Shoot Expertise: First Look: Sony HVR Series

HVR-S270U with attached HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording Unit.

I typically do not describe new products by the batch, but what choice am I given when Sony simultaneously introduces three HDV camcorders and a deck, each with unprecedented attributes or capabilities? As if it were April in Las Vegas instead of November in New York?

I'm going to detail these items below, but the take-away is this: 1) the HVR-HD1000U is a shoulder-mount HDV camcorder — Sony's first — that's also well less than $2,000; 2) the Handycam-style HVR-Z7U elevates the best features of the HVR-Z1U into a new design that brings interchangeable lenses, hybrid tape/CompactFlash (CF) recording, and sensitivity matching Sony's benchmark PD150/170 series; 3) the HVR-S270U is a shoulder-mount version of the Z7; and 4) the HVR-M35U is an HDV deck with native progressive recording that also plays back Canon's 30/24F and, with limitations, JVC's 720/24p.

As of this writing, the HD1000 is available (see Jan Ozer's review), and the Z7, S270, and M35 will arrive in February. Note that these three HDV camcorders are joining Sony's existing Z1, HVR-A1U, and HVR-V1U lines, not replacing them.

(Regarding nomenclature: HVR stands for high-definition video recorder, and U means U.S. market.)

The entry-level HD1000 (MSRP $1,900, $1,600 at B&H Video) announced in August is based on the tiny single-CMOS consumer HDR-HC7 ($1,400 MSRP), which debuted last January at CES. (If you'll recall, the HC7 replaced the single-CMOS HDR-HC3, which in turn replaced the single-CMOS HDR-HC1 — still the basis of the professional A1.)

Specs shared with the HC7 include a single 1/2.9in., 2.28-megapixel (effective) ClearVid CMOS sensor — ClearVid, introduced in the V1, is Sony's unique CMOS architecture with pixels rotated 45 degrees for interpolated 1920×1080, low aliasing, and better sensitivity — a 123,000-pixel 16:9 color viewfinder; a 2.7in. 16:9 LCD; and a 5.4mm-54mm (10X) Carl Zeiss zoom with optical stabilization (slightly longer than the 5.1mm-51mm found in the HC1/A1, HC3, and HC5). Also carried over from the HC7 are Super Night Shot for infrared shooting and Smooth Slow Rec for genuinely overcranked (but lower-res) slo-mo.

Seemingly taking a cue from the Z1, the LCD screen is located at eye level and at the forefront of the HD1000 — in this case, atop the viewfinder — as opposed to the camcorder's midsection or rear. This novel configuration, which Sony calls “Dual Finder,” is virtually mandated, however, by the fact that the HD1000's LCD, like that of the HC7, is by necessity a touchscreen. Like the diminutive HC7, the HD1000 has only four buttons — Manual, Night Shot on/off, Back Light, and Batt Info — and all other menu selections are accessed by touchscreen. When the HD1000 is on the shoulder and in use, the touchscreen must be easily available to the operator.

I suppose such button minimalism creates a uniquely sleek and uncluttered look for the HD1000. At least as an alternative to focus control, the lens' camera control ring can also be programmed to control zoom, iris/gain, shutter speed, and other functions.

As with the HC7, only DV or 1080i are possible. No DVCAM. No 24p or 30p (although the ClearVid CMOS is intrinsically progressive). Only MiniDV cassettes are useable — no standard DV cassettes — despite the larger shoulder-mount body. Inputs and outputs match those of the HC7, too. There's HDMI and IEEE 1394 (both will output downconverted SD) but no balanced audio. In other words, no XLR inputs, only a stereo mini-jack for the supplied shotgun stereo mic. This will be a deal breaker for many. Thankfully, there is a headphone jack.

If you already own a Z1 or V1, hold off on extra batteries. The HD1000 uses the same InfoLithium L series batteries (NP-F570/F770/F970). A fat F970 will run this puppy for 10.5 hours, per Sony.

This is the same battery line for the remarkable handheld Z7 — which is about all the Z7 shares with the HD1000. Imagine a Z1 with interchangeable lenses — a first for any camcorder held in one hand — and true 24p. Now add three 1/3in. ClearVid CMOS sensors (the V1 uses 1/4in. ClearVids) to make the Z7 as sensitive to light as a DSR-PD150 or DSR-PD170, a stunning high-res color viewfinder and LCD, better ergonomics than the friendly Z1 (and way better than the Z7's cousin, the recently released PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX). And that's just for starters.

