Maximum Firewire length from camera to laptop

ecoman wrote on 3/20/2004, 11:49 PM
Has anyone made a capture from a camera to a laptop over over firewire at a distance of 25ft ...50ft....100ft..?
I got a shoot coming up that I would like to capture directly to a laptop and I might need to have a long distance between Camera & Laptop..
Anyone having success with this process or has Ideas or suggestions I would very much be interested...
I have seen firewire cable at a NLE Company's booth at the NAB that looked to be 50 to 100 ft in length...
thanks in advance
EcoMan

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 3/21/2004, 12:03 AM
I've got one that I think is close to 20 feet. It works fine. I think the limit is around 25 feet, but I am not sure of this.
riredale wrote on 3/21/2004, 8:14 AM
Google is wonderful. Just typed in "firewire maximum length" and all sorts of stuff popped out.

Maximum length for standard 400Mb/sec firewire is 4.5m, or about 15ft. You can extend the range by inserting firewire repeaters.

Someone said you could also extend the standard firewire range by using special cables.
BillyBoy wrote on 3/21/2004, 8:46 AM
You can, and I have extended the length of firewire cables. The so-called specs seem very conservative based on my experience. I've gone about 18 feet with no apparant signal loss, or dropping frames or any of the things you'd expect with just two or three cables connected together, no booster.

Large computer stores, and the mail order channel have larger firewire cables. I've seen them in 6' 8' 10' and I think 12' lengths.
johnmeyer wrote on 3/21/2004, 10:29 AM
Maximum length for standard 400Mb/sec firewire is 4.5m, or about 15ft.

I think this is the one I have that I mentioned in my previous post. I remember when I bought it three years ago that it was the longest "in-spec" cable I could get.
JackW wrote on 3/21/2004, 5:46 PM
Here's a source for firewire specifically designed for camera to computer feeds in lengths from 75 to 164 feet. The cable does not carry power, however.

http://www.globalvideoconf.com/FireWire%20USB%20Cables.htm

While you're there, look at some of the other firewire solutions; there's some neat stuff, including hubs, USB cables, firewire patch panels, etc.

Jack
JJKizak wrote on 3/22/2004, 5:28 AM
You can also try "Black Box" but guard your wallet. They will make anything you want, even if it has not been done before.

JJK
Jay Gladwell wrote on 3/22/2004, 5:45 AM
These folks claim their cables are good up to 10 meters (30 feet)!



J--