some newbie questinos about the new V1

[Herbert Bolander]

Dear forum members,

I have some questions about the new V1. Please accept my apologies if these questions have been asked and answered. I tried the search function, but didn't come up with anything.

1. is the owner's manual available online? In English or Japanese. I can read a little Japanese... (well, only a little, but enough to understand manuals)

2. is it possible to buy the V1U in the US/Canada without the shotgun mic? If not, is there a market for this mic or am I better off keeping it in the box, in case I want to trde/sell the V1U in the future? I believe this mic retails for about $200US.

3. if I use a stereo shotgun and plug it into the ch1/ch2 input on the V1, does ch1/2 correspond to left/right channel?

4. this is going to be my first HDV cam. From the specs, it appears that the audio performance will not be as good the DV standard's uncompressed audio... is this correct? I'm concerned because I mainly record classical instrumental music.(indoor auditions and recitals, mostly)

5. is the Sony warranty really only 90 days for labor? that seems awfully short for a professional video equipment... does Sony offer any sort of extended coverage for pro camcorders? (like the coverage they sell for consumer camcorders... which is also available with accidental breakage coverage)

6. can the V1 be used without the included large eyecup? I wear eyeglasses all the time... :)

7. is the Sony DR60 the only hard drive compatible with the V1U? Can the Firestore units work or does Sony block 3rd party hard drive solutions?

I appreciate all replies on any of the above question.


Sincerely,

Herb

[Heath McKnight]

I can answer a few questions the best I can without the final shipping information...

I'm pretty sure it has two different "eyecup" options, like the Z1. I use both options and I've been wearing glasses for at least 17 years.

I'm almost positive the manual will be online after the camera ships (that's standard practice, I believe, for everyone).

I don't think it comes with any microphone at all, but can someone clarify that (Spot?).

HDV audio is great, but take great care with it. I've never had any problems at all, but I don't record anything above people talking.

Pretty sure Firestore can work, but they may need an update since it's a new thing for Sony (24p/30p in a 60i streat/HDV). The DR60, to me, is competitively priced with the Firestore.

heath

[Michael Y Wong]

As for the Mic, when I was playign with the V1 about a month ago the Sony guy stated that yes it comes with a Mic, I believe it's the same mic as the pd-170, hvr-a1u and MAYBE the z1u (not SURE about the z1u though).

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

See my comments below....

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

I can answer a few questions the best I can without the final shipping information...

I'm pretty sure it has two different "eyecup" options, like the Z1. I use both options and I've been wearing glasses for at least 17 years.

Nope, unit only comes with one eyecup. However, you could probably order a spare/whichever one you want from the Z1 support. It's the same eyepiece.

I'm almost positive the manual will be online after the camera ships (that's standard practice, I believe, for everyone).

I don't think it comes with any microphone at all, but can someone clarify that (Spot?).

V1U comes with shotgun mic in box, it's decent, and better than a built-in mic, but not what I'd use for most projects.

HDV audio is great, but take great care with it. I've never had any problems at all, but I don't record anything above people talking.

Pretty sure Firestore can work, but they may need an update since it's a new thing for Sony (24p/30p in a 60i streat/HDV). The DR60, to me, is competitively priced with the Firestore.

I have a Firestore, and prefer the DR60 only because of the significantly smaller size and easier mounting option. the DR60 are priced very competitively, last MUCH longer on a battery charge, but lacks some of the overall Firestore features, ie; recording to AVID (DV) or Quicktime (Also for DV only).

heath

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

See my comments below....

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

I can answer a few questions the best I can without the final shipping information...

I'm pretty sure it has two different "eyecup" options, like the Z1. I use both options and I've been wearing glasses for at least 17 years.

Nope, unit only comes with one eyecup. However, you could probably order a spare/whichever one you want from the Z1 support. It's the same eyepiece.

I'm almost positive the manual will be online after the camera ships (that's standard practice, I believe, for everyone).

I don't think it comes with any microphone at all, but can someone clarify that (Spot?).

V1U comes with shotgun mic in box, it's decent, and better than a built-in mic, but not what I'd use for most projects.

HDV audio is great, but take great care with it. I've never had any problems at all, but I don't record anything above people talking.

Pretty sure Firestore can work, but they may need an update since it's a new thing for Sony (24p/30p in a 60i streat/HDV). The DR60, to me, is competitively priced with the Firestore.

I have a Firestore, and prefer the DR60 only because of the significantly smaller size and easier mounting option. the DR60 are priced very competitively, last MUCH longer on a battery charge, but lacks some of the overall Firestore features, ie; recording to AVID (DV) or Quicktime (Also for DV only).

heath

[Piotr Wozniacki]

I'm pretty sure the V1 will be coming with the large eyecup included - the FX7 does. What it probably will be absent is a strap, though.

