You will probably get a few opinions here, but very few.

My 2 cents: put both lists of stats side by side & decide which has the options you need more.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I hate HDV with a passion that only onliners know...

..but the Z7 is a very nice camera to use and gives good picture (at least as good as you can from a most awful CODEC).

But as Joey says - ask the guys using them both or better still - go to a dealer and test them!

Nothing worse than buying without trying!



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

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I hate HDV with a passion that only onliners know...

Agreed! But as long as budgets sometimes dictate that your choices are either DV or HDV, I'll go with HDV in a heartbeat.

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...your choices are either DV or HDV, I'll go with HDV in a heartbeat.

I will second that.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

what kind of stuff do you shoot and whats your budget?

im another SWORN enemy of both HDV and rolling shutters.

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Agreed! But as long as budgets sometimes dictate that your choices are either DV or HDV, I'll go with HDV in a heartbeat.

A couple of years ago maybe - however I do not agree.

Today you have not only the old choices but alternatives which give better picture such as the XDCAM-EX format (still not perfect but better than HDV).

Also you could buy an HVX200 or 201 new - cheaper than a Z7...

What about the AG-HMC151E AVCCAM? You can get that as cheap or cheaper than a Z7 too!

HDV is such a damn awful format if you HAVE to use it, but compared to what you CAN get - its THE worst.

This is not just my opinion it is a testable fact.

Look at your alternatives for better picture quality before you waste your money on HDV kit!



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

The LAFCPUG format wars..

HDV vs AVCHD? Which will you choose?

My word would be HDV here, even though AVCHD offers superior compression, mainly due to the immense amount of storage it consumes in relation to the size of the source codec.

But I like the HVX over the EX-1 in this range. Beautiful colors, better codec, although image wise, it's softer, however i'm suspecting that focus may be harder to achieve and it's notoriously noisy in low light (I absolutely hate the red-rock/HVX combination in low light). But totally depends on what you're shooting.



www.strypesinpost.com

hpx170 is FAR better than the hvx200 in low light. though there is some discussion that the hvx200a is less grainy than the hpx170.

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mainly due to the immense amount of storage it consumes in relation to the size of the source codec

AVCHD

Have a look at the specs and decide for yourself:



Hardly a massive amount of storage in a similar mode to HDV yet you have the option of full raster which imo is very important plus the lowest datarate will still look better than HDV.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

To hell with all of you. Anything less that Vistavision scanned to 10-bit log at 8K is completely worthless.

Looks wise, H.264/AVC beats HDV. There's no comparison in terms of quality. H.264 is as far superior codec to Mpeg2 based HDV. But workflow wise in FCP...

AVCHD rushes goes in as AIC/ProRes, and you'll very much prefer working on an Intel (or it's Voltaic for the conversion). Acquire source footage at 21Mb/s VBR, ingest at 180Mb/s VBR. Bottleneck, when you compare it to the other formats.

HDV rushes goes in native. Big difference in terms of storage.



www.strypesinpost.com

ease of use from a codec standpoint is another in the list of reasons i LOVE dvcproHD on the HVX200/200a/HPX170

Love it even more in PAL, bro. 1440x1080!



www.strypesinpost.com

Thanks for all your 2 cents! Much appreciated, sadly still no closer to my decision. The Panasonic 202 some of you suggested is a pretty ugly camera to use compared to Sony's layout. As for the EX1, what amazing image quality but the cards are still way to expensive.
Have a good one fellas

Dom

>As for the EX1, what amazing image quality but the cards are still way to expensive.

Dom
You need to be looking at the MXR ExpresCard adapter w/ SDHC cards. Not expensive at all!
[www.dvinfo.net]

Best
Andy

the way i see it, with all these cameras that shoot to solid state media - if you cant roll the cost of the media into your projects, you probably dont really NEED the camera in the first place.

the time i save with not having to capture in real time pays for a P2 card in 1 or 2 uses.

this is a fuzzy analogy, but i look at P2 the same way i look at hiring a drywall contractor. is it more expensive than doing it myself? YES, could i do it myself? PROBABLY - BUT, it would take me a lot longer, i wouldnt do as good a job and the time and effort i save futzing with it will more than pay for itself in better uses of my time.

and thats the crux of my point. time is money. P2 saves me time. thus in my mind - PRICE JUSTIFIED.