Review of the HDR FX1-Z1U Training Videos

[elitevideo]

Steve Gotz from creativecow.com wrote a nice unbiased in depth review on the training videos that cover both the z1U and fx1. Here is the link hope you find this helpful
http://www.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=<FORUMID>&page=/articles/gotz_steven/elite_video_rev/index.html

 

[JohnnyRoy]

I have these tutorial DVD’s and I agree with Steve they are great. Just three guys showing you how to use the camera. While I had read the manual cover to cover already, I still learned things I didn’t know. I tended to not absorb things when I don’t understand how I would use them in practice. One of these was shot transition. Once I saw them use it on the DVD to pull a rack focus, a light bulb went off in my head. Duh! I may have never bothered to learn this feature otherwise.

Not only do they go over all the features but they explain why you would want to set them one way or another. This was very helpful. Sometimes just knowing what something does is not enough. You need to understand why you would even use it in the first place and they give a lot of insight on the various menu items. They actually shoot the camera LCD so you can watch what’s happening through the viewfinder. Very clever.

Probably the best part of the DVD was the extra material at the end where they show you how to limit your depth of field and use the picture profiles to get a more film-like quality. They explain why they are tweaking each parameter as they do it. Their recommendations are excellent starting points for your own looks. I would have like to see more of this but overall, these DVD’s are packed with tips and techniques you won’t find in the manual.

I’m very glad I bought these and recommend them to anyone who wants to learn their Z1 or FX1 better.

~jr