Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

HDR-FX1000 / HVR-Z5 (2008). HVR-Z7 / HVR-S270 (2007). HDR-FX7 / HVR-V1 (2006). HDR-FX1 / HVR-Z1 (2004).
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bhoy022673
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Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by bhoy022673 »

Hi -

I work with my local church as a videotaper. Each Sunday we record our service and send the tape to the cable company for broadcast. We have been using a Sony VX2000 for the past nine years, and we now have the opportunity to upgrade. I have funding to purchase a Sony HVR-Z5U with the HVR-MRC1 memory recording unit. I just want to be sure this is the best use of our resources. From what I've read, the reviews on the Z5U are excellent.

My questions:

1. Initially we will still be recording 4:3 SD. It seems like this camera will do this. In time, we can get 16:9 HD coverage, with cooperation from the cable company.

2. We often film plays and other events in a theater-type environment with low light. I always had good luck with the VX2000 in very little light. I'm used to consumer cameras for the past decade, so to me, the VX2000 worked great with low light - very little grain. Will the Z5U have at least the quality of a VX2000 in low light?

3. Are the other competing cameras that I should consider in this price range? I like the flexibility of tape, because at the church, I would be the only person to be able to work with non-tape files. If we stay with a tape-based camera, it gives others the ability to just pop out the tape, and send it to the cable company. In addition to this, I like being able to make a backup of the service, should the tape be faulty.

Thanks for any input, I look forward to a little discussion.

Bill
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by acgold7 »

Welcome, Bill!

Like you, I had a VX2000 and loved it. It (along with its corporate siblings) was the low-light champ and a wonderful cam. Over the years I moved up thorough the Sony HDV hierarchy, including the FX1, FX7, FX1000 and now own four Z5s, (along with an assortment of others). I can tell you without reservation (IMHO) that the Z5s are the best HDV cams I've ever owned and are the first that can compete with the VX2000 in terms of low-light ability.

The quick answers to your questions are:

1. You can, but I wouldn't advise this
2. Yes
3. No

I would shoot 16:9 HDV and downconvert upon capture or export, so you will have pristine HD pictures you can go back to later for your archives. You could also shoot HDV to tape and DV to card if you wish and have it both ways. I guess if you are sending the raw tape to the cable co and they can't handle HDV you have no choice but boy, that stings.

The Z5 can practically see in the dark with judicious use of gain. After you get the cam, read the manual thoroughly, play with it, and come back here and we can discuss our favorite recommended settings.

I don't know of comparable cams that give you the same bang for the buck, image quality and versatility all in one package. Other makes and models may excel in one area or another but as a package I can't think of any other cam I'd prefer to my beloved team of Z5s.

You will be buying through B&H, yes? Make sure you browse & purchase by clicking through this site.
Adam
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Stephan
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by Stephan »

How about the HXR-NX5U? Same generation as the HVR-Z5U regarding sensor, optics, and low-light performance if I remember well.

Personally, I'm a bit annoyed when I capture some HDV tapes a couple of years after I shot them, and figure out that:
1) There can be a couple of drop-outs (or more) here and there in every tape,
2) I may need to keep with me forever a working HDV camcorder for the only purpose of being able to capture my old tapes,
3) Everybody's moving to tapeless now.

So, unless I know people are expecting me to provide footage on tapes, today in 2011 if I had to choose I'd go full tapeless. Making any sense?

acgold7
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by acgold7 »

I was going to suggest that as well, but upon re-reading Bill's post I noted he has to do exactly that with his cable company, so needs tape for now.

Also, reading reports from other NX5 users, I'd hesitate to recommend it. There are a few features on the Z5 that are missing on the NX5 and there just seems to be this general feeling of dissatisfaction among many of its owners.
Adam
steve
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by steve »

Just to toss in the odd comment:

Nobody here has mentioned media archiving. This is the big dilemma when abandoning tape and choosing file based recording. Good old tape has a proven record for longevity without too many restrictions on how it is stored. It is cheap enough to put every tape on the shelf and still have a high probability of full recovery 5 or 10 years later. If there has been deterioration, it is unlikely to affect the whole tape.
Solid state chips have failure mechanisms that usually result in total loss and at the moment are too expensive to store en masse anyway. So a backup is needed, HDD or Optical Disc. HDDs are cheap enough, but if they fail, (something as innocuous as a component on a PCB or a dry joint), the loss can be total. Professional recovery is OK for data held by large commercial users, but far too expensive for home or small business users. Optical discs still have issues for long term storage and BluRay is not quite as cheap as tape yet anyway.
The professional IT solution for data archiving is DLT, - mmmm that's tape, isn't that where I came in?

Steve
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by acgold7 »

You're absolutely right, Steve. I did allude to that in my first sentence after my list of answers but I didn't emphasize that as much as I should have.
Adam
bhoy022673
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by bhoy022673 »

Thanks for your comments. It looks like we have chosen a good camera! I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a competing Canon camera that I should also consider. We will definitely buy through B&H, so I will read up on how to do that through this site. Thanks for letting me know about that.

I think that tape feature will help us out, as I will be the only one that can work with pc's for editing, and eventual DVD burning for the others who may want to see it. The fact that we can hand over a tape at the end of the service will be helpful in saving me work. When I film, I can do some editing and DVD work and when others videotape, they can simply pass the tape on the cable company.

Bill
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Stephan
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by Stephan »

bhoy022673 wrote:We will definitely buy through B&H, so I will read up on how to do that through this site. Thanks for letting me know about that.
Hi - Very simple, just use one of the B&H links I posted earlier up in this discussion thread, or this one here. This makes us eligible to receive a small token contribution from B&H, helping me with the website hosting (which I pay with my day job). Much appreciated :-)

Regarding Sony vs. Canon, we must admit this forum is slightly skewed towards Sony (for historical reasons), but nevertheless the Z5 is a very solid, versatile performer all around.
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Re: Sony HVR-Z5U upgrade from a VX2000?

Post by Doughie »

I have a friend who owns an FX1000, (essentially the same cam as Z5, but with no XLR audio module) and he says it is about the best cam he has used, professionally, of all the cams he has owned or used. He was shooting with the FX1000 on the weekend. I was on the Z1, (a rather beaten up Z1) which was ok, but definitely showing its age in a number of ways.
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