I noticed no camcorder thread here.

I just bought myself a Panasonic GS-180 3CCD miniDV camcorder.

Hope members can discuss their experience in using camcorder such as how to take good video, how to do converting for different media(DV,DVD,HDD) and do editting.

All are welcomed.

Thanks Harry for starting the thread. I was hoping for a thread like this.
My experience, basically to shoot a good video, you must be a bit creative. If you can plan your shoot that would be better.
Steady hands is an asset in making videos. Otherwise your eyeballs would be going haywire watching it. Take shots that are clear and short. Make sure subjects fully seen in your lcd or the view finder. Dont shoot with half a persons face, cutting the head at the top, back view of a person. Unless you want it like that then go ahead.
Minimise your zoomings. Slow zoom is good. But dont take the whole day! When you zoom in to or zoom out from a far subject your video will tend to shake more. Go closer if you can. Use a tripod if you have to.
When you need to pan left and right do it once. That means pan from left to right and stop. Do not pan back to left.
Close-ups are better than full length shoots. Avoid low light areas. Just like photography the light must be on the subject. If the light is behind the subject and you are facing it, than the subject would be dark. Use your cameras light and if there is none get one. Too expensive,... ask someone to shine a torchlight!! Just kidding!
Once you have a good shoot, then load it into your pc........ next time!

basically to convert you video to a portable media (VCD/DVD) you need two things. first the video capturing device and secondly the video editting software.

most cameras now have both usb and firewire port. but for video editting purpose, i suggest you use the firewire port. meaning, if you don't already have the port on your pc, you'll have to buy the pci adapter for the firewire. it cost less that rm100, together with the proper cable .

the software is the tricky part since video editting software does not come cheap ( the original one laa..). the pirated one of course cost less than rm20. you can also use the windows movie maker, although it is more tidious. whichever it is, it your choice.

i personally have made few VCDs of my own and for friends. basically for VCD you can still see some blurring (if you watch the VCD video very closely). so go for DVD version if you can.

Minimise on too many zooms, they look un professional. First compose your shot & then hit the record button. Use the camera's optical image stabilizer (OIS). That will help, but you still need to keep a steady hand. Video production starts with good shooting first. Then the job is already 50% done. No amount of fantastic editing can correct poor shooting skills & jerky footage. Editing is a skill in itself. You need to be good to cut the clips to tell a story, to make it conservative, or jazz it up to be creative & artistic. But editing miniDV is very time-consuming. If you love it then it's fine, else it is tedious.

Why editing miniDV is time consuming? What others video format is faster? MiniDV is the best quality beside Beta.

It's time-consuming because :

1) If you shoot 2 hours of miniDV footage, you have to also upload 2 hours of footage to your PC.

2) You have to go through the uneditted video clips & cut those that are not so nice. Then you have to arrange the clips so that the movie tells a coherent story.

3) Do some color correcting or brighten footage that was too dark, etc.

4) You have to add transistions when necessary, & perhaps put in titles

5) Put in some background music where appropriate

6) And finally, render the movie to VCD or DVD. In my experience, it takes around 5 1/2 to 6 hours to render & burn about 1 1/2 hours of edited video to DVD, even on a powerful PC.

So that's why editing is so time-consuming.

Andrew

All the video editing have to go through this process. There is no shortcut. accept for the media transfering process. MiniDV have to follow the video footage hour. MinDVD and Hdd can download right away. Film type have to do chemical process. So the shortest time is MiniDVD and Hdd but lack of quality.
Maybe I wrongly understand your meaning miniDv is time consuming. I thaught others format are not time consuming.

Exactly Ozak, miniDVD does not require any editing. Whatever you shoot will be burned directly to the DVD although the video is compressed to MPEG2, which is not as good quality as DV. There are some cameras that record directly to a harddisk inside the camcorder. You can upload the footage quickly & edit it with your PC.

My piriority is quality of the video. So change to minidvd is out. Still prefer MiniDv. Unless they comeout better quality than the minidv. Actually I ve this editing laziness due to long hour doing it. That why I ve a bunch of dvtape lying around haven't edit it. Some more than 4yrs. My friend also give up me liau after nagging so long time.(Those noob friends just don't understand) Hehehehe....

Totally agree with andybiz_2005.

Speaking thru experience.

I myself is using Sone MiniDV cam. Problem I have when trying to upload from DV to HDD the PC does not recognise my viewcam. After spending hours of trouble shooting, I finally give up. Ended up buying myself a firewire card. Then manage to do the transfer.

Then come transferring time, editing time, & burning time.

Took me 1 hour to transfer from viewcam to pc. another 1.5 hours to do editing (adjusting brightness, contrast etc). 45 mins to convert the format to vcd, finally 10 mins to burn to VCD.

So far, I have yet to try converting to DVD format.

miniDVis time consuming but of coz the quality is promising.

DVD still can do editting either in PC or camcorder itself but the quality of coz lose to DV.

unless of coz the HD pwned all of them.

good guide. any softwares recommendation for each steps?

from DV to raw AVI, i'm using WinDV or the software comes with my camcorder.

