DV vs SD vs HDD regarding PC capture

[Sparkmeister]

Just when I made my decision to go for the DV format, when purchasing a HiDef camcorder I started to think about the PC capture process as I suspect I'll want to do at least some editing. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to camcorders as I've never owned any type of video camera but I have captured VHS to my PC before and have lots of PC experience, so I'm not completely in the dark.

I'm wondering if there are pros and cons to consider between the different recording media with regards to getting your recordings onto your PC. Presumably, because they're all digital formats you don't have to play them back in real time to capture them on your PC like you would with VHS, correct? If so, how does that work with DV tapes? Can they be transferred quickly onto your PC?

If your camera supports SD (or any other sold state) cards then presumably you can simply remove the card and put it straight into your PC's card reader and therefore quicker than any DV transfer?

Finally, I presume the same goes for hdd and that you just quickly transfer the recordings from camera to PC via FireWire or USB 2.0, provided the camera has the correct interface?

I also understand that DV currently has the edge over HDD due to differing compression algorithms but I was just interested to rate each format regarding their capture processes and whether they differ. I'm not keen on the idea of recording straight to DVD and have therefore left it out of this discussion.

Any advice muchly appreciated.

[redsox_mark]

You are correct - with HDD or flash memory cams (or DVD), "capture" involves a file copy, which will be as fast as the interface or HDD/memory speed.... faster than real time.

With tape based cams, capture is in real time only - even though it is digital data.

So this is an advantage for non-tape based cams.

However, in my experience this isn't that significant, as the actual edting process takes a good amount of time.

[senu]

Mark is spot on there;
IMO, the starting, and maintained quality during editing more than make up for the real time capturing that you get with MiniDV tape ( either as SD or HDV) compared to HDd or Flash card
If editing is on your agenda, the argument for the HDD and Flsh cards convenience is much weaker
With tape you can also return the edited master to tape: Your edited master from the Mpeg ( or even AVCHD) material go onto (another) HDD for archiving

[MarkE19]

Many miniDV camcorders will have a memory card slot, but this is not normally for recording video - just still images.
If you buy a camcorder that does record video to memory cards then this is going to be an expensive option IMO due to the high capacity of cards required. 1 hour of best quality video onto a £3 miniDV tape is always going to be cheaper than any SD etc card that holds the same length.
Yes the cards are quicker for getting the video onto the PC (as are HDD cams) but as already stated you will get better PQ from miniDV for any budget. You also get the best archiving with any tape based camcorder.

Mark.

[Sparkmeister]

Thanks for the replies everyone, it's much appreciated. I think you've all given my the steer I was looking for. Now all I got to do is decide where to buy the Sony HDR-HC7E. I see there are two or three online retailers selling them for just over £700 but I've read the reviews of these retailers when things go wrong and it doesn't make good reading. I think deciding where to buy is possibly the hardest decision of all. Maybe there should be a separate forum on here that allows us to share our experiences with retailers?

[senu]

You can share your experiences in any thread as long as there is a factual narration .. not "slagging off " which can attract potential libellous complaints