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Looking for a new Camncorder

MiniDV, DVD, Hard Drive, 8 mm, High Def, brands, import / capture techniques, settings ... talk about camcorders in here.

Looking for a new Camncorder

Postby mark hansen » Sat Mar 08, 2014 8:14 pm

I currently have a Sony Handycam that has a lot of nice features--- and a few I don't like. I recently have been having problems with reliably and I'm starting to look for another primary camera. My secondary cameras are Cannon HV 40. The reason they are not my primary cameras anymore is they use tape and no stabilization.

Some of the things I like about the Sony is the stabilization and the internal memory storage. it takes great video. I don't shoot in HD, manly in SD and not having to carry tapes anymore is great. Any HD I shoot is down converted anyway so I just set it to that. (see workflow below) I would like to get another camera with stabilization and internal storage, lots of it. On a trip to Hawaii, I took over 5 hours of video. Shooting in SD helped with that.

The thing I don't like about the Sony is getting the video out. If I drop the files, they are in AVCHD and its hard for me to get them to a format to edit. I have CS3 and it doesn't like AVCHD and I have no luck converting them. My current work flow is to play the video out though a old Cannon ELURA 65 and convert the analog output back to digital (in the camera) and capture real time with CS3. The Sony has a three wire output if you are playing it I use for capture. I assume this work flow is why I don't get scene detection. It does have an HDMI out, but I haven't figured out a way to capture with that. (can I do that?)

it would be helpful to have the new camcorder dump the video files like the Sony for a faster capture, only in a format that CS3 can easily work with - ideally without pre-rendering. I can work with pre-rendering I guess, I do that with Iphone video but if I had a lot, I guess it would run for a long time.

I thought about getting different software but can't afford going up to CS6, My CS3 is so old, its not eligible for a upgrade... I looked into software to edit AVCHD but didn't seem to catch on with it. I like CS3 and would love to move up, but I think it would be cheaper to get a camera with a different file format.

So, can anyone recommend a good camcorder with internal storage of about 5 + hours in SD. Good stabilization and output as files (vs real time play back) in a format CS3 can easily deal with? Look to spend around $50o0or so.

If there is a way to capture out of the HDMI to the PC in real time, I would be interested in knowing that too.

Thanks for any insight.

Mark
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Re: Looking for a new Camncorder

Postby Steve Grisetti » Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:53 am

AVCHD is the current state of the art for consumer video, Mark. In fact, if you want anything else, your only options are pretty very low end camcorders or used ones on eBay.

I don't know about CS3, but all video editing apps made in the last three years or so do a great job with AVCHD.

This is typical of the standard def hard drive camcorders you'll likely find. As you can see, it originally sold for over $1000 -- but is now available for $350 or less. This is because it's considered obsolete technology.
http://www.amazon.com/JVC-Definition-Ca ... definition

Your other option is to get an AVCHD camcorder but shoot in standard def mode. This, however, usually produces an MP4 file, which CS3 is not going to be terribly happy about using either.
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Re: Looking for a new Camncorder

Postby sidd finch » Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:59 am

I have noticed that when I shoot in HD and output in SD the video is sharper than recording in SD and outputting in SD.

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Re: Looking for a new Camncorder

Postby mark hansen » Sat Mar 15, 2014 1:14 pm

Sorry for the delay in getting back here. Thanks for the advice, it all makes sense. Guess I need to get with the times with AVCHD and figure out how to handle it better. I'll get the camera looked at and see why it's shutting down. When its going, it works great.

I like the workflow in CS3, the screen layout and I like how it works between AE, Photoshop, and Bridge. I see PE is up to version 12. I don't suppose it can do the video part and it all works with AE an PS. I'll dig into the new video posts and get an idea what I may be getting into. A little resistant to change I guess.
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Re: Looking for a new Camncorder

Postby jackfalbey » Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:38 am

Mark, your best bet would be to either edit by proxy or convert your AVCHD footage into a more CS3-friendly codec. I did that for a long time with CS3 & CS4 using Cineform Prospect HD. Cineform used to be great for this, but since they were bought by GoPro I just don't know if they still are. I'd try downloading the free GoPro Studio Edit and try it out: http://gopro.com/software-app/gopro-stu ... t-software
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Re: Looking for a new Camncorder

Postby momoffduty » Fri Jun 13, 2014 7:10 pm

I saw some excellent slow motion video from this camera:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... order.html
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