Question about mini dv deck

F

filmfutre3

Member
If I don't want to use my dvx100 as a deck and I don't want to pay to buy an actual mini dv deck, can I buy a crappy mini dv camcorder and use it to play back tapes I've recorded from my dvx100? Does anyone know if this will work? Thanks.
 
Yup, it works great. That's what I do. I use a JVC 1-chip miniDV camera that I got off eBay, used, as my deck. Note that it doesn't really work if you're doing a lot of very specific capturing (by timecode) because a miniDV camera isn't really designed to shuttle back and forth searching for exact timecode. But I usually capture everything I shoot anyway.
 
Well, from what I know, it doesn't matter if you use a less expansive camcorder as your miniDV deck, because all it does is copy exactly what was originally recorded (by your DVX) to the PC. So as far as I know, there's no loss of quality even if you use a less expensive camcorder. But since I have a DVX, I would prefer to get a less expansive camcorder of the same brand.

If you have the budget, I would suggest you get a less expensive (3CCD) 2nd camera as both a tape deck & a stand-by camera. Then if your shooting requires 2 cameras, you can use both. I feel it's more versatile than just a dedicated tape deck, that can't be used as a 2nd camera. What do you all think?

Yes, it should work if you shoot 24p as mentioned earlier, your 2nd camera will just make an exact copy of what was originally recorded by your DVX since the information stored on the tape is digital (0's & 1's). I do not forsee any loss of quality, unless someone more knowledgeble can correct me.

Andrew
 
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andybiz_2005 is correct. Here's a few lines that's all you need:

1. DV is digital. it is digital copying. 1's and 0's. I know its hard to think of it that way when all our lives when we used tapes they were analog. when you capture using a crappy miniDV camera (I use the Panasonic DV-53) it's the same as using a deck or the DVX100 itself. first copy "should" be the same as the 1,000,000th copy, except for wear and tear on the tape.

2. just watch you don't do a lot of back and forth with the tapes in these crappy cameras. They have a habit of eating tapes. so far I've been lucky. but I fast forward, capture. fast forward, capture. not much else. not any tracking in camera.
3. the DVX100 captures the magic of 24p to the tape. it's there and when you use any miniDV camera to extract it, it will retain all of that magic.

I was in the same boat as you, until I got one of theses little deck/cameras and have been wiser ever since. plus I use the camera as a behind the scenes camera on my documentary shoots.
 
I use a Panasonic GS120 for capturing my DVX footage and it works great as a little mini dv deck, and with 3 ccds (though 1/6" chips) the quality is fairly good.
 
Don't wanna step on toes but I just got a Samsung SCD365 to use ONLY has a VTR, and it works GREAT. It's got S-Video I/O, FW pass-thru, 16:9 LCD, and it shuttles pretty smooth and quick.
 
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