DVCPRO + MiniDV... Questions
 

Long story short, I'm looking at a really good deal on a lightly used DVCPRO (25) camera. The problem is, the camera is a bit older and doesn't have a FireWire output. I don't have a DVCPRO deck, and if I have to add one to my setup the deal starts to look (much) less appealing.

This got me thinking... I know Panasonic makes an adapter that fits a MiniDV tape into a DVCPRO deck (AJ-CS455). Would it be possible to use this adapter and a MiniDV tape in the DVCPRO camera, and then play back the tape in a DVCAM or MiniDV deck?

Thanks in advance for any insight on this issue. :)

save yourself the headache mate...

trust me... u dont need any more hassles for this kind of work, let alone trying to work out how your gonna get the footage to the PC to edit.

The local station I shoot for as a stringer is a DVCPro shop. All the edit bays can read MiniDV in the adapter, there is only one deck though that can write to minidv, and that is one in Master control. I would think if the decks can't write to the tape, then there is probably a really good chance the cam won't be able to either...

Interesting idea...
 

The question would be is the camcorder going to record your original in DVCPro format and if so, how will the signal be considering that DVCPro is inherently a metal particle format and mini DV tapes are exclusively metal evaporated. It's certainly something I'd be curious about experimenting with but I wouldn't do anything critical on it without extensive testing.

Craig

Forgot to reply... Whoops!

I ended up passing up on the DVCPRO camera, and picked up a JVC DV500 for about the same price. Excellent camera, and it records on MiniDV. :D