Ruben Sluijter Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 I believe the resolution of the Archos is about 320x240 so that amounts to just under half of broadcast resolution. Fine for rushes and previews but I wouldn't want to put it on my reel. It does come with a remote so that shouldn't be a problem. I like the fact that it's basically just a big screen and it's pretty thin and light. They're also relatively cheap compared to your average DV camera. If you get the 80 GB version you can cram up to 320 hours of video on it (MP4 compressed) which is nice and also means I won't be fumbling around losing tapes all the time :unsure: The only downside is that you need a dongle like thingie to get video in (clips on the unit) and that sticks out a bit but shouldn't cause problems. All in all it's a nice alternative to DV recorders and a neat toy. Peace, Ruben "Why not just use that big camera on top to record your shots?" Sluijter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members WillArnot Posted May 17, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 Larry & John Seitz, Any word on the much anticipated power supply for the on-board PC-5? Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted May 17, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 I looked at the specs of the Clipmaker (see page 2 of this topic) and it seems that it is the only recording module that can handle almost all video systems: pal/ntsc, 50/60Hz, analog and S-video. And in a very small package without the annoying dongles sticking out! It has the recording resolution of DV, but less compression, I think. Must be a good alternative for Larry? But the price..... Clipmaker-specs Rob van Gelder, Bangkok, Thailand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted May 18, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I looked at the specs of the Clipmaker (see page 2 of this topic) and it seems that it is the only recording module that can handle almost all video systems: pal/ntsc, 50/60Hz, analog and S-video.And in a very small package without the annoying dongles sticking out! It has the recording resolution of DV, but less compression, I think. Must be a good alternative for Larry? But the price..... Clipmaker-specs Rob van Gelder, Bangkok, Thailand How much and where can I get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry McConkey Posted May 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I am not as happy with the price, the size and weight, but at least on paper it seems to have everything else that I would like... I am hoping that in another year or so this more professional unit and the many new more consumer oriented units will merge in terms of price, size, quality, etc. I would love to hear from anyone who makes the plunge as to the realities of this system. Until then, the only real benefit it has over the Mini-DV camcorder that I use is random access (which could be really cool) and no cost for video tapes. On the other hand, that would end the archiving that I get now whenever I want to save something. It's fun to look back sometimes at what I did as well as being able to listen to the on set sounds before post production cleaned it all up. The only real advantage ultimately might be the random access. I could save at least a section of a take so that later in a production I could match sizes for reverses, etc. But there have been many, many times I have referred back to entire takes to answer some particular question I have - especially if I am doing 2nd unit DP work. I also like the ability to watch things I've done after a little time has gone by to see if it still works the way I thought it did on the day (almost never does... it's hard not to fool yourself about how well things are working out in the heat of the moment). I could download to my computer, but that would be another step, and a lot of drive space necessary. I could dump some things to tape, but then why not just have it on tape to begin with? Lots of things to ponder here... Larry Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted May 18, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I´ve seen this baby on the rig of Mark de Blok, maybe he can give us some user information? I think it is very small, it might be a bit heavier than the smallest DV, but not much. I requested some info on prices from this company so if they reply I will let you know. Rob van Gelder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry McConkey Posted May 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Rob, You are right about the size and weight - I miscalculated from metric the first time I saw this unit's specs. I would love to hear from Mark about his experiences with it. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted May 18, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I saw Panasonic has made a new A/V recorder. it looks like a very,very small clamshell unit model SV-AV30. $299 US. Only 3.25oz! However it records in MPEG 4. Still, interesting. Her's the link: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/s...gnoreRedirect=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry McConkey Posted May 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 A couple of potential complications with this device: it uses memory cards, the largest is 512 MB... don't know the length of recording at various quality levels, but it's probably not long with "best" MPEG4 quality and those memory cards represent another substantial cost if you want more than one. The analog video/audio in and outs require a base which makes it larger and heavier, although it is possible that the unit itself and not the base does the conversions - important to know that first however. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Richard W. Davis Posted May 19, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 Dear Larry and Lawrence, I fly a Panasonic AVS-30 on my PRO II and I love it. Size weight and convenience are awesome. It rides velcroed to my top batttery plate or the recorder mount. It is about the size of a deck of cards with the cradle. the best part is it pops off the cradle so easily after the shot I can walk over to the director while I am still looking at it and easily bring it with me. A far as what does the processing (cradle or camera I don't know but the video in's and outs are on the cradle so...and it is so small and light already it hasn't been an issue. As Larry pointed it out uses SD cards...I keep a couple, but I do NOT archive this footage I use it for on set in the moment ,"did I catch a flag in the corner of the frame" kind of stuff. You can easily download to a PC..(not MAC compatible at the moment unfortunately). I record at the highest video quality level and with a 256 mb card it will run about 1 hour of footage. Remembering that you can easily erase blown takes or the whole card in a few seconds I have had no real complaints....But again for Larry You cannot use it for focus. Not sharp enough and it's 15fps video. Not perfect for everything and everyone but a very good solution for some/applications and ops depending on the demands of the job. Great on 16 work (TV) not necessarily what I would use for features(again depending on demands) I also carry a SONY D300 if I needed more critical picture evaluation. But, I find it comes out very little.(for me) Regards, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted May 20, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 I thought the web site said it records at 30fps. Also, I believe there are 1K cards available (expensive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry McConkey Posted May 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 I just got a catalog from Sharper Image featuring a couple of new items: RCA Lyra which sounds like it might have analog video in/out right on the unit without the need for a separate adaptor and a 20 GB hard drive (website link below RCA website doesn't show it yet): http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/...0&pid=675560473 Also a new Panasonic DSnap Digital SD Camcorder advertised as including a 512 MB SD card capable of 20 minutes storage of MGEG2 compression at 30 fps... http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/...09&pid=58754000 This looks like the move to smaller, lighter, better cheaper digital video recording/playback is continuing. Anyone have any experience with these new models? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted May 21, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 21, 2004 Larry, I used the RCA a couple of months back. It worked very nicely, but it had a couple of drawbacks... Very cumbersome menu to get to the recording. You had to create a new file for every new take or everything just kept piling up... Internal Battery that lasted about 4 to 5 hours max. Only AC adapter available. Problems with cold or hot days. (We shot in the Angeles Forest and the unit would literally freeze, my AC started to wear a pin to reset the unit for every take.) Needed special software for down load... I heard that they had a new version out but I haven't tried it yet. Also, I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine: "I found out that Apple has abandoned its video ipod for the time being. They believe that it won't be a big enough seller until it can also contain some kind of Tivo feature. "On demand" program recording." Bob Gorelick send me another interesting link: But I did discover this:http://www.dynamism.com/hvp20/. Check it out. Only problem is it is not available in the USA yet. Menu's in Japanese... and the like... Erwin"My Japanese Sucks" Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted May 22, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 I looked at the Panasonic D-snap camera at Circuit City. Unfortuantely the display model did not have a memory card and I could not work through the record controls. It sure was light as a feather. Didn't seem like the monitor would rotate in a Steadicam user friendly position to be practical, at least in the way I would mount it to my PRO 2 sled. Also 20 minutes of MPEG 2 recording time did not seem like anywhere near enough. I believe it had an A/V input plug. Didn't even consider battery draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Ramon Engle Posted May 25, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Just spoke with Larry Hagelgans at Seitz Technical Services. He's ready to place an order for parts to build the highly coveted INFOLITHIUM S Series battery adapter. Call or email him with your order. Still no word on Price. Larry Hagelgans Seitz Technical Services 610.268.2228 larry@seitz.com Ramon Engle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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