Am I even able to edit AVCHD video?

[dapperdanman2]

I've read much of the information on this forum about AVCHD and HDV but I just get more and more confused. I was wondering if any one could translate all this information for my specific situation. First, I have a MacBook with a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo and 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Is this computer able to edit AVCHD or HDV for that matter?

My situation in detail: I'm an amature filmmaker. I'm about to take a 6 month trip in S.E. Asia. I want to make a documentary. I might want to show the film at a small town film festival or show it online. However, the video is, more than likely, just for me to enjoy. I need the camcorder to be small and fairly cheap (below 1000, hopefully 600 or less). I've been looking at the Canon HV 30, Canon HF 200, or maybe the Sanyo Xacti VPC CA9 (can't find any reviews of the video quality). I'm not sure if HD is what I should be look for. I don't know much technical information about camcorders. So, I'm struggling to understand all the information. I get this feeling that AVCHD won't work for me. But I want to use it because I don't want to carry around so many tapes and I want a smaller camcorder. Well, if you can point me in the right direction, I would insanely thankful. I've almost given up and decided to take my quite large miniDV camcorder that's 6 years old.

[minidv2dvd]

easiest way to tell is to download sample HDV and AVCHD files and try them in your editor. most likely though HDV shouldn't be much harder to use than miniDV. i've switched over from miniDV to HDV from an hv30 and wouldn't go back.

skip the sanyo, that one you'd regret, they just don't make good cams.

i've never had a tape fail, but i have had sd cards become unreadable.

if you can go a little more you might also consider the hf s10 for the bigger cmos sensor that's comparable in size to the hv20/30/40.

[edDV]

...I get this feeling that AVCHD won't work for me. But I want to use it because I don't want to carry around so many tapes and I want a smaller camcorder. Well, if you can point me in the right direction, I would insanely thankful. I've almost given up and decided to take my quite large miniDV camcorder that's 6 years old.

Will you be carrying a laptop and extra HDD?

How many hours do you plan to shoot? Flash cards get very expensive.

You can mail tapes home while enroute.

DV tape is likely to be available there but not upper level flash media.

In summary, I'd get the HV30 and several extra batteries. Ten DV tapes ~ one pound of weight.

[dapperdanman2]

Well, I was thinking about carrying around a laptop and a HDD or just a portable storage device with memory card readers (500gb). I have very limited space, as I'll only have a medium to large sized backpack. For the whole trip, I think I would shoot around 15 to 30 hours of footage. I didn't think about mailing tapes home but I've read that in some places in S.E. Asia they have iffy postal service but I'm sure it would be fine in the major cities.

What scares me most about both formats is editing. It sounds like AVCHD is pretty difficult to edit with. What does it take to edit HDV? From what minidv2dvd said, it sounds like it wouldn't be much more complicated than what I'm doing with my miniDV camcorder. If that's the case, then I'll probably just go ahead and grab that HV30. Thanks a lot for all your help!

[dapperdanman2]

Where is a good place to buy the HV30? I'm having trouble finding it. All I can find is the HV40, which might be a little too expensive for me. Thanks.

[edDV]

Well, I was thinking about carrying around a laptop and a HDD or just a portable storage device with memory card readers (500gb). I have very limited space, as I'll only have a medium to large sized backpack. For the whole trip, I think I would shoot around 15 to 30 hours of footage. I didn't think about mailing tapes home but I've read that in some places in S.E. Asia they have iffy postal service but I'm sure it would be fine in the major cities.

What scares me most about both formats is editing. It sounds like AVCHD is pretty difficult to edit with. What does it take to edit HDV? From what minidv2dvd said, it sounds like it wouldn't be much more complicated than what I'm doing with my miniDV camcorder. If that's the case, then I'll probably just go ahead and grab that HV30. Thanks a lot for all your help!

Editing in the field will be diffficult. But you can log clips in the field and edit later. HD editing on a laptop needs testing before you go. You can record HDV to normal DV tapes. Use premium tapes when possible. Plan tape quantity between major cities. SD Media or tapes will be very expensive outside major cities.

15 hours of AVCHD flash ram would cost ~ $400 in a big city. 15 hours of Premium DV tape would cost ~ $40. 15 hours of Sony premium HDV tape would cost ~$120.

AVCHD is difficult to even play at 1X unless your laptop is fairly new and powerful.