Editting i heard Vegas, Ulead and Adobe Premiere is not bad.

Then from AVI to MPG2, i nvr done yet, but will try TMPGENC.

I'm planning to buy a beg for my panasonic nv gs 33 (just ngam-ngam to put it inside so i don't have to hang-it at my neck). Any recommended brand with good bargain?? It will be better if can give me location and address of the shop that sell it. If buy ori from pana the price will be expensive la. Thanks in advance.

who knows how to use DV cable?????

is it firewire ??????

yes, firewire

Phew, Just came back from Terengganu. Was there to do a 4 camera shoot. It's gonna be hell editing them.
Anybody out there good in editing corporate videos? This one is actually a training video but needs to be edited in style. Like CSI in AXN or some of the new editing techniques. Drop me a line if you are interested. By the way I am using Adobe Premiere on Matrox Hardware. Thankx and have a good day.

i'm kinda new into camcorder but i plan to get one soon.

based on replies here, miniDV quality is the best? if so, what are the recommended brands that give good quality, value for money, etc...(budget <rm3k)

err.. how many hours of video can i take with a DV tape? how many hours does one battery last? under normal usage...

lastly, which place is recommended to buy camcorder in terms of before and after sale service, price...?

Every time ask me recommending camcorder, I always sugges Sony. With budget <3K, you can get HC42E (or 46E the new model).
1 60-min you can record 60min of video with SP mode, if LP mode, 90 min.
the battery comes with the camcorder can last you about 45 min after full charge. If you are not shooting for long, for example, speeh, ceremony, just for normal home video, this is good enough.

Panasonic ve a good range of 3ccd camcorder. Get the panasonic. DV tape is only record 1hr. Standard battery is 1hr and extended battery is about 2 1/2hr till 3hr. If you buy camcorder, get another big capacity battery. The standard battery came with the camcorder is not enough. Lowyat and sg. wang is a good place to search a latest model and buy. For service, go back to their manufacturing service centre. Don't hope for the shop.

some clarifications on what you guys have said.



(Disclaimer: I own a production house)

If you just need to "shoot stuff", then I would definitely suggest using HDD-based camera. most of these cameras have lots of output settings such as MPEG2-TS (dvd-like), DV, etc. why HDD-based? because you don't have to bother the wait of transferring footages in realtime. suits the purpose of "just shoot2 stuff" I think. and virtually all hdd-based cameras have inferior lenses, which does (should) not mean anything to you. heck, go and get a Hi8 format camera even, it doesn't really matter to you. just that maybe later a bit susah to buy Hi8 tapes la. note: Hi8 records to Digital8 format, which is about the same quality with DV, but the camera itself is of lower quality so almost always the picture quality is lesser. but ONLY lesser than expensive camcorders lah. If you are here, I suggest to shoot in MPEG2 mode. because almost always, you will wanna burn to DVD right? not to send to tv station. plus, it wont eat your hdd like crazy, hehe.

however, if you WANT to be so-called a semi-pro or pro shooters, AND having quality pictures, then that's a whole different thing already. BUT, remember that the gears that you have doesn't matter. you have shoot in 1080p mode, but if your shots, lighting are crap then no point. its your technique that matters, seriously. the only difference between the group above and below is just the camera, and the camera's features. itu sahaja.

first set a budget. I don't know about "cheap cameras", as I deal with RM20+ to hundreds of thousands of RM cameras but if you can get your hands on a Sony VX1000, 2nd hand even, then GO GET IT! a lot of digicam pros nowadays start their life with VX1000.

however, miniDV is just the tape. to put it simply, miniDV is just a kind of storage. 20k cameras or 3k cameras, they all use miniDV. but what sets RM20,000 cameras apart from the normal RM3k ones are the features and the lenses. case in point: NASA satellite, the one that went to Mars, uses only 1 megapixel camera. but the image that came out beats any camera on earth by 1000x, no kidding! The lens alone costs RM4 juta sahaja

For starters, I would definitely avoid considering anything HD, or HDV. it's nice to have that feature, but don't consider that even for a second. worthless, for your concern lah. what you should look for is the lens quality (#1), how heavy it is (VERY IMPORTANT!), how stable it is to be hold BY YOU. to be honest, even if the camera is RM10000000, if its too big to be handled by you after a few hours, then no point what. because you need to have good, stable shots, and the heavier the camera is, the harder it is to make it stable after a while. but you don't want the cams to be so light also lah. i suggest, when you want to get a cam, go to a kedai, then ask for that camera, then ask if you can hold the cam, and then you discuss with the orang kedai while holding the cam, just to get the feel of the cam for more than 5 mins.

if the camera has a handle, a big, big plus. u'd be surprised how great a shot can look when you hold it with the handle. but I suppose Rm3k cameras don't really have this feature, right? moving on.......

always, always, have at least 2 batteries. the standard one, and the long-lasting ones. a note: sony cams is great on this part. for some reason sony cams have super gila punya batteries. my sony nw-hd5 mp3 player also can last for 45 hours nonstop. so if battery life is important to you, then search sony cams lah.

