Z1P crash course at DVinfo.net

John Wiley · May 4th, 2010, 09:12 PM

I've got a big event shoot tomorrow that I've been planning for a while now. Over a month ago I put my FX7 (which I normally use as my a-cam with a beachtek adaptor) into my local Sony service centre to have a back focus adjustment. I though one month would be plenty of time to get the cam back before the event, and the Sony people assured me I was right. "Two weeks tops" they said. I've been calling regularly to check that It will be done and they assured me time and agian it was gonna be completed by the engineer that same day. I even called them a week ago and told them, whether it is fixed or not, I need it in one piece by Wednesday so I can pick it up for the shoot.

Then yesterday I called, and they said it still hasn't been looked at. I tell them that's fine, just leave it and I'll pick it up later today - I even agreed to pay the $88 repair refused charge. They say "That's fine. We'll go pull it off the shelf and call you when we have it." No call, until this morning when they ring and say "We've just had a look at your camera and it needs a back focus adjuestment." Well, duh, I told you that a month ago. I'm coming to pick it up now. "Um... sorry, it's in pieces at the monent. It won't be ready for a few days."

So I ring a rental house and, thankfully, they've got a Z1P still available but I can't pick it up until the morning of the shoot, less than two hours before I need to be at the venue.

So now I need a crash course in the Z1P, from the perspective of someone coming from a FX7/V1P.

Here's a few things I've already put on my checklist:

1. Make sure its in PAL/50i mode.
2. Make sure it's set to HDV recording.
3. Check all my batteries work (The generic ones work fine with the Z1P, don't they?)

Are there any other crucial bits of information I need to know? I've looked at pictures already to locate the main controls such as iris, gain, shutter, volume, etc. Are there any buttons that I might have trouble locating in a hurry? Does the Z1P drain batteries alot faster than an FX7?

Are the factory default settings pretty useful (ie fairly neutral colour settings, audio levels and histogram pisplayed on screen, etc?) Is there a factory reset button or is it buried in the menus?

In an absolute worst case scenario, which auto-setting are satisfactory and which ones whould I avoid no matter what?

Thanks in advance for your help.

May 4th, 2010, 09:12 PM	#1
John Wiley Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Byron Bay, Australia Posts: 1,155	Z1P crash course I've got a big event shoot tomorrow that I've been planning for a while now. Over a month ago I put my FX7 (which I normally use as my a-cam with a beachtek adaptor) into my local Sony service centre to have a back focus adjustment. I though one month would be plenty of time to get the cam back before the event, and the Sony people assured me I was right. "Two weeks tops" they said. I've been calling regularly to check that It will be done and they assured me time and agian it was gonna be completed by the engineer that same day. I even called them a week ago and told them, whether it is fixed or not, I need it in one piece by Wednesday so I can pick it up for the shoot. Then yesterday I called, and they said it still hasn't been looked at. I tell them that's fine, just leave it and I'll pick it up later today - I even agreed to pay the $88 repair refused charge. They say "That's fine. We'll go pull it off the shelf and call you when we have it." No call, until this morning when they ring and say "We've just had a look at your camera and it needs a back focus adjuestment." Well, duh, I told you that a month ago. I'm coming to pick it up now. "Um... sorry, it's in pieces at the monent. It won't be ready for a few days." So I ring a rental house and, thankfully, they've got a Z1P still available but I can't pick it up until the morning of the shoot, less than two hours before I need to be at the venue. So now I need a crash course in the Z1P, from the perspective of someone coming from a FX7/V1P. Here's a few things I've already put on my checklist: 1. Make sure its in PAL/50i mode. 2. Make sure it's set to HDV recording. 3. Check all my batteries work (The generic ones work fine with the Z1P, don't they?) Are there any other crucial bits of information I need to know? I've looked at pictures already to locate the main controls such as iris, gain, shutter, volume, etc. Are there any buttons that I might have trouble locating in a hurry? Does the Z1P drain batteries alot faster than an FX7? Are the factory default settings pretty useful (ie fairly neutral colour settings, audio levels and histogram pisplayed on screen, etc?) Is there a factory reset button or is it buried in the menus? In an absolute worst case scenario, which auto-setting are satisfactory and which ones whould I avoid no matter what? Thanks in advance for your help.