Sony DCR-TRV320

JimClark wrote on 7/8/2002, 10:25 PM
I am looking into getting a Digital 8 camcorder. I want to edit older 8mm tapes and burn VCD's of them. I have Vifeo Factory 2.0 and a ATI capture card and have played some with my old analog camera. The two questions I have are

1. To use the use the analog pass through / conversion do I play the 8mm tape in the new camera it converts then I edit it on the computer or do I have to keep my old analog camera and play the 8mm on the analog and pass it thru the new Sony DCR-TRV320 to edit it on the computer.

2. I am interested in using it as a digital still camera for some things (mostly web) and wonder how a caamwra like the Sony DCR-TRV320 does for stills compared to a 2 megapixel still camera.
thanks
Jim Clark

Comments

randy-stewart wrote on 7/9/2002, 12:02 AM
Jim,

I have the TRV-120. You should be able to just play the 8mm tapes in the camera and out via the firewire connection into the computer (assuming you have the IEEE 1394 card in the computer). The rest is standard digital editing with VF. After you edit your show, output it back to the camcorder via firewire using the print to tape feature in VF. By the way, the pass through technique works great with the Sony camcorders even from a VCR.

As for the stills, you will get better results from the 2 megapixel still camera. I don't know of a video camera that can meet that level of quality for stills.

Hope this helps.

Randy
ANDREMIKE wrote on 7/9/2002, 1:06 PM
I agree... Just put the analog tape in your camcorder and let your computer do the capturing....
Frenchy wrote on 7/9/2002, 2:36 PM
Jim:

I have a TRV310 and like Randy says, it will play older 8mm tapes straight through the firewire to the PC (if you don't have a IEEE 1394 card - get one - they're inexpensive). Analog 8mm tapes do not have embedded timecode that Digital 8 tapes do.

You *will* get better stills with a 2 megapixel still camera, and get better zooms with VV, but I've been relatively happy with the quality of stills taken directly with my TRV310, or with timeline snapshots, or with still image captures using VidCap. Before you capture, remember to (1) deinterlace stills, or set the "reduce interlace flicker" switch (see another recent thread) to avoid the dreaded interlace "flicker", and (2) "Display at project size" (in timeline) or "Zoom to 100%" (in VidCap). I say relatively happy in that for my ultimate viewing (family vids on VCD for now, ultimately DVD) the quality of the stills on the completed video is still usually better than anything on VHS. I use a combination of images grabbed from the video(s) this way, and digital images taken with my digital camera and scanned images from my 35mm camera, since I usually only have one camera with me at a time, and can only operate one at a time, even if I *do* have another on hand :). I use Seattle Film Works to process my 35mm film, and they scan the images for free (at medium res) or at high res for an additional couple of bucks per roll.

my 2 cents

Frenchy