Capture question from a Newbie

[Grandpajack]

I have 2 camcorders. I have a video shot with an FX-1 in DV SP mode.
If I do the capture with a different camera can the quality suffer?

[NickJushchyshyn]

I haven't used this camera myself, but IF it records in native DV format, and the tape plays at all in another camera, there will be no loss in quality.

Double check the documentation for the camera to make sure you know exactly what format it records DV in. Many Sony cameras record/playback DVCAM, which can only be handled by other Sony DVCAM devices. If the FX 1 in this mode is recording traditional DV, then you're good to go on just about any DV camera, even cheap little home cams ... so long as the heads are clean.

My own typical DV workflow is to shoot on a GL2 and use an little old ZR series camera for capture. Since the data is simply a digital copy, there's no loss in quality.

[Grandpajack]

Nick,
Thank you! Your reply is very helpful.
Jack

[Gorf]

Further to Nick's answer, I habitually capture using a cheap Sony camera when the footage was shot using prosumer Canons.

There seems to be an issue with the audio timing on Canons during capture that just isn't there with the Sony.

Note that the Sony will not play back Canon footage shot in LP mode...

[Terry Stetler]

Many Canon DV cams sample audio at an incorrect rate. DV is supposed to be sampled at 48.000 khz, but the affected Canons sample at 40.009 khz. This can result in an A/V synch error of almost a second/hour.

Because of the way DV's "clock" works this doesn't show up when the video is played in the camera or from a DV deck but it does show up in many editors.

So much for DV type 1's long captures

Many compensate for this by capturing smaller clips or chopping them up on the timeline, which resets the "clock" at every clip junction. If you use scene detection during captures and your scenes aren't too long this too can reset the clock and prevent problems.

To be sure some other cams also sample at incorrect rates, Sony included, but none are as far off as Canons.

[Don Smith]

I've captured hundreds of hours with my consumer Canon ZR60 (which I basically use as a digital deck) all from video shot with either a GL-1 or GL-2. Never had any sync problems, always capture perfectly. However....I always use "seamless capture" where a new file is created at every scene change. It's just faster and easier for me to edit that way, no cutting, etc. Maybe I would have sync problems if I captured hour plus long captures, but the "seamless capture" always works perfectly for me.

[Terry Stetler]

Yup....that's the best way to go.