Camera Specs
 

I'm looking for a camera that will sometimes see duty shooting footage off Computer Monitors. What specifications should I be concerned with when reviewing potential cameras?

Some cameras have a special feature for this, however depending on what you're doing you might also consider shooting an LCD screen instead. They're getting pretty affordable these days, or you could even film a laptop. LCD's don't scan/refresh like CRT's so there are no problems filming them.

Scott Billups suggested this as a (relatively) inexpensive way to transfer your video to film by renting a high quality plasma screen and 16mm or 35mm camera. Anybody around here ever try that?

Any camera with a 1/60 shutter speed can shoot computer monitors good enough, as long as the monitor refresh rate is at 60Hz...but LCD's are the way to go.

Both the XL1 and the GL2 have a feature called clear scan, which allows you to shoot computers monitors without getting the scan lines. The feature is adjustable through a wide range to allow for various refresh rates.

Adrian, the Clear Scan is only on the XL1s, not the XL1, isn't it?

Yeah Dylan, only the XL1s and GL2, my mistake.

In trying some experimenting with my computer I decided to enable tv out on my computer and input it directly into the camera via the audio video inputs. It was a nascar driving game and I wanted to see if I could create a cartoon style television show by computer and get it back to DV with high quality. By doing this there are no artifacts from camera angles, camera movement, or sync lines and it replays beautifully. I used my TV to set it up and make sure the aspect was right, then I used the s-video and rca audio into my XL1S. It came out perfect. It could have easily created the show.

The Panasonic DVX100 can do it.

Thanks for all of the replies. Does anyone know if it's possible to take the crt (vga) ouput from a computer and get an adapter cable that will go to rca jacks?

It can be done. I got an adapter to to exactly that with my Matrox G400. Actually it has both s-video and composite. Don't know if they are available from other places though.

Don, you are right on the potential artifacts with screenshoots, but remember that computer images have progressive scan and your TV-out is interlaced. Mostly this conversion (prog>interlace) is done by simple field repetition which results in halved vertical resolution and "stairstepping" on slightly angled horizontal lines.

Andre, although I didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb everything looked in place. It was far better than shooting from the screen. I use a visontek TI 4200, and so far it has done a great job. I also ran it through vegas:)