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Digital Media Series TRV7000 Digital 8 Camcorder |
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You can't be a desktop movie editor without a DV camera. The latest edition in our Digital Media series looks at the Digital8 line of camcorders from Sony. The cameras are full of features, affordable and offer some uniquely powerful functions. Besides being one of the most affordable DV camcorders on the market, Sony's Digital8 cameras also prove to be among the most versatile.
The Combo
To venture down the path of desktop video editing, you'll need a FireWire-equipped Mac, video editing software and a DV device. Apple is currently shipping FireWire on its all PowerMac, PowerBook and most of its iMac computers. Other Mac users can take advantage of PCI and PCMCIA upgrades to bring their machines up to speed. One particular upgrade that I've tested for PowerBook users is the
FireWire2Go
PC Card from Newer Technology. For software, Apple made the decision easy a few
weeks ago by releasing its free iMovie software, so now
all Mac users can dabble in DV editing. For those looking for greater sophistication,
I've been using EditDV from Digital Origin. This now leaves us with a DV device. In nearly all cases, Mac users will acquire their DV footage from a DV camcorder. Basically, DV cameras record video in the DV format. Once in DV, your video is now data and the camera can stream this data to your Mac via its FireWire port. The DV data stream is a constant 3.7 MB/sec, which can be adequately handled by any current Mac system. Once captured, DV data is then saved on the Mac as a QuickTime movie, still in the DV format. What's really cool about this is that during this process, your video remains unchanged. You can take your DV footage and transfer back and forth between camera and computer, and never lose any quality. One other neat feature of DV cameras is that they can be controlled from the computer. In other words, within the editing software, you can tell the camera to play, fast forward or record.
The Format
Digital8 cameras use standard 8mm videotapes. Unlike other DV cameras, which use MiniDV, 8mm offers an affordable solution without giving up much ground on quality. While MiniDV offers higher-grade media, 8mm can be much less expensive. The bottom line, however, is that both formats save your video digitally in the DV format. The DV format ensures quality over time and also during transfers. If quality is a real concern with 8mm, Sony has a line of 8mm tapes designed for Digital8 cameras, which besides being more expensive also offer higher quality.
One real big feature with Digital8 is that they can not only play and record DV on 8mm tapes, but it can also play 8mm analog video. This is big news for people with older 8mm cameras. This means that all those analog 8mm tapes can be played on Sony's Digital8 cameras. So not only will you still be able to view the old tapes with the new camera, but you'll be able to also stream them via FireWire to your Mac, just as if they were recorded in DV. The implications of this are huge. Not only can the Digital8 camera convert analog 8mm video into DV, but it can also do it on the fly. Even more impressive is that the video signal is held in check. As it's well known, when you duplicate a video signal, you get a "dub" effect, where video gets fuzzy and loses its integrity. In my tests, I found that bringing the video directly to DV in this way helps to reduce the "dub" effect. The video's signal tends to be much better than if something like the Sony Media Converter was used, which usually leads to a full video dub.
The Camera
Sony's Digital8 cameras are basically all the same and only differ with the external
LCD. Other than the LCD options, all cameras have the same features and specs. The
cameras offer most of Sony's popular features, such as full 0 lux nightshot, a color
view finder, steadyshot, 360x digital zoom, stamina lithium-ion battery, and of course,
the FireWire/i.link serial interface. The camera also offers a host of digital and
picture effects. The camera also has a single CCD, rather than 3 CCD optics. Some
higher end MiniDV cameras are now shipping the 3 CCD features and the difference
is quite noticeable. One other lacking feature is a built in spotlight. The good
news is that Digital8 cameras have a mount for additional equipment, such as light,
microphone and additional IR emitter for the nightshot.
One function I really enjoy is the photo feature, which allows you to take still
video shots of objects. While not as convenient as most still digital cameras, you
can fit hundreds of stills on a single 8mm tape. I usually use this camera for MacWorld
Expos, and I found that you can get some pretty good pics. To transfer to the computer,
I usually just capture the stills as a movie and then export the individual pictures
inside the QuickTime Player. For about the same price as most digital cameras, you
can have a camera with a much larger zoom range, optional lighting, better battery
life, a greater picture capacity and the ability to add full video and 16-bit sound.
Connectivity
So far I've covered transferring DV and analog 8mm video between the camera and the
Mac. What happens when you want to bring your finished product to a TV set? The Digital8
cameras offer analog outputs for both composite and component video. You will easily
be able to play your work on a TV or transfer it to a VCR. Additionally, you can
use the DV camera as a playback/decoder device while editing. When using EditDV for
example, you can use a TV as a live video monitor, which will provide an accurate
representation of what your work looks like.
These features are really nothing special to the Digital8 cameras, as most if not
all DV cameras offer these features. The Digital8 cameras, however, do differ in
connectivity when it comes to analog input. Very few DV cameras offer analog video
input. This allows you to transfer video from lets say a VCR to the DV camcorder.
The Digital8's analog connectors are actually input and output connectors. With this,
you can save your analog video onto the Digital8 camera, then play it back to your
Mac via FireWire.
Conclusions
Sony's Digital8 cameras are not only affordable, but they also help bridge the analog
and DV worlds. The cameras can play DV and analog video from 8mm tapes and can accept
any analog video source. It's a consumer camera that does it all.
Pros: Versatile and affordable DV camcorder. Analog input and analog 8mm support
brings unique features to the market.
Cons: Single CCD and lack of built in light.
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