The Gigantic Mini DV Deck / Camcorder as Deck Thread

[Ed Smith]

Hi adam,

Do you have a budget in mind?

It really depends on how much money you are willing to spend. If you only want a sub $1000 deck then I would look at getting a cheap MiniDV camera. If you are looking at spending more, then Sony and JVC do some nice professional models.

This sort of topic has come up many times, please try our search.

[Clint Till]

Recently I shot a project on the XL-1s and turned the footage over to the editor. He called back and said he was seeing noise on my tapes. So, I took the XL-1s down to his studio and everything played fine. No noise, no dropout. He was able to capture and edit fine after I brought my camera to him. I have also had this issue with two other studios since then. Footage shot on the XL-1s shows noise and dropout when played back on a DVCam or MiniDV deck. What could be the issue here?

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Sounds like a head alignment issue - your camera will play tapes it recorded, but other decks will not. Try viewing a tape recorded by another camera in your XL-1s - bet it doesn't play properly.

[Clint Till]

I took your suggestion and tried playing some footage I shot with an old consumer end JVC, but I didn't see any problems. No dropout or noise. Could there be some sort of compatibility issue with the XL-1s and other decks?

[Clint Till]

I just tried to play back some tapes shot at a wedding with my XL-1s on my consumer end JVC camcorder and it played fine. However, I tried playing some tapes shot for my short film and I had good picture but no audio. Now, the wedding footage was shot in normal movie mode, but the short film footage was shot in frame mode. Also, all the other tapes that editors had trouble playing were shot in frame mode. Do you think that could be part of the problem?

[Clint Till]

Ok, I looked at the XL-1s manual and at the bottom of page 44 it says "Frame video may not appear completely smooth during normal playback." Could this be why my tapes are filled with noise and dropout on other decks? Could someone educate me on this frame mode playback issue? Has anyone else ever experienced this?

[Charlie Wu]

i read many threads about dv deck vs cheap dv cam; and i've been considering about buying a deck for a long time now. originally the plan was to go for a cheap dv cam; however recently i heard from some guy at the canon service center saying that dv cams are not made for heavy duty capturing purposes. he then explained, "the tear and wear on the drum assembly will increase greatly if the cam is used for back n' forth, back n' forth seeking capturing. depends on usage, camera could break in a short while or could last for years. Deck, on the other side, is designed for capturing..."
well, just out of curiosity, how many folks actually break the camera by capturing?
over the past two years i've piled up more than 20 tapes of footages that need to be captured within the following two - three weeks. i really need something reliable, sturdy, compatible with both pc and mac.
i almost went out and bought the sony mini dv walkman, but then i read people also recommend AG-DV1000 by panasonic.
if i have the budget for GV-D1000 by sony, what are my other options?
and how do these options compare?

thanks people!

[Ray Echevers]

What's the cheapest Sony MiniDv camera with DV in and out to use as a deck and as an all purpose vacation/whatever camera?
Also I would want it to be brand new if the price is good.
Any suggestions/links appreciated.

[Jesse Bekas]

this is the cheapest new model...

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...ycamCamcorders

...but for your uses, you may be better suited searching online for an older model, or one from a different brand. You could probably find something with more features for a lower price. I think Panasonic has stripped down MiniDV model for something like $285.

[Christopher Baker]

I reciently purchased an XL1S from this site and like everybody else try not to use the camera as a playback deck. I just bought an inexpensive (brand new) dv camcorder to use as a playback deck and the picture looks good but the audio seems to skip and blank out as its being played. Does anyone know if this is fixable? or do I need to purchase a different camera or brand?

Thanks to all for your help

[Chris McKee]

Start by cleaning the heads on the XL1 and the new camera too.

[Shaggy Franks]

Hi,

here is a Question, since the XL2 records 16x9 (native)
with some more resolution right. If I use a Sony GVD-1000
to capture the Footage.

Will that affect the images or so?
The same with recording footage in 24p/25p will there also be
a Issue?

Cause I might be buying an Xl2 (if the PAL version will hit US streets)
I would like to use a miniDV deck (stationary) to capture my Footage.

Thanks advance?

P.S. any body seen XL2 footage compared to the Sony's HDV?

[Barry Green]

You can use any DV deck to play back XL2 footage. The choice of deck will have no effect on resolution, etc.

[Kenneth Irvine]

This is my first question to the forum. I've been involved in the film and tv industry for about 15 years, made a short drama and a doc for television, now I'm considering buying a Canon xl2.

Does anyone know if there are any quality issues with using a Canon ZR80 camera as a capture deck for footage shot (at any framerate) with the xl2? I've heard there will be quality loss??

BTW, capturing to Premiere 6.5 on a PC through Firewire.

If there are issues and I end up using the xl2 as the capture deck, how hard is this on the camera? Are there other solutions?

Thanks!

[Jeff Donald]

The best solution (though the costliest) is to purchase a mini DV deck. Decks are much more robust, generally treat the tapes better, and will last the longest and require the least service. The camera would be my second choice unless you have many hundreds of hours of footage to log and capture. Using a cheap camera as a capture device is somewhat more problematic. I've heard of capture issues, mostly related to dropped frames, with cheap mini Dv cameras. Cameras are very slow to go to in and out points and place more stress on the tapes.