Seeking new camera for use with FCP

Right now, I get dropped frames when I import video, whether via direct FireWire from my Panasonic 601, via my VCR or when I run video through an ADS converter. I run the video into a LaCie 500 GB Big Disk Extreme and I can't imagine that FireWire would not be enough to bring in video without dropped frames. I have read many posts here and all seem to lead to the hard drive, which mine should be more than adequate.
I had intended to upgrade my camera last year, that did not happen, so looking at doing it now. This camera will be used for personal use, not for gigs. But I do not want to get a camera that will A) not dump video into FCP without a fight and B) continue this dropped frame garbage (if it has anything to do with the camera at all).
I need to be able to hook the camera up to the FW port, got to log & capture, hit play and watch that sucker take the whole piece without a hiccup. It never made sense to me that FCP would not just keep capturing video even if there is a gap between segments. Maybe I am just missing a setting, but that never made sense to me. I can see it losing sync, but doing the whole stop-drop-&-roll makes no sense to me as a user. Granted, I am not an engineer.
Any hints on good affordable cameras are appreciated. I still have about 30 home videos of 90 minutes length to get on DVD, so I am leaning back towards miniDV again. If someone can make an argument otherwise I am all ears.
Thanks!!
jf

What device control setting are you using? there is firewire ntsc, and firewire ntsc basic. Try changing that to see if it makes any difference.
In your user preferences there are options to set how fcp reacts on dropped frames and timecode breaks during capture. Check that these settings are to your satisfaction.
Are you attempting to capture now? Or are you logging and capturing/batch capturing?
Personally I suspect that it is the Lacie BigDisk causing the problem, in that you're trying to capture video, perform device control, and send the video to the external drive, all via firewire. Try capturing to the internal drive. Also, a lot of cameras don't play nice with other stuff on the firewire bus. All the fw ports on a mac are on the same bus so it's sometimes necessary to actually unmount the drive before trying to capture. I'd try all these options in the interest of establishing what the problem is before you spend money trying to fix it.
You'd really be better off getting a big internal SATA drive to use as your media drive, much better value and faster.

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Looking at upgrading my camcorder and trying to figure out which would be best with IM09...
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http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/576009-REG/Canon3085B001_VIXIA_HG20_AVCHDHard.html#features
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The Canon says it records progressive footage at 60i, does that mean it is not true progressive?
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Message was edited by: s.m.t.

Sheryl Kingstone wrote:
I believe the real answer is not HDV vs ACHDV but progressive vs interlaced format. Imovie works better with progressive vs interlaced. However, shooting in 1080 60p needs a mac pro to really edit properly. Plus you need to trick imovie to consume it. However, I would still look into shooting progressive. Do a search on progressive and there are a few threads on it.
Yes, I have discovered that by working with IM09 with my standard DV cam. But it appears to me that both of the new formats will record in 30p and 24p (at least on the canon line). So will I not be importing progressive with either? Your right that is my top priority (and the major reason for getting a new cam) is to be able to record and import in progressive format...
The more I read, the more I am tending to lean toward HDV. I just want to make sure the qualities are the same...
Message was edited by: s.m.t.

External Hard Drive for PowerMac G5 for use with FCP Studio

Hello,
I'd greatly appreciate any recommendation for an external hard drive for a PowerMac G5 for use with FCP Studio.
Thanks.
-graziemile

We see alot of Lacie issues here and elsewhere.
Drives fail... period. I believe you hear more about Lacie drives failing because they sell a ton more of them than many other suppliers. I've got 8 of em sitting right here on the desk and two more at the second station. I've lost one since I started using them years ago (and it had problems right out of the box) and I use them pretty heavy.
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In five years, I ain't heard anybody say anything about it.
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The drives X mentioned are designed for video work.
What Studio said, well he gives out some of the best advice on this board
(and maybe the most! ) and my reply to his post... that's why I used the little smiley face. No offence intended X.
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How well does FCP take advantage of dual-processor
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I'm in need of advice. I'm in the market for a new computer(s).
Let me give you a rundown on my situation.
HOME COMPUTER- dual 800 1GIG ram G4. probably 6-7 years old -i got it 2nd hand in 03 i think-
(its about 6 years old and very noisy and update needed)
WORK COMPUTER- AL PB G4 1.5ghz 2gig ram 17". Bees knees when released almost 4 years ago.
(redering and Motion are getting beyond tiresome with how slow they are).
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MY QUESTION- What should I get?
1. 1 x 2.6 Ghz 4gig Ram 17" MBP at around 3,500 dollars (i'm in japan so about 360,000yen) and then use my AL powerbook as my home computer
OR
2. 2 x imac 20inch with 4gig ram which i think comes in at just under the MBP price
OR
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I still use motion1 and that really pushes my computer to it's limits. and the last 2 years have been a hectic one editing wise so I didn't want to upgrade computers during the course of projects ongoing.
(playing with fire in my books)
THING IS i need to be able to edit at both work and home. I take a my laptop with me to work everyday, but if I were to get 2 desktops I could just use external hard drives for my projects (which I do anyway). That's why if both computers are desktops they both need to be able to handle motion 3 and fcp6 to a competent level. and if I got two desktops I could try and sell my AL PB. It's still in superb condition due to me keeping it sleeved whenever not in use.
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the output should match the source file, generally speaking. So if you camera is making HD files then using a HD sized coded would suffice.
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Seeking new camera for use with FCP

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