In the camera setup menu at one time I set the "setup" to 0% black instead of 7.5, preferring the darker black which should be ok cuz not going to broadcast. But today I wanted to set it to 7.5% to match an FX1 which will be used on the same shoot.

When I turn the menu wheel I can go to where it says "setup" and 0 is displayed. I push the wheel in and nothing happens, so I can't see any way to change it to 7.5% It's set for 60i, so I should have the option. According to the manual I should be able to change it so I don't know why I can't.

Chris

Is it possible you've got the camera set to HDV mode? I think this feature is only allowed if you are set to DVCAM or DV mode?

Ian

Hi Chris - the 'ability' to change the black level from 0% to 7.5% is only available when the "RECORD FORMAT" option is set to "DV".

As far as I know at least.

If you go to the IN/OUT menu - and change REC FORMAT to DV then the setup option will go white/lights up so you can change it - otherwise it's dimmed out - and defaults to the darker 0%. I assume you are recording in HDV1080i.

Thanks
Paul

I have never experimented with the setup options on my Z1, but if it's like the other Sony cameras then you should leave it at 0 (BTW, it's 0 IRE and not 0%). 0 is the correct level for digital video, and many people think the way Sony implements this is wrong. If you change to 7.5 IRE then all your blacks will be recorded as grey.

See the following for in-depth discussioin:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=45073
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=35267
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=35420

I thought it WAS 0%, since IRE was an analogue thing, and the Z1 is a digital camera?

You're right, but Sony gives you a menu option to set it to 7.5 on the Z1, PDX-10, PD-170 and PD-150. But instead of raising the level of the analog outputs like it should, it changes the way things are recorded, making the blacks grey. See the links I posted above for more info.

Thanks, I confirmed that it's only in DV SP mode that you can select setup. For this particular shoot I'm using HDV tho sometimes I'm required to shoot DVsp mode, so this clarification helps. The manual confused me because it said it was automatically set at 0 only for 50i, not 60i. Also the cam menu setup line when in HDV mode does not stay greyed out when you roll over it so it looks as if it should be selectable when it's not.

I assume that the FX1 shooting in HDV will also automatically have setup at 0%, so it should match my Z1.

On another upcoming shoot I have to shoot DVsp mode, so I'll select 0 and assure that the person shooting 2nd camera for me with his Sony 250, set his at 0.