I have the SD5 camera which I like and it works will moving clips to the Mac, but I would like to use it also for a webcam. Anyone know how to set it up so that the Mac recognizes it as a video source? Thanks.

[jgdesign]

Hi, you should be able to pick it up in imovie or quicktime pro via firewire...

hows the camera?, looking to buy one in the next few days, need it to be able to be used on a mac too, also what's the quality like, and is there any downsides/pitfalls to look out for?

Many thanks

j.

[redsox_mark]

The SD5 does not have Firewire (I don't know of any AVCHD cam that does). But you can access the files via USB.

[rhubarbe]

First off I should have a read through the manual to see if it actually can be used as a webcam.

[redsox_mark]

I missed the point about the web cam... the manual doesn't mention this function at all.

[L11]

Originally Posted by jgdesign

hows the camera?, looking to buy one in the next few days, need it to be able to be used on a mac too, also what's the quality like, and is there any downsides/pitfalls to look out for?

I borrowed one for a couple of days and i was extremely dissapointed, aside from the increased resolution, the 'quality' just wasnt that great, there was alot of noise on the images, even in daylight and inside a well lit shop.. there was this annoying blur whilst panning which i think i'll never be able to get used to.. Alot of people seem to like it though so i'd have a look for yourself i guess...

[rhubarbe]

Mmm, it does help if you learn how to use the manual controls, and of course fast panning isn't a great idea with even an SD cam.

[L11]

Originally Posted by rhubarbe

Mmm, it does help if you learn how to use the manual controls, and of course fast panning isn't a great idea with even an SD cam.

Thats the thing though, for a consumer camera you shouldn't have to use the manual controls..

I didn't say fast panning, it was terrible compared to any camcorder i've ever used (the blur), and from working at currys i've used alot.

[rhubarbe]

Why shouldn't you have to learn how to use manual controls just because it's a consumer camera?

If it's too dark for the 3 tiny CCDs in your shop because the thing is set up to give its best under "normal" light conditions - and Panasonic's setting it up to give its best in your shop would detract from its performance in daylight (where most of its use would be), and you can vastly improve that performance just by switching from 1/50th shutter speed to 1/25th, why should you expect not to have to use manual controls if you want good results?

If it were needed, an excellent reason for not doing your camcorder research at Currys has just shown you exactly why.

[L11]

As far as I'm concered, if a £200 samsung dvd camcorder works fine in auto mode, then so should a £600 HD camcorder.. People buy camcorders so they can pick up and record the action, without the need for messing about, people want 'point and shoot'.. Even the JVC hard drive (MG-175?) model that i've seen slated on here performed better for me in auto..

And the thing is, i didn't use it in the shop, i took it outside, used it on a nice day, and also indoors in a 'normal' house in daytime.. Nice try though.

[senu]

Maybe you had a "bad" Copy.

or one whose settings had been changed by an earlier user.
As you say Auto mode should be Ok in ideal shooting conditions but If is is as well liked as it seems, I imagine others would have picked on its suspect quality
I personally found JVCs MG175 atrociously unusable. I tried to avoid bias by subsequently loaning a friends own for a long weekend but still came to the same conclsion
I did wonder afterwards if it was me being fussy , JVCs QC sloppy or Joe public was that easily pleased just because it was tapeless!

[L11]

Nah it came fresh out of the box. I can appreciate it may be a good camera in manual mode, since i never tried it personally, and from what i've been reading, alot of people seem to be using it that way.. I just think that it shouldn't be neccessary to obtain decent quality videos..

[rhubarbe]

I agree there is a lot of what you call blur, and I call tearing when you pan.

Others I have used which don't give the same blur tend to lose focus.

[senu]

Originally Posted by L11

Nah it came fresh out of the box. I can appreciate it may be a good camera in manual mode, since i never tried it personally, and from what i've been reading, alot of people seem to be using it that way.. I just think that it shouldn't be neccessary to obtain decent quality videos..

FWIW I agree , however taking the HDV HC1 as an example. its colours out of the box were set to very conservative levels.
A visit to user forums , point you in the direction of to the colour menu A little tweaking of settings soon sort that out

[rhubarbe]

I don't think there is a colour adjustment option in either the SD5 or the Sd7.

[Battersea AH]

HI,

I've bought a HDC-SD5 and want to bring the clips onto my MAC but I can;t install the HD Writer 2.0e...it says it should work with 10.4 of OSX....but I'm on 11..it'll bring photos across but no movies I've made??

Any ideas?

Battersea

[otjatt]

i actually just picked up my sd5 last night and i use OS X leopard and everything works fine. I put my sd card into a reader and open iMovie 08 and wait a few moments for a box to come up that downloads the clips for you. I find using a card reader easier because for some reason, you need to have the ac adapter plugged in the camcorder to connect it to a computer.