Price differences between Europe/Germany and the US or Japan for the HVR-Z1
resemble their distance in space.

A Z1 in Germany still sells for stiff 5000 € (without VAT=4200 €).
In Japan you can pick it up nearly for mere 2800 € (without VAT).
(BTW a NTSC HVX200 plain cam sell for 3500 €)


BUT: Are there any obstacles buying in Japan?

1) Warranty Issue:
In Europe we get Sony Silver Support, how about the Japanese warranty in contrast?
Does the later compare to the commonly known awful Hongkong or Singapore
mere 'shop 1 year warranty' ?

2) Voltage:
Beeing a NTSC AND PAL Modell,
I presume it to come with 110-240V charger. Right?

3) TV Output:
A NTSC modell won't feed a PAL TV.
Thats the drawback I am seeing so far, but thats an minor issue.

4) Credit Card Usage:
Do shops in Japan charge credit card usage like in Singapore (3-4%)
Anyone can comment on that?

5)-? Any other obstacles to consider?


Please correct me wherever I am wrong!

------------------PS.:-------------------------------------
I know its a nonsense question if you consider

a) non VAT pricing in Germany (-16%)
b) Sony Silver Support value (say 400€)
c) and a flight to Tokyo (600€)
d) higher labour/social welfare cost in the EU

BUT: I will be visting Japan this month, anyhow!

Thanks a lot
R.E.

This thread might be of interest: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=45657

Reinhold,

Where are you finding these prices for the HVX200 and Z1U in Japan? Do you know the website? Because those prices sound very good and I'm considering a vacation to Japan in the not to distant future.

X-man

Reinhold ,how about menus in japanese? Sounds like a problem to nearly everyone not japanese . Kurth

The Z1 is switchable between all formats. You can film in PAL, if you so desire.

On second thought, you appear to already know this. Chances are you're capable of formulating your own list of obstacles. In other words, this is a wasted post. Good luck! :)

Reinhold,

I have a Sony Z1J and I live in Australia. It works flawlessly here - and we have the same PAL system as Germany. THe menus are in english. THe only exception is the charger has Japanese writing - but it takes all of 10 seconds to work out what the settings are by looking at the english version on the net.

Graeme

I've bought two Sony camcorders in Japan. The wonderful V5000 which I got 6 months earlier and about $500 cheaper. Everything including the manual was English.

The second was a VX1. I used the diagrams in the manual to figure most of it out. But, the menus and controls drove me crazy.

Worse, the colorimetry was wrong. It clearly did not image like a VX3. And there was no way to get it fixed!

So yes, it's NTSC and should work fine, but I'm sure I wouldn't do it again.

I also bought a very clever JVC titler. You drew each letter/symbol on a tiny touchpad. No keyboard. I actually wrote an English manual and gave it to the good folks at the JVC Showroom to give to anyone who bought the titler.

I checked out prices for cameras in Tokyo Japan in December,and I found them higher than Hong Kong , Singapore or the big internet outlets in the USA.Plus,unless you find a store where someone speaks good english,it can be pretty frustrating striking a deal.Of course,thats my personal experiance in Japan.