Using XH A1 as a transfer source...

[stlkid81]

I've heard people talking about using a special deck or a HV20/30 for the sole purpose of transfering the footage that they caught on their XH A1 to thier computer in order to preserve the heads on the XH A1(I think thats what thier preserving).
Is this something that the pros here would highly recomend doing? Is using my XH A1 to transfer footage to my computer going to degrade the camera or it's performance to a noticable degree? Or is this just something people would do to keep their camera working it's best for basicaly forever?
If I used my XH A1 for all my footage transfering could I expect to get years of use from it?
Capturing through Firewire in Premiere CS4 by the way.

Thanks
John

 

[yommytacoe]

It really depends on how much footage you're shooting. If you're shooting lots and lots of footage, then it's probably worth it, but if you're just shooting here and there, I don't think it will be an issue. I'm pretty sure camera heads can last easily over 1000 hrs, especially if you stick to one brand of tape and get your camera serviced occasionally.

 

[Taky]

Get an HV20 or HV30 for that purpose. I am also using XH-A1 and i use my HV30 as playback deck. It plays back all 60i, 24F and 30F footage from the XH-A1.