Conjsidering moving from SD to HD

I had always planned to make my next Camcorder purchase an HD camcorder. The recent failure of my MiniDV camcorder barely a few weeks before going away on holiday has brought my plans forward somewhat.

Like perhaps many current HD camcorder owners, the camera itself will be my only High Def source for a while. I know my PC won't cope, so Editing will have to take a back seat for a while and I won't be shelving out for a Blu Ray DVD writer for a while. So to my questions:-

1) If I buy the Sony HDRCX6EK will I be able to download footage for storage on an external drive attached to my laptop, and then move it back to the camcorder later for viewing ? Presumably I can do this with the USB connection and the issue of having a laptop that is not dual core only affects playback and editing of HD footage ? The Camcorder will be my only HD source for a while so as long as I can do this and use it as a HD player it will probably keep me happy for a while.

2) Given that I generally take my laptop with me on Holiday, I can't see any value in one of the HDD camcorders which allows storage of larger quantities of HD footage over the memory stick camcorder. I would just regularly copy footage off the memory stick to my lpatop to free up space. If there is a problem copying files onto the laptop though and I am likely to run into problems moving footage back and forth, then i'll go for an HDD version that will allow me to store much more footage.

3) Can I use the HDRCX6EK in SD mode just as I did with my MiniDV and still edit the footage in applications like Studio V9.0 ?

Many thanks

[redsox_mark]

1) If I buy the Sony HDRCX6EK will I be able to download footage for storage on an external drive attached to my laptop, and then move it back to the camcorder later for viewing ?

Certainly copying it to an external drive is no problem. I believe there is also no problem copying it back (as long as you aren't editing it), but I'd like a CX6 owner to confirm to be 100% sure.


3) Can I use the HDRCX6EK in SD mode just as I did with my MiniDV and still edit the footage in applications like Studio V9.0

Sort of. You can shoot with the CX6 in SD mode, but it is MPEG2 format, not miniDV format. As long as your editor can edit MPEG2 this will work (all current packages do). But of course if you shoot in SD you lose the advantage of HD. This is where HDV (tape) camcorders have an advantage; they can shoot HD and you can have the camcorder convert to SD DV; so you can easily edit the SD now and save the tapes to re-release in HD later.

Many thanks for your comments.

I'm pretty sold on the Soiid state storage option, the only problem is i've now seen the Panasonic SD5 and this is winning me over in a straight comparison against the CX6 (I love the 3 sec prerecord feature) I know I don't have the option to record in SD mode, but the DVD burner accessory which allows me to download HD content and view without binning my existing PC for a dual core model is pretty attractive.

Does anyone have any experience of the SD5 in conjunction with the optional accessory DVD burner ? Can you still do rudimentary editing before burning ? Transitions/cutting sections out etc..?

Also, am just seeing lots of online discussions about the SD7. I may go for this instead of the SD5. Only problem is it probably won't hit the UK before I need to buy. Does anyone think purchasing one from Japan would come with any risks ? NTSC models are being advertised by international sellers. I'm assuming an NTSC model will be OK (I have a Samsung LE32 LCD TV which lists PAL/NTSC/SECAM in the specifications for the video colour system). Will there be any advantage to waiting for a UK PAL model ?

[rhubarbe]

I have an SD7. Bought it from an eBay (Edwardqian) seller who imports them from Japan. No issues if you have an HDTV because they will accept 50Hz and 60Hz signals. Recommend the seller.

The SD7 isn't coming to the UK, not as a PAL model AFAIK.

Thanks for the info. and the tip with the Ebay seller. Info. online suggests as you have that the SD7 is not comng to the UK. I picked up a copy of Digital Video over the weekend though and there is a piece on the SD7 (page 14). They are suggesting it's coming here for Xmas. Am feeling a bit more bullish about taking the plunge with a imported model after your e-mail though.