using the mcr1k?

[Leslie Wand]

a couple of quick questions:

a. when using tape, especially after a long pause between takes, there's a slight 'lag' before recording starts. is this also the case with the mcr1k?

b. when using the mcr1k alone, is there any 'lag' when pressing recoed?

c. is there software supplied with it to 'join' the files? i'm using vegas which i'm told will ingest the files with no problems. but i occasionally use my laptop which has very basic editing software on it.

tia

leslie

[Adam Gold]

It appears that the MRC is in sync with the tape if you have a cam with EXT REC CTRL (the Z5 does, the FX1000 doesn't). So the very short lag between STBY and REC (in STBY mode) on the tape seems to be reflected on the MRC's LCD REC indicator, although its REC LED goers on instantly and stays on. If your cam does not have EXT REC CTRL, then it can't be in SYNCHRO mode; it has to be in FOLLOW, which checks with the cam every half-second or so to see if it's recording and then follows suit. The manual says there could be a two-second delay.

In post-STBY mode (that is, after a few minutes when the heads spin down and the STBY indicator goes out), the MRC still begins recording almost instantaneously, as if still in STBY mode, while the tape takes a few seconds for the heads to spin up.

If recording to the unit alone (no tape), then the REC LED light does go on instantly but the TC count-up takes about a second to start moving, so I assume there's a short lag there as well. This appears to be true whether you use the REC button on the cam (Z5 only) or on the unit.

Bottom line, it appears that there's about a one-second delay in recording no matter what mode. You'd probably have to shoot a close-up of a stopwatch to tell for sure, and even then your trigger finger might be the issue.

But there's also a CACHE MODE on the MRC that stores the prior 14 seconds or so, and it should eliminate the lag from STBY to REC (if there is any). We always start rolling about two minutes before the lights go down and keep rolling at least a minute after they come up and then run a minute of bars after as well, so this isn't an issue for us.

Sony includes the ru_util software to join and transfer your files to the PC.

[Leslie Wand]

thanks adam for a most comprehensive reply. greatly appreciated indeed.

leslie

[Adam Gold]

No problem -- you should have seen the first draft. Three words, but in looking at it I thought not only wasn't it illuminating enough, but it also looked kind of snarky -- and I got curious and started playing around with the gear. Bingo -- the whole night, gone.

[Leslie Wand]

sorry to have wasted your night - but i'm pretty sure you saved me from wasting one of mine ;-)

all the very best

leslie

[Adam Gold]

Not a waste for me, either; we both learned a few things.

[Darin Clifton]

Adam is right on track. I use my Z5 with the CF recorder mostly for outdoor wildlife . The "cache" mode is awesome for that. I had an instance in Illinois this fall where I trained the camera on a squirrel hole in a tree - with already one in the hole. As the second squirrel came into view he went into the hole like lightning ! That being said - he was already in the hole - I pressed record and with the cache I got him coming into frame pausing for a second then going head first into the hole. The tape was in "standby" mode with the heads released, so it took a moment for the tape to start running - but I already had the complete shot on the CF recorder.

Be careful stopping the camera and quickly recording again. The CF is still writing the cache and can "miss" it's cue to re-start recording. Watch the red blinking light on the MRC1. When it stops flashing - it's ready.