cause i need moving photos. granted my dig still can take 3 frames per sec and up to a 8 pix burst, it's not enough...

i can edit frame accurate, non drop or drop frame, using standard SMTPE time code...

you'd be surprised.

given 1 camera. feed that output to 2 digital decks. one records on a DV. other on a D8 format.

now compare.

that's what i mean by digital is digital. optics and CCD options makes the diff...

lol... probably's sony's fault.

they invented the D8 format. BUT, they wanted backwards compatibility with the millions of their HI8 users. and they wanted to license the technology.

when i got my sony D8 cam, it was the first gen. back then, it was sony with like 4 models and IIRC, a hitachi. single model...

in the end pro-sumers and pros alike, liked the DV format due to the tape size. that dang motor and tape assembly is HUGE!!!!!!

after all, a 2 hour Hi8 tape can only record 1 hour of D8 footage. which is the same for DV.

now, you can record on memory cards (panasonic pro cams) and blu-ray high density discs (sony's KICK *** XD CAM setup!!!!!!!!!)

i read an industry mag a few years ago where i learned that... sony is famous for blunders like that. but man... they stick with it. minidisc anyone???? lol....

wait for the new sony HD pro cam with 3 CCD... killer setup.

msrp around $7k....

 

btw, why do i still have a D8?

1. mine's still takes good images.

2. waiting til HD cams come down UNDER $2k... lol...

3. where i work, we switched backup methods, so i have boatloads of used but good computer grade D8 tapes... arcserve, our network backup software logs each time a tape is accessed (even when rewinding or FF) and it limits the time. since my previous boss was a stickler for backups, we "retired" a lot of tapes. when i found out i could those tapes, i tested a of the retired ones. damn... i rarely had a dropout with them! i then found they used better magentic particles than the highest quality of HI8 tapes.

 

technically, that is incorrect.

if you take the physical D8 tape and manage to have DV machine read, it cannot read it. diff format and coding scheme.

 

Not from what I've found. Here's another ref. Both are I-MPEG 25Mbps 8 bit

http://videoexpert.home.att.net/artic3/256atab.htm

Maybe I'm confusing the base format with the compression scheme. Not that it really matters. The potential quality of the formats should be identical given the same bit rate and sample size.

 

I was wrong about DV being different from MPEG. DV (and Digital 8) is an MPEG format. But there are lots of digital formats so its not true to say digital is digital. There seem to be a large number of MPEG variants too. But Digital8 does appear to use the same format as DV if that was your point.

 

Essentially Digital 8 and Mini DV (I think that's the one that's one size below D8) are the same format just on different media. Unless of course the camera you're using has different optics and higher resolution CCD's. For editing, you can take your digital cam (D8 or mini DV) plug a fire wire or USB 2 cable from your computer into it and you're going to get the same video & audio piped into your PC. Now from what I understand Micro DV is another story. It uses smaller tapes and higher compression format Mpeg. Also I've read that it's lower quallity mpeg is not supported by the majority of editing software. Right now it makes sense to go with a mini DV cam because you get the high qual video, in a smaller package. Smaller = better in this world. I love my D8 cam but damn, it's bulky compared to the newer mini DV's.

 

I don't see why still image is that important on a DV cam. They are two different beasts. As far as 3mp on a DV? What cam is that? most are 1MP, 2mp for the mid end cams, and even that is interpolated, even the GREAT triple ccd cams are only 500K pixels, most DV cams use 200-300K pixel ccds. Even if there is a dv cam with 3mp stills it wouldn't hold a candle to a 3mp still camera with a real 3mp CCD, not an interpolated image from a 300k pixel ccd. I have an EOS 10D with a tamron 28-300mm lens for stills, and there's no camcorder around that takes still even remotely comparable.

I just picked up a HC40 for my wife and it's a great little cam. Fairly easy to use, small, lightweight, great recording(the colors are very good),the super night shot rocks, 10x optical, touchscreen, and super long battery life as well. What more do you want.?

