Working with DVCAM...

Apollo25 wrote on 9/20/2004, 11:42 PM

I am about to invest in a couple of DSR PD170. This camera gives you the option of recording in MiniDV or DVCAM. Is there any difference using DVCAM vs MiniDV when it comes to capturing footage and rendering etc.

Comments

John_Cline wrote on 9/21/2004, 12:27 AM

No, none whatsoever.

John

frazerb wrote on 9/21/2004, 5:07 AM

DVCAM is said to have fewer dropouts, and technically that should be true. It also has the audio "locked" with the video, which should keep them in sync better. However, in real life straight DV mode almost never has those problems.

A 60 minute tape runs only 40 minutes in DVCAM mode, because the tape runs faster.

I use DVCAM mode on some commercial shoots where I am recording very short segments.

Buddy

BrianStanding wrote on 9/21/2004, 8:40 AM

I have a PD-150. On this camera, (and I imagine on the PD-170, TOO) you have a couple more options in DVCAM mode,such as the ability to record user bit timecode. This is very useful if you need to sync two or more cameras together. It's also sounds more professional in some circles if you say you can deliver a DVCAM (rather than Mini-DV) master.

Other than that, as the other posts mention, there's no really significant difference for most applications.