memory card VS miniDV?

[stevo351]

hey there, i have a HV30 (PAL) and was wondering if anyone has done or knows of a video comparison between recording to DV tape or Mini SD on the HV20/30/40s? (if this is even possible). I ask as im slowly finding myself too lazy to transfer all the video i take on my camera and was thinking of a faster alternative!
thanks in advance

[drapeama]

i have a HV30 [...] recording to DV tape or Mini SD on the HV20/30/40s? (if this is even possible).

It only records to tape. miniSD card is only for pictures.
You would have been better to buy an HDD/memory card based camcorder if you're too lazy to transfer the footage.

[NBK]

Hi,

MiniSD is for photos only and miniDV is for video only.

HTH
NBK

[tvnewsbadge]

You're right to be too lazy to transfer the files in this day and age.... I've gone tapeless myself and there are many benefits beyond just time issues, but for now you are stuck.

t

[Timbit]

...i have a HV30 (PAL) and was wondering if anyone has done or knows of a video comparison between recording to DV tape or Mini SD? I ask as im slowly finding myself too lazy to transfer all the video [...] and was thinking of a faster alternative!
thanks in advance

Unless you want to sell your camera, you are stuck. If you wan to get away from MiniDV, you can go to the flash memory cards or HDD cameras in the consumer lineup, or you can go to DSLRs, but there will be a problem with hand-held shooting without proper stabilization.

[askclifford]

I have done a comparison on quality of video on a Canon HD Camcorder that has the same CMOS Chip as HV40 and I recorded the same shot on the HV40 with a MiniDV. The quality on the MiniDV was better in my opinion. I also had some other people look at it without knowing which is which. They agreed.

[cgbier]

Clifford, that issue has to do with AVCHD compression, and is unrelated to the dispute about flash memory vs. tape.
Show them some P2 or XDCam footage...

[askclifford]

I know, thought thats what they were ultimately referring to. Sorry, I'm too poor for P2! I would have to take a trip up to my news station and barter with my producer Kyle for airtime. Then I would take out a 10k P2 Camcorder that would be 10k better then the HVX0!

[stevo351]

Thanks for all the responses! I guess I'll just have to stick with good old real time transfer speed which I'm ok with as I think well all agree these are probably the best quality consumer cameras out there. And yes I understand the avchd quality loss too, just tonight I went to a Sony video camera training night (for my job) and was shows a hdr-cx550v recording played back on a Bravia and the ghosting was horrendous! Thumbs down in quality but an ok camera nonetheless. Anyway, thanks again!

[Bif]

Stevo,

For the record I went from an HV20 to a pair of HF100's and in what I've done I find the image quality from the AVCHD on the HF100's to be at least the same as from the HV20.

For awhile I had to record at a lower bitrate (computer couldn't handle the 17Mbps) of 12Mbps and some of that footage when edited into the same timeline as HDV from the HV20 had identical detail.

When I upgraded video card to the point where the computer would then edit 17Mbps AVCHD the image detail from that began to look a bit crisper than HV20 footage.

Image quality and especially tonal rendition from the Canon 7D and T2i looks even better. The "claims" of tape based HDV having better image quality seem to me to be coming from people who may feel "threatened" by the inevitable change coming or are experiencing wishful thinking.

There's a possibility individual cameras may vary somewhat in what they do, but what is claimed about tape based HDV being superior is something I just do NOT see.

Otherwise I would have kept the HV20, sold the first HF100, and eventually upgraded to the HV40.

[stevo351]

Thanks for that, it's great to read about a comparison done by someone who has owned and used both cameras. You never know I may be upgrading sooner than I think! Did you notice any ghosting when playing back on a bigger screen with th hf100? I ask as the Sony hdr-cx550v looks shocking when played back via hdmi on a Bravia I'm assuming due to the avchd compression..

[CycleWriter]

Your original question was about differences between media, not cameras. Obviously, a different camera means a different lens, sensor and processing chip, so differences would be something you could measure. If you could record to tape and mini-SD on an HV you would see absolutely no difference between the two because digital data is not changed by the recording media. It's just 1s and 0s by the time it leaves the processing chip and it is not changed in any way by the media it is recorded to.

That said, if you had read your manual or the FAQ you would have known that the card is for still pictures only.