View Full Version : Assign buttons...Z1


Marcus Martell
January 27th, 2009, 05:45 AM
Hi guys, could somebody help me in the button assignment functions?
I really appreciate..
thx

Gareth Watkins
January 27th, 2009, 06:20 AM
Hi Marcus

There are only a few functions you can assign to these buttons, its really personal choice.
I like:

1 rec review
2 All scan
3 bars
4 WB +
5 Steadyshot on/off
6 WB-

cheers
Gareth

Gabor Maly
January 27th, 2009, 03:26 PM
Gareth,

don't want to hijack the conversation but what would you use the bars for? I understand there are two types but what is their purpose and how do you use them?


Cheers

Gabor

Boyd Ostroff
January 28th, 2009, 03:04 PM
There is already a dedicated button for the bars on the Z1, so assigning it seems a bit redundant...

Gabor - see this: - Color Bars (http://www.videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm)

FWIW, mine are assigned as follows:

1: allscan mode
2: wb outdr lvl +
3: wb outdr lvl -
4: steadyshot
5: marker
6: display

Note that the ONLY way to access the allscan mode is to assign it to a button.

Gareth Watkins
January 28th, 2009, 04:44 PM
Hi Boyd

Yep I know it already has a bars button but the assign button is better placed...

Gabor,
I always shoot 30 secs of bars at the start of a tape.. a throw back the old Betacam days and linear editing, but now serves to avoid any possibly poor quality tape that might cause drop outs. This is most likely to be in the first part of the cassette.

Cheers
G

Marcus Martell
February 3rd, 2009, 11:19 AM
Could you explain me better the assignment of + or - WB button?Never thought about that!
thx MM

Vito DeFilippo
February 3rd, 2009, 01:37 PM
Could you explain me better the assignment of + or - WB button?Never thought about that!
thx MM

That's got to be the best way to go for run and gun. You can quickly adjust white balance with the + or - buttons as you run from place to place. Great when you don't have time to do a proper while balance. I love it.

Only works if you set your while balance to the preset "outdoor".

Boyd Ostroff
February 4th, 2009, 12:38 PM
Could you explain me better the assignment of + or - WB button?Never thought about that!
thx MM

Have a look at this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-hvr-z1-hdr-fx1/79394-fun-white-balance-z1-fx1-a1-etc.html

Vito DeFilippo
February 4th, 2009, 01:15 PM
Have a look at this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-hvr-z1-hdr-fx1/79394-fun-white-balance-z1-fx1-a1-etc.html

Hey, I forgot about that thread! Apparently, I learned this trick from you, Boyd. Thanks again, I use it all the time now.

Marcus Martell
February 7th, 2009, 05:14 AM
Hey Boyd thanks a lot for the look at the post;will i be too boring if i ask 4 your attention for the correct workflow in doing this ?
1-i put the outdoor preset then i go to picture profile number one right?
2-then?

Boyd Ostroff
February 7th, 2009, 01:00 PM
You can create multiple picture profiles, and this technique could be used with any of them. As I said in the old thread,

Set WB Preset to outdoors using the camera set menu for starters. Now go into the picture profile and set WB shift to -5.

Of course, you also need to assign WB+ and WB- to buttons for this to work.

Tom Hardwick
February 7th, 2009, 04:58 PM
I agree, and having buttons 5 and 6 as + and - fine tune white balance buttons is superb. 5 clicks on button 5 and you're on the artificial w/bal setting - so easy to remember. It's another reason why the Z1 is so much better than the FX1.

Marcus Martell
February 25th, 2009, 06:56 AM
I finally got it how to set em.Just 2 questions:4 what are useful the ALL SCAN MODE and the Marker?

thx

Tom Hardwick
February 25th, 2009, 08:31 AM
The allscan mode (actually more commonly known as underscan) only works in the HDV mode and allows you to see the entire frame as recorded by the chips and as is commonly shown on the latest flat-panel TVs. A must if you're using a softie and a wide-angle, for instance.

Marcus Martell
February 25th, 2009, 09:35 AM
thx a lot TOM!What about the marker?

Tom Hardwick
February 25th, 2009, 09:42 AM
Turn it on. Do you like it / need it? I don't.

Marcus Martell
February 25th, 2009, 10:25 AM
I like it!lol
thx MM

Marcus Martell
March 9th, 2009, 03:58 PM
Ot question about profiles:Does the fx1 have the overscan function that is very useful to me?
thx

Adam Gold
March 9th, 2009, 08:52 PM
No, just the Z1.

Tom Hardwick
March 10th, 2009, 02:32 AM
Does the fx1 have the overscan function that is very useful to me?

It sure does. But overscan is only useful to you if you know for sure that your films will be shown on an old CRT. The underscan mode of the Z1 is very useful apart from two points: it's only available when you shoot in the HDV mode and when turned on it sacrifices a great deal of screen surface area. It's done this way to warn you you're in underscan mode.

tom.

Marcus Martell
March 10th, 2009, 08:12 AM
Hey Tom, but u can't find in the assignment bottons like in the z1 right?

Adam Gold
March 10th, 2009, 11:16 AM
Just to clarify: the Z1 has an ALLSCAN function you can turn on and off to show the entire frame if you assign it to a button (page 88). The FX1 does not -- it's always in overscan mode like a TV, so the edges will always be cropped off and not visible to mortals.

I think we were geting confused over terminology.

Boyd Ostroff
March 14th, 2009, 09:12 AM
I think we were geting confused over terminology.

Indeed! allscan=underscan, not overscan. It may help to understand if you consider the origin of these terms. With CRT tubes, an electron beam is deflected left and right across the face of the tube where it lights up the phosphor and creates an image. Standard TV sets were designed to overscan, meaning that the electron beam actually scanned past the left and right edge of the tube, and the portion of the image contained in that area beyond the tube edges was not visible. This was done because there could be ugly artifacts on the edges of the image, and there might also be things like mikes or lights accidentally in the frame.

Now professional CRT monitors could underscan, which means that the electron beam did not sweep quite as far as the left and right edge of the picture tube face. This would show the entire image, warts and all, and leave a little black border to the left and right past the scanned area.

Most consumer camcorders have viewfinders which overscan, meaning that you cannot see all the way to the edge of the image. Until very recently, almost all regular TV's also overscanned. In fact, I have several LCD TV's, and only my newest Sony Bravia has a menu option to show the entire frame.