Considering HV30

[Cordawg]

Hello. I am looking at an HV30 to replace my old canon optura 50 which recently took a tumble down the bank of a river while also bouncing off of a couple boulders and into the river into 3-4 feet of water. I sent the unit into canon to see about getting the tape out and they said I can purchase a refurbished unit under their loyalty program. It would cost me 399 plus tax. I have been researching your site and I want to make sure I am making the best decision. I realize I would need to upgrade my software if I wanted to tape and edit in hd so I am looking at either sony vegas 9 pp or adobe premier. I have taken video of weddings for friends with my optura 50 and even was paid for it a couple times. However, we mainly use our camera for family type of events (the kids, vacation, and such.) I do make movies with our footage and enjoy editing them. I currently use nero for doing the editing. Anyhow we are looking at the hv30 mainly because we really do not want to fix our optura 50 at a cost of 180.00 when we can put that money to purchasing a better and more updated camera. My options in the loyalty program are either 2 dvd type of camcorders or the hv30. I definately do not want the dvd type. So it would have to be the hv30 if I did the program. Do you think it is a good deal or should I just stick with getting something like a zr 950 or 960?

Also, I am waiting on canon to send us the tape that they are getting out of the camera. The water that the camera was in was in a crystal clear freshwater river in colorado (the gunnison river.) I want to salvage the tape. What is the best way to do this? Do I need to take it to a place to have it dried out? Is there something I can do myself? There is approximately 1 hour of video on the tape so I definately want to get the video off of the tape.

I appreciate your help.

[cgbier]

HV40!

[Cordawg]

HV40!


So don't bother with the hv30 even if I can get it at 399 as opposed to 799 for the hv40?

[Seo]

So don't bother with the hv30 even if I can get it at 399 as opposed to 799 for the hv40?

That depends. The HV40 has native 24p, which for some is a huge improvement over having to remove pulldown for 24p. This feature may or may not be important to you depending on whether removing pulldown sounds like an irritating task. But 400 dollars is a very good price for the camcorder. I'm sure you could even manage to sell that refurbished for over 500 dollars again. The HV40, other than that one feature, doesn't have much over the HV30, so IMO the 400 dollar difference isn't worth it.

[Cordawg]

That depends. The HV40 has native 24p, which for some is a huge improvement over having to remove pulldown for 24p. This feature may or may not be important to you depending on whether removing pulldown sounds like an irritating task. But 400 dollars is a very good price for the camcorder. I'm sure you could even manage to sell that refurbished for over 500 dollars again. The HV40, other than that one feature, doesn't have much over the HV30, so IMO the 400 dollar difference isn't worth it.

thank you. So if I understand what I have been reading on your site correctly, I can shoot in 30p and not have to worry about pulldown. But if I want to shoot in 24p I have to worry about pulldown. Now I do not have the software yet that I will be using for capture and editing so I am also looking around. I have been looking at vegas pro platinum and adobe premiere elements. But my understanding is that these do not take care of pulldown, even the most current versions. I cannot seem to find anything that takes care of it automatically during capture outside of a seperate program like neoscene, is this correct?

[Seo]

thank you. So if I understand what I have been reading on your site correctly, I can shoot in 30p and not have to worry about pulldown. But if I want to shoot in 24p I have to worry about pulldown. Now I do not have the software yet that I will be using for capture and editing so I am also looking around. I have been looking at vegas pro platinum and adobe premiere elements. But my understanding is that these do not take care of pulldown, even the most current versions. I cannot seem to find anything that takes care of it automatically during capture outside of a seperate program like neoscene, is this correct?

Correct. 30p on the HV30 can be edited right away without need of pulldown. As far as I know, Neoscene is the only good piece of software that can do it while capturing.

[Cordawg]

Any advice on what to do with my tape once I get it back from canon?

[Seo]

Any advice on what to do with my tape once I get it back from canon?

Well, if they can't fix it for you, I'm not sure what you could do. I wouldn't put a damaged tape in my camcorder to prevent damaging the camcorder's tape heads, though, so I wouldn't recommend trying to capture the tape. Sorry, not sure what else to do.

[thepainguy]

Any advice on what to do with my tape once I get it back from canon?

Take it to Wal-Mart or Best Buy and stick it in one of the display cameras there and see if it will play.

If it starts to make terrible sounds, turn off the camera, put it down, and walk away quickly (but not too quickly).

/Semi-Serious

P.S. Do make sure the cassette is totally dry and that the spools will turn freely. Otherwise, there's no point in even trying this.

[cgbier]

Press down the nipple that blocks the tape flap, then you can turn the tape with the eraser end of a pencil. If it turns freely, you should be fine.
Buy your wife a couple of new purses and take out those small dehumidifier pouches. Put those pouches in a ziplock bag together with your tape and wait a couple of days. You'll have a perfectly dry tape.

For that price I'd go with the HV30 also.

[Cordawg]

I got the tape back a couple of days ago. The tape works great. How about that. After being under water for several minutes it is in great condition. I see no sign of moisture in it at all. I did take the tape to wal-mart as suggested. I actually asked if I could use one of their demo models to see if the tape worked and they were fine with it. It worked great. Thank you for all the information and help. I did end up buying the refurbished model from canon. I am wondering about any extended warranties or such. I am not sure if canon offers them or if you guys have any adivice on them. My optura 50 lasted for several years without any problems until it was dropped, bounced off of several boulders, and landed 3-4 feet under water in the Gunnison river and I did not have any kind of extended warranty with it.

I am still unsure about which software to purchase in either sony platinum pro or adobe premiere elements. I looked at the threads and there really does not seem to be a consensus on it. I would say sony has the edge, but not by a landslide. Any thoughts?

Thank you again for all your help.

[cgbier]

Sony Vegas rocks!

[vince]

Don't know about the price of the extended warranty, but the HV is more trouble prone then your old camera. If camera is warranted for one year, it usually is long enough to put it through the test but a refurbished cam usually only has 90 days and that may not be long enough to discover the problem. Your experience may be different.

[ejolson]

I think $399 is a great price for the HV30 and there is no point in spending an extra $300 for the HV40 unless you plan to shoot primarily in 24p mode. The 24p mode on the HV40 doesn't require pullup, but the 24pf mode on the HV30 is just as good in low light and just as irritating in how slowly it autofocuses. Also, if you are planning to mix footage filmed with 24pf (for low light) and 60i (for smooth motion in bright light) in the same project you don't want to remove the pulldown anyway.

[Seo]

I think $399 is a great price for the HV30 and there is no point in spending an extra $300 for the HV40 unless you plan to shoot primarily in 24p mode. The 24p mode on the HV40 doesn't require pullup, but the 24pf mode on the HV30 is just as good in low light and just as irritating in how slowly it autofocuses. Also, if you are planning to mix footage filmed with 24pf (for low light) and 60i (for smooth motion in bright light) in the same project you don't want to remove the pulldown anyway.

Wrong. One removes pulldown regardless of what project settings they have setup. The pulldown frames add terrible ghosting and need to be removed. You can't combine PF24 with 60i without any work.