Videocamera Questions..

So I am in the market to get a videocamera, and I have been looking at Hard drive cameras because I have heard it is easier to edit than miniDV tapes? The thing is I have heard that a lot of Hard drive cameras do not work with iMacs and Final Cut Express 4, which is what I would be using to edit?? SO i have a few different questions I need help with. First, does anybody know of cameras or have experience with editing video from HDD cameras on iMacs???? Which particular hard dvive cameras work with iMac's and FCE4??? Should I be looking at buying a miniDV camera or different source of media??? Also some of the cameras I have been looking at are the Sony DCR-SR45, DCR-42, DCR-SR42 and the last camera is a Samsung SC-HMX10. My main reasoning behind the thought about getting a Hard drive camcorder is that I have heard using the clips is easier opposed to miniDV, I just do not want to get a camcorder where I have to do a lot of work to the files before editing them, Thanks in advance and I am definitely open to suggestions and insight!

Don't get a hard drive camera. It will either break or be obsolete in a year.

mk - did you make a decision yet or get any other feedback? i am also in the market and could use some help!

I don't see any of those listed on the final cut support page.

I'm using a Canon HG-10 HD hard drive camera. It's pretty awesome, but for some reason, I can't get it to focus on the subject in the background instead of the thing that's close to me... I think that might be from it flying off of a film spool at the movie theater though. Pretty awesome camera. Got mine on ebay for 770 dollars with a tripod (crap), a wide angle lens, a telephoto lens, and a few different filters.

It's all in HD though, so I have to use Sony Vegas Pro to edit it...

hey Nick, i have the same camera and every thing i do says it is in the wrong format when i try to get it to my computer. what did you do?

I've had my hands on a few and they have all been a huge disappoinment. Use tape. It stores better (years.......) Isn't a problem to save hundreds of tapes... less technical problems... when you shake a hard drive they screw up... In a few years the good quality tapeless systems will work and be cost effective.... not yet for most people.

I went ahead and bought a Canon HV20, and I love it

The only way for me to edit it was to get my hands on Sony Vegas Pro... In secret internet ninja ways...

I've been trying to find a way to convert the video files to SD once they're on the computer so that I can edit it in Premiere and After Effects, but no such luck so far.

I'm going to try to come up with some kind of cushioning system for my camera in it's housing so that if it drops into the water there won't be any kind of real solid impact when it does. I've been pretty satisfied with it. I just pop all the data over onto my external hard drive and it will last for a while.

Um, wait, when you say it won't let you put it onto the computer because it's in the wrong format, does that mean you can't even watch the videos on your computer? You have to install the software that came with the camera to get it on there properly and to watch the footage... There's a Canon specific program used to download the footage off of your camera and into a specified folder on your PC. After that, when you click on it, it should be opening up for viewing in InterVideo WinDVD SE.

It's a great camera, especially since I can edit it in HD format, which is pretty much ballin for a camera as small as it.

I'm getting there on learning all of the features of it, so if you've got anymore questions, feel free to ask. I just need to figure out the darned focusing problem!

what under water housing did you get, the epic sport?

Yeah.