Looking to buy a regular definition hard drive camcorder to use with FCP 2

Hey all, thanks for clicking my posting. Here's the deal, I am in the market for a hard drive camcorder for use with Final Cut Pro. Will be recording sports and sports-related material (but obviously want to use it for other things as well down the road). I am using an older 1.6 Ghz tower from about 5 years ago, but am using the latest OS 10.5.7. Am looking to spend about $500, but can go up a bit if needed. Since I am using an older Mac I know that I cannot use a high def cam with it, and and this point it's not needed for what I am doing.
Was looking at the Panasonic, Sony and JVC Everio lines. I had made up my mind to grab the JVC since it has the best reviews of any of the mid priced cams out there, but was sharply warned by my Apple teacher (and 2 others there at the time) not to buy it since the .mod file format doesn't play nice with Final Cut Pro. I was going to Streamclip it into .dv but was told that I will lose quality and quite possibly audio sync. After a bit of checking around the web I found that there is an analog output of the Everio camera that I could put into my Canopus ADVC - 55 and then capture it with Final Cut Pro (the only question I have is, should I go from digital, through an analog output, only to capture it with a digital format again? Seems to me I should not go digital-analog-digital).
So let's get to the question here then, can somebody more knowledgeable than myself tell me which cameras to look at to do the job? I guess my backup cam would be the Sony SR-47, decent reviews but not as good as the Everio. Also, are there any cameras in that price range that will simply let me pull the footage right into the bin of Final Cut Pro, or do they all have to be converted from MPEG 2 into .dv (or whatever file format I want them in). I know this is a lot of questions, but I am sure there's some cameras that I might be missing, so anybody care to help me out? Thanks in advance!
Tom

As far as I know, that is the only list of compatible drives with the router.  So, yes, that is the list I am referring to when I said "compatible drive list".   There are very few 2TB or 3TB drives on the list.  I would really like to be able to use a 3TB drive with a couple partitions, and that seems almost impossible with very few options.  I have been reading around the last couple days and I hear lots of reports of people successfully using drives that are not on the tested compatible list.  I just wanted to know more options from people like that.  

Similar Messages

  • What is the Best Hard Drive Camcorder for/compatible with FCP?

    Hi,
    Just bought a JVC GZ-HD7...feel very trouble...unlike those MiniDV Cassette base Cam,Just plug in FireWire and FCP will read!!!To use the GZ-HD7 in FCP might use a lot of steps to convert before inport the source.
    And now i'ld like to invest Hard Drive Camcorder for my FCP editing base,Is it a Good Media Format?
    If yes,Which Prosumer or Semi-Pro Camcorder will you recommend?Really need your helps,maybe you are the one who are currently using it and feel happy with over all?!
    Hope to get some suggestion from you guys!!
    Thanks!!

    http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/videocamera/hd/global/products/hdc-sd9/
    Thanks for tip David. I work at a middle school, we shoot a lot of district functions with three cameras then use the multiclip function of FCP. If I bought three of these cameras do you think they will work well in that environment? here is our workflow:
    1. Sync cameras with a clapper at the start of show.
    2. Import into FCP
    3. Mark inpoint at the sound of the clapper
    4. Create the multiclip sequence and edit
    We have done 50 or so shows like this with 14 year olds as the editors and the results are very nice. I would like to move to the hard drive based camera. Being in education we are on a tight budget. Think three of these camerass would work in this environment?
    Thanks so much for your expert advice.

  • Recommended hard drive enclosure for use with FCP?

    I will be doing capture and editing from my main HD, but want a firewire HD for backup. ANy recommendations on enclosures?

    I agree with David. Don't capture to your boot drive. External firewire drives are cheap and you also install an extra drive within you G5 case if that is what you are using. If on a laptop.. then firewire drives are the way to do.
    I know you asked about enclosures but I always love to pass along my current drive fav... G-Raid.
    http://www.g-technology.com/Products/G-RAID.cfm

  • On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture.  How can I access the Aperture Library  on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup?  I can only access the application but not the library..

    On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture.  How can I access the Aperture Library  on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup?  I can only access the application but not the library..

    Go into Time Machine (the program not the bundle on the extrnal disk) and using Time Machine's browser go to the Folder where the library lives. You could look in the library bundle in Time Machine but that won't really tell you much,
    If you want to make sure it truely has backed up your library you will need to restore it and open the restored library with Aperture.
    If all this still has you confused you need to read up on Time Machine in order to get a feel for how it works, for what it is doing and for how to restore files from it.

