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Canopus ADVC 100 – Noise/Grain in Capture
I’m getting a lot more noise/grain in my captured image using a Canopus ADVC 100 compared to the same Video8 tape captured using a Sony Digital8 camera with an analog-to-digital passthrough. (I don’t have that Digital8 camera anymore).
My current setup is a Sony CCD TRV118 Hi8 camera into the ADVC 100 (via S-Video + minijack to white/red RCA audio cables) and then outputted to a FireWire 400 (4pin) to FireWire 800 (9pin) cable and then a Thunderbolt adaptor into a MacBook Pro and captured using FCP7.
I’m getting similar noise/grain using the same setup but replacing the Sony CCD TRV118 Hi8 camera with a VCR, so that makes me think it isn’t the camera or the tape.
Perhaps it’s the S-video cable. It’s a brand new S-video cable but perhaps the Insignia cable I bought from Best Buy is not great. Or maybe it’s the FireWire cable or the FireWire-800-to-Thunderbolt adaptor. Has anyone found any issues using a Thunderbolt adaptor like this? I realize that’s adding an extra connection point.
Despite all the extra noise, I do notice more image detail in the highlights of the video I captured with the Canopus. You can see it in the white shirt below. When playing back the Canopus footage, as hard as I try, I can’t see any other advantages over the Digital8 footage. The noise is really distracting when it’s playing and the Digital8 might even look a little sharper.
I’m totally fine with processing the image in post. I just want to know that I’m pulling in the best image that I can using the Canopus.
Any other thoughts or feedback? Thanks!
Here are some screengrabs:
1) Sony Digital8 camera – no filters
2) Hi8 Camera to Canopus ADVC 100 – no filters
3) Hi8 Camera to Canopus ADVC 100 – with Neat Video denoiser and a quick colour correction
This is NTSC video from a Video8 tape zoomed in 2x.
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5 Replies
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I have a Canopus ADVC 100 but it’s been years since I used it, prior to the invention of TB. I remember it adding a bit of video noise to the image, and that was just with a FW 400 cable. Maybe the newer models are better.
My specs: FCP 6.0.6, El Capitan, rMBP 15″ i7 2.6 GHz, 16 GB RAM
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Thanks Christopher. I’m going to borrow a Canopus ADVC 110 tomorrow to see if I get better results than what I get with the 100.
I think I may have solved my dilemma though. My friend thinks that the model of the Digital8 camera that I used initially for capturing was the Sony DCR-TRV120 and it looks like it has a Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) function. That’s probably why that video looks a lot nicer than what I’m getting from the Canopus.
Even though the Canopus + Hi8 looks worse, would I be correct in assuming that it’s more accurate than what I would get from a Sony DCR-TRV120 with Digital Noise Reduction?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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All you can do is run tests and go with the best camera/system. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
My specs: FCP 6.0.6, El Capitan, rMBP 15″ i7 2.6 GHz, 16 GB RAM
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Does your camera have a Firewire port? Why not bypass the ADVC100 and just go straight in through Firewire from the camera? Converting to analog and then back to digital will only degrade the video.
Not my monkeys. Not my circus.
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The Digital8 camera was on loan from a friend. I only have a Hi8 camera with S-Video/mini jack RCA ports.
The reason I picked up the Canopus, instead of a D8 camera with analog-to-digital passthrough, was to be able to capture various analog formats in the future, at a minimal cost.
After doing lots of tests and reading and soliciting feedback, (I don’t know for sure but) I think I may be getting as accurate a capture as I can from my current setup. The Video8 footage is really grainy but it was also shot in 1991 on a consumer videocamera.
I’m going to try to get better acquainted with Neat Video. And if I need tapes captured for a serious doc project in the future, and I have a proper budget, then I’ll be using a professional service because this tape stuff is far too complicated for a simpleton like me.
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