and it goes without mention that ask only about the optical zoom, not the total zoom, combined zoom, or digital zoom. those are WORTHLESS. like 3x, 5x, 10x lah. not 100x, 1000x.

if it can take picture, then ok la. but not really important. unless you want to use the same cam to take pictures also lah. but then if you are in this group, then you really are in the first "just shoot2" group. get a hdd based one. better value, no need to get those stupid memory sticks or sd cards. and besides, if you really have to take a still pic with a camcorder, just record a few seconds to miniDV tape, then get a frame from your editing software lah.

as for picture quality, point #1 is have a great lens. not Hi8, not miniDV. point #2, choose the best recording format. MPEG2, or MPEG2-TS is the lowest that you wanna go (just don't). its like this la (might be incorrect, I just woke up ) -
MPEG2>DV,Digital8>DVCPRO50>DigiBeta>Uncompressed world

just remember that this is a technical comparison, not picture quality. again, picture quality = $$ lens. and please, oh please, don't ever shoot in LP mode. if you like to have longer time to shoot than just 60 mins, then you are in the hdd group. trust me, you'll be a lot happier being there. Note: sony just released 83min miniDV tape.

next time I will talk about NLEs lah. NON LINEAR EDITING. or post production. or the editing softwares.

a few short tips before I mandi.
1. if you have low budget, then stop dreaming about good quality. no such thing as cheap, good quality, can cook for you, etc.
2. stick with what you have, and be happy. focus more on what you can do - SHOT QUALITY!
3. something to always remember by when going miniDV/digital. the one biggest flaw with these cameras compared to analog cameras like BETA cams are the lighting condition. you want good looking picture? then GET MORE LIGHT!

no point having canon XL1 but shoot in poor lighting condition. if you can, try to shoot where the light actually ENTERS the camera's lens ke, use bounce light ke. but the general rule is if it looks just nice with your eyes, then add more light. camera lens is bad compared to God's lens, trust me
4. "For service, go back to their manufacturing service centre. Don't hope for the shop."
You get what you pay for. If you want to save a few hundred by buying dekat kedai yam seng dan anak, then don't cry like hell when you drop your camera or the lens calar. because sometimes they can sell cheap because they import. and most imported cameras ("grey cams" what we call them) are not covered locally as far as i know.
5. stabiliser/antishaker mode - a big, big plus.

if you really need to save a few hundred by buying there not in official distributors, then better wait a few more months lah, and search and learn shooting techniques during that time.

good luck!

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 10 2006, 11:23 AM

I have a camcorder lying around collecting dust. It is canon mvx3i or optura xi in US. I have 1 extra long life battery with lights.

But the thing is, after we got out video done, where can we share it? How to improve? Where can I find video shooting club???

www.youtube.com is a great place to share vids for starters.

and mvx3i? KEEP IT! its a great camera, superb lens. seriously dude that is a great cam for the price, its still a great one even now. just learn how to use the aperture and gain up settings.

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 10 2006, 11:19 AM

Yeah, I think its a great camera. Some more at RM1599 new. I can't resist myself Got it from warehouse sale. I didn't think of buying one. I thought of getting Sony 3mp Hc90e camcorder, the best lowlight camcorder at RM3000. but mvx3i totally got me

As we just an average jo, how we know which or what camcorder lens is the best? And each brand claim there have a good lens. I used to own a Hi8 with carl leis lens. Since it is a analogue, not much I can't done with the quality picture. Now I get a panasonic 3ccd with leica lens. But I still not satify with the quality picture that I get. Maybe my expextation is too high. My main now is how to improve it in NLE. What codec, setting, encoding or filter apply to it is the best. I m still playing around with this setting. Hope C-Fu can teach us more. Thanks in advance C-fu.

hmmmmmmm which lens is the best.....

i also dunno how to check

well, I guess the best way is to do your research via google, DV magazine, etc. first. magazine reviews are great, IMO. although camcorder mags are kinda expensive, you don't really have to get them every single month.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com is good, but there are hundreds of great camcorder or dv sites. dvguru la, studiodaily la, dvguru la, dvcreators la - best to check around for info on which cam to use, on which budget. http://www.videoguys.com/ is perhaps the biggest (but crappiest looking haha) site for video stuff.

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2006/09/08/pr...-videos-part-1/
check this out. some dude made a great video, with a DIGITAL CAMERA. not a camcorder. perfect example of using what he know, not what he has.

Hi8 is a very underrated technology, IMO. if you have great lighting setup, good shots, you can in fact produce great looking videos.

rule of thumb that most amateurs and hobbyists don't like to follow: be patient and hassle yourself more with the shoot setup, like lighting, etc. than trying to hassle yourself like hell in NLE. i find it very nice to see and read how people shoot DVuse with what you can get for cheap. those damn DV guerillas.... you want great lights? use tangloons!

http://www.izzyvideo.com/
eh what's this?
http://digitalliving.cnet.co.uk/specials/0...280337-1,00.htm
eh?


a question, did you guys went to the recent IBIS at KLCCC? rugi la if you didn't go!

