Dave Hall

Peter, One more question on this... if the picture is interlaced, does that mean there is a "shimmering" effect of the 2 fields fighting it out for several frames at a time? Your examples seem to show that each field is separated from the other in time. Does it look odd on regular playback? The PD-150 and 170 just use a single field, so there is no flicker (but then again there is only one field of resolution.) After downloading the PDF of the 450s manual, it states that you can only use the slow shutter in 60i mode, so that implies the 2 fields would not be progressive. Dave Hall

I'm going to download that baby right now! Thanks for the quick reply! It was the news I was hoping for. I couldn't imagine Sony not giving each filter wheel it's own white balance settings!

Excellent! That's exactly what I was looking for. The Sony reps at DV Expo could not reproduce what you did. Now I know for sure the feature is there! And it appears that unlike the PD-150/170, the slow shutter of the 450 does not just use only one field. Very cool!! Now I'm absolutely sold on getting a 450... You still have a TURNTABLE?? :D

I've got a question only a DSR-450 owner would know. On my DSR-390 there is a menu option that allows me to have an "A" and "B" white balance setting for each of the four filter wheels - for a total of 8 different white balance settings. I know that the 450 has done away with the concept of 3200K or 5600K filter wheel settings. (For those of you who don't know about it, on the 450, filter wheel 1 is no neutral density - but can be indoor or outdoor. Each filter wheel setting adds neutral density. Filter wheel 2 is 2 stops, wheel 3 is 4 stops and wheel 4 is 6 stops.) So my question is: can I have 8 different white balance settings with the 450?

Well, in another post I just got done writing that no one has demonstrated the slow shutter with the 450... but now I see this thread. Would you compare the slow shutter of the 450 to be similar to the PD-150 or 170? When Sony tried to show me the slow shutter effect at DV Expo, it was obviously not working right, because there was no blurring when you panned, or when there was motion in the scene. Could you use loads of ND and do a slow shutter shot with traffic (or anything moving) vs. the normal shutter speed for us? Sorry to bother you with this, but the slow shutter is practically a deal breaker for me right now. I really want the slow shutter, and now I have proof it exists! (A Sony guy told me (after not being able to demostrate it) that only the PAL version of the 450 had the slow shutter! Then the next sentence out of his mouth was "why do you want to use a slow shutter? Just do it in post!" That's when I walked away shaking my head. Thanks, Peter, by the way, for all your great testing posts. You're very similar to me in your meticulousness! And I believe you're helping Sony sell more 450s! (or at least one more)

Does that mean your DSR-450 has a better 24P mode than the Z1? I'm considering the 450.

I'm just about to plunk down my money for a 450. I currently have a DSR-390, which I happen to love, but I like the extra features of the 450. The one difference from what Peter did is I'd like to go for the wide angle (still "pro" level, though) YJ12x6.5KRS lens. I currently have the 1/2" version on my 390, and I absolutely love it. Once you go wide, you can't go back! I really would like to test the 450 vs. my 390, which is probably the king of low light sensitivity. I KNOW the 450 can't be as good, since it's an F11 camera vs. F13, and the f-stop of my current lens is 1.5 vs. f2 on the 2/3" YJ12x6.5. But Sony tells me I can gain up the 450 to a very high level and still get a decent picture. (Sorry that I'm bringing up more questions than I'm answering!) The other thing nobody has been able to answer (including Sony at the DV Expo East last month) is the slow shutter. The brochure says it will do all the way down to 1/4 second (similar to a DSR-150 or 170) but NO ONE has been able to verify this. I've emailed a guy here on the east coast who owns one, but he hasn't had the time to check out the slow shutter. And last but not least - the price. Do I shell out major bucks now (and I need to sell the 390 to pay for it) or do I wait for the next generation HDV? I'm not happy either with any of the products that are out (but the JVC looks like the most promising). Oh, yeah - and this is my first post!