Sony HVR-Z7U: Zoom lens, prime lens, or both?

I cut my teeth on film, before the camcorder era. At that time, swapping lenses on 16mm and 35mm motion picture cameras was commonplace. Perhaps that's why I still think in terms of both prime lenses and zoom lenses.


2/3-in. camcorders always had bayonet lens mounts too, but until the arrival of HDCAM in the late 1990s, fixed focal length or "prime" lenses were rarely used on them. That's because Betacams, introduced in the early 1980s, were designed for electronic newsgathering. Zoom lenses with high zoom ratios and 2x extenders seemed adequate for ENG. And adequate was good enough back then.

I cut my teeth on film, before the camcorder era. At that time, swapping lenses on 16mm and 35mm motion picture cameras was commonplace. Perhaps that's why I still think in terms of both prime lenses and zoom lenses.


2/3-in. camcorders always had bayonet lens mounts too, but until the arrival of HDCAM in the late 1990s, fixed focal length or "prime" lenses were rarely used on them. That's because Betacams, introduced in the early 1980s, were designed for electronic newsgathering. Zoom lenses with high zoom ratios and 2x extenders seemed adequate for ENG. And adequate was good enough back then.


But limiting your camera to a single lens, no matter how variable in focal length, is out-of-step with 170 years of photographic technique. Excluding point-and-shoots, virtually all cameras from the past two centuries have exploited the opportunities and advantages of interchangeable lenses.


Primes, for instance, are lighter, smaller, and cheaper than zooms. They employ fewer optical elements and tend to produce better contrast and corner resolution with less aberration and veiling glare. Cam-driven mechanisms needed to shift lens groups in zooms, which invite wear and require pricey maintenance, are of no concern. Moreover primes can be specialized: fisheye, macro, telephoto, and tilt/shift for perspective control.


Primes also confer an invaluable side-benefit: when using an assortment of lenses, you learn nuances of optics and photographic technique.


But what if, in a cin©ma v©rit© circumstance, you needed a zoom with a wider angle? In 16mm days, we carried a wider Angenieux 9.5-57mm alongside a standard Angenieux 12-120mm in our lens kit.


Or needed a fisheye perspective, which no zoom can provide? In 16mm days, we approximated a fisheye look with a Kinoptik 5.7mm prime, also in our kit.


In other words, same camera-whichever 16mm model it was-but right tool for the right job.


Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you know that large-sensor cameras like the Sony F35, ARRI D-21, and RED ONE have ignited new interest in PL-mount prime lenses. Small-sensor cameras, too, have borrowed this look with the help of popular lens adapters from P+S Technik, Redrock Micro, Letus, and MOVIEtube.


And HDSLRs have burst upon the scene like gangbusters.

Sony HVR-Z7U with 1/3-in. bayonet lens mount, almost too compact for its own handle.

The author with the Z7 and the Alpha 50mm f/1.4 mounted.

With the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135 f/1.8.