Cool Features

• A Digital Horizontal Leveler indicator which is built into the cam is great if you are shooting for example maybe ‘Titanic 2’ or own a tripod without a leveler. This feature can also be disabled in the menu settings.
• Sony decided to bring the Hyper Gain feature from the HVR-V1 to the HVR-Z7. This boost the sensors to about 35db of gain and although you can effectively use this perhaps for surveillance purpose, I don’t see any other reason why you would ever use this in normal shooting environment.
• The HVR-Z7 has two recording indictors one for the front and one for the back and this can be either enable or disabled via the menu settings.
• The HVR-Z7 also has the Smooth Slow Recording mode that you will find also in Sony’s consumer range of camcorders. Though I must admit it is a  pretty cool feature but
• Focus Marking is an awesome feature in the HVR-Z7. It allows you to add markers as reference points on a bar which will appear on the EVF/LCD. This is especially useful when focus position needs to be manually moved to pre decided positions allowing you to keep your eye on the subject of you shot without having to check focus indicator on your lens.
• There are three built in neutral density filters found on the Sony HVR-Z7 and they are 1/4, 1/16, 1/64. The little knob you find just to the left of the lens is easily noticeable during a shoot and allows for fast access. I stand to be corrected but I think this may be the first cam that I have seen with three ND filters built-in. This extra setting will only mean that you have again yet, extra control again where you require reducing light intensity shooting under bright conditions.
• Most of the camcorders today have some sort of histogram to allow you to monitor exposure. On the HVR-Z7, Sony has however taken it one step further adding what they call anAdvance Histogram indicator. What this does is not only your typical histogram display that will show up on screen but also brightness level indicator represented by a vertical red line. If you enable your Zebra settings via the menu or anyone of the assign buttons you can also bring up the yellow vertical line in the histogram display enabling you to have better control in achieving proper exposure with these indicator tools.

Picture Profile

What have improved over the HVR-Z1 in the HVR-Z7 are the additional enhancements in the picture profile settings. Here is the list of improvements and a load more that you will have to deal with which were not found in its predecessor.

1. Black Level Adjustments has the option of as well as individual Black RGB controls to optimize your preferred black tones.
2. The gamma controls now also have 7 selections instead of the 2 on the Z1P. This allows you again more manual control over the desired tone of your image.
3. Black Gamma Controls is also another new feature again on the HVR-Z7
4. Knee Point is also another new feature you will find on the HVR-Z7similiar to the V1P
5. There is also color depth on the HVR-Z7 of which is new and not found on the Z1P.
6. Color Extraction is super easy on the HVR-Z7 now compared to the Z1P. This is achieved with its color extraction one push button.
7. You also have a more refine control over the skin tone details on the HVR-Z7 with features such as saturation, phase, range as well as one push.

Peaking & Zebra

Peaking & Zebra controls remain pretty much the same. You are able to customize the amount of Peaking and Zebra levels to suit your needs. However, the Z1 has a switch at the back to select either Peaking or Zebra. The Z7 is an improvement, allowing users to have both Zebra & Peaking on at the same time.

Memory Recording Unit

The flash card memory unit that comes packaged as standard accessory with the HVR-Z7 is a pretty cool device. I pulled of some footage from the 8GB Flash Card using my $25/- simple flash card reader without any fuss and problem whatsoever.

As a matter of fact I open up the m2t files with VLC player and it played flawlessly. So with the Sony 8 GB 300x UDMA flash card formatted the display on the unit pop up with 36 minutes of recording space available.

For curiosity I tried formatting my Ultra II Flash Card but when the camera booted up the recording unit flash a media incompatible warning. Then, I went on to try my Extreme III from San Disk and it worked fine in all the modes. I tried shooting in Progressive as well as non progressive and it did not pose issues whatsoever. The above test clearly confirms that you are safe when it comes to third party flash cards which meet the requirement of at least 300 xs at 45mbits per second write. Well, as far as I am concern, I guess I would prefer to stick with the Sony media, even if they may cost a little more. I guess it’s the same as owning a Ferrari and trying to pump regular petrol. It just does not make very much sense! LOL!

Batteries

Using the same L series info LITHIUM batteries model NP-F970 the HVR-Z1 allows me now to save a substantial amount of money on purchasing new batteries as it uses the same batteries as the other following camcorders that I own E.g. HVR-Z1, HVR-V1, and DSR-PD170 including the FX1E. Which brings me to wonder why they did not do the same thing for the PMW-EX1 setting me back in unnecessary wastage of space and $$$ for the completely new set of U60 batteries. ?????

Battery life has always been great with the Sony NP-970 and for some reason you can pop this in on the Z1 and be shooting forever and you would still be left with some juice.

As for the HVR-Z7, I must admit that with the LCD screen popped open and the recording unit running at the same time I still manage to get over 300 minutes of operation.

Smooth Slow Recording

The smooth slow recording function on the HVR-Z7 is the same as the one you will find in most of all Sony consumer camcorders including the professional HVR-V1. It is not the same over cranking as you will find on the EX1, which in my opinion, the ‘real deal’.

Well, I mean in every sense when digital camcorders are concerned, of course those in the film world will say I am a load of crap!

In any case, the HVR-Z7 enables slow motion playback by capturing images four times faster than the normal field rate (200 fields) These images are then stored in a built-in buffer memory and then recorded on the media as slow motion images lasting about 12 seconds.

You will note that there is a considerable deterioration of resolution, therefore I strongly advise you not to use this function unless you are prepared to give your clients a full refund. As the unit I have is on loan, I was not able to test this feature with a tape inserted. I tried using this function for recording on the memory recording unit but the function was greyed out in the menu.

Low Lighting of the HVR-Z7

Now here comes the most interesting part for most people, Low Light capabilities.

Sony has stated that the Clear Vid, Exmor™, E.I.P. technology that has gone into the HVR-Z7 and S270 allows the cams to perform exceptionally well in low lighting. They have also stake claim that the cameras have the low light sensitivity of 1.5*. Even some have claim that the low lighting is at par to Sony’s acclaimed darling 3CCD camcorder the DSR-PD170. Well, I have taken the liberty of shooting some low light footage here and will leave it to those to conclude themselves if it is good as they claim. In my opinion, the Canon XH-A1 has the best low light sensitivity of any of the HDV camcorders in my present collection. Now, in all fairness, I am comparing this with the same size chip camcorders and naturally not with ½ inch or 2/3^rd inch sensors. As we all know the HVR-V1P was a weak performer in this area owing very clearly to its undersized 1/4 inch sensors. Putting all the three cams together side by side and in the same lighting conditions, we have some screen captures here of the results for your eyes only. 

Exposure / Iris & Shutter Settings

The HVR-Z7 has some added controls to the Iris & Shutter. While maintaining the usual Iris & Shutter controls, you can now have more options to optimize your video image.

The Iris controls are improved over the Z1, you can now control your iris just like standard pro level camcorders via the iris ring on the lens barrel. You can switch between Auto Iris & Manual Iris via the control switch situated just in front of the zoom rocker. The control switch also allows a “Push Auto” feature, to allow the camcorder to override the Manual Iris control if necessary. This is especially useful in “live” or “event” situations, when the Iris has to be adjusted quickly & frequently.

The AE controls now feature an “AE Window” option, allowing you to select preset regions of the screen from which the camcorder would measure the Auto Exposure.