Slaving Question

S

superproduceraj

Member
After reading much on here about slaving smaller camera to save wear and tear on my DVX 100 a's I went out and got 2 Panasonic pv-gs12's to slave with. I have successfully slaved both of my 100a's with other smaller cameras so I KNOW it works. The problem is my DVX's don't sense the cameras I bought. It's like they don't see it. Then I will slave my friends' smaller camera and mine work again!! Does anyone know why my dvx's will see some cameras and NOT others??? This is driving me crazy.
 
Is this the process you used on both camcorders?

1. Connect a slave camcorder to the DVX via Firewire.

2. Go into the menu and select OTHER FUNCTIONS.

3. Select DV CONTROL

The options are:

OFF
EXT
BOTH
CHAIN

OFF: This is the default mode. This is the DVX's normal operating mode. In this mode, when connected to a slave camera via Firewire, anything the DVX sees, the slave sees, whether the DVX is recording or not. By pressing the record button on the slave, you can record whatever the DVX sees without the DVX recording.

EXT: In this mode, the DVX does not record to its internal tape drive at all. Instead, the data is sent to the slave and the slave does the recording with no loss of quality. Just set the slave to VCR mode just as you would when using it as a capture camera. Then, just record as usual (press "Record" on the DVX) and the slave does the work without a tape even being in the DVX. So, no head wear on the DVX!

BOTH: This is self-explanatory. When set to BOTH, both cameras are recording what the DVX sees. Just press "Record" on the DVX and both cameras record at the same time. Handy for making instant back-up tapes.

CHAIN: In this mode continuous, nonstop recording is possible. Put tapes in both cameras, set the slave to VCR mode, and start shooting. Press "Record" on the DVX and the DVX uses its own, internal tape first. When it is almost full, the DVX turns on the slave to continue recording. While the slave is recording, you can swap out the first tape so that recording continues, uninterrupted, when the slave's tape is full.
 
It is possible that the new one(s) have a bad firewire port.

Or it could just be the interface between to two, a friend of mine has a JVC-GY500 that refuses to be recognized by my macbook (or vice versa), his camera has no problem connecting to any other computer and I have sucessfully connected other JVC-GY500s with out any issue. It's unlikley, but it could just be a "ghost in the machine."
 
superproduceraj said:
After reading much on here about slaving smaller camera to save wear and tear on my DVX 100 a's I went out and got 2 Panasonic pv-gs12's to slave with. I have successfully slaved both of my 100a's with other smaller cameras so I KNOW it works. The problem is my DVX's don't sense the cameras I bought. It's like they don't see it. Then I will slave my friends' smaller camera and mine work again!! Does anyone know why my dvx's will see some cameras and NOT others??? This is driving me crazy.
Click to expand...

Honestly (and you probably don't want to hear this after making the purchase :)), you're putting an unnecessary burden on yourself for very little benefit. Making yourself slave to a separate cam all the time is going to be a major PITA, especially in situations where you want/have to be nimble and quick. Worrying about setting it up, making sure it's working, avoiding cable pulls, wrangling two cameras all the time -- just not worth it.

The DVX's heads aren't delicate snowflakes. They're made to be used and they're made to record. I've never heard of anyone ever getting their heads replaced because they wore out, and that's after almost seven years of the DVX being out there. I have thousands of hours of DVX recording under my belt, and there is no sign of wear, even on my B-serial cam from 2003.

So, seriously, this "avoiding head wear" thing is way out of hand. :) Just go shoot.
 
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