Pro Moviemaker Spring 2019

GEAR SONY Z190/ Z280

Z190

from the FS series and the lenses having three separate control rings for accurate focusing, zooming and setting the iris. Both cameras have an identical shutter speed range of 1/24-1/8000sec and a viewfinder screen that’s an 8.8cm (3.5in) LCD. The Z280 has an OLED viewfinder, which is very bright and detailed. Both cameras have full LANC control support, plus HDMI and SDI for outputting footage. On the Z190, it’s the lower-spec 3G-SDI, while the Z280 has the higher 12G-SDI output, which is four times the bandwidth. So, to output 4K on the Z190, you need to go via the HDMI, because the SDI simply won’t cut it. With similar spec, size and ergonomics, you’d expect both cameras to handle in a very similar manner – and they do. The Z190 has had its centre of gravity moved compared to its predecessor cameras (like the Z150) for a less top-heavy feel, and this works well. Both cameras balance nicely, all the control buttons are in just the right place for handheld, run- and-gun operations and the image stabilisation works smoothly on both. You can tell Sony has had decades of making cameras used by professionals in the field for many hours at a time.

aperture constant for a desired depth-of-field and alter exposure using the ND wheel. If you are shooting news or documentaries, then the auto setting works incredibly well – especially if you are coming from outdoors to indoors, for example. The depth- of-field remains the same and the camera automatically changes the exposure by altering the ND value. It’s fast and simple. Both cameras also have not one, but two of Sony’s Multi Interface (MI) shoes on top. These MI connectors allow you to attach two of Sony’s dedicated accessories like a wireless receiver or light, which work without any cables. You can’t use both MI shoes for audio, unfortunately, even though the cameras can record four channels. For that, you can use two channels via a single MI shoe receiver and two via the full-size XLR inputs on the right-hand side of the cameras. There are even more similarities between the two cameras, such as using the BP-U style batteries

ABOVE Both cameras have a viewfinder screen, which is an 8.8cm LCD

SPECIFICATIONS SONY Z190 Price: £3750/$3750 body only Sensor: 3 x 1/3-inch back- illuminated Exmor R CMOS Formats: XAVC-L, QFHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, max 150Mbps. XAVC-LHDMPEG-4 AVC/H.264, max 50Mbps Frame rates: 23.98 / 25 / 29.97 / 50 / 59.94 in QFHD andHD Storage: 2 x SD Lens: 25x optical zoom. 3.7- 92.5mm/f/1.6 (equivalent to 28.8-720mm) ND: Built-invariable NDfilters plus three-stage optical ND Output: BNC, 3G-SDI, HDMI, USB, ethernet, built-inWi-Fi, FTP transfer and livestreaming Shutter range: 1/24-1/8000sec microphones, 2 x XLR inputs with phantompower support Dimensions (WxHxD): 190x202x419.7mm/ 7.5x8x16.5in Weight: 2300g/5lb 1.1oz, body only Screen: 8.8cm/3.5in LCD Audio: Integrated stereo

“All the buttons are in just the right place for handheld”

PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2019