Sony HVR-V1U

I think the V1U has the potential to be an excellent camera and it is a very strong competitor to the HVX200.

Some key advantages I see the V1U having:
  • Lower Cost. Street prices: V1U - $4300 + $5 tape, XH-A1 - $4000 + $5 tape, HVX200 - $5300 + $500 P2 card
  • Easy and cost effective archiving (tapes), especially when dual recording to optional HVR-DR60 HDD recorder.
  • Optional tapeless workflow with HVR-DR60 ($1500) 60GB (4.5 hrs) HDD. Uses the same batteries as the camera. Highly integrated with the camera. Small, lightweight and built-in shock protection.
  • CMOS Sensor. CMOS does not have vertical smearing like CCDs and each pixel can be individually addressed which could possibly lead to greater latitude. Several comments from early testers on DVInfo suggests there is a noticeable improvement in latitude, but we have not seen more footage yet.
  • Smaller and lighter. Empty weights: V1U - 3.6 lbs, Z1U - 4.6 lbs, XH-A1: 4.6 lbs, HVX200 - 5.5 lbs
  • CMOS uses less power. Power consumption (recording with LCD on): V1U - 6.8 W, Z1U - 8.0 W, XH-A1 - unknown, HVX200 - 12.0 W
  • HDMI 1440 x 1080 4:2:2 uncompressed digital output. XH-A1 and HVX200 only has analog component out.
  • Long Running Time (60 min with tape).
  • 20X zoom range with emphasis on telephoto. 35mm equivalents: V1U - 37.4-748mm, XH-A1: 32.5-650mm, HVX200: 32.5-423mm. Depending on your subject you may or may not like the lens range towards telephoto. I would have preferred that it started wider.
  • Compatibility with most 60i decks. Records 24P/30P on 60i using progressive segmented frame (PsF) method. I believe this is same method used by the DVX100, HVX200 and XL2.
  • More shutter speeds. V1U in 24P mode: 1/3 to 1/10000 sec. XH-A1 in 24F mode: 1/4 to 1/15000 sec. HVX200 in 24P mode: 1/12 to 1/1000 sec.
  • Histogram in the VF and LCD. Also zebra and peaking can be shown at the same time.
  • High quality LCD monitor. Sony cameras arguable have some of, if not the best LCD monitors.
The advantages of the HVX200 are:
  • Variable framerates
  • Wider lens
  • 1/3" chips
  • DVCPRO-HD 4:2:2 codec
  • P2 (if you're into that)
  • 720P/60P
  • 16 bit/48kHz Four Channel PCM audio
  • Available now. XH-A1 due late October, V1U due in December
For those who will be buying a new HD camera soon, I hope this list helped. For what I do, I will be choosing between the V1U and the XH-A1.
 
Assumptions assumptions. Tim, I made some assumptions like that earlier, and got bitten.

Frankly, we dont really know how the CMOS chip performs and whether it will be better or not. Until then, we cant compare.
 
Fugitive said:
Frankly, we dont really know how the CMOS chip performs and whether it will be better or not. Until then, we cant compare.
Click to expand...
Understood, and I agree there is not enough footage out there yet to compare and make a conclusion. But I am cautiously optimistic based on the fundamental technology behind CMOS and the fact that CMOS is used in the RED camera as well as high-end DSLRs. These comment from people who have used the V1U or the V1E also sound very encouraging:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=553786&postcount=10
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=554001&postcount=13

But I also believe you shouldn't count your chickens before they're hatched so I'm not buying any camera until I've checked them out in person and there is more footage to examine.

Also I want to make it clear I am not pushing the V1U and I have nothing against the HVX200 or any other camera. My requirements might be different than yours so if you choose a different camera than me that doesn't mean it sucks compared to mine or vice versa.

Anyhow, I have to choose one of these cameras within the next few months so I thought my research may benefit others in the same boat.
 
Waiting for the prosumer camera that actually produces better product.

The two features I need:

talent button - push this and you experience a 20-30% boost in the quality of your actors performances

story button - instantly remove confusion and add a plot that people care about.
 
Will the V1U have that cool focusing feature the other sony cameras have? You know where you set your focus points and the camera remembers.
 
Tim Le said:
But I am cautiously optimistic based on the fundamental technology behind CMOS and the fact that CMOS is used in the RED camera as well as high-end DSLRs.
Click to expand...

I'm not against CMOS in general (and I'm not well versed enough on it to comment how well it performs) but I don't think the fact that RED uses it impacts a huge amount on this camera. I mean, the Genisis uses CCDs and so does a $300 Sony but they sure as hell aren't delivering similar quality. 1/4 chip, CMOS or no, makes me nervous.

zoostory said:
Waiting for the prosumer camera that actually produces better product.

The two features I need:

talent button - push this and you experience a 20-30% boost in the quality of your actors performances

story button - instantly remove confusion and add a plot that people care about.
Click to expand...

Man, that was deep. I don't think anyone has ever made a comment like this on a technical board ever before.
 
DavidBeier said:
I'm not against CMOS in general (and I'm not well versed enough on it to comment how well it performs) but I don't think the fact that RED uses it impacts a huge amount on this camera. I mean, the Genisis uses CCDs and so does a $300 Sony but they sure as hell aren't delivering similar quality. 1/4 chip, CMOS or no, makes me nervous.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it didn't seem like I was trying to say the V1U footage will be comparable to RED because they both use CMOS. That definitely is not true. Those two cameras aren't even remotely in the same league because RED has a much, much bigger sensor with much larger pixels.

What I was trying to say is that there must be some very compelling reasons for RED, who is on the bleeding edge, to choose CMOS technology over CCD. Canon also chose CMOS in the new HV10 and Sony in the V1U and A1U. Add that all up and you've got to figure they must be on to something with this CMOS business.
 
^
I'm not saying there isn't something but it may well be that CMOS is cheaper for one. Once again, I'm aware of some of the advantages of CMOS but I don't know how much better it really is (there was a time when CMOS was the cheap/crappy alternative and had been thought of that untill quite recently). The V1 has the same pixel count as the CCDs in the Z1. However, it is only a 1/4 instead of a 1/3 chip. I can't help but think that any advantages the CMOS offered were negated by the smaller chip size. The review for instance claims the resolution looks identical to that of the Z1 except that the V1 is a full stop slower. For me, this is kind of disheartening since the only thing that I ever really found useful about the Z1 was its low light performance. It seems the lattitude one would gain from the CMOS may well be offset by the smaller chip size (which shrinks lattitude). Ultimatly, it seems that this just may be a cheaper way to deliver pretty similar performance while trying to cater to the indie crowd. That's find, but with the HD100 giving a sharper progressive image and the AI giving sharper 1080 perfomance and the HVX200 with all it's advantages; I don't know what exactly is worth getting so excited about. It seems that even though it's been a bit redesigned it's the same "sharp video looking" camera that I've seen from passed Sony models.

That said, all this is going to be determined by the footage. I may well be wrong and the V1 actually delivers 10 stops of lattitude despite its small chip size. If that were the case, I'd be much more interested. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
zoostory said:
Waiting for the prosumer camera that actually produces better product.

The two features I need:

talent button - push this and you experience a 20-30% boost in the quality of your actors performances

story button - instantly remove confusion and add a plot that people care about.
Click to expand...


Oohhh I like! And hey, while they're at it they need to make a buttom that makes a 15+ pound Steelhead instantly bite the host's fishing line, when I push it! hehehe
 
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