1st wedding with z90

[Jim Stamos]

Just shot my first wedding with the z90 rented it to make sure it's what I want.
Up to now I've been shooting with the ex1r for a 9 years.
First off from someone who never does auto focus I can comfortably say I could use this without any reservations it is that good I tested it and every environment from the standard wedding where there's not much movement to the dance floor where there's a lot of movement and it held dead on it's very easy to program everything so you could easily get to your manual settings.
The low light on it is definitely better than my ex1r and the viewfinder and the LCD which I used the entire night is razor sharp.
Surprisingly the wheel to use the ours wasn't that bad after all and the ramping up or down of the Iris is as gradual as the iris ring it doesn't show the stops which i thought it would.
The biggest thing for me is I will never have to take a tripod to the reception again which is a royal pain this camera is a feather compared to my other one I had held it all night and you can never tell I wasn't on a tripod I can't believe how light is camera is the low light on it was also definitely better than my ex I either barely use my life or just put the gain up to about 12 and I didn't need a light but it was always nice to have a little bit because it gave an overall better picture,
Ran my wireless through at the audio was pristine had a wireless on one channel and a at875r on the other.
I went ahead and did simultaneous recording this time on 2 64 gig cards which I have plenty of they gave me a hundred forty minutes but I wasn't ready to test the 4k since it was my first wedding with it.
I already had three of the 70 batteries Plus the one that they gave me for the rental for shoulf 4 batteries wood d be no problem for a full evening.
I'm definitely buying this camera I just can't believe how light it is you can hand hold this thing all day I didn't even need to steady shot on.
Using the assign buttons for the white balance on the handle made it a lot easier to do white valances manually. If you're going to buy this camera or test it out is totally worth getting Doug Jensen's training video to watch I also set up the picture profiles to his specifications and they came out beautiful

[Doug Jensen]

Hey Jim, it's great to hear that your first outing with a Z90 went so well. I agree that I\it is a very impressive camera, especially for the price. Thanks for the plug on the training video and I'm glad my PP worked out great. Yeah, it is a big step up from the EX1 (I still have mine) and you'll love it even more when you move to 4K.

[Dan Gunn]

Doug, if you had to choose between the Z90 and the Z150 at the same price. which one would you pick?

[Doug Jensen]

Both are essentially the same camera at the core, but I personally prefer the Z90 for a few reasons:

1) The smaller size of the Z90 (especially without the top handle) allows me to shoot in places that I couldn't with the Z150.

2) The Z90 can do 4K time-lapse.

3) The Z90 has excellent auto-focus.

4) I like how the Z90 doe not use a power button.

[Cliff Totten]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

Both are essentially the same camera at the core, but I personally prefer the Z90 for a few reasons:

1) The smaller size of the Z90 (especially without the top handle) allows me to shoot in places that I couldn't with the Z150.

2) The Z90 can do 4K time-lapse.

3) The Z90 has excellent auto-focus.

4) I like how the Z90 doe not use a power button.

I gotta say Doug, seeing you talk about auto focus like this just blows my mind! (in a good way!)

No doubt that the Z90/NX80 is one Hell of a "grab and go" camera. It's so ridiculously convenient, you automatically feel like taking it everywhere with you. I was going to the grocery store with me the other night and my instinct was to grab my NX80 and take it with me....then I realized; "Damn Cliff, you don't NEED it on this one,...so leave it at home" lol

It's really THAT easy to just instinctively take it everywhere you go. And, the image quality really is sweet for such a small and low cost package.

It's a Sony "home run" in just about every way possible! Yup,..that Phase Detection Auto Focus is really fun too! (I'm not ashamed to say it publicly anymore!)

CT ;-)

[Paul Anderegg]

If your shooting style is mainly tripod and manual focus, I would prefer the Z150, especially for that iris ring. The Z90 is and will remain my go to camera, especially for it's compact size and that amazing and utterly useful autofocus! If they gave the Z150 (Z190?) the same autofocus, I might have to upgrade.

Paul

[Dan Gunn]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

Both are essentially the same camera at the core, but I personally prefer the Z90 for a few reasons:

1) The smaller size of the Z90 (especially without the top handle) allows me to shoot in places that I couldn't with the Z150.

2) The Z90 can do 4K time-lapse.

3) The Z90 has excellent auto-focus.

4) I like how the Z90 doe not use a power button.

Many thanks!

[Jonathan Levin]

Hi guys.

I am looking to get a nice handheld for a project that I'll be starting soon. The features are impressive and your reviews are VERY helpful.

So here is my question: I edit in Final Cut 10.4 and will more than likely be sticking with 1080p 30 (29.97) and transcoding to ProRes 422. The Z90 has almost 7 choices to shoot

XAVC QFHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 4:2:0 Long profile
XAVC HD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 4:2:2 Long profile
XAVC Proxy: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 4:2:0 Long profile
MPEG HD422 (CBKZ-SLMP required): MPEG-2 422P at HL 4:2:2 Long profile
MPEG HD420 (CBKZ-SLMP required): MPEG-2 MP at HL 4:2:0 Long profile
MPEG HD Proxy (CBKZ-SLMP required): MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 4:2:0 Long profile
AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 AVCHD 2.0 format-compatible

So which would be the best choice. I like the wider gamut of a 4:2:2 file. The two proxy settings don't seem right for me. I know that there are some formats that are difficult on edit systems and not sure if XAVC is one of those.

Thanks for your help.

Jonathan

[Ricky Sharp]

Jonathan,

Probably should start a new thread with your request. But a quick answer (I too stay with HD for now) is to go with 10-bit 4:2:2. Final Cut Pro X 10.4 works with XAVC-L so there's no need to transcode. In fact, I now turn off transcoding as my iMac Pro is more than capable of shredding through such footage.

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Jonathan,

I use the prior model X70 that I often borrow from a buddy. The MPEG options aren't a concern - you actually have to purchase a separate license to activate MPEG recording, just for people that really need that format for whatever reason. So won't even see that option in the stock camera.

QFHD is for 4K (UHD) recording, so really you have just TWO options for HD recording:

XAVC with 4:2:2 color
AVCHD with 4:2:0 color

Just use XAVC with 4:2:2 for HD recordings, which creates .mxf files

Thanks

Jeff

[Jonathan Levin]

Thanks Jeff.

Between the time I posted and your reply, I was searching different aspects of XAVC and what a mind numbing experience!

From what I learned and your reply, the XAVC HD (aka L?) seems like a good start. H.264, at least what I've edited from Nikon D800 (prior to acquiring an Atomos Blade) and some IPhone video, made FCP whine...

Maybe the flavors of XAVC make that less of an issue.

Thanks.

Jonathan