1st Post: Z: Photo/Video Editing, Resolution, etc.

1st post....

Question on the Sony Z as I'm seriously considering it.

1. Would this work well for serious video editing using pro video software for 1080p resolution video? (i.e. Reasonable power to do rendering efficiently etc.)

2. Regarding video and photo editing, the screen is supposed to particularly vivid/punchy. Is it suitable for judging end results to be played on other systems such as a 1920p LCD TV and such? Or is the color vivid but 'unrealistic' of how others will see the end results?

3. Are both the regular and high resolution (1600X900) screen the same in terms of color/contrast/brightness - or is one obviously better than the other if we leave resolution out of the equation? Wondering if the premium is only buying higher resolution....

4. Does the 9 cell battery stick out more or have a hump compared to the 6 cell battery?

5. If I pick up the DVD model, can I replace it with a Blue Ray later when prices drop and speed goes up? Particularly speed is what I'm concerned about if I'm going to burn a bunch of Blue Ray discs.

The only thing I wish they did differently is to have the keys a bit larger like those on the 16" LCD units. Still individual keys, but just larger. My guess is that Sony tried to save some weight by using smaller keys but I really can type faster and mroe accurately with the larger keys. Spacing is the same thankfully but I'd be happy to have it weigh 2 more oz for an even better keyboard....sigh.

Thanks in advance for any response.

UL

 

2. I believe it's supposed to be 100% RGB color saturation. I.e., covers the whole RGB space.

3. Haven't heard any indication they are different, but then again I haven't seen the 1600x900 in person yet.

4. The extended battery sticks down.



5. Most likely. May void warranty. The ultra-thin Blu-ray writers are not in the retail chain yet.

 

1 and 2.

You would certainly want to get the video card right?

And I don't have any personal experience myself, but I shudder to think about doing "serious" photo/video editing on a 13" screen.

I bought the 16" FW and plan on being docked to my 22" external whenever possible.

 

i think you might need a more powerful GPU

 

Greetings,

Keep the comments coming

Yes, when not traveling, I have larger LCD screens that I plug in but this would also need to double as editing tool for on the road.

Is the GPU inadequate for these tasks?

Thanks,
UL

 

1) you need the 2.8Gz CPU, especially until Cuda drivers work with the 9300gs. You also need 256MB of Video memory (which comes with the 1600x900 screen anyway). You will also probably want to replace the internal HD with a WD scorpio black or equivalent (7200rpm/320gb), or an upcoming 7200rpm 500Gb. The 5400rpm will be enough for photo editing, not for serious video editing.

2) the screen cover 100% of the whole NTSC gamut, but that's less than the HD-709 used for some HD footage. Still, it's probably one of the best screen around (with the FW hi-color).

3) 1600x900 on a 13" is already small for picture/video editing. Plus you need the 256MB vram. Forget about the lower resolution screen.

4) already answered

5) possible but tricky and most likely to void the warranty. The BR model in the Z has a modified housing, the cover has been taken away... I wouldn't bet on this.

As long as you can use an external screen, the Z is better than the FW for photo/video editing (more powerful processor option, nVidia GPU therefore Cuda support, and a better HD to start with (although it's not fast enough for video). And don't worry about the GPU, it's fine (not great, but fine).

 

WOW! THANKS for the comprehensive answers.

For editing, I'll be using external hard drives when at home/office through the USB port. At that point I can use whatever HD I need including 7200 rpm drives. Would that work?

I'm not sure what CUDA support is but can check.

Thanks,
UL

 

You're welcome...
Cuda is a new development supported by most recent nVidia GPUs allowing to decrease the time needed to calculate video effects (and many other things, from games to scientific imagery). It will be supported natively by the next Adobe suite (both photoshop and premiere), and a plug-in for Premiere cs3 should be available soon. This is real groundbreaking and I've not heard yet something similar coming from ATI.
You can find a lot about Cuda just by googling, but here is the plugin for Adobe I am talking about: http://www.elementaltechnologies.com/products.php?id=5

Re your question, external HD through USB will work, but it's really slow. I would definitely think about upgrading the internal HD and backing up your projects to USB external, or use an expresscard to e-sata to get better performance. Full HD streams are really heavy to handle, and depending on the number of tracks/effects you're talking about, a USB external HD may be a serious bottleneck.

 

Got it. THANKS!!

UL

 

Of course given your name you won't like this, but if you just want to move it around and not commute with it every day, this is a much better choice than the Z... https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonySty...s&carea=48BC58BDFD1001D7E10080002BC29B86)/.do
I'm tempted to keep my TZ for ultralight travel and buy this for working on location / HD center while on holiday!

 

LOL! You're right. I was actually thinking of the Z for moderate schlepping around, and the Kohjinsha SX3 for actual long distance travel....so my sense of weight is shifted far towards the ultralight spectrum...

Wait till I tell you about my fishing rods...

UL