HVR-Z7U with 70mm Carl Zeiss DigiPrime

In fact, the Z7's ClearVid CMOS sensors are Sony's top-of-the-line Exmor variety, which employ at the base of each column of ClearVid pixels an individual on-chip A/D converter that eliminates noise-inducing analog circuits, adds digital dual noise canceling, and enables lightning-fast parallel read-out of columns (virtually eliminates rolling shutter effect). It's the same technology featured in the EX1 and Sony's new Alpha digital SLR line, the latest of which boasts 12.2 megapixels (not that I'm comparing). If you're into cars, think of Exmor as the turbocharger on a Dodge Hemi.

I'm also describing the ClearVid CMOS sensors in Sony's other new HDV camcorder, the S270, because the handheld Z7 and shoulder-mount S270 are essentially the same camcorder — a product strategy I can think of no precedent for, nor for their simultaneous release. From this point onward I'm going to describe them jointly as the Z7/S270, except when differences intrude — such as the fact that the larger S270 takes beefier Sony BP Lithium-Ion batteries (two types) or an upcoming Anton Bauer battery instead of the compact InfoLithium batteries the Z7 uses.

Key differences between the Z7 and S270 can be summarized as size, price, and an extended feature set for the S270: additional controls; a monochrome LCD on the side to display audio levels and timecode; a conventional round 12-pin ENG lens connector; uncompressed HD-SDI with embedded audio and timecode in contrast to the Z7's HDMI (S270 has no HDMI); optional use of the larger standard DV cassette for 4.5 hours of recording; and four channels of audio with four XLR inputs, two front, two back. (Using Audio Layer-II of MPEG-2 instead of MPEG-1, the HDV format supports four channels of 48kHz/16-bit, 384kbps audio. Canon's XL H1 pioneered this 4-channel HDV audio recording in 2005.)

The handheld Z7's MSRP is $6,850; the shoulder-mounted S270's is $10,500. (Compare these to the EX1's MSRP of $7,790.)

The list of what the Z7 and S270 share is extensive, starting with the 1/3in. bayonet mount with a built-in 14-pin hot shoe. The Z7/S270 ships with a new, innovative Zeiss 4.4mm-52.8mm (12X) with a 72mm filter diameter. It features the same breakthrough hybrid focus ring — mechanical and servo, two separate focus control mechanisms in one — as that of the the EX1's zoom. (Because Fujinon made the 14X zoom for the EX1, this innovation would seem to be a Sony invention. For more on the Fujinon 14X, see my review of the EX1).

HVR-Z7U without lens, revealing 14-pin hot shoe inside.

The hybrid Zeiss 14X offers a mechanical zoom ring too (the iris looks mechanical, but it is electronic), along with Sony's Super SteadyShot, one-push autofocusing and one-push auto iris (the last inexplicably missing from the EX1). A second hybrid Zeiss zoom for the Z7/S270 will arrive in several months: a wide-angle 3.3mm-26.4mm (8X) with an 82mm filter diameter.

There's one subtle difference between the Z7 and S270 versions of these lenses: The fixed grip is angled differently to accommodate the shift in wrist position when grasping a shoulder-mount ENG lens vs. a handheld camcorder. (The balance of the standard 12X Zeiss zoom joined to the Z7 is amazing, by the way. The Z7 just melts into your hand.)

To address back-focus concerns, the Zeiss 14X and 8X zooms maintain automatic back-focus adjustment (akin to the automated back-focus routine in the EX1's service menu). Full electronic integration of the Zeiss zooms and the Z7/S270 also makes possible another unprecedented feature: digital “focus marking” in the viewfinder. If you're shooting actors hitting marks and you're operating the Z7/S270 without a camera assistant, you can preprogram two focus marks into the Z7/S270. A scale indicating both marks then appears along the bottom of the viewfinder. When you manually pull focus, the scale markers flash at both ends of the focus pull.

How do you store these marks? The A and B buttons of Sony's underappreciated Shot Transition function, that's how. Even Shot Transition has been updated: automated focus, zoom, and iris pulls are now independently executable.

Adopting a standard 1/3in. bayonet mount and 12-pin lens connector means, of course, the possibility of using other 1/3in. lenses (minus the thoughtful ergonomics, automated back-focus, focus marking, and Shot Transition). Two current candidates are the Fujinon 4.2mm-76mm (18X) with manual focus and a conventional servo zoom and the similarly featured Canon 5mm-100mm (20X).

