What cheap capture devices are YOU using?
 

Okay, we all know that using your DVX100 camera as a playback/capture device to your NLE system is a bad idea...so what capture device do you use?

Currently, I use my dvx100 camera but I'm going to move to a deck or something soon. Maybe a cheap camera, but I've heard that mixing different camera brands may mess up some of this video. Is this true?

I use the camera too and it sucks. If anyone has any good recommendations I would also be interested.

If you're going to get a separate device, a decent deck is a blessing but it also quite expensive. If you go for a second camera to use as your capture device, I recommend you get a Panasonic (other than a GS model) because that way you'll not only be getting a capture device, you'll also be getting a spare battery, a second battery charger, and a backup remote control (because the Panasonic line has compatible accessories across the lineup, except for the GS series which use different, smaller batteries).

I can't believe Panasonic wants 1K for a stupid little portable VTR!! When I first saw this, I figured...cool...it'll probably be around $500...then I see the pricetag and it's a whopping $1,050.00!

http://www.panasonic.com/PBDS/subcat/Products/vtrs_vcrs/f_ag-dv1dc.html

Okay, so I guess I'll settle for a cheap camcorder to use as a capture/playback device.

I don't think that price is crazee.

You can get them for $900 or so from reputable dealers. For a unit with a 3.5 Quality LCD, that's decent.

A cam with a 3.5 LCD is not going to be that much cheaper.

Plus, my vote is for the JVC dual SVHS/MiniDV decks. Several models availble, quality used ones for around $500.

They are much more durable and very versatile. I love mine. Plus it makes stellar VHS dubs and upconverts of VHS/SVHS to DV.

I use a trv17 with a 3.5" monitor... sony mini-dv... I'm sure you could get something similar for a pretty low price.

I got a steal on this one new... a couple years ago I got it for around $800, so I expect you can now get something better for less.

So far I've had absolutely NO problems with mixing Sony/DVX. In fact you may not believe it but I still have times that I'm glad I didn't dump this onto ebay for a lousy $400... with a weighted monopod it works as good as the dvx does on a Glidecam V8... yeah, the full-body model! We shot some crap with the V8 and I can honestly say that my trv17 footage (on monopod) is just as smooth as the V8... of course the video itself isn't as good, but click it to b&w and call it camera 2...

I am also looking for something to capture with besides my DVX100, which I am now temporarily using until I get another device. I will most likely get a cheap miniDV camcorder rather than a deck, because I just spent $3,500 on the DVX. I was thinking about purchasing this camera (http://www.wolfcamera.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&productId=13080306) to use for capture. (sorry it's not from a sponsored site but it's the only place I could find that particular camera) That is the cheapest miniDV camera I have found. I was just wondering if this camera would work well as a capture device? Would there be any quality loss from using a cheaper camera like this (I know there probably isn't because the footage is on the miniDV cassette not the actual camera but I just thought I'd be sure)? Also, are there any downfalls to using a cheaper camera as a capture device? I just want to make sure that this camera is going to serve it's purpose well before I drop $400 dollars on it, because I really dont need to be spending any more money this month, but I'd rather spend the extra couple of hundred dollars on an additional camera than to put the extra wear on the DVX heads. Thanks for any help.

I'm sure that one would work fine, but if you get it from B&H it's about $70 less ($329.95). Buydig offers it at $287. Shop around before you drop $400 on it from wolf.

Thanks for the info. I was planning on shopping around before I bought it, that was just the only place I could find a pic of it, but maybe i was looking in the wrong place on the B&H site. Thanks again.

I'd also recommend that you avoid JVC cameras. Apparently more than one JVC product "strips out" the bits that the DVX100 writes into the data stream that identify what mode (24P, 24PA, 60i, etc) the footage was shot in. One of the Sonic Foundry guys verified that this was a problem with a JVC DV/VHS combo deck, and now someone else on the web is reporting that all the DVX100 24P footage he captures through a JVC camcorder is showing up in Vegas as "60i".

So, again, stick with a Panasonic, and avoid using a JVC product for capturing DVX100 footage.

Strange - I haven't noticed this on my JVC dual deck.

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Green : One of the Sonic Foundry guys verified that this was a problem with a JVC DV/VHS combo deck, and now someone else on the web is reporting that all the DVX100 24P footage he captures through a JVC camcorder is showing up in Vegas as "60i".

