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Non-tape Camcorders

A

aussie_in_uk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 29, 2005
10
0
About to buy a new camcorder. Has anybody had any experience with importing video into the Mac via the new non-tape camcorders - the type that record the footage to memory stick or flash card??
Not sure whether the quality is any good, or whether you can control the camera via firewire like you can do with miniDV cameras.
 
kgarner

kgarner

macrumors 68000
Jan 28, 2004
1,512
0
Utah
Typically those camcorders record in a very compressed MPEG-4. While MPEG-4 is a good codec, most of the cameras I have seen use a pretty heavy compression which makes them good for Internet, but not really TV quality (but that was a little while ago, maybe they've improved some). Personally I like to get the video as uncompressed as possible (MiniDV compresses, but not even close to as much as these MPEG-4 cameras) so that I can do whatever I want with it. Plus the memory sticks are still muchmore expensive than a MiniDV tape.
 
Lacero

Lacero

macrumors 604
Jan 20, 2005
6,637
3
The only viable non-tape camcorders are the ones that use P2 memory cards. Everything else is just a toy.
 
pdpfilms

pdpfilms

macrumors 68020
Jun 29, 2004
2,382
1
Vermontana
The only viable non-tape camcorders are the ones that use P2 memory cards. Everything else is just a toy.
Click to expand...

P2 is a professional-only solution. Each card (i think they're up to 8 minutes now?) costs thousands of dollars. Not very convenient for home use. There are plenty of other solutions for someone looking for a low-cost solution, where uncompressed quality is not essential.
 
A

aussie_in_uk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 29, 2005
10
0
kgarner said:
Typically those camcorders record in a very compressed MPEG-4. While MPEG-4 is a good codec, most of the cameras I have seen use a pretty heavy compression which makes them good for Internet, but not really TV quality (but that was a little while ago, maybe they've improved some). Personally I like to get the video as uncompressed as possible (MiniDV compresses, but not even close to as much as these MPEG-4 cameras) so that I can do whatever I want with it. Plus the memory sticks are still muchmore expensive than a MiniDV tape.
Click to expand...


Sounds a bit dodgy then. Was looking for something small, but by the time I produce a DVD on the Mac, it might look a bit shaky on the big screen plasma. Has anybody else messed around with home movies with one of these MPEG camera - baby stuff, holidays etc - certainly not shooting the next episode of Star Wars.
 
LethalWolfe

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
pdpfilms said:
P2 is a professional-only solution. Each card (i think they're up to 8 minutes now?) costs thousands of dollars. Not very convenient for home use. There are plenty of other solutions for someone looking for a low-cost solution, where uncompressed quality is not essential.
Click to expand...

On the consumer end all the tapeless solutions really don't stand up when compared to MiniDV. They are DVD quality or worse, and typically do not play well out of the box w/Macs as they come w/proprietary software that is Windows only.

DVD-quality MPEG-2 is a fine place to end up, but it's a really bad place to start.


Lethal
 
pdpfilms

pdpfilms

macrumors 68020
Jun 29, 2004
2,382
1
Vermontana
On the consumer end all the tapeless solutions really don't stand up when compared to MiniDV. They are DVD quality or worse, and typically do not play well out of the box w/Macs as they come w/proprietary software that is Windows only.

DVD-quality MPEG-2 is a fine place to end up, but it's a really bad place to start.
Click to expand...

Very true. As i said, there are plenty of other solutions, dv being one of them. If you're looking for a cheap and easy camera I'd suggest a consumer minidv cam. You'll know it works flawlessly with the mac, and you won't have to worry about compression problems. I think it'll be a while (at least 2-3 years) before P2 quality or anything close to it for that matter is reduced in cost to be feasible for the home user.
 
kgarner

kgarner

macrumors 68000
Jan 28, 2004
1,512
0
Utah
LethalWolfe said:
DVD-quality MPEG-2 is a fine place to end up, but it's a really bad place to start.
Click to expand...
Well put. Too many people think, "DVD quality. Great." But not for editing.
 
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