Sony will also introduce three mechanical lens mount converters made by Fujinon: one to adapt 2/3in. lenses to the Z7/S270, another to adapt 1/2in. lenses, and a third to adapt 1/2in. lenses as well as convert their 12-pin connectors to the Z7's 14-pin hot-shoe contacts (because the Z7 lacks a 12-pin socket). The focal length shift for 2/3in. lenses is 2X — DigiPrimes, anyone? For 1/2in. lenses, the focal length shift is 1.3X. Intriguingly, a fourth lens adapter will mount all 23 of Sony's Alpha series lenses from its Alpha digital SLR line (Minolta A-type bayonet mount Sony adopted a year ago), a number of which are made by Zeiss. Focal length shift is 7X.

To appreciate this windfall of lenses, the Z7/S270 enlists a new Sony XtraFine color electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a 3.2in. 16:9 XtraFine LCD. The EVF produces an incredible 1,226,880 pixels (compared to EX1 and Z1, both 252,000). It socked me in the eye, first time I looked into it. Simply gorgeous — nearly as vivid as an optical finder. I did notice what seemed like RGB sequencing (a hint of color fringing if my eyes darted). The EVF's specs are described in the Z7/S270 brochure as 852x480x3 [RGB]. Hmmmm, interesting. The hybrid transmissive/reflective LCD is equivalent to that of the EX1 — 921,000 pixels, nearly four times the pixel count of the Z1's.

New Sony camcorders
Click here for a larger image

As with the EX1, the Z7/S270's EVF and LCD produce a full HD raster — no underscan or overscan. The Z7's LCD is mounted atop the handle in a camera-forward, eye-level position like that of the Z1. The S270's LCD is atop the viewfinder in a Dual Finder configuration, like that of the HD1000.

As in all pro Sony CMOS camcorders, a histogram is available in the viewfinder.

The Z7/S270's ND filter switch offers four positions: clear, 1/4, 1/16, and 1/64 (compare to EX1's clear, 1/8, 1/64). Shutter speeds are 1/3 to 1/10000 second in 60i/30p, and 1/2 to 1/10000 in 24p. Gain is -6dB to +21dB. “Shockless” gain is an option for which you select a brief transition period that smoothly adjusts between gain settings when you switch between them. Shockless white balance is available, too.

New Z7/S270 Picture Profile default settings mimic the looks of a PD170, an HDCAM HDW-750, a film-negative transfer (low contrast), and a film print transfer (high contrast). Adjustable color parameters include mode (standard, Cinematone 1 and 2, and ITU709); level; phase; and depth. For setting color depth, chroma is now controlled independently of luminance by use of 3D LUTs (look-up tables). A new skintone-detail function adjusts level of detail not only in skintone, but in any other color too, as selected. There's even a reverse-color detail function.

The Z7/S270 platform also embraces xvYCC, or eXtended Video YCC, an expanded color gamut promoted in consumer gear, which doubles the amount of reproducible spectrum (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XvYCC). Because xvYCC induces headaches in professionals who know a thing or two about color management — neither the XtraFine EVF or LCD can display it properly, and you need a xvYCC-compliant NLE and monitor to see it properly in post — let's consign this advanced feature to future use, at least for the time being.

Z7/S270 offers two choices of recording media for 1440×1080 HDV. The familiar option is tape, MiniDV, or standard DV (S270 only). The unfamiliar option (unless you're a pro still photographer) is CompactFlash (CF). And here, the Z7/S270 platform veers into wholly new territory, because it records to CF cards using a detachable 4oz. module about the size of the original iPod that, like a mini external drive, is capable of independently downloading video files to an NLE via IEEE 1394. Actually, “deck” is the better analogy, because it has a full set of play and record buttons for independent playback and recording. Sony calls it the HVR-MRC1 memory recording unit (supplied only with the Z7 or S270).

HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording Unit at rear of HVR-Z7U.

There will be much digital ink spilled over this innovation, and I'll merely sketch its outlines here. The MRC1 piggybacks to the rear of the Z7 and attaches to the side of the S270 opposite the operator. To be precise, it docks to a multi-pin connector and powers up from the camcorder, making cables unnecessary. (When detached, it fits a cradle that accepts an InfoLithium L battery on its backside. Sony says the little F570 will run it for 6.5 hours; the fat F970, 20.5 hours.) A CF status check is available in the viewfinder of both camcorders.