[Heath McKnight]

Hey Spot,

Thanks for clearing that up for us.

heath

[Sal C. Martin]

The Z1 has a lot of extra little things (eye cups) that seem to indicate that Sony still views the Z1 as the most professional model. Is the V1 considered "prosumer"?

Also, why the compressed audio on the HDV cams? Will there ultimately be an HDV cam that has better audio? Would the average person really be able to tell if the audio is compressed (especially if most of the sound is from interviews).

Has anyone ever recorded sound on an external device (audio tape deck) and tried synching it up in post?

Thanks.

[Stu Holmes]

Originally Posted by Sal C. Martin

The Z1 has a lot of extra little things (eye cups) that seem to indicate that Sony still views the Z1 as the most professional model. Is the V1 considered "prosumer"?

Also, why the compressed audio on the HDV cams? Will there ultimately be an HDV cam that has better audio? Would the average person really be able to tell if the audio is compressed (especially if most of the sound is from interviews).

Has anyone ever recorded sound on an external device (audio tape deck) and tried synching it up in post?

Thanks.

The V1U definitely comes with the large eyecup.

Even the FX7 comes with that same large eyecup - you can see it's pictured in the FX7 user manual as an included accessory. Link to that PDF manual has been previously posted on this forum. - useful to read i think as a lot of it will be similar to the V1 (obviously not all of it though).

As for the audio, HDV specification dictates audio is 384kbps compressed audio. That's a very high bitrate and it's highly liklely to be almost undetectably different from uncompressed audio (cue big arguments about this one...). You can always shoot in DV mode or DVCAM mode on the V1 and that will give you full-on uncompressed audio. Just do a back-to-back test to see if you can detect any audible difference - i doubt you'll be able to.
HDV is pretty highly compressed into a 25mbps data-rate and so probably the decision way back when was to compress the audio too as that takes up a chunk of bandwidth (though obviously nowhere near as much as the video). - They chose a bitrate of 384mbps to be high enough to keep 99% of people happy i'd think.

This isn't the max. bitrate for THIS HDV camera, it's the same for ALL HDV cameras, even the 9000dollar XL-H1 (for eg.). Unless the HDV spec changes (can't see why it will) then all HDV cams will continue to use this audio spec.

[Heath McKnight]

Stu covered a lot of that in his post, and I'm sure Spot will be able to explain the audio portion a lot more.

As for V1 being "prosumer;" I disagree. Look at where the V1 is being sold: www.sony.com/hdv -- that's Sony's Broadcast division, the pro area. The V1 and Z1 are being sold alongside their HDCAM big brothers, the F900, F950, etc. Sony believes in this camera, and guys like Jody Eldred are using it on big-time TV shows and movies all the time.

heath

[Sal C. Martin]

So far I have not had too many people who think I should purchase the Z-1 over the V-1. It seems as if the V1 does everything the Z1 does and better.

Good note about the audio. If 99-percent of people will be happy I am not going to worry about those remaining 1-percent.

Anyway, even though the Z1 will do what I need (documentary interviews) it sounds as if the V1 does that and adds longevity to the equation since it shoots progressive.

Now to get an HD monitor to view my footage... as usual recommendations from those on this board are seriously considered.

Best-

SCM

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Sal,
See comments below.

Originally Posted by Sal C. Martin

Also, why the compressed audio on the HDV cams? Will there ultimately be an HDV cam that has better audio? Would the average person really be able to tell if the audio is compressed (especially if most of the sound is from interviews).
No one can tell the difference if it's just dialog audio. If you were recording symphonies and other wide dynamics and frequencies, yes...one can tell. But for dialog, outdoor sounds, and general use, no one can identify which is MPEG and which is PCM.
1080 HDV uses the max bitrate it can fit in the stream. 720p has enough "free space" to allow for PCM audio in the stream.

Has anyone ever recorded sound on an external device (audio tape deck) and tried synching it up in post?
Many of us do this on a daily or weekly basis. It's no big deal.

Thanks.

[Heath McKnight]

Best thing is to either slate and use the clapper, or even just clapping your hands. That helped me immensely with syncing stuff up.

heath

[Sal C. Martin]

Doug, Heath:

What external recording device(s) do you use? Just curious.

[Heath McKnight]

Originally Posted by Sal C. Martin

Doug, Heath:

What external recording device(s) do you use? Just curious.

I've used Firestore a bit, but I normally just go to tape and then either make tape back-ups or throw my captured footage on a back-up drive (which is faster).

Best thing, though, about the V1 with the Sony recorder is you can also record to tape as a back-up. You can also do this with Firestore.

heath