AG-DVC80 various topics

[Tim Borek]

<<<-- Originally posted by George Vallejo : Tim,

The beauty of the Audio on the DVC80 is that you can assign the left channel, for example, to the excellent built-in mike, and your right channel to an external mike or line source. This arrangement will give you stereo audio without the aid of an external mixer. -->>>
GV,

In your example, CH1 set to INT L is only recording half the stereo soundfield picked up by the built-in microphone, which defeats my purpose of recording true stereo ambient sound (both L and R channels from a stereo source) along with a mono signal from an external mic (panned either straight up the middle or routed to both L and R channels). Therefore I still think I'd need an external mixer.

On the other hand, if I wanted a to create mono mix in post, your recommendation would work just fine.

[Martin Garrison]

Right Tim, if you want to take three inputs and and have them all panned differently you are definetly going to need a mixer(with any camera), Or a multitrack recorder. With a multitrack you could work out your stereo field in post.

[Dan Brown]

I've pretty well settled on that DVC80 cam, and worked up a system with an AT short shotgun and lavs, etc. But I dont' have a headphone solution. Of course we all know one weakness of the DVC80/DVX100 is the lack of headphone amp/vol. control.

A Shure FF33 or Sound Designs 302 mixer would be dandy, as mixers and headphone amps, but both are over $1k.

What headphone amp solutions have ya'll found/used for these cameras? I'd like at least two headphone outputs, and the ability to run at least two mics.

Thanks, in advance for your thougths and advice.

[Sean R Allen]

http://www.boosteroo.com/

~$30

[Mark Whalen]

Okay, I did a fairly extensive search for this topic...

I shoot legal video on a GL-1 with an outboard XLR adapter and audio meter. The GL-2 seems like a logical upgrade, but I'm also considering the DVC80. I've seen all the posts regarding feature comparisons, and most of my questions have been answered.

One final question remains, though. Does the DVC have a feature which allows you to permanantly burn the date/time onto the video track (not on the timecode track). I know you can dub down to a VTR with this information enabled, but...

TIA for the replys.

[Dan Brown]

That's pretty neat, and the price is great. How do you handle volume control?

[Jarred Land]

I actually have one of these and its great.. there is no volume control, basically an on and off. You can handle volume control by getting headphones with in line volume on the cord. It really boosts the audio, and also if you are working with a small crew the extra ports allows you to give everyone around the camera headphones. each port is indipendently amped so you dont need to worry about drops.

[Jarred Land]

interesting.. but I dont think you can, at least I havnt found a way to do it.. given I have never found the need to. Most NLE's though have a layer you can add to give that info.

[Mark Whalen]

Thanks for the reply, Jarred. That's a drag that the DVC80 can't burn date/time onto the video clip. I was really leaning towards that camera to simplify my setup. The good news is that the pending DVC30 appears to have that feature; so maybe I'll wait a month or two to make the leap to a new camcorder.

With regards to putting the D/T in during post, the Uniform Rules for Trial Courts require the camera to burn this information at the time of the original recording. They also say something about burning the elapsed time of the recording, too. Most folks I know don't do that portion, though.

[Jarred Land]

yeah.. i guess panasonic forgot about you guys.. that time and date thing for the most part is considerd a home movie thing.

I know that the DVX100 you can display the time and date and it gets recorded to the data track and you can view it while in playback... I guess it depends if you submit a VHS to them or a DVD.

[Johnny Cheung]

I just got my dvc80, and I am not sure if my camcorder has any problem, it seems to have some clicking sound inside when i shake it (i mean, i didnt shake it crazily, just flap it gently), is it normal?
i was thinking if some of the parts have detached, but i guess my camcorder probably wouildnt even work at all in that case.. now it operates without a problem...

[Ken Tanaka]

That clicking sound may drive you a bit nutty but it's normal with both the DVC80 and the DVX100. It's part of the optical image stabilizer that flops around when the camera is powered off.

[Tim Borek]

After driving myself nuts splitting hairs in trying to decide whether to buy a DVC80 or a VX2000, B&H (NYC) made the DVC80 the better purchase by throwing in a $100 gift card, which will cover the cost of the on-camera lighting kit I want. (The gift card is a Web site special.) I can't imagine "outgrowing" the DVC80 like I can the VX2000, especially where audio is concerned. I will miss a longer zoom, but I'm optimistic that the DVC80 will be a good all-around camcorder for part-time professional use. ANYTHING will be better than the 3-year-old single-chip consumer cam I'm using now.

I'm a little concerned about B&H, because my order hasn't shipped after almost 48 hours, and their Web site is down. I'll give them a call this afternoon to get the scoop. I'm hoping to get the package by Saturday, so I can try out the camera at my niece's birthday party. I don't have any commercial shoots booked until March, so I'll have a few months to learn the DVC80 inside and out. I look forward to reviewing it on this site and others, as there's very little published on this model. Videomaker magazine reviewed it recently, and they seemed happy enough with it. I can't wait!

BTW, I love this forum. I've enjoyed reading everyone's opinions and advice.

TJB

[Steve Nunez]

Tim,

B&H has a very credible reputation- I wouldn't worry about you getting it...if the order was received successfully- I'm pretty sure you'll get it.

[David Jonas]

I notice the gift certificate also. Would they have to mail it to you before you can use it?

Dave