V1u official street price in the USA revealed
 

It is going to cost you $ 4290 for this puppy available from BH.

Obviously, the OFFICIAL WAR IS ON with the $3999 Canon XH-A1.

Yup, yup. I'm really close to buying my first HD/HDV camera and I have my eyes peeled wide open.

Good times indeed.

I hope it will be the same in Europe.

Floris - European prices have been out for a while now on the V1E. - the street-prcices were out much sooner than the V1U's street-prices.

There are firm "order now" prices of around Eur4300 from reputable European dealers. (300Euro below MSRP).
Prices *may* also drop a little from here before release date.

Interesting that the FX7 has the MAP enforced at $3499.99 but the V1 is allowed to be advertised at $500 below MSRP.
I suspect Sony may have dropped the MAP requirement or maybe even the MSRP to beat the Canon.

That is an interesting comment Drew and i think probably an accurate one. I have been wondering a little about the lack of advertised street-prices for the FX7, indeed the almost total lack of ANY advertisements for FX7.. Canon has no real competitor to the FX7, but it DOES have a competitor to the V1 ....

Sony for sure leaning on its dealers somehow with regards the FX7.
I guess they think it'll be a sure-fire sales success so they're trying to prevent street-prices falling due to dealer competition?? Maybe.

I'm not familiar with the "MAP" acronym : guessing at "Mandatory Advertised Price". Is that right Drew?

That would be minimum advertised price. They can sell it for less, but that's where you see 'CALL' or 'email me a lower price' on the various ads.

-gb-

Ah thanks Greg - got it. That makes sense - I have seen some prices for the FX7 on European websites where it says exactly that "Call for price".
It IS going to be a lower price than FX1 (obviously really), as the prices with a "strike-through" i saw, were almost exactly the same as the FX1's current street-price. It's just a question of how much lower.

Yes I found the FX7 advertised for $3149.95 at the 'other' prominent manhattan store. I had to email for a price though. So I think MAP is in effect at MSRP for the FX7.

If the Sony came onto the market this month, as the Canon is supposed to do, I might have a serious decision to make. As it is, I'm very close to popping for the Canon. Although we have bigger, better cameras at work, they're not as good a tool for the personal documentary I've been working on.

If I do this, I'm pretty sure it'll be in the next couple of weeks, so Sony missed me. I've used Sony cameras since my first one, a BVW300 I bought in 1989. All great cameras and problem-free. I thought I'd buy a Z1, but when the Canon was announced, it is a thousand bucks cheaper and does 24f, so those two items push me in that direction.

If the new Sony had 1/3" chips, I would figure out a way to wait till December, if at all possible. However, even though they say the angle thing is different and therefore the chips have the same useable area as 1/3" chips...I can't buy into that without hands-on experience. If somebody set up a test with both the V1 and any 1/3" chip HDV camera, used the exact same focal length on the lenses, both cameras at exactly the same distance from an object, then a guy could tell if that 1/4" is really 1/3" thing is really true. If the useable area of the chips are exactly the same as 1/3" chips, they should also have the same light gathering capability and low light performance should also be the same, one would think.

If the Sony came onto the market this month, as the Canon is supposed to do, I might have a serious decision to make. As it is, I'm very close to popping for the Canon. Although we have bigger, better cameras at work, they're not as good a tool for the personal documentary I've been working on.

If I do this, I'm pretty sure it'll be in the next couple of weeks, so Sony missed me. I've used Sony cameras since my first one, a BVW300 I bought in 1989. All great cameras and problem-free. I thought I'd buy a Z1, but when the Canon was announced, it is a thousand bucks cheaper and does 24f, so those two items push me in that direction.

If the new Sony had 1/3" chips, I would figure out a way to wait till December, if at all possible. However, even though they say the 45 degree angle thing is different and therefore the chips have the same useable area as 1/3" chips...I can't buy into that without hands-on experience. If somebody set up a test with both the V1 and any 1/3" chip HDV camera, used the exact same focal length on the lenses, both cameras at exactly the same distance from an object, then a guy could tell if that 1/4"-is-really-1/3" thing is really true. If the useable area of the chips is exactly the same as 1/3" chips, they should also have the same light gathering capability and low light performance should also be the same, and so would be depth of field control, one would think. And that would be revolutionary.

musings
 

I usually prefer Canon products, but I jumped into the HDV arena with a Sony FX 1 and HVR-M10U. If I can't read 24F with my deck, then I'll go with the Sony HVR-V1. The FX 1 has done everything I've asked, and at times a bit more. I'm confident the HVR-V1 will be a fine camera. This is all pending some hands on inspection, of course. I also like the integrated HDD solution, been disappointed with 3rd party products.

The new V1U has to deliver great 60i video. We know the 24p is great. Sony claims 800 lines resolution. The Canon XL-H1 already had that number in the bank so presumably will the XH-A1.

I'd be disappointed if I ditched the Z1U only to have the same 650 lines interlaced rez as before. The wide dynamic range and absence of smear are nice improvements, but the focal range also gives up some on wide end, which seems inconsistent to have a smaller cam that lets you move in closer, and a harder-to-get-steady-with long range.

These concerns along with flourite glass have me leaning toward the XH-A1 as a more assured hedge, the lower price is nice too.

If you have a Z1, I sure wouldn't trade it in for this smaller chip camera.

I wouldn't make such a statement until you see the V1. I was at the press conference and saw the footage on the 36' screen. I also saw all the added features which I wish my Z1 had. The smaller form factor is nice, it isn't a "small camera," it's like a PD-150. Sitting on the tripod you had to go right up to it to tell it wasn't a Z1. I wouldn't mind having a little more space and a little less weight in my camera bag. There was no clue from viewing the footage that this was a 1/4" chip camera. And the greater zoom range would really be helpful. I could get a wide adaptor that is smaller, lighter and cheaper than the Century 1.6x telephoto I use on the Z1.

I suppose the jury's still out on the details, but unless some new terrible thing emerges I would trade my Z1 for a V1 without looking back. I don't think I can shoot footage with that much resolution and latitude with my Z1. I suppose my only concern would be low light capability for shooting performances. But for the outdoor nature stuff I do, the V1 looks like a noticeable improvement.