Canon 7d vs. Sony Z7U

[Sterling Wescott]

I love my Sony Z7U, but it's getting kind of old... And to be entirely honest HDV f**king blows. In fact that does not begin to describe HDV. I couldn't use any profanity in existence to adequately describe the suckitude of HDV. (Note: i know it has a CF module, I just NEED to upgrade)

I have used the RED One.
I love it.
If it was a person and not a camera I would make love to it.
But as a 2 year novice, i can't justify a $20,000+ purchase.
So I want A FF35 Scarlet... We all know this is at least a year away.
Thats fine, I understand. I'll get a scarlet when it comes out.
But I digress.
I need something now. There has been a lot of talk recently regarding the EOS 7D. From it's look I can tell it's primarily a still camera. I meticulously line up every frame of everything I shoot on the Z7U as if it was a photograph. That being said, I am not a still photographer. I only want video. I couldn't care less about anything else.

I know nothing about this camera, other then it's $1700 price tag. What would i lose in a move to a 7D from a Z7U. What would I gain? I appreciate any opinions.

 

[Charles Angus]

I haven't shot with the 7d, but I've shot with the 5d and the Z7U recently.

For doc work (which is what I was shooting on the Z7), I would prefer the Sony. The lens on it is nicer for run and gun style stuff, with a hard stop at infinity, good zoom range, and pretty fast. You won't find a decent 10x zoom lens for a 7d, let alone one that opens up to 1.6. The fastest extreme wide angles would be the Tokina 11-16 f:2.8, then there's the canon 24mm 2.8, 28mm 1.8, and Sigma 30 1.4. Long end again will be slow, with the fastest telephoto being the Canon 135mm f:2 (at ~$1000). Most of these lenses are wire drives, which means no hard stop at infinity, and therefore no follow focus. The one's that do have hard stops (like the 24mm 2.8) have really awful manual focussing. Again, no FF (and no joy when using them either). Some people use old manual Nikon primes with their canon gear, but I've had bad luck with adapters cheaper than $150 working at infinity. All in all, to get a similar range as the Sony's zoom, you're looking at a few grand in lenses for the 7d.

What you gain is using nice Canon/Nikon lenses. Many of them have a nice feel. If you like S35 DOF, you've got it. The camera is comparatively small (ok, the camera is the same size, but you can use smaller lenses).

What you won't gain is an upgrade from the HDV codec - the compression stinks on the 5d, and from what I hear it's slightly worse on the 7d. Forget about heavy grading. You lose an image free from moiré and alias (although I have yet to see this be a big problem in my 5d footage, I have seen it show up badly in other people's).

So, there's my thoughts on the matter. I've enjoyed working with both camera's, but I still feel like they're both intentionally crippled. To sum up, shallow DOF is really the only benefit you'll see from the 7D, and you'll have to spend a pile on lenses to get the same range as the Sony.

 

[Sterling Wescott]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I guess I'll wait until the announcement on the 30th to make a definite decision. I may consider a S35 or 2/3 scarlet as they come out sooner, at least according to the last announcement. Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Eddy Robinson]

The best advice I can think of is to borrow or buy a CF card, then take your Z7U to a camera shop. Give the 7d a test run inside the store, and put the Z7U on the counter and leave it running. Afterwards you'll have some comparison footage from a camera you know an some from a new camera; that will help you get a realistic understanding of whether you like the 7D image or not.

Of course, the other thing to consider is that the ergonomics are very different indeed. I personally really like the 7d and find it easy to use in most cases; on the other hand I dislike most video cameras (size, form factor, and so on). For me it is kind of like using a vintage 16mm camera, compared to the flexibility of a typical camcorder. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Chip G]

If it were me I'd keep the Z7 for another year but buy a GH1 for $1500 (with lens) to use as a second cam. The kit lens the GH1 comes with is pretty decent for the money.

Discovery Channel loves the Z7's, Stormchasers, new Deadliest Catch, Wreckreation Nation, lot's of their shows are shot on it. It's their #1 goto handheld camera.

I like the Z7 and I'm an hvx200 owner.

 

[Brian Broz]

Have you considered the Convergent Designs Nano Flash recorder?
It will work with almost any camera with HDMI or HDSDI out.
Something to consider, especially if you want to bypass the HDV codec.

 

[Ethan Cooper]

**EDIT**
nevermind, I'll ask this question elsewhere

 

[Chip G]

Not to get too far off track, but anyone else notice the occasional spinning ground glass "reflection" thingie in some of the Stormchasers footage? I'm assuming the Discovery guys were shooting a 35mm spinning GG adapter and went outside the tolerances, but never having shot a spinning adapter I'm not sure if this is what I'm seeing.

What I'm seeing looks like the reflection of a spinning CD ghosted in the background that covers the entire screen.

It has shown up about 2 or 3 times an episode, usually right after the camera guy jumps out of a car to shoot the chasers while they're outside the vehicle doing their own (very crappy) shooting.

Someone get the chaser guys a freakin tripod or monopod or something for goodness sake.

It's a filter that dissapates water from the lens to shoot in the rain, gavity of the glass spining throws the rain off, I sold mine and will never use it again.

Waste of money and it cost around $1500 can;t remember the exact price but it wasn;t cheap. If the RPM's were 2x, or 3x more then it might be ok but you'd always have the drop in the center of the glass.

Here: http://www.innovision-optics.com/prod/spintec.shtml