When docked to the Z7 or S270, the MRC1 records in response to the camcorder's record start and stop, capturing the same audio/video signals and timecodes on tape and CF — if desired. Why qualify this statement? Because there is a matrix of choices. You can choose to record only tape. You can choose to record only CF, making the Z7/S270 a true tapeless camcorder. You can record to both, saving the tape for your archives and using the CF for transfer to your NLE. You can record HD to tape and, simultaneously, downconvert SD to CF. You can record in “relay mode” so that after tape runs out, recording to CF continues without a break. There are other permutations, too. Needless to say, these novel production and post opportunities require a thinking cap. Consider this: two “time remaining” warnings to wax anxious about while recording to two media with mismatched capacities. Dummies be warned.

While the MRC1 doesn't permit intervalometer-style time-lapse capture (the Z7 and S270 do permit cruder “interval recording” for DV only), it does have a few nonlinear tricks up its sleeve. It has a huge cache recording store of 14 seconds, continually buffering new audio/video in memory until the record button is pushed. And it can play back clips in auto repeat, letting you examine them over and over. (Note that like the V1 and HD1000, the Z7/S270 offers Smooth Slow Rec for slo-mo, a camcorder capability not found in the MRC1. The Z7/S270's Smooth Slow Rec, incidentally, starts with 50 percent more horizontal resolution than the others and rescales progressively rather than in interlace for visibly better results.)

The great thing about CF is that it's widely used. I shouldn't have to spell out the advantages of competitive prices and availability. The MRC1 imposes two requirements: A CF card must be at least 2GB and have a read/write speed of at least 133X. For kicks, I found just such a card on the Internet for less than $45. But given the following recording limits for DV (.avi or .dv files) and 1080i/60 HDV (.m2t files), you're going to want a bigger if not a faster one: 2GB=9 minutes; 4GB=18 minutes, 8GB=36 minutes, 16GB=72 minutes. In September, Sony introduced a 4GB, 300X CF for $120 and a 8GB, 300X CF for $200, with further professional 8GB and 16GB versions on the way.

The Z7/S270 records DV and DVCAM in standard 480i. However, for the first time, the Z7/S270 enables recording of 1080-line HDV in one of three flavors: 1) simple 60i; 2) 30p and 24p over 60i; and 3) a new 30p and 24p “native progressive recording mode.” (Regrettably, unlike the EX1, the Z7/S270 comes in 60i/30p/24p and 50i/25p versions. These remarks concern the 60i/30p/24p models only.)

1080/60i needs no explanation. 1080/30p over 60i is the familiar segmented-frame approach (30PsF), in which odd and even lines are separated and recorded to tape as if they were 60 sequential interlaced fields. This permits editing and viewing using conventional 60i equipment. 1080/24p over 60i (24PsF) requires sleight-of-hand: creation of a 2:3:2:3 cadence in which every other frame contributes an additional “field.” (In the case of Panasonic's “advanced pulldown,” or 24pA, the cadence is 2:3:3:2.) Like 30p, 24p is edited and displayed as if it were 60i, with the option, if desired, of deconstructing the pulldown cadence and recovering the original 24p sequence for editing or transfer to film.

HDV's specs (www.hdv-info.org) include the option of native 1080/30p and 1080/24p recording, which first appeared in Canon's XL H1, XH A1, and XH G1 camcorders as the notorious 30F and 24F interpolated “Frame Modes” — you know, the ones that play back in no known HDV deck. (Canon doesn't make decks and has suggested using a second Canon camcorder for playback. The inexpensive HV20, which won't record 30/24F or 4-channel audio but will play them back, fits this bill for many).

New HDV products from Sony, from left to right: HVR-Z7U, HVR-S270U, HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording Unit, and HVR-M35U player/recorder.

To avoid a similar pickle, Sony is introducing alongside its Z7/S270 camcorders a new DV/DVCAM/HDV player/recorder: the HVR-M35U (MSRP $5,540), which features — yet another Sony first — both interlace and native progressive 1080-line recording modes and full support for 4-channel HDV recording (four RCA input jacks, four XLR output jacks). And guess what? It'll play back Canon's progressive Frame Modes as well as the original HDV native progressive recording format, JVC's 720p, popularized by its GY-HD100U camcorder two years ago. There are provisos however: In the case of 720p, no recording is possible. Nor can the M35 output 720/30p or 720/24p via IEEE 1394; only analog component and HD-SDI (720/60p) output are available.

