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Video Camera -  Suggestions please

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  • #31
    Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

    Originally posted by kohi link=1180451586/15#26 date=1180528224
    Originally posted by jimmyb link=1180451586/15#24 date=1180526628

    pc or mac
    Sorry, forgot to answer pc or mac - pc.
    try - http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/premiereel/ you can download a tryout there.

    http://www.jahshaka.org/ - is open source (free) but I found it complicated. Havent tried it for a while though

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    • #32
      Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

      Originally posted by jimmyb link=1180451586/30#30 date=1180569975
      Originally posted by kohi link=1180451586/15#26 date=1180528224
      Originally posted by jimmyb link=1180451586/15#24 date=1180526628

      pc or mac
      Sorry, forgot to answer pc or mac - pc.
      try - http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/premiereel/ you can download a tryout there.

      http://www.jahshaka.org/ - is open source (free) but I found it complicated. Havent tried it for a while though
      I use windoze movie maker that came with XP for all my home stuff. It hasnt got all the flash bells and whistles but for my home videos it does the job more than sufficiently and is easy to use. Im normally not in the business of promoting MS stuff, but it is worth a look.

      Matt

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      • #33
        Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

        THis has been a very handy thread! I too am looking at getting a digital video camera and while I was fairly sure I wanted a 3ccd camera I hadnt given the recording media too much thought.

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        • #34
          Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

          Ive just been looking at the panasonic SD1 that records onto the SD 4gb cards. This has some attractions for me in terms of the recording media - but what say the experts about SD (or flash media in general)?

          It is a 3 CCD camera - I think I am settled on that aspect.

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          • #35
            Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

            Originally posted by grendel link=1180451586/30#33 date=1180577707
            This has some attractions for me in terms of the recording media - but what say the experts about SD (or flash media in general)?

            It is a 3 CCD camera - I think I am settled on that aspect.
            Yep 3CCD for quality......

            Have you ever got that lovely message "file corrupt" reading from the SD card in a still camera?..... I have a few times (lost about 60 photos Id taken before I could download just 2 weeks ago..... happened before as well (Canon camera - quality SD card). If you browse the internet you will find it is quite common - so much so that there are lots of utilities to recover corrupt pictures (stills) from SD and all other forms of flash cards..... Dont know if they work for movies - and they dont always work for stills either

            It bad enough loosing a few pictures (60 is pretty bad) ..... but a whole video clip

            Personally - nope not for me!!!

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            • #36
              Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

              Ive had my share of chewed betacam tapes over the years too - does that happen with DV tapes?

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              • #37
                Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                Ah..... betacam.... got one of those (and a full size VHS as well!)

                I dont know of anyone having a chewed DV - but as it is a streaming media - it is quite possible.... as is a hard disk crash.... a faulty DVD disk etc etc.... but I suspect these are all far less frequent than a flash card corruption.

                I dont know of any media which is "bomb proof" but Ive certainly had more than my fair share of problems with CF cards.... and so have quite a few others based on the internet tales of woe.

                My guess is DV tapes (using a new one for important recording each time) and then transferring the videos to multiple backup media - just like Java" it aint really over the top" phile has - and would always do.... is the safest option.

                Even if a tape is shredded... its normally only a small portion which is actually damaged.... the rest could be recovered.

                On anything with a directory structure (DVD, CF, hard disk).... corrupt the directory and the lot is gone.... just seems a lot more risky although I like the DVD media (not the rewritable ones).... and then transfer them elsewhere for archiving.... that would be my choice.

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                • #38
                  Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                  no experience with using cards as a storage media in a camera (how much video time do you get?)

                  but I have had a PDA with an SD card inside it stuck to the dash of my 4wd for years and a few others in the ashtray and never once had one fail on me, worn out a few PDAs but the cards still go strong, all have been cheap brands too

                  a 4gig is about $80 these days so I guess you need to factor that to the price of tapes and your final storage method

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                  • #39
                    Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                    Originally posted by grendel link=1180451586/30#33 date=1180577707
                    Ive just been looking at the panasonic SD1 that records onto the SD 4gb cards. This has some attractions for me in terms of the recording media - but what say the experts about SD (or flash media in general)?

                    It is a 3 CCD camera - I think I am settled on that aspect.
                    I too was keen on the memory card cameras but this thread had put me off with mention of crummy quality. The SD1 has the quality but according to this article has a few flaws that come with it.

                    Do you want to buy a $2k camera and then become the free beta tester for it?

                    [hr]
                    The SD1 uses a new AVCHD format for recording high-definition video. The format, jointly released by Sony and Panasonic last year, has better compression than older formats such as MPEG-2. This means you can record more in the same amount of storage.

                    After transferring the video to your computer, you can burn the footage on to a DVD (using the supplied software) but youll need a Blu-ray machine to play it on. That means adding $1000 (for a Sony PS3 - so far the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market) to watch recorded video on an HDTV. The camera has HDMI connectivity, which is great, but its highly likely the video youll want to watch has already been copied to your PC - back to the Blu-ray problem. The other downside is that this format cannot be edited until video-editing software starts supporting it.

