Okay....I jumped into the deep end. Canon HV30 Vixia

Whoa you spent way more on software then on your camera?

wibubba said:

Yeah...but I got a sick deal on the Adobe software collection...only $500 for the Master collection. Couldn't pass it up.

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did you get the actual, real deal discs, or just copies? If you did get official discs, let me know if I can pick a copy up for myself.

wibubba said:

Yeah...but I got a sick deal on the Adobe software collection...only $500 for the Master collection. Couldn't pass it up.

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Not joking.... my lower jaw really fell on the floor and I cant seem to find it..

Serious guys..

planning on joining you as an HV30 owner once I find a good price on it. I'm looking to pay below $500 for it new. I used to have a Sony HC1 which I bought in Spring 2006, but that got damaged in a house fire and I'm looking to replace it.

Extras For your HV

I recomend buying a good shot gun mic, and a wide-angle lense, extra battery, lense filter kits.

Good wide-angle lense for the hv-30, I like it because its affordable and subtle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBUaIuD7US4

Better mic:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/534023-REG/Sennheiser_MKE_400_MKE_400_Compact_Video.html

Good mic for the budgeter:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/444022-REG/Azden_SMX_10_SMX_10_Stereo_Microphone.html

Extra Battery w/ higher capacity:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/446334-REG/Impact_NB2L22_NB_2L22_Lithium_Ion_Battery_Pack.html

Introductory Filter Kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/408008-REG/Hoya_GIK43GB_43mm_Introductory_Filter_Kit.html

And the camera itsself for $599, which is the best price I found from a TRUSTworthy site:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539289-REG/Canon_2680B001_VIXIA_HV30_HDV_Camcorder.html

I beleive its still $999 0r $899 in bestbuy.

PS: Student prices are awsome when it comes to adobe CS, not as good as $500 for master collection, but pretty good.
http://www.journeyed.com/department.asp?NAV=0402&SKW=Vpadobenew

If you want to spend a bit more on the mic, a Rode NTG-2 plus XLR to 3.5mm adapter is a great addition to the HV30. It is an 'upgradable' mic if you add a XLR preamp later, and can run on phantom power or AA battery. The sound level coming out of the mic is also high enough that you don't have to crank up the crappy HV30 internal mic preamp too high and get hiss.

Or just get something like the other poster mentioned, or a Rode VideoMic, if you're keeping it really simple and don't need great quality audio (great being a relative term of course, there are people who spend more on mics than they did on the HV20/30.)

More HV30 rant

I fell in love with the HV-30 from watching these test videos, they helped me make my decision buying it.

Good videos using HV30 and 20
http://www.vimeo.com/431500
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buc2D6GZLfU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWGiW9pUp38

my footage from it has been phenominal, made 3 awsome projects and a bunch of fun test stuff. I should post some of them.

More on mic's

madmaxmedia said:

there are people who spend more on mics than they did on the HV20/30.)

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That is very true, The rode is an awsome mic, my friend has one and its great, I just posted a few that were good for the money, regardless I don't recomend the internal mic for anything. Between the loud hiss when turned up or the "sounds like were on an airplane" air noise that is heard on the background. Plus if your shooting outdoors, any wind at all on the internal mic makes a mess of your audio.

Digital Skunk said:

did you get the actual, real deal discs, or just copies? If you did get official discs, let me know if I can pick a copy up for myself.

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Apple Ink said:

Not joking.... my lower jaw really fell on the floor and I cant seem to find it..

Serious guys..

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Id say it was educational discount + money off when buying a mac
When i bought my new MacBook Pro i got 200$ off for edu discount then i got the Adobe CS4 web Premium suite for 359$(legally, with disks and tags from the apple store) and it sells for $2309.95

What would be considered the shallow end? A Chinon VHS-C camcorder?

The best investment you can make with your deep purchase would be to learn how to operate the camera in manual mode, and use of a stabilizing device like a monopod or tripod.

I have owned a HV30 for not that long so I can share some of my expierences with as a newbie, the plan was to get it too film a short I wrote but still haven't got round to doing it

Well the HV30 is amazing for its price, the picture is superb and the interface is really good and simple, it is a bit big because of the tape part but is still comfortable.

