2ndry DV cam for playback/transfer

P

pand

New member
Hi, I'm a noob and have searched already but to no avail.

I wanted to buy a cheap secondary camera to playback my tapes/transfer to laptop on, so only to use my dvx to shoot on, nothing more. I have several queries though, that I was hoping someone could answer:

1. Do I need to stick to Panasonic? I've read a lot how people don't like mixing brands/tapes and like to stick to one brand. Is this the same for a 2ndry cam?

2. Does it need to be PAL like my dvx?

3. If I buy a cheap used one, can a camera with worn/dirty heads damage my tapes/affect the quality of playback or final material that's been transferred to the computer?

4. Does teh type of connection (usb, firewire, etc) effect teh final material transferred onto the comp?


I really don't know about any of this and really want to get a 2nd cam so i can start shooting with my dvx asap!

Cheers guys!
 
1. No. At the cheapest level of consumer cameras the tape mechanisms are all going to be basically the same quality.

2. It depends on the camcorder but I've heard it can get hairy if it works at all. I'd definitely go for a PAL model.

3. Dirty heads are always bad, but unless they're actually worn out, you can (and should, if it's used) run a cleaning tape through for a few seconds before initial use.

4. Nope. Same old ones and zeros. :)
 
Thanks for the info :-)

Jared Meyer said:
2. It depends on the camcorder but I've heard it can get hairy if it works at all. I'd definitely go for a PAL model.
Click to expand...


can you elaborate on that ^^ though, I wasn't sure what you meant, did you mean that it can go a bit wrong if you start mixing up pal/ntsc?
 
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