[edDV]

Where is a good place to buy the HV30? I'm having trouble finding it. All I can find is the HV40, which might be a little too expensive for me. Thanks.

The HV30 is still in stock ~$700 here. Refurb HV20 as low as $450.

The HV40 is new and ~ $940. Shop for best price.

Figure both camcorder cost and media cost. Also consider how you will edit later when you get home.


Most people won't value a HV20/30/40 much differently. Differences are small unless you are a progressive geek.

[Machoman]

The HV cameras' motors can be intrusive. My brother who swears by his HV20 recently discovered he actually has motor noise in his video. I've also suffered terrible motor noise on my HC96 Sony miniDV camera - i had to spend extra money for the external mic ( and also splurged ono the blue tooth wireless mic).

Tapeless to SD card should eliminate that. Otherwise you'll quickly find you'll need an external microphone which would not only be costly but also bulky and difficult to travel with.

[Braindrain]

I'm not sure if HD is what I should be look for. I don't know much technical information about camcorders. So, I'm struggling to understand all the information. I get this feeling that AVCHD won't work for me. But I want to use it because I don't want to carry around so many tapes and I want a smaller camcorder.

If you'll be carrying a laptop/HDD with you, super easy to just transfer your AVCHD footage from the SDHC card onto your laptop HDD. You'll probably need 2 - 16GB SDHC's with you. One of them would be an emergency card, just in case your 1st one fails. Total cost ~$40.

As for editing, editing AVCHD natively is a chore for any full-powered desktop, let alone a laptop. If you need to edit in the field or at home, encode to a lossless intermediate (eg. Cineform) and you'll be good to go.

As for me, I bring my ultra-lite notebook or a netbook with me when I travel. I transfer my AVCHD footage at the end of every day and edit it when I get home.

[edDV]

The HV cameras' motors can be intrusive. My brother who swears by his HV20 recently discovered he actually has motor noise in his video. I've also suffered terrible motor noise on my HC96 Sony miniDV camera - i had to spend extra money for the external mic ( and also splurged ono the blue tooth wireless mic).

Tapeless to SD card should eliminate that. Otherwise you'll quickly find you'll need an external microphone which would not only be costly but also bulky and difficult to travel with.

Motor noise usually results from automatic gain control (AGC) setting and is seldom a problem when using the manual audio gain controls. When the ambient sound goes silent, the AGC pumps audio level to max so that only machine sound is picked up.

I haven't noticed this with the HV20 but I rarely set to AGC. I'll have to test it.

[edDV]

I'm not sure if HD is what I should be look for. I don't know much technical information about camcorders. So, I'm struggling to understand all the information. I get this feeling that AVCHD won't work for me. But I want to use it because I don't want to carry around so many tapes and I want a smaller camcorder.

If you'll be carrying a laptop/HDD with you, super easy to just transfer your AVCHD footage from the SDHC card onto your laptop HDD. You'll probably need 2 - 16GB SDHC's with you. One of them would be an emergency card, just in case your 1st one fails. Total cost ~$40.

As for editing, editing AVCHD natively is a chore for any full-powered desktop, let alone a laptop. If you need to edit in the field or at home, encode to a lossless intermediate (eg. Cineform) and you'll be good to go.

As for me, I bring my ultra-lite notebook or a netbook with me when I travel. I transfer my AVCHD footage at the end of every day and edit it when I get home.

I agree if he carries a laptop/notebook with enough HDD capacity. If running AVCHD at full quality that is 12GB/Hr. You can do that with tapes as well if you don't care about backup. With HDV you can transfer to HDD as primary then mail the tape backup home.

If you are being paid to do this, you better back up or you don't get paid.

[Braindrain]

However, the video is, more than likely, just for me to enjoy.

With that stmt, I really doubt he's getting paid to do it. He's more like me, just wanting to enjoy and relive his travels.

As for transferring from DV tape to laptop, if he's as impatient as I am, I don't wanna wait ~60 min for each tape to transfer.

[edDV]

However, the video is, more than likely, just for me to enjoy.

With that stmt, I really doubt he's getting paid to do it. He's more like me, just wanting to enjoy and relive his travels.

As for transferring from DV tape to laptop, if he's as impatient as I am, I don't wanna wait ~60 min for each tape to transfer.

Your choice but 60min in a day would be a busy shooting day. I assume you don't sleep or shower while travelling.

[edDV]

PS: I'm watching Steve Wozniak play Segway Polo on local news.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pld9t19WGSc