I own the HV20 and have been using it with PD7 with no problems. One thing I miss from DV is the ability to batch capture. This is not possible with HDV in any NLE I know of.

As far as the camera, if editing is your desire then stick with a MiniDV-based camera. Cameras using the AVCHD format have high computer overhead requirements because the footage is highly compressed. Most NLEs are just catching up with the demand of AVCHD format and still don't handle it as well. The drawbacks to tape are needing to do real-time capture and the vagaries of tape, but the benefits are better picture quality (25mbps vs 17mbps) and an instant backup copy is made as you record (the tape). Once captured you simply archive the tape away for safe-keeping.

The Canon HV30 (HV20 replacement) is an extremely capable camera that has even found its way into movie and film production because of its low price and versatility, and its ability to record in 24p and 30p modes (more film-like). It isn't the greatest low-light performer (no consumer HD cam is), but with decent light it looks stunning. It also has a direct HDMI output so you can capture uncompressed video direct to a deck or see your full HD videos right on your HDTV with HDMI input. Spectacular.

Hi mate,

have you tried recording edited footage back to your HV20 in HDV format??

I have the HV30 & PD wont do this correctly, I get a lot of missed footage & gaps.

had the same problem with VideoStudio 11+, they had a Canon patch for VS10, but thats old software now.

cheers

Quote: Hi mate,

have you tried recording edited footage back to your HV20 in HDV format??

I have the HV30 & PD wont do this correctly, I get a lot of missed footage & gaps.

I did it once while beta testing PD7, but only a short clip. I will have to try it again with a longer one and get back to you.

Quote:

Quote: Hi mate,

have you tried recording edited footage back to your HV20 in HDV format??

I have the HV30 & PD wont do this correctly, I get a lot of missed footage & gaps.

I did it once while beta testing PD7, but only a short clip. I will have to try it again with a longer one and get back to you.

Thanks Rick that would be very helpul, cheers

Hi,

I have a Panasonic SD9 and I can thoroughly recommend it for the following reasons:

- Excellent picture quality and value for money.

- It fits in your trouser pocket - literally, and handles like a dream.

- Storage media is on SDHC (high capacity) cards - small, versatile and highly portable. Upto 1 hour of HD footage on a 4Gb card.

- No need to "hook up" to PC software - PCs can read the SDHC card either directly or via a USB reader.

- No more tapes to worry about - I have given my old tape based DV videocam to my nephew.

- PD7 handles the files very well.

The software that comes with it is fairly basic, but it saves high quality files in relatively small filesizes - quite economical to store on external hard drives etc. for instant access.

Regards, Con

Hi guys,
I have just bought the Sanyo VPC HD1000 (£359), very small, 1hr 25m full HD on an 8Gb card, it's slow focussing but otherwise is quite impressive. My choice was governed by the availability of the underwater housing (£179) and the experience of other divers with the earlier xacti models. I prefer the file output rather than tape because of the ease of transfer and storage when diving but there is a quality issue depending on end usage.

I've just posted a 720p video on seemyworld http://seemyworldonvideo.com/view/237/the-beach/
produced with PD6 and the Sanyo as an example for those who are interested.

Cheers
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Quote: Hi,
I have a Panasonic SD9 and I can thoroughly recommend it for the following reasons
(snip)

Second that!

The only "weird" thing regarding connectivity is that you must feed the camera with external power supply when connecting via USB.

The same goes for HDMI output, but there the reason is simply that the terminal is built inside the battery cage in order to save space.

a SDHC compatible card reader would be my #1 accessory tip, even before an extra battery.

Battery life is very long. I think this has to do with the SD-only storage.

Another major advantage of not having any moving parts in the camera is that there is no (0,0) background noise when recording. The sound is very clean, sensitive. No external mic connector, though..

Hi
Re the Panasonic SD9 recommendation, does an SDHC card fit in the same reader as an SD card? Do you load the clips into PD7 using capture (from the camera or SDHC card in a reader) or do you just import the clips into 'Edit' via 'import media'
. Best regards

John

Hi guys,
The Sanyo VPC HD1000 used to record (it sadly drowned whilst scuba diving in Egypt last month) to a Kingston Class 6 8Gb SDHC. However, my laptop has an integral card reader that really, really doesn't like the card at all, my media PC's reader is OK but I have no problem with a Tesco Technika 16 in 1 card reader on the laptop or the PC so I use that all the time. I read the card to my hard drive (laptop, desktop or external USB whatever) first, then import to PD.

Cheers
Adrian

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Quote: Hi
Re the Panasonic SD9 recommendation, does an SDHC card fit in the same reader as an SD card? Do you load the clips into PD7 using capture (from the camera or SDHC card in a reader) or do you just import the clips into 'Edit' via 'import media'
.

The SDHC format is different to SD and you need a SDHC compliant reader (physically the same size though). I got a mini reader with my Sandisk SDHC card
You load the .MTS clips from the card reader into PD as you would files on your hard drive. I mostly copy the files onto my HDD first anyway.

Thanks pjc, I am thinking of purchasing the SD9 & like to edit with PD7. From what I've read in this Forum so far, things look good. Best regards

John

Quote: Thanks pjc, I am thinking of purchasing the SD9 & like to edit with PD7. From what I've read in this Forum so far, things look good.

Hi John,

My comments would be that :

1. you need a top end PC (CPU/GPU) to edit the files in PD quickly. Plenty of info on this forum if you search AVCHD

2. converting the AVCHD files to DVD results in a significant loss of PQ. I feel my old DV camera looks better converted to MPEG than the AVCHD does.

3. if you can play the AVCHD back natively (AVCHD disk in Blu-Ray player or media player) then it looks fantastic.

4. surround sound on the SD9 is great for the ambient sounds but the videoer's commentary tends to sound a bit odd in surround. The subject's voice is nice and front directed though. As others have mentioned there is absolutely no background motor noise (one of the main reasons I ditched the old tape based DV camera)

5. the mic picks up a fair bit of wind noise due to it's top position. I have fashioned a simple wind guard which is very effective.

6. the low light performance is only fair as can be expected from a CCD camera.

regards

pjc

I also have encountered problems trying to get PCs and laptops to read some SDHC cards. I use various 4Gb and 8Gb Class 6 cards with mixed results.

I bought a Lexar USB 2.0 SDHC card reader and it solved all problems - the media can be either read directly via a USB port or, better still, transferred to your local/external drive for importing into PD.

Con
Windows 7 - i7 860, 8Gb RAM, 2 x 1 TB HDD, GTS 250 1Gb Video

Hi pjc
The spec of my Laptop is as follows.

Intel Core Duo T2350 1.86 Ghz Processer
Intel 945GM Chipset
2048MB DDR Ram
160GB Hard Drive
Intel GMA 950 Graphics

I also have a 500GB External Hard Drive.

Can you tell me please if this is sufficient to Edit AVCHD Video. I don't have a Blueray Burner yet, but was going to burn to DVD for now. However your comments re PQ are giving me second thoughts. Should I stick with my current Camcorder until I get Blueray Burner?

My current Camcorder is a Sony DCR-HC90E which uses mini DV tape & has a 1/3 CCD.

Your Advice would be most welcome Best regards

John