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 10 2006, 10:53 PM

Thanks c-fu. The website info is fantastic. Will need somtime to read all of it. Using camera to shoot video is not bad also. I discover the picture quality is much better than my 3ccd camcorder. I just brought a Canon S3 camera last month and try out the video shooting. Supriselly it so clear and sharp. Only the problem is the preimeire cannot read the file format. Got to convert to others codec. Damn. Got to abandon my camcorder already. Taken video shooting more than taken picture using my camera. heheheh...

hi all...
last time i bought miniDV camcoder to shoot my weeding day but since the camcoder had a prob (and still at JVC manufacture), i think i want to buy a new one....and i dont like the miniDV system...i mean i have to convert into my pc also i should hv a big storage....damn it ....but i know the quality of miniDV tape is better but i need the easier system like DVD camcoder...can just record like plug and play...or if i'm busy just leave it in the cd...dont worry 'bout my pc storage...
so, my question is what model is the best (my budget < 2.5k) and can u all (my frenz) gv a various model so i can hv a choice to choose which one better...

then you are in the "just shoot2 stuff" lo. which means that I'd have to recommend you to get hdd-based cameras.

but really, mpeg2 isnt really designed for editing, so you might encounter problems with it.

and if you really want editing, then you gotta invest lah. aiyo how much is a 400gb sata harddisk nowadays wat.

Great to have you C-Fu on this thread. A very knowledgeable guy who freely shares his info. Much of what he said is true. Well, currently the leaders in lens are Sony (Carl Zeis), Panasonic (Leica Dicomar) & Canon (Canon). I have tried to search on Google to find out which of these 3 lenses are the best, but so far turned out with zero results.

One thing to note about harddisk-based camcorders is that they're more fragile & can get easily broken, esp when dropped. As you know external notebook harddisks are already so fragile that you take great care not to drop it. Even more so a hdd-based camera.

I would personally recommend Panasonic cameras instead of Sony as Sony cams are overpriced & I've read many Internet reports of dissatisfied customers of Sony & how their customer support give them a hell of a time. Do a google search on "Sony sucks", or "Sony customer complaints"

I have personally dealt with Panasonic customer service staff a number of times & all those times have been pleasant experiences of really caring, patient & helpful staff. Kudos to Panasonic. I'm running out of time, will contribute more to this thread later. Meanwhile......stay tuned

Andrew

if you think those three lenses are the best ones, wait till you see RED lenses for yourself...... OMG

RED cams are like ferrari, and your average consumer camcorders are like..... basikal XD

every single cam fanatic that I've seen and read about are pissing in their pants waiting for this cam to come out.....

http://red.com/

macam robot siot! u like 12MP dSLR cameras? well how about 12MP video cameras?



what about premiere pro 2.0?

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 14 2006, 04:17 AM

Yes yes, C-Fu. I've been aware of The Red One since last year. So cheap! Costs only USD17,500 compared to the Cinealta, Varicam, XDCAM, or Arriflex D20, or even the Viper Filmstream which can cost half a million dollars with prime lenses, cinegear, etc. The D20 can only manage 2K resolution but the RedOne hopefully will be able to come out end of this year with 4K resolution. Jim Jinnard of the Oakley Corporation is the master-mind behind this beast of a cam. He's a photographer first & an cinematographer second. I'm very confident in the lens that Jim makes for the Red, since his company has had years of experience making lenses for Oakley sunglasses. If Jim Jinnard can pull this wonder camera off, then I'm sure Sony's Cinealta & Panasonic's Varicam will really loose market share. The Red is gonna RED-efine the way future movies are made. But the only way to project 4:4:4 raw 4K image unto widescreen will be to use Sony's ultra-HD projector systems. The only cinema camera I think that is better than the Red is the Panavision film cameras used to shoot most Hollywood flims. But then again, the Panavisions are only for rent, not for purchase. I wonder, if they sold the Panavisions, how much would it cost? Any ideas C-Fu?

The problem I see in the future if the RedOne does get to market is what NLEs will support raw unconpressed 4:4:4 image & what kind of editting workstations can handle such collosal video data processing? It's great having a superb camera to shoot with, but then how will we edit it, assuming we want the very best quality (raw)?

This post has been edited by andybiz_2005: Sep 14 2006, 08:52 AM

The RedOne decided to use a CMOS sensor the size of 35mm film instead of CCDs. Some people argue that 3CCDs are better than just 1 CMOS chip, but I beg to differ. It depends on how the sensors on the CMOS are spaced together & the overall dimensions (35mm). So a bigger CMOS sensor, as Red calls it the Mysterium will really look a lot like film. I like the look of the RedOne cage. It looks so cool don't you think?

The DVX100A on it's own can only manage 4:2:0 color samples natively, but if you want to get 4:4:4 color samples out of the DVX, it's possible. You have to purchase the Andromeda add-on. This module has to be inserted into the camera where their technician will have to open up your DVX & install this module. Therefore your camera's warranty will be void.

