As we all know, the XL2 comes with its own software which allows you to conect the cam to your laptop and record right to the hard drive. In this case, the camera contols the laptops recording when you push the red buttonl.

So if someone were to go out and get a really long Firewire cable, say 30 feet or more, then they would have a lot of room to walk around and get some hand held shots, direct to disk.

This sounds like a great idea for say, wedding videographers who dont move around that far anyway.

There is a maximum length to a firewire cable and I think that
would be too long to get a reliable signal. Also with all sort of
other people walking around (on "event" shooting) I would
much rather invest into a direct harddisk recording solution like
a firestore.

I think recording to a laptop is far better suited to a fictional
work where your usually not moving the camera too much
(a laptop could travel on a dolly).

Ofcourse it would be still troublesome in those shoots with
things like cranes and steadicams etc.

The original firewire spec limits cable length to a maximum of about 14'5 feet.

However some companies, like TecNec and Laird, have been able to get reliable cable lengths of up to 75' (or so they claim). Plus there are companies that make repeaters so you can send the signal 250' or more.

I just ordered a 30' cable from Laird, so if it doesn't work out well, I'll be posting about it.

The best use of direct to PC (laptop) recording seems, so far, for small studio work, which, for a lot of us, is garage green screening.

The Laird cables do, indeed, work. In the event of a problem, tho', the repeaters are the best answer and will almost always work.

I just downloaded it from
http://www.canon.ca/dv-pc_recorder/

and the manual:
http://www.canon.ca/DVPCR_V1ENG_N.PDF

Below are the System Requirements:

OS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Professional(installation of Service Pack 1 recommended)
Proper operation is not guaranteed on Windows XP that has been upgraded from a previous version.
CPU Pentium III 800 MHz or more (Pentium 4 or later recommended)
RAM 128 MB or more (256 MB or more recommended)
Free Hard Disk Space For installation
Free Hard Disk Space: 30 MB or more
For video recording
Free Hard Disk Space: 1 GB or more (1 minute of video recording uses 0.22 GB)

File System: NTFS
Recordings cannot be made on FAT32 or FAT16 formatted hard disks.
Display 800 × 600 pixels (1024 × 768 pixels or more recommended) / High Colour (16 bit) or better
Interface IEEE1394 (OHCI compliant)


Proper operation is not guaranteed on a dual CPU PC or on a user-built PC.
Proper operation is not guaranteed on any particular system, even if it meets the requirements outlined above.
Recordings cannot be saved on a hard disk recognized as [Removable disk].
This software will not operate properly if repeater or other IEEE1394 devices are connected to the computer's IEEE1394 (DV) terminal.
This software will not operate properly if more than one camcorder is connected to the· computer.
Proper operation is not guaranteed for recording on compressed drives.
This software can also be used with recordings in 24p mode (NTSC only). Use an editing software that supports the 24p mode.