                    The limitations of the format are a shame because the SD1 is a good video camera. Colours are accurate and vibrant, clarity is superb and its relatively painless to use because of the simple recording medium. There is a brilliant microphone system capable of capturing 5.1-channel surround sound and "zooming in" on a sound. The size makes it easy to handle but its almost too small as its rounded shape is difficult to hold steady when zoomed in. I like the camera. Im just not sure what Im supposed to do with the footage. Its an early-adopter issue.

                    [hr]

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                    • #40
                      Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                      AVCHD is a great codec that produces very nice video. In the fullness of time, like later this year Id say, all the major Non-Linear editing (NLE) providers will have adopted it. Sony Vegas & Ulead VideoStudio already supports it and Id expect Avid, FCP & Canopus to follow suit at the International Broadcasters Convention in Amsterdam later this year.

                      In the wider world, Panasonic have adopted the codec for their broadcast cameras, and its also used for HD video conferencing by some suppliers. So it is being fairly well adpoted and from the looks of it will be around for some time to come.

                      If you intend to edit your content Andy, I dont think AVCHD is the problem it was 12 months ago. While not all of the major NLE software providers support it today, with Panasonic taking it to the Broadcast arena I think itll speed things up for Avid & FCP especially.

                      Playing back and distributing your content in HD is a bit of hassle right now though, but I would suggest that you dont let that concern you. You can always down convert to SD and distribute to family and friends on DVD. Youll still have that HD master for later on, and Blu-ray is a good archival format.

                      Originally posted by grendel link=1180451586/30#33 date=1180577707
                      Ive just been looking at the panasonic SD1 that records onto the SD 4gb cards. This has some attractions for me in terms of the recording media - but what say the experts about SD (or flash media in general)?

                      It is a 3 CCD camera - I think I am settled on that aspect.
                      if you can afford 3-chip Grendel, Id suggest CMOS over CCD. Less power consumption for more battery life and no vertical smear in your images is a definite advantage.

                      Flash memory is an interesting one, Panasonic have had their P2 product around for some time in the Broadcast world, but it isnt without its issues, especially when it comes to archiving. That said, the ABC have adopted the P2 format for their ENG (News) operations so they must see something in it. Sony also announced their first Professional flash memory based camera this year, the XDCAM EX using SXS cards in the Express card format.

                      So, its still kinda early days for flash memory in the broadcast end, so id suggest its a little too early for flash based camcorders in the consumer world. ARe you going to have a laptop or something nearby to ingest your content every 90 minutes or so? How many $100 cards does the average consumer want to have? How will you archive the content later when you want to reuse the card? Conceptually flash memory camcorders are a great idea, and any editor will tell you that file based workflows are a fantastic innovation in comparison to tape, but it just seems that not all of the elements are there yet.

                      At least with tape and optical disc formats, you are shooting to an affordable media that is an archive format in itself. I just dont see that with $100 flash memory cards.

                      oh dear, I appear to have gone on a bit.

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                      • #41
                        Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                        If you are an early adopter of technology (I am for sure) and you are prepared to live with the current limitations and grow with its maturity then go for it.

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                        • #42
                          Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please


                          Well after the bean drop off at Venziano yesterday I went into the city (Melb) strip of camera stores in Elizabeth St.

                          Came home with a Panasonic SDR-H250

                          Bought it for $1000 (ticket price was on special for $1187).
                          True 16:9, optical stabiliser (smoother than digital), 30GB HDD, small and easy to use and takes SD cards too.

                          The whole menu system is driven with a neat thumb joystick and reading the manual later I didnt find one feature that I hadnt already discovered having a play... which is always a good sign.

                          Great detailed post Hazchem, I didnt see it until today.
                          I did see a couple of AVCHD models but the $2k+ price tag and larger physical size out me off. Im sure the quality is great but for the most part I cannot see us using it for more than some point-in-time shots of the kids being kids.... maybe my next camera will be one of those when they are outdated and cheaper.


                          The other camera that I came close to buying was the Panasonic NV-GS230. It takes mini DV tapes and at a haggled price of $795 was great value in my book.

                          PS: Having just bought a hard drive video camera I dont want to hear any stories about dead hard drives ever again.


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                          • #43
                            Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                            Originally posted by JavaB link=1180451586/30#34 date=1180578962
                            [
                            Have you ever got that lovely message "file corrupt" reading from the SD card in a still camera?..... I have a few times (lost about 60 photos Id taken before I could download just 2 weeks ago..... happened before as well (Canon camera - quality SD card). If you browse the internet you will find it is quite common - so much so that there are lots of utilities to recover corrupt pictures (stills) from SD and all other forms of flash cards..... Dont know if they work for movies - and they dont always work for stills either

                            It bad enough loosing a few pictures (60 is pretty bad) ..... but a whole video clip
                            Very disconcerting feeling Id imagine, JavaB, but Ive taken thousands of pics on my compact flash cards and have luckily never seen that message -- or heard about it until your post.

                            No problems with my 2 megapixel phone camera either, although that is a 1 gb micro sd.

                            Ive only just got on to standard SD cards for another appliance -- a GPS navigator (which stores pictures, MP3s and video as well as maps), and after albeit very little use havent struck the dreaded message yet either.

                            --Robusto

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                            • #44
                              Re: Video Camera -  Suggestions please

                              Congratulations on your new toy, Andy, anything that doesnt need the last resort to use --consulting the manual -- is already a plus. Have fun playing.

                              Ready when you are, Mr de Mille.

                              ---Robusto

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