But with this Andromeda add-on, you can actually capture full 4:4:4 color samples from your DVX. Currently, Reelstream has begun supporting PAL DVXs, but the software that comes with it only supports the Mac platform, not the Windows yet. It's pretty expensive too. Check out this url : http://www.reel-stream.com/headline.php?id=104



This post has been edited by andybiz_2005: Sep 14 2006, 09:04 AM

i am using a Canon XL-1....but i am a total noob in video recording.....hehehe.....that camcorder is my company's.....and i heard it's quite expensive....

can i just ask...

for DVD camcorders, the media they used...is it the same as the ones we use on computers???

because the ones i saw selling in Sony wings, they are about rm40-50 per pc.....whereas the computer ones are just about rm3-4....

what's the difference??

thanks!

I think the DVDs used in camcorders are smaller diameters & less capacity than regular DVDs used in PCs.

Wah! That camcorder look futuristic and damn high spec. If it make avaiable for consumer market, I m the first one to buy it. Price high. No problem. Even ve to pawn my underwear.

I m still using premiere pro1.5 and Sony standard premiere. will try it out. Thanks.

Actually, the RedOne camera is more for serious movie makers. It's a film camera replacement for making Hollywood movies.

thanks for all of u guys....more info here...gud sharing... .....
currently which one is the best HDD or DVD camcoder system???...

I only know the everio series for hdd-based cams...

Thanks everyone! I was hoping for some insight into this area from such well versed people from the industry!

Actually I don't mind cheap cameras. I've always thought the quality of the work is from the artist than the equipment. Also I can save money for other stuff!

You're welcome Hot California. You're right, more than just cutting-edge cinema technology & good cinematography, what is the most fundamental & most important in movie-making is a superb & interesting storyline. If the script tells a good story, then good cutting-edge technology & directing will follow. When people are watching a movie, they don't oohh! & aahh! at great the lighting is, or how artistic the camera angles are, or what an excellent director he/she is. They just want to see a good story unfold infront of them.

what u guys recommend? Panasonic NV-GS300 or Sony Dcr-Hc96e? it's give me a headache to choose.. or is there any other model that even better? TQ

This post has been edited by farizarif: Sep 19 2006, 04:39 PM

Try a RedOne camera (www.red.com). Hehehe.....that would take you a lifetime of generations to save up for that one

what are you gonna use it for?

get one that feels good IN YOUR HANDS, good image stabiliser, good battery life. for consumer camera, these things are much more important than this gizmo or that gizmo.

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 20 2006, 11:10 AM

any camcoder cheaper than RM1500? Using DVD and can take photo also..

hehe.. yea..that freakin' awesome camera. the exterior itself look expensive.

gonna use it for myself. never had a camcorder b4. hehe.. so this is my 1st step into camcorder thingy.. dont know a thing. but wanna get the best.
just browsing around at camcorderinfo and looking at the rating list, this 2 camcorder is in the top10 list. oso suit my budget hehe..

This post has been edited by farizarif: Sep 20 2006, 02:17 PM

don't get the best. you want the best? buy a $20k camera.

no budget? then jangan mimpi la

better to get something that is GOOD for your kind of usage. features like 3ccd carl zeiss whatever is useless for newbies like you. what is useful are features like battery life, long record time (hdd-based cams), etc are what you really need.

when you have these cams, then you will learn how to go around the camera limitations. if your cam is bad at low light, figure out how to go around that. if your cam has bad image quality, then figure out how to shoot and focus better. these skills are much, MUCH more important than getting a cam that does everything including cook lunch for you.

because frankly, there is no such thing as bad quality image. just bad quality shots. never, EVER, fall in love with marketing gizmos and terms that doesnt tell how good the camera really is. read my long, long, past post for more info.

why those old, evergreen movies like P Ramlee ones or La Dolce Vita are remembered? the cams are hideously difficult to operate. quality also are bad compared to the cams nowadays. but the story, the shots, the techniques that they use to work around their technological limitations - these are the things that made people remember them.

trust me, 30 50 years from now, when we probably will have cameras that can rotate around you in 3d or something, people will still remember how awesome the 1st matrix was. why? because of how they try to go around the limitation of current tech when creating "bullet time" by putting lots and lots of cameras around the actor.

and besides, if you get the best cam, then you cannot spend more on extra 2 batteries, pc hardware to capture, good tripod, etc. which one would make sense: get a cam + tripod + batteries + accessories or just a cam?


you know, one thing that I notice in this forum is that a lot of people care more about cmos or 3ccd or 1 lux or anything carl zeiss than how to shoot, guerilla techniques, etc. how come? I guess it's a bit strange for me, coming from a production house where I see people share techniques, things like ooh dv cams dont have DOF like betacams, so how do we compensate..... you know, things like that.

hmm... you're right. i think i'll go for RM1.5K to RM2K camcorder onli. sony look good for me. extra cash can buy some extra battery n dv tape.

thanks man! great explaination. no wonder your nick is C-Fu..

wahhh

my friend wanted me to convert his miniDV footage to VCD,looks like i have to spend hours
one full tapes(60mins i think) will took how long?without any editing whatsoever...straight to VCD?I dont care about the quality,aslong it takes shortest time.

