I'm wondering if there is a big enough difference in visual quality if we recorded our project from the Sony F900R to a Wafian HR1 via the HD-SDI? Does the added expense and hassle of lugging around a server outweigh simply recording to the camera's internal HDCAM tape?

The HDCAM internal recorder only records 1440x1080 3:3:1. However, I don't know how Sony does it but the images recorded to HDCAM look pretty damn good. But I'm wondering if recording the 4:2:2 output of the camera will honestly yield superior results.

CineForm 1920x1080 4:2:2 10-bit vs HDCAM 1440x1080 3:1:1 8-bit. CineForm has the visible advantage, particularly for projects that will undergo extensive grading or effects. Of course documentary acquisition the convenience of tape wins, otherwise go for quality.

Robert do you know if you can rent the Wafian now or is it still an out right purchase...

Contact Wafian directly, they have a few rental units. http://www.wafian.com/

Does anyone know if the HD-SDI tap of the F900 is full raster?

If you are asking whether it is 1920x1080 4:2:2 (rather than 1440x1080 3:1:1) then yes the F900 is full raster. Note: HDSDI doesn't support 1440 or 3:1:1.

I never knew that (about HD-SDI not support 1440 or 3:1:1). Thank you.

Yes, the F900 has to "upres" the tape base HDCAM to comply with HDSDI standards. However the camera head can deliver more that what the tape can encode -- that is why Wafian captures are cool.