 

I'm a noob at Video Camera's and interested in getting one also. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and fill in what is correct.

From what I'm reading, the D8 is on it's way out and it's supposebly going to be the more mainstream format.

DV is out right now, and it's the current and most widely used.

So what are the Hi8 and the HV placed on?

Can someone make a scale in order?

Camera Type, Price, what's good, what's bad, what's mainstream now, what will be mainstream.

ie:
1. Camera Type A, Cheap, low end bad quality, negatives currently and in the future....
2. Camera Type B, A little more expensive than cheap, mainstream now...
3. Camera Type C, Best, too expensive, blah blah blah...

 

8/Hi8 - Sony analog format - Still avaiable cheapest $200. Only buy if price is the only criteria. If you want to do any editing the quality is not as good and you will have to do some annoying a/d conversion

Digital8 - DV format (I-MPEG) on 8/Hi8 Tape - inexpensive good quality but bulky probably best value at the low end. Only a few models are available. $250 to $350. Main reason to buy is price and 8/Hi8 comaptibility (TRV 460 only) if you already have a library of 8/Hi8 tapes you want to digitize

DV (aka miniDV) DV format (I-MPEG) on a smaller tape. Mainstream Consumer format. Much larger selection of camcorders available. Tapes are more expensive than Hi8. Camcorders are less bulky. The low end it probably not as good as Digital8 for the same price but you have to read the reviews. If you can spend a bit more definately the way to go this year. $300 up.

MicroMV - MPEG2 format. smaller cassette so smaller camcorders. 1/2 the bit rate of MiniDV so potential video quality is probably less but it is supposedly comparable while taking much less storage space. Probably wait and see on this one unless you really like a particular camcorder. $500 to $1000

DVD - writes directly to small format DVD disks that are playable on some (most new ones I suspect) DVD players with the obvious convenience that brings. MPEG2 format. There are some other drawbacks but again you need to read the reviews. $500 to $1000

There are other "professional" formats (eg: DVCam) and HD is now available in Japan but $1000+ and you would need to have a good reason (eg more money than sense)

Here are some references. Google is your friend

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/bguide/...,page,3,00.asp

http://www.camcorderinfo.com

http://reviews.cnet.com/Camcorders/2...tag=cnetfd.dir

 

HC40?which manufactur?

so,i went to Fry's tonight to see the real thing. The sony digital8 was quiet large than i thought. And i found out i mixed up the type i actually want, per gotwrx's post. I intend to pick up a DV,not digital8 =P

 

Sony HC40. It's the top of the line in the HC series. I just ordered a Panasonic PV-GS120 online myself because I needed it to film my digital video 2 final. I hope those 3CCD's (although not comparable to the 3CCD's in the $2k+ cameras) live up to the hype. ^_^;

 

one major thing:

any digital camera you get these days, the best thing is importing footage into your pc.

a simple firewire connection is all you need.

enjoy your new toy...

now... lets argue about editing software... lol....

 

Final Cut Pro (for me, since I'm on a Mac). The end. Hahaha. =)

Also, never buy a camcorder for it's still camera capabilities. I personally just think it's pointless as a selling point. Just stick with regular digital cameras. I've seen too many reviews online for camcorders I've looked at going, "The video is great! BUT Awww! The still camera on this sucks! I hate this thing!"

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Well its only "pointless" because camcorders generally are not very good at it today. But ideally I'd like one appliance to carry around that does both well. So "never" is a bit strong. It is going to depend on how much you value the convenience over the quality and at what point the quality is good enough that it serve your purpose. Certainly its a pointless features on the Sony TRC460 as is the memorystick and MPEG movie capability. I would have prefered some better manual video controls just in case I want to get serious.

On editing software I hear Pinnacle is good but I don't have any experience here. I've barely used Windows Movie maker that comes free with XP but I did get it to work with my camcorder which is somewhat joyful.