This post has been edited by speedoom: Sep 21 2006, 08:24 PM

the fastest would be the length of footage lor, assuming you have a realtime vcd recorder - software or hardware.

if you want the shortest time, then go and get hdd-based cams, or dvd-based cams (avoid like hell, PLEASE! but if you must....)

but why you wanna burn straight to vcd la? miniDV is like the perfect partner for dvd la, not vcd. and i havent seen any vcd recorder hardware/player or software. like you sambung the cam to the player, and press record on the player, that kinda thing. dvd recorder got la.\

but basically if all you care is vcd conversion, then it will never be 60 mins (DV tape length). its 60 mins + conversion to vcd format + burning to vcd format. conversion n burning depends on your pc hardware, and cdr speed.


it's 10-15 mins to DVD for me. Cuz I bought a four processor beast for very, very, very cheap (my friend works in Dell oz )

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 22 2006, 03:11 AM

Well infact there were standalone VCD recorders like the current DVD recorders now. Brands like Terapin, Datavideo and Duraplus. But I dont think you can find them in the market now. Everybody is going for dvd.

If you are not concern about quality, then just get a firewire card, (your camera must have a firewire output), a software that captures mpeg1 mode, then burn them using your Nero or any other burning softwares. For a 60 mins movie you probably spend about 1 hour 20 mins to get your vcd. The fastest you can get is by using a standalone recorder which would be about 60 mins.

Anything faster would be getting a harddisk or DVD camcorder. Good for family use only. Not recommended for business purpose. Unless u got the money to go hi-tech.

btw HDD cams record in mpeg2 right?is the quality same as original dvd movie we bought at shop?

This post has been edited by speedoom: Sep 22 2006, 07:56 PM

of course not the same quality as professional films in dvd format.

its like taking a picture in jpeg format. all cams can take in jpeg. but not all jpegs are of the same quality. same as dv.

dv to dvd, you get about 1:1 output.

10 gigs of space? you cant even defrag, so why bother using that hdd for anything else? there will be dropped frames, slowdowns, etc.

guys...im having problem connecting the minidv (pana nv-ds60) to the pc thru firewire connection. i've used firewire to firewire cable n also a firewire card both with no success. the laptop n pc i used (winxp) never detect the minidv. really need a solution here...

If the camcorder come with the CD, install first. You need to install the driver n the codec in order for the pc to detect.

the cam came with only 1 cd. inside only got 2 software, 1 for still pictures n 1 for video... there were no driver or codec files...

what do your all think about DC 100 from canon a good buy... i am intersted in that model or anyu better models?

Are you capturing from the software provided or using others? Try with the provided one. Otherwise pinjam another camera and try. Reasons for not capturing - drivers & codecs, software, firewire card, harddisk ..... Good luck.

What OS are you using ? If it is XP, XP comes with its own firewire driver and can auto detect your DV once connected (your DV must be turned on & put into record or playback mode of course).
If it is 2K, it will comes with the driver as well. It's just that 2K will not auto detect your device. But the sw will still able to detect that you have DV connected.
I have no experience if you are using an older OS.

The sw I mentioned here are either Vegas, Premiere or Windows movie maker.

both laptop n pc i used are windows xp based. firewire drivers were successfully installed in both of them. firewire cable n card are brand new. i tried using movie maker n ulead with no success. maybe the firewire socket on the camera is faulty becos its never been used be4...

Have you tried using other softwares like premiere?

how about using other firewire port? but then again, if you are able to cucuk the cable and xp installed the driver successfully, then the cam should appear in My Computer.

some guy created a very very cool video editing software, done entirely with FLASH.

http://www.onyx-vj.com/demo/

very, very cool way to mix videos in real time, damn easy to create an abstract video out of it.

I still hate that stupid pixelfont that flash designers like, though

I personally prefer onyx 1's IDE compared to the newer version.

http://www.404404.com/onyx/preview/

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Sep 29 2006, 01:39 AM

If possible, try another DV on the same PC& firewire, just to make sure if prob is on the DV or the card.

I can't speak out of my experience to root cause, bcoz so far I only used 2 sony & 1 pana. Though the pana firewire port did spoiled after a few years while the sony still works. This can be an individual case, just for reference.

If the cd didn't come with the driver, check with the website. Some old model camcorder cannot be detect by winxp. I ve this problem before on my friend JVC camcorder. I get the driver from website and install. Than my adobe premiere can detect the camcorder. The premiere have some camcorder selection in the preference if the winxp cannot detect your camcorder model.
One more is, install those software to your pc. Maybe it bundle together with the driver.

C-Fu, where can i get the semi pro camera yah? below rm8K like that.

I think $20k cameras are semi pro

Honestly dude, I have absolutely no idea about sub $20k cameras, save for some outstanding ones. not sombong or anything ok I dunno how much is a sony pd-150, but if you can get that one then great!

