At the GV Expo 07, I had the opportunity to see the exciting new HDV camcorders. While there, I saw that Sony had a whole schedule of instructional presentations about many of there newest products.
Juan Martinez was the scheduled speaker for the HDV camcorders. His deep knowledge of the HVR-S270 and the HVR-Z7U, as well as the PMW-EX1 is clearly evident. He is able to compare and contrast numerous functions between all three of the camcorders with ease in response to audience questions.
The video I am presenting here…
is the public presentation at the show, augmented with stills and video I shot of the HDV camcorders, and a few close up images from Sony Press Releases that I’ve linked to in my overview of the new camcorder announcements.
It is just shy of 30 minutes in its edited form.
.
I have other videos from the show floor, including Panasonc’s Steve Golub giving us a walkaround of the new Panasonic prosumer AVCHD camcorder, the AG-HMC70. This is the bigger version of Panasonic’s AG-HSC1U palmcorder I panned back in August. The new camera improves on two and a half of my four biggest gripes, and completely misses the opportunity to address the fourth gripe- increase the AVCHD data rate for the “prosumer” varsion of this camcorder. If you missed my review, be sure to read it through before checking out the HMC70.
Even though I’ll soon be changing servers, try to keep it “tuned in” here so you don’t miss a minute.
.
_________________________________________
It’s official. We’ve Moved!
Change your bookmarks. Re-subscribe.
We are at http://TechThoughts.org.
.
I E B A Tech Thoughts 
Thank you so much for this video. Great information all around. This looks like the HDV solution I have been waiting for.
One question… he mentioned but did not go into in depth that the new deck supports the new recording modes that the camera uses. He said that it will also play canon’s f24. My question is, will I be able to use a less expensive single chip HDV camera as a capture deck as I have been doing with my SD tapes?
Thanks again!
If you are recording normal 1080i30 then I think you would be fine. However, if you record in a mode not native to that small camcorder, i.e. 24p, then you can expect that it will not be able to properly play it back.
.
Enjoyed the videos! Thank you. I have a question: Would the Canon XL 1/3 to 35mm EF lens adapter work with the Z7U camera? Thanks again!
I was at this seminar. I also attended Sony’s demo of the EX1 on the show floor. I admire and praise Sony for expanding its offerings of affordable HD production instruments, ranging from their HDR (?) 1000 shoulderable single-chip prosumer model.
I briefly mentioned to Juan, and will expand here, the need for one more entry – a new camera to replace the date HVR-A1 design. It is a small, under 2 lb camera great for POV, backup, and other applications where a small inconspicuous camera is needed. If Sony could re-engineer and update their classic DCR-TRV-900 DV camera design for the HD world, that would be perfect. If such a cmaera is built with an AVCHD (h.264 / mp4) recording format, hopefully it will be at an encoding rate of 35 mbps or higher.
Considering the EX1 and the Z7, these are excellent cameras technically. The challenge is ergononmics. I think they have gone over the line as far as being comfortably hand holdable for any length of time. It would not take much to make them shoulderable, and I am not talking about the Z270 or the EX3. All that would be needed would be a viewfinder hood/magnifier and forward handle extension.