Logging Footage - Does it harm the DVX-100 to log and capture?

J

jazzman

Member
We just purchased a DVX-100a to use to film a documentary, and I'm wondering if it harms the camera if we log and capture from the camera itself? My friend is worried that it's bad for the heads and could ruin the camera if we do our logging and capturing using it.

We'll most likely be editing 30-50 hours of footage.

Thanks for any insights you can offer.
 
PS - We're using 24p advanced, so does that limit our ability to use a cheaper DV camera to log and capture with?
 
Well, it certainly won't harm DVX if you run 50 hours of tape through it - tape mechanism can easily survive some 1000+ hours. However, most people, including me, prefer to use something else to capture footage with.
And no, it doesn't matter if it's 24pA or 30p or w/e. Once the information is on tape, it's on tape, so you can play it with any DV camera/deck. Though, you might have problems with TC, be sure to check it first.
 
Try to use it as little as possible. Specifically, if practical, do all the capturing at once..or at least leave the cam connected to the computer between sessions. (I don't imagine sitting there for 50 hours straight would be fun. :) )

Why? Because it is a lot easier than it should be to fry the firewire port on the camera. The fewer times you connect/disconnect it, the safer.

Don't be scared, though. Just be careful. At a minimum, have the camera *off* when connecting/disconnecting.

I once watched a nice blue spark jump from the firewire connectors. Luckily, nothing died. Also luckily, I wasn't using the DVX at the time.

I do all my capturing with my little $300 Panny DV 203. If I kill *it*, I'll still be upset...but only a tenth as much.
 
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