Firestore with A1 Advantages

W

Walterson

Member
This a double post, I am new and did not notice the sub forum specific to the A1, sorry.



What is the advantage of using a Firestore with an XH-A1?

Is there less compression by avoiding going to Tape and going right to hard drive?

If the only advantage is that you don't have to use your A1 for play back wouldn't it work just to get an HV20 as a deck rather than spend the money on a Firestore you would now have two HD cameras and essentially the same ability to not run down the heads on your A1.

Is an HV20 able to function as a deck for A1 footage or is there a problem with the 24f function of the A1 being played back on the HV20?

Right now I see the only benefits of a Firestore as:

-More recoding time
-No capturing time
-Preservation of the A1 heads

Anyone have some insight?

Thanks
 
there are other disadvantages like less expensive over time also yes the hv20 can be used as a deck if the video is 24p.
 
hungrych said:
there are other disadvantages like less expensive over time also yes the hv20 can be used as a deck if the video is 24p.
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So it can be used as a deck.

There is no quality difference by going to HDV tape then capturing? If you bypassed the tape with the firestore it would make no difference?

If this is the case I feel like the firestore is way overpriced.
 
Walterson said:
So it can be used as a deck.

There is no quality difference by going to HDV tape then capturing? If you bypassed the tape with the firestore it would make no difference?

If this is the case I feel like the firestore is way overpriced.
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No difference in quality whatsoever, but it's hardly overpriced. You just shot 4 hours of footage, now you'll be spending 4 hours capturing that footage instead of taking half an hour to plug the Firestore in and transfer it. Huge advantage.
 
Huy Vu said:
No difference in quality whatsoever, but it's hardly overpriced. You just shot 4 hours of footage, now you'll be spending 4 hours capturing that footage instead of taking half an hour to plug the Firestore in and transfer it. Huge advantage.
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It is a nice advantage, but I think I would go with the HV20 if I only had enough money for one since it is a sweet little camera and could have a lot of its own uses.

If you save your money it isn't much to get both though.

Changing subject:

When the cineform recorder comes out you can use the HV20 for 4:2:2 1920x1080 24p. That is amazing.

Would it have been so hard for Canon to put an HDMI on the XH-A1?

It will force people to put out the cash for the G1 and a HD-SDI ti HDMI converter. It probably would have cost them a few dollars more per model to add HDMI to the A1. Oh, well.
 
Walterson said:
When the cineform recorder comes out you can use the HV20 for 4:2:2 1920x1080 24p. That is amazing.
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I'm not exactly sure what it is....but Why couldn't you use this Cineform recorder with the A1? You are referring to Cineform as in the Codec output format right? Or is this something else made by them?

As far as a hard disk vs tape I guess it depends on what you see as a more valuable resource. To me, saving the time of digitizing footage is crucial, not to mention the fact that a FSC Firestore can record 4-6x the amount of footage as a tape, yet can still back up and record on tape at the same time.

Are you shooting hundreds of hours of footage on your A1 and then spending hundreds of hours logging with your A1? Like for a feature documentary or something? If so then yes buy an HV20, unless you want the convenience of having your footage already digital.

The heads are not going to wear out and break with normal wear and tear at an early stage in it's life, over long periods of extended use you may have some problems. This is a professional grade camera by Canon's standards.

I don't understand why all of these people who just bought their camera are soooo worried about the heads wear and tear when they've only shot like a few hours of footage. I mean I guess taking preventative measures is smart, I just feel like dropping $800 on an HV20 vs another necessity is kind of foolish unless you have hundreds of hours of tape to log.
 
You probably won't be able to use the Cineform recorder with the A1 because it supposedly is meant to take a feed from a camera's HD-SDI port. I think only the G1 and H1 have these, not the A1.

This isn't to criticize your argument, just to make an addendum to it.

davide
 
I just feel like dropping $800 on an HV20 vs another necessity is kind of foolish unless you have hundreds of hours of tape to log.
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I have had the A1 about a year. I would not say I have been shooting hundreds of hours of tape, yet I have had head problems. I have used it quite a bit but nothing out of the ordinary.

I ran into some head wearing and rtf envelope wearing a few months ago. It caused me wasted time and a big headache. I wish i bought my HV20 a little earlier to save the heads. I am now thinking about going tapeless.
 
Yes, I agree that head problems will eventually occur. It's just the way moving things work.

I just assume to spend $200 more on a Firestore and avoid digitizing, than buy an HV20 to use as a deck. But I was getting at his original question about the benefits and you kind of just need to to weigh into consideration what is best for your particular shooting style/setup. Each has it's advantages I suppose.

Wouldn't the heads wear out just as easily on an HV20 (if not sooner) than an A1? It is after all a consumer grade camera. If those heads were to wear out along with the HV20 heads then you would have no options....

Just my 2 cents :)
 
I think something is up with Firestore!!!!! I am on their email list and they have eluded to the fact that something new is coming out. I think at NAB! Maybe it is something to compete with the Sony type Firestore device that works with regular compact flash cards.
 
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