Re: need advice on HDD camcorder

"Sandra" wrote ...
My situation is that I record mostly "Christian" events. Concerts
sometimes, but speakers mostly (teaching sessions).... like a 2 day
convention where there will
be several speakers throughout the day. They seldom speak under 90
minutes, or I'll try to capture some of the preliminary stuff that goes
on before them.

Very similar to what I do. Generically called "long-form event
videography" Is this primarily in a fixed location (like a church
sancturay, etc.) or do you have to move around? What are
you doing with these videos? Live overflow coverage? DVD
distribution? Local cable broadcast? etc?

[DV vs. MPEG]
Could you translate that please? Uh... you mean mean it isn't a good
trade off?

You have already heard from one of the proponents of MPEG
recording and editing. You can judge for yourself from the tone
of the posting and the juvenile name-calling whether that
person (or others) seem to be reliable sources of information.
You should also take into consideration what YOU are doing
with the video (which you haven't revealed) vs. what THEY
are doing with their video. MPEG is likely the best choice for
them, but not necessarily for what YOU are trying to do.

The opinion of many of us is that DV is an excelent production
format with a superior cost/quality ratio. MPEG compression
may be good enough for your purposes (which you didn't
reveal), but certainly the state of the art in handling MPEG
editing, etc. is not where it is for DV. You can save lots of
disc space with MPEG, but disc space is cheap and getting
cheaper literally every day. The other MPEG disadvantages
far outweigh any advantages. At lest in my opinion. You will
likely see further promotion of MPEG here before it is over.

OK... I understand that I NEED a connection to be able to connect
to a soundboard. Is there a special "audio input connector" or just
using a headphone jack?

The headphone jack is an OUTPUT and used only for monitoring
the sound while shooting. You ALSO need an INPUT connector
usually a "Mic input") to allow connection to the venue sound system
and/or external mic, etc.

Would you have a suggestion on a Camcorder that would be a good
one to look at? I've been using a Sony DCR-TRV38. It is ok, but I'd
like something with better color. I'd say 99% of my video taping is
indoors
in big rooms.

If "better color" is your prime driving factor for getting a new
camera it is possible that the lighting may be a better candidate
for spending upgrade $$$ than a camera. How does your cam-
corder video look when shooting outdoors?

I'd also very much like to understand how to record directly into a
computer rather onto the mini-DV. Is there someplace
to go that will give me the particulars of doing this?

It is not as complicated as it sounds. It is practically identical
to capturing from the tape into a computer for editing, etc.
except that you are doing it in real-time vs. from something
you recorded onto tape previously. I believe you mentioned
the time it takes to capture in a previous post? If you are
capturing from tape, you can just as easily capture live from
the camera.

You should ALWAYS be monitoring the audio with a good
pair of headphones. Failing to monitor the audio while
shooting is exactly like aiming/focusing the camera with
your eyes closed.

More learning... working with the audio is my weakest point.
I've learned a lot through doing this, but am not very technical on it
all, especially the audio. When "real" audio people start talking
together it is WAY over my head.

If you are trying to communicate with them, make them explain
what they are talking about and use language you understand.
If they can't do that, they are dilettantes or poseurs. See if you
can find at least one of the sound crew that you can deal with
in a helpful and professional manner.

I'm in no way "professional" but I'd like the best sound for my videos
that I'm able to do. What I have been doing that has worked the best so
far, is to use a monitor plugged into the sound board, placing the monitor
close to the camcorder mic. Yes... before you shutter I KNOW it has
limitations and problems,
but so far it has worked the best for a loud enough sound.

That is likely OK for low-budget amateur use, but if you want to
improve the quality of your videos, remember that lighting and
sound may have a bigger impact on percieved quality than the
cost of the camera.

Thank-you for your advice and if you have a camcorder recommendation for
me PLEASE tell me. Or at least what do you think I NEED in a camcorder
the most?

I can't say that I have ANY recommendations for any of the
current crop of camcorders. Most of them seem to be aimed
at clueless amateurs so they use a lot of cheap digital effects
to mask the fact that the actual quality of the camera imaging/
lens has actually declined. Do you have some sort of long-
term strategy for doing video? Just buying the latest whizzy
consumer camcorder isn't necessarily the best stewardship
of your budget, IMHO.

Even if I thought there WERE some good camcorder models
currently available, it would be irresponsible to try to recommend
one knowing so little about what you are trying to do and what
your circumstances are.


.

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