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Camcorders: Best camcorders compatible with Mac?
Best camcorders compatible with Mac?
by tenniscraze - 8/3/07 9:34 AMHi there. I'm looking for a camcorder compatible with Mac. The only one advantage I can think of is the ability to use iMovies to edit your clips from the camcorder. Are there any other advantages aside from this? Also, a lot of people have recommended hard-drive camcorders due to its storage capacity, but others argue that MiniDV camcorders can produce much better quality. Is this true?
I am eyeing a couple of camcorders: Panasonic SDR-H18 (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/panasonic-sdr-h18/4505-6500_7-32343416.html?ar=o&tag=pdtl-list) and Sony Handycam HDR-SR7 (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/sony-handycam-hdr-sr7/4505-6500_7-32427828.html?ar=o&tag=pdtl-list).
I guess being able to edit video clips isn't that important to me, but I'd like my clips to be compatible to Mac to prevent more troubles in the future. I like the idea of getting a hard-drive since the storage capacity would be much bigger while at the same time, I would not want to compromise video quality. What advice and camcorders would you all suggest?
Thanks for reading.
My one and only suggestion:
by Dan Filice - 8/3/07 9:51 AM In reply to: Best camcorders compatible with Mac? by tenniscrazeBuy a mini-DV camcorder and buy a Firewire cable (camcorders come with a USB cable, not Firewire). I've connected countless mini-DV camcorders via Firewire to my Mac and I have NEVER had any issues with connectivity.
Simple How-To: Before you start iMovie and before you power-up the camcorder, plug the camera in with Firewire, then launch iMovie, start a new project, then power-up the camcorder. Make sure the camcorder is in Playback mode, not Record mode. You can now control the camcorder with the buttons provided within iMovie. Now you can smile and relish in the fact that you have a computer that works brilliantly and easily with mini-DV camcorders and you will be very happy. 
Yes, but....
by ezman700 - 8/5/07 11:48 AM In reply to: My one and only suggestion: by Dan FiliceMini-DV does have its downsides... First, tapes can get pricey-- $15 for three tapes. Which is fairly nominal until you have to buy new ones because the quality becomes lower with each time you "re-record" over the same tape. Additionally, if you're taping long events (like your daughter's ballet recital, idk), it's a huge pain to change your tape right in the middle. I haven't had any problems with my Mac and any video format, and I was actually thinking about buying the Panasonic that you mentioned seeing as how my 2 year old Sony Mini-DV seems to have given up the ghost... grrr. Hopefully that helps!
any camcorder using any media
by boya84 - 8/5/07 1:13 PM In reply to: Yes, but.... by ezman700has its "downsides"... it just depends what you are willing to trade.
If you are a Mcintosh user (as I am), read this http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4975840�
before you get ANY hard drive camera.
From my viewpoint, miniDV continues to offer the best quality video... and when it comes to using a camcorder, video quality is a pretty important item to consider.
Ummmmmmmmmmm, miniDV tapes are designed for ONE use.
by Kiddpeat - 8/5/07 1:53 PM In reply to: Yes, but.... by ezman700They are not INTENDED to be reused. If $5 for a one hour recording, which can be archived for the next ten plus years is 'pricey', then you should use other, lower quality technology. You will, however, have to come up with a plan for backing up the video generated by that lower quality technology. Backup can get VERY pricey.
If your daughter performs ballet for over an hour without a break, then you may need some other technology. How about capturing the video on a portable computer's hard drive. Just remember that the drive needs to be fast, and that DV generates 13.5 gigabytes per hour. You will still need a backup plan.
NO they're not...
by bliq - 8/6/07 2:09 PM In reply to: Ummmmmmmmmmm, miniDV tapes are designed for ONE use. by KiddpeatMiniDVs are not designed for one use- that's ridiculous. If it was designed for one use, then why can you record over previously recorded material? That's easy enough to prevent if your assertion is true.
What's true though is that just like any magnetic medium, writing to it multiple times will eventually degrade quality. Yes, even hard drives degrade, it just takes a much longer time than something as fragile as magnetic tape.
$15 for 3 tapes? I don't know where
by boya84 - 8/6/07 4:13 PM In reply to: Yes, but.... by ezman700you are... but I get mine at Fry's Electronics for closer to less than $4 per miniDV tape... they come in packs of 5 or 8... I know Fry's is a bit on the high side but I go into the brick mortar store:
http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4796539?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
$24.99 for an 8-pack is normal.
Of course, you *could* try tapestockonline.com (my buddy gets tape there all the time)
http://www.tapestockonline.com/son60minprem.html
And while I agree with you that you *could* reuse miniDV tapes (just because you *can* do something does not necessarily mean you *should*) - I agree with kiddpeat that miniDV tapes should capture video and be locked (hence one-time use)...
As far as "changing tapes right in the middle", all of the performances my kid was in had an intermission about 50-55 minutes in - so trading tapes at "1/2 time" is easy and non-stressful.
I use the locked tape as an archive in case I want to go back to do different edits with the clips (like a year end compilation)... The other thing I do is after the edits and after output to DVD, I output back to tape so I have a "final" version archived... the [miniDV] digital tape long term storage is probably the longest shelf-life available.
Long events and mini-DV
by Dan Filice - 8/9/07 5:44 PM In reply to: Yes, but.... by ezman700If you need to record long events, my suggestion is to put your camcorder on LP,not SP mode. You can get 2hrs of recording on a mini-DV tape. If your daughter can do ballet for more than 2hrs, then you have issues other than camcorder recording. And, recording in LP mode is still WAY better than the quality of recording to most other non mini-DV formats. Recording to a DVD camcorder or hard-drive camcorder, will result in a drop in quality for the final result...unless you don't plan on re-editing the footage. The Mac is setup for handling DV video (mini-DV tapes), and anything else is a compromise. If you want to import video from a DVD or a hard-drive camcorder, get a PC.
Record to hard drive
by arrayanimation - 10/13/09 7:41 AM In reply to: My one and only suggestion: by Dan Filicewhen connected to a mac via firewire and imovie does a mini dv camcorder record to the mac hard drive or a specific folder
re:record to hard drive
by Renegade_Pilgrim - 10/18/09 10:26 PM In reply to: Record to hard drive by arrayanimationWhen you capture video using iMovie, you get to decide where the video resides. You can use your hard drive or you can use an external hard drive. Video files can be quite large, so I always save my iMovie files to my external hard drive.
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