I've been using a Canon GL1 and FCP 3 on a Mac G4 for some years and have been fairly happy. I just got a Sony VX2100 and am having trouble importing the video. I'm getting massive dropped frames. My preference settings are very conservative- Audio at low and real time audio tracks at 6.

I've tried using both firewire control and non controllable device.

I also tried putting the Sony's tape in the Canon (same dropped frames).

I'm seeming to have some luck recording to the GL1 from the VX2100 via firewire and then capturing in FCP with firewire control. I am curious as to whether this will change the colors. Do the original Sony colors become Canon colors.

I remember where the VX2100 manual said the camera wasn't compatible with Mac, but of course I don't believe that.

Any way, this is a list of my suspicious things.

I recorded to the VX2100 using an old tape that had previously been recorded by the GL1.

I recorded in LP instead of SP.

I recorded using 16 bit audio and with an Rode Video Mic attached.

The footage was just of football, so it's not important. But I would like to figure out the potential problems of using this camera before I use it at a wedding.

Thanks,
Scott

In my opinion...
Everytime I used LP, I have had problems. I would personally stay away from that.
Unless the tape you use is high quality, I don't think the miniDV tapes are made to be used (professionally) more than once...at least that has been my experience.

I have been using a VX2100 for a good year now. The only problem that I have experienced is while the tape bay is loading the tape in the camera, there has been a couple times the tape has been eaten. Everytime I put a tape in, I listen for any unusual sounds...just in case. But other than that, the VX2100 has been good for me.

The realtime and audio quality settings have nothing to do with capture, so they aren't part of the problem.

The big red flags are that you recorded in LP mode on a used tape. I would never do either of those things personally. Consider only using one brand of tape in your VX-2100 (I only use Sony premium in all of my Sony cameras). Don't re-use tapes and don't record in LP mode. If you're still having problems use a cleaning tape and follow the instructions to the letter. If that doesn't help then you may need to send your camera in for a professional cleaning and/or head alignment.

I've been capturing video from my VX-2000 for about 4 years with no problems. Definitely no compatibility issues with FCP.

Thanks Boyd and Jay. I did it again today with a fresh tape and on SP. It was no problem at all. Worked perfectly and the picture was terrific.

I think though that I will look through for the forum for posts about optimizing the mac and reducing frequency of dropped frames. I'm absolutely positive there are plenty of things I could do better that would simplify my life.

Thanks,
Scott

Just off the top of my head, here are a few things to try:

1. When capturing video don't run anything other than FCP; quit from all other applications

2. Never capture to your startup (boot) drive.

3. If using a second internal drive it should be 7200 RPM for best results

4. External drives should be firewire only, don't use USB. They should also be 7200 RPM drives

5. Be sure there's plenty of free space on your capture drive. Only use it for video, don't fragment it with a lot of smaller files.

6. When you finish with a big project, archive it somewhere if needed and then reformat your capture drive.

7. If running MacOS 10.3 or later, do not enable journaling on your capture drive.