So, again, stick with a Panasonic, and avoid using a JVC product for capturing DVX100 footage. -->>>

Isn't ALL DVX footage really 60i?

the DV53 doesn't have stereo out. I bought it then I realized it only has mono audio output. I plan using this cam as both a capture cam and play back via the A/V output. But mono audio is definitely unacceptable. I exchanged it for a JVC cam. Hopefully you guys are wrong about the JVCs being not fully compatible with DVX tapes. And also.. why would Vegas need to know the data bits on the tape taht tells what mode the footage is in? Makes sense to me if you put Vegas in 24P mode it should just read in the footage and do on-the-fly reverse telecine, just like it does now. it'd be pretty stupid for Vegas programers to add in procedures that automatically disable 24P capturing if it can't find the data bits. So you saying that 3D animations files rendered in 24FPS and with pulldown added won't import into vegas as pure 24P frames?

If you want to know how it works, read the whitepaper at:
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/support/productinfo/24p.pdf

Basically, yes, all DVX footage is recorded as 60i. But the Panasonic camera encodes information in the data stream that tells what the type of file recorded is: interlaced or progressive, 30P or 24P or 24PA, and the cadence and which frames are blended.

Vegas reads those bits and is able to perform frame-accurate reverse pulldown on the 24P files. It also knows when you're using 30P and will render appropriately.

I believe you can flag footage and tell Vegas how to interpret the files, whether as 3:2 pulldown or as 60i, etc.

Do does anyone know if this problem with DVX footage in Vegas also applies to FCP4 or is it only a problem with Vegas? Now that I know that the DV53 doesn't have stereo out (thanks Yang) I was thinking about getting a JVC camera for around the same price as the DV53. So I was just wanting to know if since I use FCP4, should I not worry about the transfer problem some are having with the DVX footage on JVC cameras?

Yes, is this problem limited to Vegas? I don't plan on using Vegas for any projects anyways.

capture device
 

Once I've captured to my ag-dvx I then dump it using sony dsr-11. I have not had any problems doing so.

Anyone know if the PV-DV53 Panasonic MiniDV camcorder will work okay as a capture/playback device for my DVX100?

Here's the URL: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=276525&is=REG

Thank you. Concerned about it possibly incorrectly capturing the footage as 60i as someone said earlier in this thread (JVC).

I asked this same question earlier in this thread. I was thinking about getting it because it was the cheapest MiniDV cam I could find. Another member replied and said that he had bought the DV53 to use for capture and that it worked but that the camera only had mono audio output. I noticed that B&H had it listed as having stereo out, so I checked another web site and it had it listed as only having mono output. So, I decided not to take my chances with the DV53 from B&H. I guess it is possible that B&H has a newer version of it with stereo output but I don't really think that is very likely. It is more likely that it is just a mistake on the B&H website. So unless you would be satisfied with mono audio output I would probably not get the DV53. There is a JVC camera for not too much more money than the DV53 that does have stereo outputs. Hope this helps.

If you capture through the firewire to your Hard drive, doesn't the exact same audio transfer, as well?

Argh man, just when I thought it was getting easier.....

You get what you pay for!

Firewire signal is stereo - mono would be for analog outs.

Cool, so we should be okay with this Panasonic DV53 then?

I can't imagine why you wouldn't be fine with it... it should be fully compatible, AND you'll pick up a spare battery, charger, and remote for your DVX100 at the same time!

The DV53 works fine, DV over firewire is DV, so it outputs a 720x480 video w/ stereo across firewire just like every other DV device.

What the earlier posts were referring to is the analog video/audio out. So if you want to monitor on an external monitor you could only do so in mono. Not a big deal to me since I monitor sound on the computer anyways.

I use the DV53 as a deck for my DVX100 tapes and so far it has worked out great. I love the fact that I have another charger and battery too (a remote doesn't come with the DV53).

Well it's good to know that the DV53 will work without any audio loss. I guess I may have misunderstood what Yang was trying to say. Thanks for the info, I'll be picking up a DV53 now myself, as I have been looking to get a capture device and a spare battery for my DVX100. Two birds with one stone.

<<<-- Originally posted by Sean R Allen :

I use the DV53 as a deck for my DVX100 tapes and so far it has worked out great. I love the fact that I have another charger and battery too (a remote doesn't come with the DV53). -->>>



Are the chargers really the same?

I have the DV53 and the DVC80 and this question has been bugging me (although not enough to wait on hold for 30 minutes w/ Panasonic!). The specs on the two chargers seem the same, but they have different part numbers on their front faces. Does anyone know if it's safe to use the DV53 charger with the bigger DVC80 batteries?

Also, the battery that comes with the DV53 is smaller than the one that comes with the DVC80 -- it might be good as a last resort battery to have on hand "just in case," but I kind of doubt you'll get much life out of it on a DVC/DVX.

I haven't been using the DV53 as a play deck (I assummed that the heads might not be as good as the DVC), but I guess I will start. I just love it for the MagicPix effect -- it's great for a tongue-in-cheek, faux "scene-of-the-crime dramatization" look! :)

"Are thechargers really the same"

They do have different part numbers, but both have worked equally well for me charging batteries or powering the camera directly. They both have the same voltage and amperage and should be interchangable.