With a budget of 8k, I'd say get a 5-6k camera, and 2-3k worth of capture card + software (like pinnacle ones, although I personally would never touch pinnacle cards la hehe), batteries, tapes, LIGHTS, and those cone-shaped long mike. With a good bag please

then you can call yourself semi-pro heheh

If i want to make a high end movie ofcourse la i will buy 20K ++ cameras..

i think i want to buy this Panasonic AG-DVC30 camera..for a short film and advertising use.

The AG-DVC30 like you mentioned is a good choice. I have the color brochure of this specific model in my hands right now & looking through it. Pretty impressive. It's the lesser brother of the widely acclaimed DVX102A & can also record infra-red images. It also records true progressive frames. If you want the movie look as close to a film camera, then go with a camcorder that records true progressive frames. That's what the AG-DVC30 does. And the price of this model I inquired sometime back is RM8100.

What I like about small, compact handheld cams like the DVC30, DVX102A/B, Sony FX1, Sony PD170 is that they are unobtrusive, extremely manuevable in tight places & like the DVX102 have a wide angle lens, so that you can get real close up to the subject without the subject going out of focus & still capture a wide angle shot of the surroundings. But the drawback to handhelds are that special care needs to be taken to reduce jerky, shaky images as much as possible. Ofcourse that's where the SteadiCam comes in real handy. Shoulder-mounted cameras are much more steady in this regard.

I also inquired about the Sony PD170, which a Sony representative told me sells for RM17,400. This, however can't record true progressive frames, so it doesn't really qualify as a movie camera, though you can still interpolate (combine) the odd & even fields of the video footage in your NLE.

Sony FX1E, hyped up as much as it is, is still a consumer camera as it lacks any XLE 3-pin connectors for connecting an external microphone to the camera. Sony, Malaysia markets the FX1E under the Consumer Division.

Ofcourse if shooting extremely low-light footage is an important criteria for you then Sony cameras does this best. Other cameras like the Panasonic can also shoot low-light footage, but images will appear much more grainy than footage from a comparable Sony camera. That's why most wedding videographers here use Sony cameras like the VX2100, or PD170.

How does Sony & Panasonic process blown-out images?

When a scene you're shooting becomes too over exposed, Sony & Panasonic processes the image differently.

For Sony, the images retain their colors as much as possible, but sharpness of the images are lost (blurry edges). For a Panasonic, the images remain in sharp focus, but the colors get blown-out to white. Also, Sony cameras tend to render images in a warmer tone, whereas, Panasonic cameras tend to render colors as close to the original subjects as possible if white-balanced properly.

This post has been edited by andybiz_2005: Oct 9 2006, 10:58 PM

I want to ask, how long does it take before your miniDV camcorder head becomes dirty?
My brother shot for about 2hrs++, then the recording got some horizontal lines. After using the cleaning tape ok already. Then after another 2hrs again the head get dirty.
Is this normal? Should I send my camera in for servicing?

2 hours?! crazy. What sorta DV tape is he using? and under what condition, like shooting at the beaches ke, etc?

Does anyone know the difference between Optical Image Stabiliser and Electronic Image Stabiliser ? I was looking at the Panasonic PV GS180 and it seems to have the latter, although I have no clue what the difference is.

Thanks in advance ..

Optical means it stabilize via Lens and Electronic is through the CCD if not mistaken

HI all,

Im planning to get camcorder for my mom ...... prefer ultra compact camcorder..... my budget around 2.5-3k ...... would like to ask for some advise.

Thx you for any comments and advise ya

just bought a 2k cam, canon mvx1si. just a bit over 2000, with a sony tripod, extra battery, tapes, bag. wanted to get one originally because i need a dv tape drive asap, but the cam seems quite good lah, was quite surprised on how cheap cams progressed nowadays. 2k can get almost tv quality. got it from boeing sg wang, excellent hamsap boeing guy helped me to pick one

the cam comes with a built in flash (for still) and light (for video). nothing fancy, but good to have one IMO. can be used for insert shots i think.

Would u Mind to tell me how much exactly does it cost?.... because i check canon malaysia website and mvx1si's price is abt RM2799.

Thank you very much.....

yea i'm also thinking of buying the gs300. i had a digicam ixus v3 before this and it conked out on me. so it's a good opportunity for me to get a camcorder since i've been wanting to get one since forever. any comments on the gs300? read alot abt it online esp on camcorderinfo.com and it seems to be the best option for me since it has a wider range of manual functions as compared to the sony hc96e.

c-fu wat model did u get? so far i've looked at only sony and pana but decided against sony as it's more towards ppl who prefer auto mode as pana has more manual functions. i did have a look at the canon mvx4i however that model is way beyond my budget since the gs300 is already pushing out of my budget but i'm willing to go for the gs300 if it's worth it as the reviews i've read point out.

any comments would be appreciated... thanks.