The versatile M35 does support universal recording and playback of DV/DVCAM at 60i/50i and 1080-line HDV at 60i/50i and 30p/24p/25p (segmented frame and progressive) along with downconversion to 576i and 480i. DVCAM 4-channel audio playback is also supported. As with the S270, there's SD-SDI and HD-SDI output with embedded audio and timecode but no HDMI. No RS-422 either. Like the similar HVR-M25 and larger HVR-1500 HDV decks, the control panel features a built-in 2.7in. LCD for visual reference without a monitor.

So what is HDV native progressive recording anyway, and why is it needed? The original HDV specification announced by Canon, Sharp, Sony, and JVC in September 2003 did not include 720/24p, 1080/30p, 1080/25p, 1080/24p, or 4-channel MPEG-2 Audio Layer II and PCM audio — these have since been appended in a revised spec that better answers professional needs. HDV, originally targeted at consumers like DV was, has had to grow up fast.

This has happened as the sun is setting on the era of 60i analog broadcasting and CRTs with fixed rasters. All flatpanel display technologies are natively progressive — LCD, plasma, DLP, LCOS, OLED — as is video compression used for DVDs, Internet streaming, ATSC broadcasting, digital cable, DivX files, etc. Progressive video is, therefore, easier to encode during compression, and there's no need to deinterlace it later for non-CRT displays. Anyone encoding video for Internet distribution will readily corroborate the advantages of originating in progressive instead of interlace.

However, what will confuse many about the Z7/S270 and M35 is that there are two ways to skin the cat in terms of acquiring progressive-scan HDV: interlace (PsF) and native progressive. Sony calls the first method “24p/30p Progressive Scan Mode” — segmenting a 24fps progressive scan over 60i with 2:3 pulldown. (Both 24 and 24A are options in the Z7/S270's “PROG. SCAN” menu — but be cautioned that Sony's 24A is not the same as Panasonic's 24pA described above; instead, it's a mode that resets the I-frame of MPEG-2's 15-frame GOP at the beginning of every take to facilitate cutting 24p on some NLEs. Hardly needed these days.)

Sony's family of professional HDV camcorders doubles in size with the addition of the HVR-HD1000U (far left), HVR-S270U (far right), and HVR-Z7U (next to HVR-S270U0). All six camcorders are currently in production.

Sony calls the second method “24p/30p Native Progressive Record Mode” — encoding a progressive HDV signal stream for recording or output via IEEE 1394 (Sony's i.Link, aka FireWire) to compatible NLEs. Perfect for disc and web.

Make no mistake; HDV native progressive recordings are still MPEG-2 with a 15-frame GOP. In other words, an HDV tape capturing a native progressive signal travels at the same speed it would recording standard 60i HDV. Likewise, there's no saving in storage when recording native 24p HDV to CompactFlash like there is when capturing native 24p intraframe DVCPRO HD to a P2 card. What's more, only cameras, decks, and NLEs expressly designed to accept an HDV native progressive signal will be able to read it. Even Sony's own HVR-DR60 hard disk recording unit, which attaches to the Z1 and V1, does not accept a native progressive HDV stream.

If you wish to sidestep HDV horizontal subsampling, MPEG-2 compression, and compatibility issues with HDV progressive signals altogether, then look to the Z7's HDMI and S270's HD-SDI outputs for uncompressed 1920×1080 (from their ClearVid CMOS sensors upon interpolation). The S270, incidentally, can simultaneously output HD-SDI, analog component, and composite — another first for a Sony HDV camcorder.

A few parting grace notes: The Z7/S270 mic holder is a new “one-touch” design with a clip instead of a screw for quick release. The improved bayonet-attached lens hood is also one-touch. Both camcorders feature dual 1/4-20 threaded holes in their base for using two screws instead of one to better attach tripod plates (the unthreaded pin hole remains). This prevents the camcorder from torquing itself loose, a common complaint. Did I mention the “digital water level,” an onscreen display for leveling the horizon using the Z7/S270's internal accelerometer? (Same technology iPhone uses to upright its image.) A great way to guarantee vertical framing when mounting the camcorder to unusual rigs or going handheld.

I've covered a lot of ground here in a short space, but this impressive volley of innovative new products from Sony, along with the equally impressive EX1, redefine what a small professional HD camcorder can be in the 21st century. Time to say goodbye to the first DV era, hello to the next.