Getting my Z1 tomorrow will post my findings!!
 

Hi
I feel a little geeky getting excited about it being delivered and my girlfriend/business partner is getting a little bored with me going on about equipment we;ve been buying over the last 2 weeks, but as I have used this forum quite alot for research and helping me feel better about my decisions, so I am going to shoot some footage in various situations and post them up on one of my websites so anyone about to buy might be helped like I have!
I have used a PD150, PD170, DSR250 and DSR390 so i will be attempting to compare my feelings with these. I will not get too technical as at the end of the day what it looks like at the end of the production is really what its all about.
I hope some of you will find this helpful..
I feel like a kid waiting for christmas day!
mat

its 12.52pm and it still hs not been deliverd.. 10 tapes and 4 macro lenses i ordered have but no camera. Picked up a Formatt matte box last night for £175 inc. I have everything but the camera.. just waiting..

You LUCKY boy!

So, good things DO happen in Swindon - excellent!

Today, I'll look Westward down the M4 for a warm-glow in the distance - Be Lucky!

Grazie

OK!!!!!!!!
It has finally arrived!
My first impressions..
Light
Comfortable
Easy to use (work out what the buttons r for)
Sexy

will get back after I have played some more!!

hi
About to go to bed as its been a long day!
things ive discovered..
My Rode NTG2 mic is alot quieter/less sensitive than my Sennheiser ME6! (No suprises there really..£150 V £400!!!)
I need to read the manual a few more times..
FCP 5 is very good at realising its HDV where as FCP 4.5 HD hasnt a clue..
Here is a problem..
I have my z1 connected via firewire to my Apple Powerbook..
I have it recording in HDV and outputting as DV, squeezed..(is that right?)
When I capture either in FCP 4.5hd or BTVPro i get 16bit Integer Sound quality, Alpha NONE/Ignore,Field Dominance Not Set.. The reason why i am pointing this out is because in FCP 4.5hd when i drag the clip onto the timeline it needs rendering.. these settings are the only thing i can see that is different.. I cannot seem to change these settings.. Does anyone know what i am doing wrong.. Surely i should be able to capture in a format that does not require rendering??

You can create a capture and sequence preset based on the standard PAL DV one that's supplied with FCP. Then the only thing you should have to change is to check the anamorphic box. On the z-1, make sure it's set to PAL mode (assuming that's what you want on your side of the pond :-) This is done through the OTHERS menu, last item 50i/60i SEL.

As for the audio, I really haven't done anything with that on my Z1. In HDV mode you don't have any option but FS48K. On the IN/OUT menu under i.LINK CONV you can choose locked/unlocked audio but I don't think that's an issue for capturing.

On the clips you're captured, look in the browser and scroll across to the anamorphic column. Is it checked? If not then check it. Ditto for your sequences. If either of these was wrong then you will need to pull the old clips out of the sequence and drop them back in.

You shouldn't have to render anything when all this is properly set.

Mathew, you should take it up to Blunsdon tomorrow night (Sunday) for the Speedway World Cup. Ideal place to get some excellent footage, and I doubt anyone would query you bringing the camera in.

Matt - i know what - take an HDV shoot of a bus hitting that Swindon bridge that keeps getting hit...
sorry couldn't resist it. Swindon's famous for that often-klonked bridge.