20something. like less than 2100 lah. goto boeing for more info, they're having lots of promotions right now.

but don't ask me about these cheap2 cams, as i've no idea about how great this cam is compared to other cams. i bought it because it fits my requirements lah:

- no need for great quality lcd
- good list of manual functions
- easy to control
- fast tape loading, rewinding
- got lampu built in, or at least cheap lampu
- 3ccd or almost 3ccd, if i want to use this cam, it will only be used for insert shots only, and so far it's been wonderful at that
- able to view and transfer footages on miniDV tape captured from my big big big sony cam (IMPORTANT! some cheap cams cannot view or use different branded tapes, or cannot view tapes with contents recorded from different cams, beware!)

the original promo price was 19xx, comes with a stupid 50 bucks tripod. i managed to ask him to change that to a proper sony tripod, and oh yeah i managed to haggle the price to just 2000, not 20-something just remembered.

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Nov 6 2006, 08:23 AM

I have a DV cam. Siao saio already. The LCD is giving up as well as the battery. I cant find the batt. So, I guess it is time for a new one. Saw this

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=358497

The Everio is using HDD. Eyeing MG22AG with 20GB. Sld be suffice.

Thanks 1133. Based on the revieews I've read, bottomline, OIC is much better than EIC.

Thank you for all info

If want to get good quality video, first and the most important thing is the light source. Second is the media used for capture. On medium-low budget(rm1.5k~10k) MiniDV will give the best quality. HDD and DVD won't give good quality when compare to MiniDV. 54minutes of MiniDV will eat up around 12gig of HD space. DVD only needs 1~2gig for that time, so which will give better quality?

Thanks a lot for the info, jojo.

You can have a rm10k viewcam(considered high end) but when don't have enough lights, the quality might lose to a rm2k viewcam with the help of external lights.

Hi
I'm using canon mvx200i. I couldn't transfer my video to computer.
I'm wondering is using firewire 4pins and 6pins will make any difference?
I only have firewire 4pins at my computer. So, I just only try to connect my video camera (4pins) to my computer (4pins) and it doesn't work as well. No detection from computer (video camera software has been installed).

Can anyone help me to solve?
Thank you

Digital Camera Batteries
www.gizbiz.com.my

I'm looking for something in RM 1500 budget. What should I get?

You can refer to
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=358497

hello, I am a student and i need a cam fast to do my assignment... my lecturer said to get a 3ccd and dv something like that. can you recommand me some cam models which is price is around RM2000 and below if can or slightly higher... My mother still have to pay for my laptop >.< is it okay if i get a digital camera and use it to shoot video instead? because next year, i have photography class which is compulsory to all majors...

Wah, so many good thing in movie mood this S3. Can sell away my camcorder liau. Use my S3 for all in 1. Maybe feel weird to point the camera like a camcorder.

what's the resolution like when shooting in movie mode?

Hi dayalan86,

I read the thread & nobody answered your question on why your camcorder head gets dirty after just 2 hours of shooting. These are the reasons I suspect for the problem.

1) If you're using different brands (Fuji, Panasonic, Sony, Canon, etc) of miniDV tapes to record in the same camcorder, chances are that the lubricants from each of the different tapes you're using is really messing up the recording head & making it dirty fast. Only Sony miniDV tapes use a wet type of lubricant when the tape is being recorded by a camcorder. All other tape brands use dry lubricants. However, many videographers I know mentioned to me that Panasonic tapes give the best quality footage as they were really designed for miniDV cameras. So my advice is pick a tape brand & stick with it throughout.

2) Very rarely does the tape head go dirty after just 2 hours. Perhaps the recording head itself may have been scratched. You may need to take in to an authrised service center to get the recording head checked. My camcorder can easily shoot for up to a few hundred hours before it requires cleaning.

3) Shooting environment - What environment are you shooting your videos in mostly? Is it in outdoor, dusty, hot & humid conditions? This can quickly contribute to dust particles gettting lodged inside the recording head giving result to those horizontal lines you mentioned.

Hope this helps.

Andrew

hello guys .. i need your opinions about this 2 camcorder .. one is the sony dvd camcorder and the other one is jvc everio 30gb hdd camcorder .. which one do u guys think the best and worth the money ..

read my first page post.

anybody mind to share their technics and software from DV to DVD conversion

Pinnacle Studio Plus, the best is use V9.4.3, don't use V10.++. My AMD 64 3000+ can run it stablely but not V10.++. Pinnacle's product is a well known video editing product with problem, but it is good for its Hollywood FX. I can only says that V9.4.3 is more stable than V10.++, using it to create a 1 hour DVD needs only 7hours while V10.++ required >10hours(start the project, go to work and come back still processing) and when finished, green screen only comes out. I like it is because it can split the video footage every time we press the pause or record button. It is easy to make chapters on DVD. I have used Sony Vegas(older version) and some other programs(forgot the name already) but I feel that Pinnacle is more easy to use(user friendly) despite of it will crash easily.

Does anyone know where's the best place to get Panasonic mini DV tapes for cheap ?

Harry, you can check out this forum for more info :

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=37