Mini DV vs HardDrive Based HDcams

1. thesoulpilot
   Member

   
   I am looking to buy an HD cam to use with my mac iMovie and FInal Cut Express. Which camcorder will be better for me a Hard Drive based or Mini DV? From what I see, It looks like Hard Drive cams require a PC or need file conversion where as Mini DV allows for normal import into FCE or iMovie. Any advice would be appreciated!!
   
   Thanks

   Posted 5 years ago #

2. wh1te0w1
   Member

   
   well i just bought a sony camcorder, mini DVD type and it CANNOT be used in any way with my apple . l do have parallels desktop installed (runs windows on your apple) on it so i can do a little whe transferred from my normal PC. they said you can play the little CDs in the PC drive, but not in my sony VAIO.
   you can edit and do stuff with the actual corder though, and there are several different modes, eg Easycam or advanced settings..i do like that.
   the DVDs only last 15 mins in standard play (longer in LP. )but you can use them like tape and rerecord over bits.

   Posted 4 years ago #

3. jetson
   Member

   
   I'm not sure about the sony described above, but generally any mini-dv camera with firewire will work fine on a mac. I believe there is a camera compatibility list on Apple's website - shouldn't be too hard to dig up. Sony has a history of making "proprietary" products though - so I'm not too surprised that they have a mini-dv cam that has problems connecting or importing.
   
   Respectfully,
   
   Kenny

   Posted 4 years ago #

4. thesoulpilot
   Member

   
   Jetson, what that guy was talking about was actually those small DVD's. Those don't work well on the mac because there is no proper software and slot loading macs(everything but a mac pro) won't accept them. It turns out my friend bought the Canon HD 20 and it rocks. awesome picture and it integrates seemlessly with iMovie and FCE.

   Posted 4 years ago #

5. jetson
   Member

   
   Good catch - I am indeed going blind! Yeah, those smaller DVD's don't play nice with a slot loading drive! I wonder if you could use a tray loading external drive via firewire or USB on a mac? Still wouldn't solve the editing problem though...

   Posted 4 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

youtube, myvideo, funnyordie, gametrailers, collegehumor, dailymotion, glumbert, liveleak, redtube, googlevideo, sevenload, metacafe, clipfish, vimeo