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Model
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| Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Picture ? | |
| Manufacturer | Sony 
|
| Name | HVR-Z1 |
| European name ? | HVR-Z1E |
| US name ? | HVR-Z1U |
| lowest US price | 4129 $ |
| On the market since | April 2005 |
| Manufacturers URL | link to Sony |
|
|
Test preview
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |
| test picture 12 Lux | |
Video
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| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Video formats ? | MiniDV HDV DVCAM
|
| Recording Medium | MiniDV/HDV-Cassette
|
| video resolutions EU ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i HDV 1440 x 1080/60i DVCAM 720 x 480/60i MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
|
| video resolutions US ? | HDV 1440 x 1080/50i MiniDV 720 x 576/50i DVCAM 720 x 576/50i HDV 1440 x 1080/60i DVCAM 720 x 480/60i MiniDV 720 x 576/60i
|
| Max Bitrate ? | 25 Mbit/s |
| Compression format ? | DV MPEG2
|
| on-board memory ? | |
| Optics |
| Optics Manufacturer ? | Carl Zeiss
|
| Optical Zoom ? | 12 x |
| Wide Angle 16:9 ? | 32,5 mm |
| Filter diameter ? | 72 mm |
| Image Stabilization ? | optical
|
| ND Filter ? | 2 |
| Exchangable optics ? | No
|
| Image Sensor |
| Number of sensors ? | 3 |
| Size of image sensor ? | 1/3 inch |
| image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ? | 1070000 Pixel |
| Image Sensor Type ? | CCD
|
| Controls |
| White Balance ? | auto manual presets WB-Shift
|
| Focus ? | auto manual
|
| Minimum shutter time ? | 10.000 |
| Maximum shutter time ? | 1/3 |
| Apperture control ? | auto manual AE-Shift
|
| Infrared recording ? | No
|
| Expanded Focus ? | Yes
|
| Peaking ? | Yes
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| Signal Processing |
| Zebra ? | 70-100% |
| Histogram ? | No
|
| adjustable sharpness ? | Yes
|
| Adjustable color ? | Yes
|
| Cinegamma ? | Yes
|
| Black Strech ? | Yes
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| Knee ? | No
|
| Colorbars ? | Yes
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| Misc. |
| Shot Transition ? | Yes
|
| Custom Presets ? | Yes
|
| Set Time Code ? | Yes
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Configuration
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| Connections |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
FBAS ? synonymous: RCA, composite | In Out
|
YC ? synonymous: S-Video | In Out
|
YUV ? synonymous: Component Signal | Out
|
| HDMI ? | No
|
DV / HDV (FireWire) ? synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394 | In Out
|
| USB ? | No
|
| Microphone / Audio input ? | XLR
|
| Headphones ? | Mini-jack
|
| Lanc ? | Yes
|
| Time-code interface ? | No
|
| Genlock ? | No
|
| Accessory shoe ? | Standard
|
| HD-SDI ? | No
|
| Misc. |
| Weight (without battery) | 1995 g |
| Weight (with battery) | 2182 g |
| Battery type | Sony F570
|
| Battery capacity | 2200 mAh |
| Charger ? | external
|
| Remote control | Yes
|
| Size |
| Height | 139 mm |
| Width | 182 mm |
| Depth | 360 mm |
| Relative Size ? | 91 |
| Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder available ? | Yes
|
| Color Viewfinder ? | B/W and color
|
| Viewfinder format ? | 16:9 |
| Viewfinder pixels ? | 252000 Pixel |
| Display |
| Display available ? | Yes
|
| Color display ? | Color
|
| Display size | 3,5 Inch |
| Display format ? | 16:9 |
| Display pixels ? | 250880 Pixel |
| Touch Screen ? | No
|
| External controls |
| Manual Zoom ? | Rocker Ring
|
| Manual Focus ? | Ring Menu
|
| Manual Aperture ? | Wheel
|
| Focus switcher ? | Yes
|
| ND Filter ? | Yes
|
| Exp Lock ? | Yes
|
| Gain ? | Yes
|
| White balance ? | Yes
|
| Push AF ? | Yes
|
| Audio Levels ? | Yes
|
Custom Keys ? synonymous: User buttons | 6 |
Audio
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| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Audio Formats ? | MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1
|
| Microphone ? | Stereo internal external XLR
|
| Audio Control ? | auto manual
|
| Audio levels ? | Viewfinder Screen
|
Still
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| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Recording Medium ? | No
|
| Medium included ? | No
|
| Effective pixels ? | |
| Resolutions ? | |
| Standard ? | |
| Flash ? | No
|
Misc.
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| Specials | |
Product Shots
|
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| View 1 | |
| View 2 | |
Test results
|
| Test pictures |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| luminance resolution | |
| chrominance resolution | |
| lens distortion | |
| test small ISO image | |
| noise / internal microphone | |
| test picture 1200 Lux | |
| test picture 12 Lux | |
| slashCAM rating |
| Lowlight ? | Good |
| Resolution ? | Satisfactory |
| Color performance ? | Satisfactory |
| subj.Picture impression ? | Very good |
| Optical Zoom ? | Sufficient |
| Wide Angle ? | Very good |
| Configuration / image ? | Very good |
| Configuration / sound ? | Very good |
| Handling ? | Very good |
| Portability ? | Satisfactory |
| Photo function ? | Poor |
| Optics ? | Good |
| Dynamics ? | Very good |
| Conclusion slashCAM |
| slashCAM rating ? | Good
 |
Total score ? (maximal 570) | 384 |
| Pros | + Very good image quality impression + Wide optics + handling well-conceived + Very well equipped + Supports also formats with 60i + individually controllable audio channels
|
| Cons | - No full HDV-resolution - DV-quality only average
|
| Conclusion | Just as the consumer version FX1 the Sony HVR-Z1 lacks CCDs with full HDV-resolution, which is noticeable at least in the horizontals.Nevertheless, the subjective image impression is still very good due to the very good dynamic behavior with extremely little noise and the consistent color reproduction.Despite the comparatively large wide-angle, optical errors are within limits, only little distortion and chromatic aberrations can be detected.In low light-situations the FX1 is good, the low noise being a plus. |
More information
|
| Reviews and Forums |
| [ top ] | Sony HVR-Z1 |
| slashCAM Review | HVR-Z1 Review |
| external reviews/tests | digitalcontentproducer.com
www.digitalproducer.com
videosystems.com
videosystems.com
www.digitalproducer.com
|
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| Forum posts | |
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