What camera do you use to capture from?

S

SimonCreations

Active member
I have read that most people use another miniDV camera to capture their film. Any suggestions on a cheap mimDV camera that works well for capturing film (4:3 and 16:9)? I'll be using Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 to capture..
 
Honestly, the cheapest one you can find will do. If you can pick up one from ebay cheap (maybe with a busted lens or similar) get it. As long as the VTR works, any DV camera will play any DV formated tape the same.
 
Is there an issue if the film was recorded in 16:9? I didn't know if the camera had to have 16:9 capabilities in order to capture the film correctly..
 
No, there are flags inserted in the data stream that tell any given device or editor how to interpret the footage. These flags can all be read by any DV device. Widescreen is not a problem.
 
I use a Sony DCR-PC5 for capture into Final Cut.

I snagged it off eBay from a local pawn shop for $100 and bought a new, dedicated A/C adapter so I could use it as a 'deck' without having to swap-out batteries. It works fantastic just like a Sony should.

As BennisHahn mentioned, a DV datastream is, well, a DV datastream. It is, after all, 'digital' video. Everything comes over as a clone with all flags and information intact.

Chances are mine was probably stolen it was so cheap. I don't know - the pictures of the family are still on the memory stick. Yikes......
 
Should I be concerned about the brand of camera? If I am shooting with a DVX, capturing with a Sony or Canon etc. won't effect the tapes?

I have read on here that the DVX does not handle Sony tapes well, so I didn't know if that would be an issue when capturing from a different brand of camera..
 
Do you folks use the same "deck-cam" to "stripe" your new tapes with timecode?
 
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I use a Panasonic PV-GS120 as a deck to capture. I clean the heads a every few weeks and yeah I have plugged in I don't use batteries
 
downsouth said:
Do you folks use the same "deck-cam" to "stripe" your new tapes with timecode?
Click to expand...

No need to 'stripe'. Actually, I can't remember the last time I was on a shoot that striped beforehand. Regardless, just start bars off the top, use REGEN after you've PRESET TC for the shoot tape and let 'er roll.

If you're really that worried about timecode breaks on a Panasonic shoot tape, just stop down to black or roll bars between camera power-down's. My USER1 is still set to BARS and I'll just hit that and record for about 10 seconds when we're shutting down or moving set-ups. It really makes things move when you're capturing later and there won't be any tmecode breaks if you 'babysit' the log like everyone should.
 
I've been working on a doc film for two years. I had a run of three weeks where I was filming each day and hence "babysitting" wasn't feasible some of the time. I have a lot of footage that needs capturing...my concern is that the heads on a dvcam may not be up to the job...would a deck fair any better? I'm at a crossroads and I'm trying to figure out the most economical way to finish capturing, edit and put the film together... would a deck save any more or less time than a dvcam? Thanks.
 
Im a future dvx user.. :P
and I'm just wondering.. why not capture with the dvx?

.. I must sound like a real newb..
 
More wear and tear on the tape transport system and on the recording heads. Also, more stress on the firewire port. It's cheap insurance and it's also more convenient to have a "deck" as part of your editing setup.
 
if your trying to get the most for your dollar... i would consider buying an affordable mini-dv camera... cause you'll probably pay only three to four hun for the camera and decks are two to three times more expensive... AND you can use the cam for pre-visualizing shots/and or direction before you break out your dvx and utilize the deck as well... whatever plays mini-dv is cool enough to get the job done.
 
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