Cheap Camera as Deck

S

shortnstout

Well-known member
Hi,
I don't want to spend a lot on a deck so I want to get a cheapo DV cam to use and save my heads. Question is, does it matter what camera I get? The cheapest on BH seems to be a JVC. But I will be shooting Panasonic AMQ tapes on a Panasonic camera. Should I stick with a cheap Panny as my deck?
Also, is there ANY REASON why not to use a cheap camera to import ANY dvx footage? Can a cheap camera (that is working properly) import 24p and 24pa (with all the other goodness intact) just as well as any deck or expensive camera?
You guy rock.
 
people back me up on this, but im pretty sure if u use a crappy one chip camera, you should be fine. Widescreen, framerate, quality will all be the same as if you captured with your dvx..

Am i right?
 
Unless you just really want a deck I see no reason to get one. The 24P and 24PA stuff is still 60i right? thats just a matter of pulldown removal on the NLE end, the deck could care less. We've got one of the cheaper JVC's I'm sure you saw and it works great, but it might as well be a cheap camcorder. This just fits better in the rack and the little things like the display and having the dvd and hdd are perks. We also dont need clients coming in and seeing a cheap camcorder like they have at home as a capture deck.
 
Search in here for this.

Yes, it will work. Almost always.

SOME cameras seem have had trouble transferring the timecode properly. No idea why, and I can't remember which cameras gave problems.

Me, I've used cheap(ish) Panasonic and JVC cameras with no problem.
 
i think i'm getting time code problems too. if you want to capture 24p you have to use the dvx, otherwise other camera will only output as 30fps. say like choosing a project in 24p in premiere pro. I used another camera and it got really messed up, I had to use a camera that would output true 24p which the dvx can only do( in this case)
 
Not just the DVX. Maybe some of the cheaper cameras have problems with it, but my PV-DV203 and JVC GR-D250 (? Pretty sure that's the model) do 24P just fine.

Nope. Just checked: JVC GR-D22U
 
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I don't understand the need for a tape deck, unless you have hours of footage. The DVX should be built for capturing footage straight from it. Unless of course you need to constantly capture footage; but for most people, do they really need a tape deck? For the average person who owns a DVX?

Since people are worried about this tape deck issue, I'm getting a little worried myself. Is it bad to constantly play back your footage that you've just shot straight from the DVX, or should you also use you tape deck to playback stuff? (assuming I heed the advice from these forums and get myself a cheap tapedeck). In other words, is play-back straight from DVX as bad as capturing straight from DVX?
 
Emulsion said:
i think i'm getting time code problems too. if you want to capture 24p you have to use the dvx, otherwise other camera will only output as 30fps. say like choosing a project in 24p in premiere pro. I used another camera and it got really messed up, I had to use a camera that would output true 24p which the dvx can only do( in this case)
Click to expand...

im afraid that is incorrect, you can use any mini dv camera to capture what is already written on the mini dv tape from the panasonic. So if it was shot at 24p or 24pa, using any other camera to capture to computer will result in footage that is 24p or 24pa, just as it was shot.
 
In response to you Gordon JL yes. It is bad to watch and dump footage on your dvx and here is why. The mechanisms are small and will ultimately break apart from ware and tear. You have two options at this point replace the mechanisms on your DVX which will be expensive or replace your cheap deck altogether which is inexpensive. Hope that helps.
 
Just to echo DanielJ here:

It may sound silly having to go out and buy a cheap camcorder but I doubt a DVX overhaul would be nearly as inexpensive as the $100 I spent on a used Sony Handycam that works great.
 
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