  • I am new to a MAC.  I have an external hard drive that I used with my Windows XP computer.  Can I reformat it

    I am new to MAC.  I have an external hard drive that I used with my former computer running Windows XP.  Can I reformat it to use with my new MAC?  If so, how do I do it?

    Yes you can. See the following:
    Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

  • Hard Drive Camcorder that WORKS WITH IMOVIE????

    Can anyone please direct me to a current site which shows hard drive camcorders that will work EASILY with IMOVIE...I purchase a Mac so I can edit family video movies, but it looks as if every hard drive camcorder requires some type of file conversion so that it will work with mac...I know this sounds crazy, but is it easier to do this stuff on a PC????

     have a list of cameras they have tested here.
    I have a sony HDR SR8 and have no problems at all.

  • Best external hard drive format for use with mac and windows?

    This is more of an apple operating system combined with windows operating system question, but being that my OS will upgrade an fluctuate there is not option to choose in the operating system section.
    Anyways to the question(s)
    This whole prbolem came about when my computer started having issues, I want to back it up and whether I can continue to use my laptop or not I will still be owning an apple in the future. I went to buy a hard for back up and got told that it is not as easy as one would think to transfer files from mac OS to windows OS and vice versa. I have a mac, my boyfriend has a windows computer; we share files. Mostly I just copy his files, but once in a while I give him files too. I have read up and talked to people and only found one solution so far to format the external drive to fat 32 or exfat. I think only mac has the exfat option, but works well between both OSs, correct me if I am wrong.
    What is the difference between fat 32 and exfat?
    A user posted some good info about formatting. More specifically .Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3044
    If I do not want to use fat32 or exfat is there a format type that works great for mac saving that I can still at least save files to that were originally on a windows computer? Such as I copy his files from his external drive to my computer and then save them to my external drive.
    Is there a better format for file sharing between mac and windows that does not set a 4GB limit?
    And a silly question, Can you dual format a hard drive?
    Note: This format is for an external hard drive.

    I still do not know which format would be the best. That is so that I can use it easily between mac OSX and windows. Is FAT32 the only true option? How limited is it? I heard it is limited to 4GB file size for windows and 32 GB for Mac. Are there other sources I have not found with more concrete information on the limitations of this format?
    I really do still need this information and I need to back up my drive before I can take the computer in for service.

  • Which external hard drive can I use with my Macbook (2009)?

    I'm looking to purchase an external hard drive for my 2009 Macbook os x 10.6.8 (the heavier, white laptop). It looks like most hard drives are compatible for Macbook Pro and newer.

    If your MB is an early model 2009 you can use either Firewire or USB 2 drives, late model 2009's don't have firewire so you're limited to USB.  I'd stay away from WD and Seagate externals, their enclosures aren't very reliable. The Toshiba Canvio drives work well. Pretty much any drive from OWC is top shelf http://eshop.macsales.com

  • Portable Hard drive formating for use with windows and mac operating system

    Just bought a verbatim sure fire 500g 800 firewire portable hard drive for my new macbook pro. I have not did bootcamp yet because I am deciding on wether to use Vista or the new windows 7 that will be coming out soon. The drive is already formated HFS+, how do I format the drive so I can write both windows and mac files to it. Help!!!

    how do I format the drive so I can write both windows and mac files to it.
    Either format it to MS-DOS from the DIsk Utility, or install a tool such as MacDrive into Windows and keep the drive in its current format, or install the NTFS-3G driver into Mac OS X and format the drive to NTFS in Windows.
    (45687)

  • External Hard Drive to be used with windows and Mac

    I shall paint the picture;
    I have a very nice mobile hard drive on it's way to me, and I shall be upgrading to leopard at some point soon after receiving it, my MBP has a 120gb internal HDD and the external on it's way is 160gb .
    I will be using it as a time machine HD , but will also be using it to transfer from my mac to college/university PCs.
    So, do any of ya'l out there know a good way of going about it? My thoughts are along the lines of creating a separate windows/mac partition because Time Machine I assume uses HFS+ and as far as I am aware, windows is unable to use this.
    I am not 100% sure on this so any help or corrections or indeed alternate solutions are welcome.
    Only requirements are that it's with my MBP and G-Tech G-Drive mini only, no extra bits and bobs.
    Thank you in advance

    A 160 GB drive may be a bit small to use to back up a 120GB drive with TimeMachine... and have a separate partition to use for Windows files. While your MacBook Pro's 120GB drive may not be close to full yet... it will likely continue to grow in time. TimeMachine keeps multiple copies of files that you change allowing you to go "back in time" to various points. It will use as much space as is available on the drive. You may want to keep a larger external desktop drive for your TimeMachine backup... or dedicate your entire 160GB to it.