I got a RodeVideo mic for it and works great, much better than the inbuilt mic. The biggest learning curve for me was using tapes, I was too young to use a camera when tapes were still main stream and the first camcorder I got was a HD one, so i had to get used to making sure not to record over my footage, rewinding ect... also putting the tape in! It took me 20 mins to figure out I was putting it in upside down!

I would suggest getting a tape and using it purly for test shots, try different manual settings, frame rates ect...

I have an HV-30 that I got for Christmas and I (mostly) love it. The problem is capturing via FireWire into FCP (5) on my Mac Pro. The capture fails repeatedly and on a forced retry, typically succeeds, only to fail again.

As I posted in the HV-20/30 forum: "I have a generic log file that captures a single tape in three 20-minutes segments for editing. What should be a very easy capture of three segments seems to confuse FCP, causing it to fail to find the time code. Choosing 'Continue' in the error dialog usually, but not always, succeeds in capturing the failed clip. I don't know if this is FCP or the HV30. It didn't happen with my Panasonic SD that I had previously."

The forum has a variety of suggestions but none of them seem to help much. I don't want to hijack the thread, but I'd love to hear if anyone else is having the problem with their -30.

The camera has a mini FireWire port so you'll need a mini to 400 (or 800 if they make a mini to 800 FireWire cable).

I would highly recommend looking around HV20.com, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people over there.
I would also invest in a Rode VideoMic, it is in my opinion the best prosumer non-XLR mic you can get, ($120 at Jack's) along with a flash bracket to stabilize and eliminate motor noise. They you might consider Final Cut Express if you want to step up from iMovie. I hope the HV30 works out for you, the're fantastic camcorders.

Also, you need a 4-pin Firewire (the small U shaped port on the camcorder) to 6-pin FW400. Then you may need a FW400 to FW800 adapter depending on what your computer has. They may even make a 4-pin to FW800 cable but I haven't seen one.

wibubba said:

What am I going to need to get data off the camcorder and into the mac? Firewire? I've never used a FW cable or connection. I've noticed there are 4 and 6 pin cables. Any idea which I'll need for both components?

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Where did you get your Master collection? Did they give you real discs or is it just a boot leg copy?

You will need a 4 pin to 6 pin or 8 pin Firewire cable.

rick3000 said:

Also, you need a 4-pin Firewire (the small U shaped port on the camcorder) to 6-pin FW400. Then you may need a FW400 to FW800 adapter depending on what your computer has. They may even make a 4-pin to FW800 cable but I haven't seen one.

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If your mac has a FW800 in put you can get a a FW800 to FW400 cable, I got mine from a seller on amazon for £7.00 and it works very well, so you wont need to bother using adapters.

Camcorders do not use 6-pin FW400. As far as I know there are only 4 to 6 pin FW cables that are FW400, so you would need a FW400 to FW800 adapter. A cable has a male plug on both ends. But you would need a adapter to use a cable like this, because it has a female FW400 port.

rick3000 said:

..
I would also invest in a Rode VideoMic, it is in my opinion the best prosumer non-XLR mic you can get, ($120 at Jack's) along with a flash bracket to stabilize and eliminate motor noise....

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Once I get my HV30 (still waiting on a sub $500 deal), I was thinking of using my AT822 mic with it. I have two of them. Thoughts?

I was right about to buy this a few days ago when it was in my Amazon gold box for $569 since that was the best price I was finding on it. Unfortunately, it's gone now. I think next time it comes at this price, I'll grab it.

rick3000 said:

Camcorders do not use 6-pin FW400. As far as I know there are only 4 to 6 pin FW cables that are FW400, so you would need a FW400 to FW800 adapter. A cable has a male plug on both ends. But you would need a adapter to use a cable like this, because it has a female FW400 port.

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The Canon XHA1s does have a 6-pin firewire port, which is more durable and I imagine less prone to frying the port when plugging and unplugging the cable from the camera. The original XHA1, however, did have a 4-pin port, but you are correct in regards that consumer miniDV cameras have 4-pin FW400 ports.