The good thing about Panasonic batteries are that they are all the same voltage and interchangable, unlike say...Sony who develops a new brand of battery it seems for each new line they make.

Anyways, FWIW my DV53 battery will power my DVX100 for about 40 minutes or so, but I'd have to wear my 3 other ones down first before I'd ever use it.


"I assummed that the heads might not be as good as the DVC"

The heads aren't as good in as they'll probably die before the DVC's would, i.e. they weren't made with the higher build quality the DVC/DVX were, however they are just as good at reading tapes as the DVC/DVX, meaning there's no loss of video/audio quality by using it as a deck.

Hi all,
I just received my DV53 and started using it as a playback deck. So far it works great and the battery/charger combo that came with the DV53 is also compatible with the DVX100.

So, if I shoot in 24p and use the DV53 to plaback, it should still be okay, right? Firewire is Firewire and it doesn't matter what camera you use since firewire is the same. Correct?

Correct.

Hi guys,
I've been using the DV53 Panasonic MiniDV cam for a few days now but I can't seem to get the camera to preview the timeline's content on my TV monitor. Is this a known issue with these cheap cameras? I heard on another forum that this happens....

Thanks for any advice.

*EDITED* because I was giving completely incorrect information. Another reason to stop posting so late :) Look below for the proper answers...

Are you sure? I haven't seen a camera yet that doesn't allow for firewire-to-analog passthru. It's quite rare to find one that does analog-to-firewire passthru, but even my old TRV7 and TRV8 did firewire-to-analog.

The exception is PAL cameras that have DV-input disabled. But just about any other camera should allow realtime conversion of the firewire input to the analog outputs.

Whoops.

Barry, you are right. I was confusing topics -- I was thinking of analog video pass-through into the computer, which many consumer cams do not support. Big apologies and many thanks for pointing that out.

From the computer to the TV, though, should work. As I sit here, I have video going from my computer through firewire to the DV53 and out to my TV via the analog out.

Nick, do you have your camera set to VCR? That seems to be the only necessary requirement for me to view the video out.

Hi John,
I'm not having any luck. I am wondering if you are using Premiere Pro? If not, then maybe that's why yours is working because according to the Adobe Premiere Pro Website, the Panasonic DV53 is not compatible.

I also tried running color bars from Premiere-->Camera-->TV and no luck.

<<<-- Originally posted by Nick Medrano : Hi John,
I'm not having any luck. I am wondering if you are using Premiere Pro? If not, then maybe that's why yours is working because according to the Adobe Premiere Pro Website, the Panasonic DV53 is not compatible.

I also tried running color bars from Premiere-->Camera-->TV and no luck. -->>>


Are you referring to this page for Prem. Pro?

http://www.adobe.com/products/premie...sonic&x=14&y=2

If so, I'd take that information with a gain of salt. I am using Premiere 6.5, but the neither the DV53 nor the DVC80 were specifically listed on the 6.5 compatibility chart. Regardless, I use both camera very successfully with Premiere 6.5.

Are you having any other troubles using your DV53 w/ Prem. Pro (besides not seeing the image on analog out)? If you can capture from your DV53 and record back to miniDV (from your computer to the cam), then I'd think that you'd be able to see it on screen as well. I don't know how Premiere could affect that... Have you tried different device capture settings? Again, I would think that sending the signal from your camera to the TV would be only under your camera's control, but you never know... I assume that you are able to successfully watch your recorded miniDV tapes on TV via the cam's analog out?

But I don't have Premiere Pro, so take my words with a grain of salt, too!

Ladies and gentlemen....the idiot is in the house! Yes, that's right, I had the A/V plug going into the wrong HOLE in the camera.....

Case closed. The issue has been solved. The camera now works beautifully with Premiere.

Good bye as I go hide in a dark corner!

DVX100 inadequate for capture ????
 

I quote Nick Medrano: "Okay, we all know that using your DVX100 camera as a playback/capture device to your NLE system is a bad idea...so what capture device do you use?"

I'm a pal DVX100 user and i do use the DVX to capture tapes through firewire to Adobe Premiere 6.

Can somebody explain me why using the DVX100 is a bad idea?
Why should a transfer bit per bit through firewire from the DVX to my PC be a bad idea? I don't understand and can't find on the forum another thread explaining this...

Thanks for your reply!

See you soon...

Stefan

I think he meant it is a bad idea to use the DVX for capture because it increases wear on the DVX heads. I don't think he meant that it gives bad quality or anything like that.

Good news...
 

Thank you Darrell, i hope it is what he meant, would be great if he can confirm.

Reassuring answer anyway...

See you,

Stefan

HI,
I meant exactly what Darrell is saying. It's okay to use your DVX100 as playback, but some of us are just real picky about using the video heads a little too much.