DV.... help a guy out here

[sn-films]

Ivan:
I think you'll be very happy with the results using the Sony Digital8. The CCD will give you better color depth than a camera without it, and the resolution is great. Being able to manually control the exposure is a critical feature in my opinion because most camcorders don't let you manualy adjust the white balance. Sony cameras offer a couple effects, but I would suggest performing those effects in post.

If I could offer some other suggestions, Sony camcorders allow you to mount different filters, lenses, etc. onto the front of the camera. I would strongly recomend looking into these. Also, do some price comparison... I recently bought a new camcorder off of http://www.thecameraclub.com. The price they offered was $150 less than store prices.


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www.sn-films.com

[This message has been edited by sn-films (edited January 06, 2002).]

[steven_craig]

dont buy the camera unless it has DV IN AND OUT!

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My preciousssssss!

[LAmind]

So i've been searching and looking for a DV camera, and I think I'm definetly going to get a:

Sony Digital8 Handycam Camcorder with 2.5" SwivelScreen Color LCD Monitor
Model: DCR-TRV730

-18x optical/500x digital zooms
-1/4" megapixel color CCD, 1,070 pixels
-CCD Pixels 1,070,000
-7-mode program auto exposure for a variety of shooting situations
-Lines of Resolution 525
-Audio Recording PCM digital stereo
-PC Cable Yes, USB (included)
-Flash Memory Memory Stick
-Exposure Control Auto/manual dial
-Rechargable Battery Included
-Remote Control Included

Can i have some opinions on this camera. What other features should i look for??

Does more pixels and more lines of resolution equall better quality video? Any opinions (bad and good) welcome. Thanks.

-Ivan

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"A place for everything and everything in it's place".

[Ralph Snart]

I do not even know what a digital camera is.

Is everything stored to a chip so there is no need for a tape?

And if so, can it be played out to a TV or VCR?

I have transfered a digital still image directly to a VCR. Is this the same thing?

How does this relate to firewire and fiber optic connections?

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[Davis]

You're in luck, buddy, I own that camera. It does indeed have a DV in and out. You'll never use the digital zoom or night shot for making movies. They're fun for home video, but not for making movies. There is a manual exposure control but no manual white balance. That sucks, but except for that I have not one complaint about this camera. I got a wide angle lens for it and it works fine. The picture quality is just incredible, it works great, easy to use. The zoom button is a little different then other cameras, instead of mashing one side down for zoom in and the other for zoom out, there's a little slider, but it's not horrible, I was just used to the other kind from my dad's camera. More resolution, pixels, and digital signal DEFINATELY mean better quality video.

DO NOT buy the Sony mic for the intelligent shoe. It it a waste of your $70. Thank God Circuit City took it back or it would have been a very expensive lesson. :P It sounds exactly like the mic that comes on the camera, it will pick up the gears turning and the zoom working. However, it does have a convenient mic in and headphone out.

Snart, as for your questions, a digital camcorder stores a digital signal onto tape, so that the digital information, though written to tape, will never degrade, since it's just a series of 0s and 1s. It can be played out to a TV or VCR with it's three color outlet plugs, and putting a digital still image onto a VCR is not the same. When you hook the camera to a firewire and hit play, it sends the digital signal it reads off the tape down the firewire to your computer, so you could transfer from camera to computer and back again and back again never losing any quality, unlike VCR to VCR recording.

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"He who breaks a thing to discover what it is has left the path of wisdom."
-Gandalf

www.pmind.com

[LAmind]

Thank you everyone, you've been a huge help. It's things like these that make me feel like I'm part of a International family of film maker's and not just a child wondering alone in the world.

Good luck to everyone in your films. And hope to hear your names on tv someday.

-Ivan

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"A place for everything and everything in it's place".

[Davis]

Same thing that happens to a VHS tape or film reel that gets damaged. It's gone.

Sony did make a camera that recorded to minidisc, but it's just recently been taken off the website.

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"He who breaks a thing to discover what it is has left the path of wisdom."
-Gandalf

www.pmind.com

[shirt]

Someone up above mentioned Sony cameras having a "CCD..."

The fact is that ALL cameras have CCD's...

Consumer Cameras for the most part have a single CCD (Charged Coupling Device)... This is what interprets the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) and converts it into a electrical signal...

High End Consumer Cameras, and Professional Cameras have 3 CCD's... Having three increases the tape quality, because instead of one chip (CCD) converting all three colours, the camera uses 1 chip per colour... ie. The light enters the camera... the red light is seperated by CCD 1, the green is seperated by CCD 2... etc. and the conversion is much cleaner.

In the old days... like 30 years ago, cameras used "tubes" to convert light... hense why most old television cameras are gigantic.

Hope this helps!

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[Ralph Snart]

No, unless I am mistaken this used what was called a "Memory Stick."

It was used like a tape, but it was a chip.

Plug in memory stick, record movie, take out memory stick, movie on memory stick, plug in new memory stick.

I am not dreaming this up. I sent for and received a whole packet of information from if I remember correctly Sony, but this was about two years ago.



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[Davis]

These cameras have memory sticks so the camera can double as a digital still camera, but they record still images or 15 second .mpegs.

Since the minidisc camera is, I'm assuming, discontinued, maybe they did make a memory stick only camera that also got discontinued, or, is just not on the Sony website.

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"He who breaks a thing to discover what it is has left the path of wisdom."
-Gandalf

www.pmind.com