Hello everyone,

Just want to add my take on this outstanding video camera.

I just bought the professional Sony HVR-Z1U and was blown away by the picture quality.

Not true that the Z1U is not as good in low light as the Sony VX2000 or PD150. In fact it's noticeably better!!!

Even in low light, the picture is crystal clear clean!
And I was watching the video I shot with a digital projector with the projected image nearly 100 inches diagonal!

Awesome features on this camera. Buttons in all the right places and very easy to learn. I'm a low budget documentary film maker and until now I was using the Sony VX2000. I've never had a professional video camera before and within one hour I was fully at ease with the Z1U.

I have nothing but positive things to say. No problems yet. Ghosting? Haven't encountered it yet.

Conclusion: IMHO, HDV is the greatest leap forward since video was invented. It will change everything. Given the fact documentaries are now so in fashion, I'm sure we'll soon be seeing the first HDV features on the big screen this year.

can you post some footage, please?
or at least some stills.
thanks.
Darrell
FIRST CINEMA PICTURES

Hi Darrell,

Unfortunately, I don't have iMovie HD or Final Cut Express. I brought my footage into Final Cut Pro HD by downconverting it from HDV to DV. How would I bring it in uncompressed or raw so you can see the picture as full resolution?

- N.

Darrell,

I have been posting some M2T files for people to play with. Is that what you are after?

The YouSendIt.com site is down at the moment, but I have been posting 50MB and larger files for people to download to play with until they get their own HDV camcorder.

There are also 50i and 60i files found for download on the VASST site, vasst.com/hdv/hdvportal.htm will get you to them. High motion, high action, bright color, non-processed vid.

thanks everyone for replying. what i do with m2t files is open them in a program called mpeg streamclip. then i choose export quicktime, choose the compression Apple DVCPRO HD, set the size at 1920x1080, then click the deinterlace button at the bottom and render. then i open the rendered file in quicktime pro, set the timeline where i want capture the still, choose export, then choose export movie to picture or bmp.
i have just about every plugin there is for after effects, so playing with the m2t footage lets me know just what we can really do with this new camera.
hope this helps. if anyone has a fas connection and would like me to email some of the stills i have already collected, let me know.
we have begun to just scratch the surface of what this camera can do.

Darrell, I'll take whatever you want to send;
dse ATSYMBOLsundancemediagroupDOTcom

Douglas Spotted Eagle, i am having trouble sending to this address. can you send me an email, then i will click reply and everything should then work?

I agree - the Z1 is an amazing camera, it produces real high definition pictures that look stunning and is a very nice camera to use.

The more time I spend with the camera...I am realizing what a huge leap forward this whole HDV really is...it's the next generation video that our kids and grandkids will have until "ultra HD" comes. That'll be around 10 years or something, so we now have quite long time to get used to this stuff.