Analog vs Digital

Rich2Putt · Post by **Rich2Putt** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:41 pm

I currently own a Hi8 Canon Camcorder and use an ADS converter via USB cable going to my PC.

My question is: Would a digital camcorder connected via fire cable have a better quaility picture?

I am interested in purchasing a Panasonic GS150, but if the picture quaility won't be evident in the final DVD production then I'll continue to use the Hi8 camcorder.

Any input from someone who went from analog to digital would be appreciated. Thanks........

a2barmby · Post by **a2barmby** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 6:34 pm

I didn't go from a hi8 to digital, rather a high end 8mm analog to digital, namely a Panasonic NVGS70-B.
All I can say is there is a vast improvement in picture quality.
Colour rendition is excellent without the "bleed through" of bright colours that an analog tape seems to give.
These little Panasonics with the 3 ccd system really do give excellent results.

I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised.

Please post a follow up if you do go the digital route.

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 7:26 pm

Yes, you'll find a noticeable improvement in quality, even when coming from Hi8 with an S-Video connection.

The reason for this is that in order to transfer the video from the analog world of the camcorder to the digital world of the PC, it must be converted, which will cause loss of detail and color changes. Composite (RCA connector) output is even worse, since it doesn't even separate the color and luminance signals the way S-Video does.

IF you have a digital camcorder, every single bit gets transferred to the PC the way it was originally recorded.

ruggy1 · Post by **ruggy1** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 2:27 am

I have both Hi-8 and DV (Canon). I understand that Hi-8 is around 400K pixels and DV around 800K, so in theory DV should be better. The reality is I still get much better quality with the Hi-8 when the light is low, especially indoors - also when a lot of movement is involved. The Canon DV is great outdoors as long as you make slow movements. Maybe the higher resolution 3-CCD DV cameras are better, I would hope so for the price. A hi-8 camera costs about A$300 here in OZ and a 3-CCD about $1500. There's still life in them old Hi-8's yet!!

rwindeyer · Post by **rwindeyer** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 3:52 am

About 4 years ago I went from a Panasonic analogue camera to a Sony Mini-DV digital. Not a second's regret - the picture is much clearer and sharper.
Not only that, but any video stored on analogue tape (and with an analogue camera it starts off that way anyway) is subject to "background noise" - the slight tape-generated flickering you see on the screen which degrades the image slightly. If you start with a digital source, process it by computer, and deposit the image on a DVD, this flickering is completely absent.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:57 am

Rich2Putt,

Check out the "Optura" line of Canon's DV camcorders.

MD

Rich2Putt · Post by **Rich2Putt** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 1:42 pm

Thanks for everyone's input..........

I've been transfering old 8mm film a to Hi8 camcorder via projector shown on a screen. Although the colors are rich in the old 8mm projection, once I transfer the video through the converter to the pc, the colors are no longer as bright.

I will look into the Cannon "optura" as suggested. I'll report back with the results of the video's after my future purchse of a digital camcorder.

a2barmby · Post by **a2barmby** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 11:52 am

Rich2Putt.

If you are unhappy with the colours when you transfer the video through the converter to the pc, don't forget that in VS8, you have colour filters and one step auto fix enhancements you can apply to rectify the problem.
Hope this helps.

Rich2Putt · Post by **Rich2Putt** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 5:55 pm

a2barmby,

I am aware of a color filter which will only add brightness to a dark video. What is the one step auto enhancement? Where in VS8 would that be found? Not sure I ran into that in VS8.
Thanks...........

a2barmby · Post by **a2barmby** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:34 pm

Rich2Putt.

Hi.

When you open VS8 and click on the edit tab for your project, look directly underneath the VideoStudio8 logo on the far right of the window.
There is a small box, that when highlighted shows a number of options, one of which is Video Filter.
Select this and there are lots filters that can be applied to projects.
Eg;- Auto exposure, brightness, and specifically, Colour balance are 3 of many.

These filters can all be tweeked by clicking on the "cog/wheel" icon on the far left of your screen labeled "customise filter".
This pulls up two boxes one of which will show a preview of what your clip would look like when the filter is applied.
Apply any of these to your project and it will set these filters accordingly, thus a one step fix for the entire clip.
Hope this helps?
Warm regrds,
Allan.

Rich2Putt · Post by **Rich2Putt** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:47 pm

Allen,

Thanks for the help. I'll try it this weekend....

Rich

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 7:25 pm

If you intend to play back your edited project on a TV, be sure not to be too aggressive when your brighten the video. In fact, you may want to leave it alone altogether.

Computer monitors and TVs use different color and brightness calibrations, and video that may seem very dark on your PC during the editing will look just fine on a TV. The best thing to do is to capture the video for your project, and then render a few minutes of it and create a DVD and try it.

Because of these discrepancies, professionals always use a setup involving a separate monitor (not a PC monitor, but essentially a TV without a tuner) during editing. UVS supports the use of dual-head (video cards with TV-out capabilities) and DV devices as Preview targets.

thecoalman · Post by **thecoalman** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 11:11 pm

Try www.camcorderinfo.com for some great reviews. Comparing either is really subjective to what your comparing. On the consumer end definitely digital, there isn't really any good analog cams available on that level.

If you really want superior quality in a digital cam look into getting a pro-sumer cam. They start around $2000 but the results are great.

http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=1428

a2barmby · Post by **a2barmby** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:38 am

THoff is bang on about only using a little adjustment if any when using these filters Rich2Putt.
I followed his advise myself, (in my own stumbling way) when first experimenting with them.
They do work very well, but be cautious.
Regards,
Allan.