Jim Feeley Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Got a call for a simple cable newsmag gig. The producer's flying in with a Sony HVR-Z7. Working with a great local photog, luckily. I'll be feeding the camera two channels of audio (boom and lav). Hopefully wireless, but since we'll be at an RF-crazy location, might just run cable. I've managed to avoid working with this camera before now. I've downloaded the manual and the Z7 seems kinda similar to the EX1. Am I right about that? Anything in particular that I should look out for with this camera? Meters anywhere near accurate? Headphone feed any good? Any other comments? Thanks a bunch! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan chiles Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Hey Jim I've worked with that camera a lot. The audio is surprisingly fine. Hit the Status button on the back and then scroll to the audio display screen where you can set your levels accurately to -20dBFS. I usually fed the camera with 2 Lectro411's in the camera guys fanny pack set to line level. No problems at all. Only thing to watch is that little switch that selects which input goes to which track. The one setting sends Input 1 to CH1 and CH2, so if you split Boom and Wires make sure its not set like that:) All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 ...Only thing to watch is that little switch that selects which input goes to which track. The one setting sends Input 1 to CH1 and CH2, so if you split Boom and Wires make sure its not set like that:)... He's sure right on the money about that one. The way the setting is labeled in the menu can be misleading until you get the hang of it, so like he says, double check that you have both channels. John B., CAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimPitot Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Send drop tone when lining up to be 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProSound Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I always pulse tone from my 442 to make sure I am getting both channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek H Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 The status check screen while having some fairly decent meters to look at also has a track routing graphic just below the meters so as you switch that channel select switch back and forth you can see visually how the inputs are being routed.. If I remember (just finished almost 12 weeks with the camera as main, no backup) down is what you want. Because of the annoyingly low output of the Zaxcom (1st gen) receiver in line level mode I used an unusual input scheme for this camera.. When the camera is set to line input there is not enough gain available on the level controls to get the Zax to -20.. SO I ended up setting the inputs to mic, digging in the menu and attenuating the input trim for each input to -18dB. This allowed me to send "line" level from the Zax into the mic inputs (+48v off) and then the level control only needed to be around 10-11 o'clock to hit -20. Seemed to work well and the audio came out great. I would normally just admit defeat and use the mic inputs but I could swear I was detecting more camera self noise that way. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solid Goldberger Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I have a wierd quirk with this camera (it won't affect audio--still interesting). When receiving a signal, Motorola walkies on certain channels will cause the back focus to go out of whack on sony's standard Z7u lens. This has something to do with a wireless electronic back focus adjustment. Always made me chuckle. e. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted December 6, 2010 Report Share Posted December 6, 2010 I think the camera sounds just ok--not as good as the EX1/3. The headphone amp makes the return sound worse (more distorted) than the tracks really are. Not a lot of headroom. The camera was fairly popular among doco filmmakers for a few years, but most around here have moved on to newer cams for their new projects. Not sorry to see it go--didn't like the look much either. HDV is a strange format. phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Feeley Posted December 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Thanks everyone. Your input and warnings were were helpful. Shoot went well. Neither I nor the DP liked the camera much... But the producer was happy. He did a nice job with the interview and was happy with the look and sound (and he's experienced enough to know the limits of HDV). Ah, cable... But if I buy a camera in 2011, it won't be a Z7. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek H Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 Glad to hear it went well. The camera is pretty straight forward from a sound perspective. The weird focus ring with its push-pull auto mode switch always screws up ops who haven't used it before. The only other thing I forgot to mention is to be real delicate with the 3.5mm headphone jack. Its real easy to crank on it just a bit too much and the phones start going intermittent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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