  • What should I format my wd external hard drive to to use with my new Mac Pro?

    What format should my wd external hard drive be in order to use with my new Mac Pro?

    If you're going to use it only with Macs, use Mac OS Extended (Journaled). It's the fastest filesystem to use on Macs.
    If you're going to use it with PCs and Macs, use exFAT or FAT. I recommend exFAT because it hasn't got limitations as FAT and it's faster, but you need Windows XP Service Pack 3 or later to use it on PCs

  • External hard drive /storage for use with mini and XP (bootcamp)

    Never purchased an external hard drive (storage) before so not sure if this is possible.
    Basically I have an intel mini with 60gb hard drive, which I have now allocated 20 to xp via boot camp. I'm quickly using up the 20gb with a few games so I want to purchase an external storage device that will work with both osx and windows - is this possible?
    My mini hasnt 'seen' a few USB devices, can anyone recommend one which is compatible with the intel mini?
    would any external drive have to be partinioned as well?

    I still do not know which format would be the best. That is so that I can use it easily between mac OSX and windows. Is FAT32 the only true option? How limited is it? I heard it is limited to 4GB file size for windows and 32 GB for Mac. Are there other sources I have not found with more concrete information on the limitations of this format?
    I really do still need this information and I need to back up my drive before I can take the computer in for service.

  • Hard drive drivers for use with system repair disk

    I've been through the mill with my Satellite A665 S6085...it started its life with a bad CD/DVD drive in the really dark customer service days and spent more of the first two months of life in the shop waiting for the arrival of a new drive than it did in my hands.  Then the CD/DVD failed just at the end of the warranty period (and Toshiba replaced it a second time very quickly, and without charge!)
    Since then it has been working reasonably well, but within the last few weeks it has gotten really sluggish (it was taking about 20 minutes to completely power up), and last week refused to start at all (repeated start-up failures).  I created a system repair disk from another laptop we have, managed to get it to start up - but accompanied by an even more dramatic slow down.
    I  was unable to create an image of the system, but I did manage in safe mode to copy all but about 20 unimportant files (whew!.), and was working on doing what I could to get it spiffied up enough to create a system image.  Unfortunately, in the middle of running the disk checking routine it hung.  It ran for about 20 hours and got to stage 4 (16% done the 23rd file) and stopped all activity.  (Prior to that time the drive light had been flashing on and off periodically - but when I had watched it with no activity for over an hour I did a hard power down . . . I know, bad idea, but it really did seem to be at a complete standstill). 
    It started once in safe mode then froze, and has not started since then. 
    When I boot from the system repair disk, the operating system doesn't come up - and the instructions are to load the hard drive drivers and try again.  So the immediate question is where the heck do I find the drivers since I can't power up to determine the hard drive manufacturer (and the drivers available through the driver download portion of the Toshiba site don't seem to do the trick)?
    But I'd also welcome any hints as to how to get far enough along to at least get a system image before I give up and let the professionals handle things...

    Hi ! You should have created a system image a long time ago I'm tired of this thread. You seem to know all about this so why even ask for help here on the forum Good luck friend. I hope you solve your problem. I don't think I can help you an further
    I Love my Satellite L775D-S7222 Laptop. Some days you're the windshield, Some days you're the bug. The Computer world is crazy. If you have answers to computer problems, pass them forward.
    Attachments:
    Capture48.JPG ‏186 KB
    Capture49.JPG ‏186 KB
    Capture50.JPG ‏187 KB

  • Hard Drive won't register with FCP X

    I'm new to FCP X and I want to use my hard drive with it becuase i'm running out of space on my computer.
    But my harddrive isn't registering with it. It shows up on my computer and i can read and write on it but it wont show up in FCP X
    I don't know what to do! If i can't figure it out i think i'll have to start deleting files on my computer

    Also, can you provide your current system specs (including external drive.) Clearly you're not running 10.4.
    Russ

  • What kind of portable hard drive can I use with my macbook air 13''

    What is the type of portable hard disk that can be used with the macbook air

    rickii wrote:
    What is the type of portable hard disk that can be used with the macbook air
    As long as it's USB, any one will work (If you're only using it for your Mac, then use Disk Utility to Partition it as GUID/HFS+).
    Tony

Maybe you are looking for