camera as capture device

[wheatus]

yikes...hate to start membership with needs, but i can't to seem capture footage on the cheap cam...final cut won't recognize or initialize the device...i want to stay away from the dvx as the capture tool...isn't that just a bad habit?!
does the smaller (older) camera need to be tweaked? shouldn't firewire just initialize the deck automatically?
i'm lost and don't want to resign myself to buying a deck or new camera...not yet anyway
any thoughts?

this is the coolest site going
wheatus

[Shane Warren]

It might be that your older camera doesn't have a device control feature which means you wont be able to control it externally. I would put your camera into VTR mode and play it directly from the device - see if the footage appears in the preview screen.

Failing this, a cheap newer camera may be the go. Check that it has device control functionality.

[wheatus]

thanks alot... it must not have device control, and unfortunately it doesn't want to show me anything in the preview screen...time to break out the credit card

[Joe Kras]

Before you do that, you are sure that all your settings are right, right?

If you haven't already done it, I'd connect the DVX and make sure that captures before springing for a new cam.

Although I use a deck for capture now, I used to use a Sony TRV-8 for capture that worked fine.

[wheatus]

thanks, yes the dvx works (although now i am figuring out the dropped frame issue?)

i have managed to capture with the dvx, i just don't want to get in that habit!!

i think it has been discussed before on the site, so i am checking out past threads now, but do you have to adjust settings for the 24p? it seems the easy setup was working fine for me in the past at both 24p and 30p...

anyhow, thanks for the advice in the meantime!

[Joe Kras]

If it's 24p regular, then the same setting for capture is used for both 24p and 30p (DV NTSC for North America, as I recall-not at my editing computer now).

For 24p advanced there's a separate easy setting (Advanced 24p (2:3:3:2) Pulldown Removal) [again, it's named something like that, don't have FCP here].

Looks like you may indeed have to invest in a new ingest device.