Yes those are pretty much my thoughts too - it's my opinion that the principal reason Sony went with 1/4in CMOS sensors on the V1 are these :

1) They could meet their 'target' (specs/performance) for this FX7/V1 project with 1/4in. CMOS sensors.

2) They intend to use 1/3in CMOS sensors for a "Z2" at some point (no idea when) so they needed to use slightly smaller sensors in FX7/V1 to stop it peforming TOO well, and leave a gap for something else higher up their (future) product line. Classic Sony product positioning, i think we'll see a 3CMOS 1/3in. cam sometime next year maybe, at a guess.

I think Sony couldn’t have fit 3 1/3rd inch chips inside that body considering all the extra stuff such as a 20X lens for example. Every HD camcorder with 3 1/3rd inch size chips are all bigger than the PD 150/170. The same goes for the XH-G1/A1 since Canon only managed to make the body a little bit smaller than the Z1u.

With that said, Sony could probably have made the camcorder a little bit smaller than it already is but then again the LUX rating would have been worse by decreasing the diameter of the lens. You got to admit that having a US LUX rating of 4 for 3 HD ¼ of and inch chips is quite impressive.

News in the USA is most often a "standup" in front of a camera deal. But, the real area of competition is when there is breaking news and war. This is where a carry-on-the-plane and keep you head down type of camcorder that is HD will be important. HD news will folks will not repeat the purchase errors of the past. Light and fast will be what they need.

You see more small light weight camera's with news crews overseas,,,and like you said in war zones.

I believe its aimed towards journalists because a smaller and lighter camcorder can be sneaked more easilly and also because smaller chips means greater DOF which is a plus for journalists turned cameramen. Also bear in mind that in small countries around the world SONY because of the BETACAM dominance, has a positive brand recognition and service facilities to cater any arising need that nor Panasonic, neither Canon can boast. In my country I see more and more newspeople sporting small camcorders instead of shouldermount ones, especially in more risky situations.

I still think from footage I've seen, and not the footage we have linked to, but other footage, that filmmakers like me will love this camera. Also based on the killer footage I've seen, I agree that videographers, journalists and others will love this camera.

heath

Your right about the camcorder becoming very popular Health.
The problem with the footage that got shown is that I don’t think it got white balanced and there were obviously different light sources. At least the footage showed how good Sony’s progressive mode works. Unless Panasonic releases a camcorder this year, I may end up getting the V1 since I'm already used to using the HC1 and the Z1u.

That wasn't the footage I saw. It was from the V1.

heath

This is the one I’m talking about and it is from the V1
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=70864
Its also the one that you saw

Actually, no it wasn't. That's the V1e you're referring to, I saw footage from the V1. I can't really say anything else, because I'm bound by NDA stuff. But the footage was incredible.

heath

I can't wait to see some footage. I couldn;t watch the HDV stuff from IBC only the few seconds of DV. Hard to really tell much.

I'd sure like to get some real reviews from the Vq and the Canon A1. Maybe next week.

The V1e stuff from IBC is blah, oh well. But what I've seen is killer of the V1.

heath

lot's of questions, but I know you can't say anything. It should be interesting to see how it compares to the Canon A1. Now if only Panasonic would throw something out there too!

My money is starting to burn a whole in my pocket. But with some of the camera's coming out,,,I think it might be worth holding out.

or this one?