Can any comparison be made between the picture depth you get in Beta SP
verses Sony's HVR-Z1 in High Def. Shooting natural vistas, rivers, trees and long canyons. I know this is not an apple to apple comparison, but I would assume the Z1 would be flatter and lack the color dimensions.
I am thinking of saving my coins for a used big chip camera rather than the latest HDV . Your take?

Beside the codec and bigger CCD chip, think about the fact that you might have a piece of glass on the Betacam which is twice, triple or even more the price of your entire Z1. That does a lot with the image too..

Although I do not have first hand knowledge, I recently was working with a videographer that uses both the Z1 and Sony Beta. He regularly shoots for a national news program. He likes the Z1 better in terms of picture quality, especially when you factor in the editing workflow. Many segments on the broadcast were done with the Z1.

Although the Beta might have better glass and more latitude in certain cases I find the picture of my Z1 can undoubtedly be made to 'pop' a lot more and impress the layman if you set it up right. The commercials we make today with the Z1 look a lot cleaner to my clients and constituents then what they were doing with their expensive SP equip.

Justin, A properly setup Beta is going to look as good or better than a Z1. I think your biggest concern is how much longer Beta SP has to live. I shoot with a Ikegami HL-57 that Roger Macie aligned and it still my favorite for making great pictures. The draw back is the weight-- my chiropractor likes it too.

If you buy a used Betacam would avoid the Sony 3's and 5's-- they just never looked that hot. I love my Z1U, and have spent alot of time making Picture Profile adjustments. With NLE color correction you can get almost any look you are after. With national shows being shot with PD-150's I think it is a wide open game at this point. You may want to invest in a Beta studio deck for making broadcast dubs. Currently I think it is unclear what the next format of choice is going to be.