Don Hutcheson
Forum Replies Created
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Thank you for answering. I discovered the problem: Windows Vista (in “My Computer”) presents the outboard (portable drive) drive along side and as identical to the built-in drives (“above the line” in “My Computer”) and graphically presented a portable drive below the line when there wasn’t one connected. I was trying to work with the representation of the portable drive. Silly me to think the icon of a portable drive represented the portable drive I plugged in.
But you raise a good point: I rendered the file as AVI, since that has less compression than MPEG2. Is there a lossless codec available in Vegas that will create an uncompressed copy that can be read by an MAC?
Incidentally, I’m editing in Vegas 8. At work, I have Vegas 7 and it won’t recognize my HiDef camera (Sony HVR Z-1U). I get a message that says: “The device “Microsoft AV/C Tape Subunit” could not be opened. Please make sure it is turned on and not in use by another application”.
I know this is a Vegas problem, because my old Roxio 10 will happily download HD files (with God knows what level of compression).Many Thanks
Hutch
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Trey,
If you will Google them, you can usually find an older review of the videocam that compares it to its peers. Panasonic is a solid brand that makes videocams that a lot of tv stations and documentary filmakers use.
Hutch
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Trey,
Sony made a very good entry-level 3CCD videocam several years ago called the TVR-900. You can Google it (as well as Google “Bealcorner”) to get specs as well as advice for using it in different scenarios. You can shop carefully on Ebay and find a good one for under $1000. You might also find its professional cousin, the SONY PD100. Google both of them and get up to speed, because they will give you better results than a new videocam with one CCD or CMOS sensor. Years ago, I shot my first video for the local airport for an intro to flying. I used a very nice ($1000 new) single CCD Mini DV cam from Sony, as well as a TVR900. I was amazed at the difference in color and contrast between the 3CCD cam and the single CCD MiniDV cam. I did the research and bought a PD100, then upgraded to PD 150 etc… Canon XL series cams are good, too, but a bit more expensive, with lenses extra (when new). Hope this helps, and I’m sure others will have some great ideas regarding entry level cams that produce pleasing results.
Have fun,
Hutch
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Trey,
Correction: I should have said that the SONY TVR-900 was superior to the “single CCD SONY vidocam” (as opposed to the SONY Mini DV videocam). The TVR-900 is also a MiniDV videocam.
thakns
Hutch
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Ron,
Thanks for the post. I agree with you in principle. I was assuming, since he shoots motorcycles, he’s wants the best chance at the best shot each time, with no chance of drop-out, since he can’t ask the bikers to do “take two”. Same with me and airplanes, or city officials in a documentary. I guess the DVCAM/MiniDV comparison goes on, although a 50%larger signal on the tape (DVCAM) does reduce the S/N ratio of the audio and video, if you can afford the tapes. I don’t take chances. However, I look forward to my first memory card videocam, since it will eliminate so many variables and limitations involved in using tape!
Cheers,
Hutch
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Trey,
I would suggest your most important starting point is a decent quality videocam. The dividing line between “average” and “good” is a 3-ccd (“charged couple device”–analogous to film size) camera. Consumer cams have one ccd, but a a 3-cd cam separates the colors into the three primary colors–giving you better contrast (as a result of better color)and richer, more lifelike color. Get the shot in good quality to start with. Then, as you can afford better editing software and peripherals, you can go back to the great original tape and render better quality output. A used 3CCD videocam (Sony PD150/170 or any 1/3″ ccd cam is good for non-HD) from a trusted Ebay source will be better than a new single CCD or single CMOS videocam. Find out what brand of tape the camera is used to and stick with it. And if you buy a Sony DVCAM format camera, shoot in DVCAM all the time. DVCAM is superior to MiniDV (except in HD) because it lays down a wider video and audio track. A larger original file won’t suffer as much degradation as it is manipulated and compressed in post (editing).Hope this helps.
Hutch
Hutch