ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

12 years, 3 months ago - John Lubran

The Z7 is a pretty good bit of kit for just about any application short of EBU/BBC Broadcast HD but even for this one can plug in an out board recorder capable of up to 200mbs that exceeds the quality of popular small chip types such as the Canon XF305. Most people never get around to using the interchangeable lens options for the Z7. The Z7 also allows for hybrid tape/tapeless work flows. So unless you're aiming to make higher HD Broadcast, or want to exploit very shallow depth of field beyond the Z7's surprisingly usable range, there's not a very compelling reason to change. There's all sorts of relatively low cost options for very high resolution large image sensor cameras, such as the astonishing Black Magic range. (4K RAW for two grand!) the thing about such cameras though is that they don't offer the sort of easy operation run and gun flexibility of conventional video cameras which is often of greater qualitative value to overall production than shallow focus pretties. But it's horses for courses and budgets so there's no absolutes that suit every application. As a producer whose been making just about every type of film including a great many with compacts such as HDV and earlier formats from Hi8 to DVCAM the next camera of the type is without question the Sony PMW 200 with 3x1/2" CMOS and 50mbs (or more with a plug-in) that meets EBU/BBC HD standards for all genres, if one must. You'll need to be ready to give up your tape though, I do understand tapes advantages, but quite frankly, except for archive, it's had it! It must be certain that a new version of the PMW200 will emerge soon, as the EX3 was to the EX1, with interchangeable lens; it'll be a cracker and I'd guess it'll cost about £6.5K plus VAT making many cameras costing three times as much seem unnecessary.