Chapter 1 of my 7.5 hour Z200 and NX800 Master Class is now on YouTube. The other 32 chapters are available on Vimeo.

https://youtu.be/EVCBuLB7z5Q?si=a6zMuRnGsxdE7l6e

thx Doug for your work! I still have my Z280 but the Z200 is tempting because I also have the A7IV and FX6 for easier color matching.

So I like the s-cinetone, less heavy weight than z280 and the clear image zoom for more reach.
I guess the low light is better in the Z280 but I mostly shoot theatre, dance events with it where is sufficient light. For low light I have the other 2.

So what's your thought?

Tom, I also still have my Z280 and it is hard to say which camera I prefer at this point. I guess if I had to choose one or the other it would be the Z200. I need 120 fps 4K and the auto-focus is fantastic. Lots of things I still like better about the Z280 (zebras, peaking, clip naming, cache, interval recording, etc.)and it has served me very well, but the Z200 is the shiny new toy.

When I have time in the next few weeks I'm going to put them side by side and see how they really compare. I know the Z280 is better in low light at 0dB, but the Z200 has a cleaner picture, so can I boost the Gain on the Z200 to match the low light performance of the Z280 without noise? That is what I would like to find out.

thx Doug for the answer!
For me the viewfinder is also important because i wear glasses.

Is the viewfinder better or worse on the z200?

I found this specs on the sony site: (i would say from these specs the Z200 viewfinder is smaller but the lcd is sharper)

Z200:
Type (Viewfinder)
1.0 cm (0.39-type) electronic viewfinder (XGA OLED)
Number of Dots (Viewfinder)
2 359 296 dots
Type (LCD Screen)
8.8 cm (3.5-type) type TFT

Z280:
Viewfinder
1.3 cm (0.5 type)
Approx 2.36M dots
LCD
8.8cm (3.5 type)
Approx. 1.56M dots

Tom, I finally had a few minutes this morning to put the two cameras side-by-side and compare them. I tried to be as objective as possible.

First of all, I had to turn OFF Zebras and Peaking so it didn't influence my opinion. The Zebras and Peaking on the Z280 are far superior to the Z200, and in my opinion, that makes the Z280 the winner right out of the gate.

But if I turn off Zebras and Peaking, and just look at the image quality, it is harder to choose. I have to say that I do prefer the viewfinder on the Z280. There isn't a big difference, but overall I like the it better. It seems easier to use and I don't have to put my eye as close to the screen to see the whole picture from side to side.

As for the viewfinder, they look virtually the same to me. I think in a blind test (if such thing was possible) you'd have a tough time choosing one over the other.

So, while I have no complaints about the viewfinder or LCD on either camera, I think I'd have to say the Z280 is the winner by a nose. But if you care about Zebras and Peaking (two things I never turn off) then the Z280 is absolutely the winner.

I hope that helps

thx Doug for making some time to test this!

Peaking and zebras is less important to me. I will trust on the autofocus in the most situations.

You have no complaints of the LCD on either camera but I read somewhere a review of the Z200 that the LCD was very reflective.

So I guess that info was wrong?

Reflections, huh? Never even crossed my mind to look at that. The camera has a viewfinder, so who cares about reflections on the LCD? A non-issue no matter how good or bad it is.

Nevertheless, I will get the cameras out again and have a look as soon as I can. Stand by.

You have no complaints of the LCD on either camera but I read somewhere a review of the Z200 that the LCD was very reflective.
So I guess that info was wrong?

Okay, so I took a look at the relative reflectiveness of the two monitors, and the difference is very, very, very slight. Yes, the Z200 is a little bit more reflective (most noticeable when the cameras are turned off), but the difference is so close as to not matter at all. If something like that is going to make someone choose one camera over the other, then I'd say their priorities are are all out of whack.

Where are you getting this info?

thx again for testing this out Doug!

I thought I read this on the facebook group "Sony Z200 & NX800 User Group" which I'm following.
A user reported the reflective lcd screen of the Z200 but now I couldn' found that post back now.

Maybe I read it somewhere else.

Ah, Facebook. That explains everything. :-)