XL H1 vs. HVR-Z1U at DVinfo.net

Scott Vystrcil · April 7th, 2006, 12:00 PM

I recently purchased a Sony HVR-Z1U for our church. I looked at the Canon, but the cost difference was extreme.

Did I make the wrong choice? What did I miss out on by buying the Z1 over the H1?

Just thought you guys might be able to give me some pros and cons, since i know some of you have both.

Any insite would be great. Who know, we may need another camera one day. :)

Dylan Pank · April 7th, 2006, 03:35 PM

Maybe, the XL H1 will give you marginally better resolution, but more noise (according to the recent HDV shootout).

The main practical difference is the XL H1 has the HD-SDI out, timecode out and genlock, and an changable lens. The 24 frame feature is probably better, but not hugely.* see edit

If these issues and the marginally higher res aren't an issue to you then no, you did fine.

Anyway, I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. The Z1 is a great camera. A friend once asked me "If you could buy the XL H1 or the Z1 which would you get" - I said, "Give me the money to by the H1, I'll get the Z1, and book a great holiday to use it on." - there's ALWAYS going to be a better camera at a higher price anyway. The H1 is probably pants next to the new Sony F350. ;-)

* Whoops, realised I messed up here, the Canon 24f mode is temporarily more accurate than the Z1, as the H1 scans at true 23.976, whereas the Z1 CF24 still scans at 60i, and then drops and shuffles fields and adds a pulldown to get 23.976 fps. What I meant was the resolution of Canon's 24F is better but not by much.

Rafael Lopes · April 8th, 2006, 02:07 AM

I'll say what I always say. Take the aditional money and buy a nice 35mm adapter and a bunch of 35mm lenses. You'll have a very very cinematic look. Oh, I think you have Cineframe25 on the Z1, which is not true progressive but works very well unlike the jittery CF24.

Bruce S. Yarock · April 8th, 2006, 07:58 AM

rafael,
Which specific adaptor are you talking about?
Bruce Yarock

Jerry Porter · April 8th, 2006, 08:40 AM

Probably this one is the one he is reffering to. http://www.redrockmicro.com/ i don't have one, but boy do I want one!!!

Scott Vystrcil · April 11th, 2006, 02:04 PM

Thanks Dylan. You always have the regrets after you buy something and you read something you never found in your previous research. I LOVE the camera. Not shooting HD yet (PC can't cut it), but the quality is miles above what we were using (standard sony DV handycam).

Thanks again for the information.

April 7th, 2006, 12:00 PM	#1
Scott Vystrcil Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: McKinney, TX Posts: 116	XL H1 vs. HVR-Z1U I recently purchased a Sony HVR-Z1U for our church. I looked at the Canon, but the cost difference was extreme. Did I make the wrong choice? What did I miss out on by buying the Z1 over the H1? Just thought you guys might be able to give me some pros and cons, since i know some of you have both. Any insite would be great. Who know, we may need another camera one day. :) __________________ Scott A. Vystrcil Equipment - Sony HVR-Z1U--Firestore FS-4 Pro HD (40GB)--Cartoni Focus F101 Editing - Canopus Edius Pro 4, Intel Pentium D 940 (3.2 GHz), 2GB, 74GB SATA 10K, 160GB SATAII, 300GB SATA, nVidia GeForce 6800 (256MB), Dell 20 in widescreen flat panel (2007WFP) http://watersedgefrisco.com http://vystrcil.com

April 7th, 2006, 03:35 PM	#2
Dylan Pank Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Portsmouth, UK Posts: 611	Maybe, the XL H1 will give you marginally better resolution, but more noise (according to the recent HDV shootout). The main practical difference is the XL H1 has the HD-SDI out, timecode out and genlock, and an changable lens. The 24 frame feature is probably better, but not hugely.* see edit If these issues and the marginally higher res aren't an issue to you then no, you did fine. Anyway, I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. The Z1 is a great camera. A friend once asked me "If you could buy the XL H1 or the Z1 which would you get" - I said, "Give me the money to by the H1, I'll get the Z1, and book a great holiday to use it on." - there's ALWAYS going to be a better camera at a higher price anyway. The H1 is probably pants next to the new Sony F350. ;-) * Whoops, realised I messed up here, the Canon 24f mode is temporarily more accurate than the Z1, as the H1 scans at true 23.976, whereas the Z1 CF24 still scans at 60i, and then drops and shuffles fields and adds a pulldown to get 23.976 fps. What I meant was the resolution of Canon's 24F is better but not by much. Last edited by Dylan Pank; April 8th, 2006 at 04:38 AM.

April 11th, 2006, 02:04 PM	#6
Scott Vystrcil Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: McKinney, TX Posts: 116	Thanks Thanks Dylan. You always have the regrets after you buy something and you read something you never found in your previous research. I LOVE the camera. Not shooting HD yet (PC can't cut it), but the quality is miles above what we were using (standard sony DV handycam). Thanks again for the information. __________________ Scott A. Vystrcil Equipment - Sony HVR-Z1U--Firestore FS-4 Pro HD (40GB)--Cartoni Focus F101 Editing - Canopus Edius Pro 4, Intel Pentium D 940 (3.2 GHz), 2GB, 74GB SATA 10K, 160GB SATAII, 300GB SATA, nVidia GeForce 6800 (256MB), Dell 20 in widescreen flat panel (2007WFP) http://watersedgefrisco.com http://vystrcil.com

April 8th, 2006, 02:07 AM	#3
Rafael Lopes Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rio de Janeiro Posts: 1,240	I'll say what I always say. Take the aditional money and buy a nice 35mm adapter and a bunch of 35mm lenses. You'll have a very very cinematic look. Oh, I think you have Cineframe25 on the Z1, which is not true progressive but works very well unlike the jittery CF24.

April 8th, 2006, 07:58 AM	#4
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	rafael, Which specific adaptor are you talking about? Bruce Yarock

April 8th, 2006, 08:40 AM	#5
Jerry Porter Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Satellite Beach, Fl Posts: 784	Probably this one is the one he is reffering to. http://www.redrockmicro.com/ i don't have one, but boy do I want one!!!