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  1. Member
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    Hi there,

    I currently have a Samsung Digital camcorder VP-D305i (Mini DV tapes) and want to upgrade to a HD camera - Canon Legria HFR406. This camera has the following features:

    •Optical Intelligent IS
    •53x Advanced zoom, Full HD CMOS
    •Baby Mode
    •Superb quality AVCHD and MP4 recording
    •DIGIC DV4 image processor
    •Audio Scene Select
    •High-res 7.5cm capacitive touch screen LCD
    •Cinema-Look filters and touch decoration
    •SDXC card slot

    How easy is it to transfer footage from SDXC card for editing. Would I be better sticking to my Samsung which by the way I now can't transfer via Firewire as my 12 month old computer doesn't have Firewire connection. I am going on a holiday to Canada & UK mid year and I would like to use HD camera with 16:9 output.

    BTW I currently use EditStudio6 & DVD LabPro by Mediachance for all my editing and burning to DVD. I have also just installed Ashampoo Software to do editing with. I have yet to try it out.

    Anyone have any suggestions?

    Thanks
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  2. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    editstudio was fine 6 years ago for dv. it's not up to date enough to be much use on avchd. look into something like vegas studio.

    the only hardware you might need is a card reader for the computer to copy the files off. a usb3 reader would be nice if you have usb3 ports.
    --
    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
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  3. Member
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    Ok, thanks adeipuss.

    Just what I thought. I have installed Ashampoo suite of software - Movie Studio Pro, Movie Menu, & Burning Studio, but have not used them yet. I notice that Movie Menu only allows DVD in SD. Is there software that allows HD on DVD. I am on a limited fixed income and can't afford the "top Line" software.

    Back to my original query. Would I be best sticking with the Samsung or upgrade to the Canon, taking in mind I would like to have the final results in 16:9. But I'm not sure whether to use tapes or SD cards.

    BTW Edit Studio has served me well since Version 3.

    Thanks again
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  4. Originally Posted by ianb26 View Post
    Back to my original query. Would I be best sticking with the Samsung or upgrade to the Canon, taking in mind I would like to have the final results in 16:9. But I'm not sure whether to use tapes or SD cards.
    time to move on, but in doing so, avchd opens up a whole new dimension for you to learn, and it isnt always easy.

    you need to forget about tapes, firewire, and dvd format, just wipe them from your memory bank and start re-learning all over again.

    i wouldnt be going for a cheap video camera either, that Canon you mentioned is a low end budget camera with a tiny single CMOS sensor, so its not going to give you the best HD video, but if that is all you can afford, then i would be going for the panasonic HCV-520 or the 720 model.

    anyway, these would be the only 4 consumer grade camcorders i would consider, ranging from $400 up to $1600

    http://camcorders.reviewed.com/content/panasonic-hc-v520-camcorder-review
    http://camcorders.reviewed.com/content/panasonic-hc-v720-review
    http://camcorders.reviewed.com/content/panasonic-hc-x920-camcorder-review-2
    http://camcorders.reviewed.com/content/canon-vixia-hf-g30-camcorder-review

    as for editing your video and how you want to output it will determine what software you will need, however there are a few pretty decent free open source programs you can use to just edit (cut/join) and output your avchd video to various formats.

    3 that i commonly use are Handbrake, XmediaRecode & AviDemux but im sure others can offer you more suggestions.

    if you want to shoot in HD but output to dvd like so many people are doing (its crazy) then you need to learn to do that properly, and have the right tools to do it with, but why anyone wants to convert avchd video to dvd format is beyond me, better off just keeping your old DV tape camera.
    Last edited by glenpinn; 28th Feb 2014 at 22:15.
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  5. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    sony vegas movie studio hd software is where i would look to. it goes on sale frequently. avchd can be burned to dvd to allow hd on dvd played with some bluray players.
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    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
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  6. the problem with bluray players is that anyone who has one may have an older model that does not support all types of playback formats, just like back in the dvd era, older dvd players could not even play a data disc containing mp4 files, and i know many bluray players wont play an avchd file from a dvd disc.

    these days most HD tv's have a usb port for playing HD video from either a connected usb stick or portable hdd using the built in media player in the actual tv, or you can connect an external hdd based media player via hdmi and play your videos thru that.

    i personally dont know anyone who has a bluray player, and even dvd players are now rare amongst family and friends of mine, most now use their HD tv to play videos from, as long as the tv supports the files your attempting to ply (mp4 is about the best supported container on most tv's)
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