I love my XH-A1, the more I use it the more I love it.
I'm thinking about eventually buying a pocket BMCC for narrative but for small docs nothing beats the A1.

I'd like to get rid of the tape, for many reasons.
I was wondering if somebody could tell me what they think of the options below. I'm not trying to capture to higher resolution, just bypassing the tape.

DN-60 Field Recorder

Firestore FS H200

Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle 2

Can anybody recommend one?
Thanks
Larry

I have had a sony hvr-dr60 for a few years with my xh-a1, great piece of hardware and worked without a issue on the canon. When I was recording to it I ran a tape as back up, I could see 2 dots on the viewfinder indicating it was recording to both, I also could record to the dr60 only without having to insert any tape, it almost looked the recorder was made for the canon.

Does it attach it straight to the A1 through Firewire? Does it bypass the internal HDV codec? I'm about to sell the A1, but maybe not?

The sony hvr-dr60 is no longer available

I am sure a used one will work as well, although I find this price on Amazon a bit steep:

Amazon.com: Sony HVR-DR60 60GB Hard Disk Recorder for Compatible Sony HDV and DVCam Camcorders: Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HVR-DR60-Recorder-Compatible-Camcorders/dp/B000IF9OVS)

Good luck and keep us posted!

All the best,

Peter

Does it attach it straight to the A1 through Firewire? Does it bypass the internal HDV codec? I'm about to sell the A1, but maybe not?

Erick,

The DN-60 and the Firestore will connect to the Firewire connector and record HDV video from the camera

To use the Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle 2, you'll need a converter.

I like the Blackmagic solution but I admit it is a fairly big and heavy box to carry around.

Peter

Does it attach it straight to the A1 through Firewire? Does it bypass the internal HDV codec? I'm about to sell the A1, but maybe not?


Think the possibilities fo finding a used hvr-dr60 are small, the recorder would store the same footage as you would find back on tape, so nothing uncompressed or other format, it connected through the firewire connection of the camera.

The Amazon link I posted above is exactly that: a used hvr-dr60. If you are willing to pay the price, $800, is another story...

That's way overpriced, 400 dollar would be the max I would pay for this.

I've been using a couple of DN-60s with my Canon XH-A1 and XH-A1S. So far, they've worked great with both cameras. In fact, I no longer bother with tape at all.

One caveat, I did have problems with a CF card not on the approved list that I picked up at the local camera shop. I have several SanDisk Extreme 32 GB cards that have all worked flawlessly. Plus, each unit came with an included 16GB SanDisk CF Card.

I have a full functional hvr-dr60 that I would part with.

Larry,

I have the Focus Enhancements FS-CF recorder. It works great with my HV-30 and XL-H1A. I got it to future proof my HDV cameras due to lack of firewire ports on new laptops. It's a quality piece of hardware with lots of extra functions. It can start automatically when you press record on the camera. Whatever you decide on, I'd recommend you get something that has this ability.

Mark Watson

Edit: I have the FS-CF Pro model.

The hvr-dr60 could also be started and stopped with the camera record button, it's biggest disadvantage was it's first start-up time which was about 12 seconds before you where able to record but it's biggest advantage was that once it was rolling (starting and stopping to record was without delay then) you could go on for hours on a single big Sony battery, battery life was exceptional.

Thanks, everybody.
From what I can understand now, the Black Magic device needs several adapter. It's cheaper upfront, but I'm not sure it's the best solution.
I'm leaning in favor of either the DN-60s, or the VITEC FS-H200 Pro Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder.
I've just discover that Canon does have a solution called: Canon FS-CF Pro Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder.

I have a full functional hvr-dr60 that I would part with.

Hi Chris, may I ask, how much?

If you're on a tripod, another option is to shoot with Adobe's OnLocation directly to a laptop. They stopped selling it at CS 5.5, but it really is an excellent option. This is how I shoot all my concert videos, with a laptop modified to hang below the legs of the tripod.

Sorry for jumping back in so late. Chris, that's a really interesting solution. How do you actually attach the laptop to the tripod? Does OL auto-start capturing when you press record on the cam? If not, how do you manage to start/stop OL?

Peter

Sorry for jumping back in so late. Chris, that's a really interesting solution. How do you actually attach the laptop to the tripod? Does OL auto-start capturing when you press record on the cam? If not, how do you manage to start/stop OL?

Peter
Sorry it took me so long to reply...

I use a HP Elitebook, a rugged laptop with a metal case. I took it apart and drilled holes in the four corners of the bottom and mounted metal cable tie blocks, and threaded rings through those. I have a loop of parachute cord that runs through all the rings, and that loops over the knobs that tighten the legs on my Bogen tripods.

I start recording at the beginning of a concert, and I can hit the record button again at any point during a recording to make separate files for different sections.

One of the things I love about my solution is that I have one less camera's media to transfer. My editing choice is Edius, and I can drag the file that OnLocation captured directly onto the timeline.

Thanks, everybody.
From what I can understand now, the Black Magic device needs several adapter. It's cheaper upfront, but I'm not sure it's the best solution.
I'm leaning in favor of either the DN-60s, or the VITEC FS-H200 Pro Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder.
I've just discover that Canon does have a solution called: Canon FS-CF Pro Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder.

Larry, can you report back on what you ended up purchasing and how it's working for you?

Chris, Chris, Cynthia, Larry, Erick, Noa, Mark, Roger, and all other members: Happy Filming in 2014!

Chris DV: sounds like a nice setup! Would love to see a pic :-)

Yes, Larry, I'm also curious to know if you managed to go tapeless with one of these recorders?

Hey Peter.

Chris's post gave me ideas for mounting my old Shure M267 mixer.

Roger, yes, this setup gave me the idea of mounting my Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle2 to the tripod instead of on the camera. (I did buy the mounting plate). I would love to see a photo of Chris' setup because it sounds very sturdy. Did you succeed in making a good mounting solution for the Shure?