Highviz
Senior Heliman
Location: Newbury, Berks, UK
| This looks interesting:-
From a UK hire company announcement
11/09/08 - Today sees the announcement of the new Sony HVR-Z5E.
"As many will have already realised, this is being marketed as the natural successor to the incredibly successful Sony HVR-Z1E.
The Z1's have been very popular since they first came on the market some 4 years ago and are still hired out on a regular basis.
Things have moved on with the HDV camcorder range, the Z7 starting the trend earlier this year and the Z5 continues this trend.
So what's new?
The camcorder features a new "G Lens" system, native progressive recording capabilities, increased sensitivity for low-light conditions and a host of other new features. As with the Z7, you have the option of also recording onto a separate Compact Flash unit.
The Z5 uses Sony's new 1/3 inch 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor enhanced with the Exmor technology. This means the camera will be far better in low light than the Z1. We know from the EX1, EX3 and Z7 how good these sensors have become and forgive the pun but the difference is literally night and day.
New G Lens
The Z5 is the first Sony camcorder to use the new G Lens. This new design incorporates Sony's unique optical design and quality control and has been optimised to work with the new sensors. It has a large focal range at 29.5mm to 590mm - compare this to the Z1's range of 32.5mm to 390mm. The lens also has 3 ND filters (one more than the Z1). Finally the lens has 3 independent focus rings for focus, zoom and iris.
Flexibility
As with the Z7 and S270, the Z5 also offers 1080/25p native progressive recording. Like the others, it also offers ability to switch between DVCAM, DV and HDV recording. 60i will be available by upgrade at a later date (which we will of course have done). The Z5 can of course downconvert to SD and output through it's iLink connector. Video output is by either composite, component or HDMI connections.
Clarity
Sony has always been at the top of the class with their viewfinders. The Z7 was a great improvement over older models and it is great to see the Z5 using the same XtraFine LCD which offers really impressive contrast and clarity.
Format options
We are massive fans of the Z7 and S270's ability to record onto Compact Flash as well as tape. Tape is still the most cost effective way of archiving so why change it? What you now have is the ability to transfer footage so much quicker via the Compact Flash recorder.
The Z5 will use the same HVR-MRC1K recorder which Sony will now be offering as an option for the Z5 (standard on the Z7). We offer capacities up to 48gb available, meaning you can record up to 288 minutes uninterrupted."
Malcolm |
