Old Videocamera
 

On a whim, pretty much, I bought an old Canon XHA1 video camera for $250. This is a HD camera that uses mini-DV tapes (remember those?). It seems to have a nice lens and more than enough bells and whistles for me. I think it is fifteen or so years old.

I actually have little use for a videocamera other than videotaping my son's dance performances. I've shown some of those videos before here.

Previously I've had the cheapest possible Canon camcorder that takes SD cards but has practically no manual controls; like imagine you ran into Best Buy five years ago and spent a couple hundred bucks. It's really bad for videoing dance, which is low light, lots of movement, changing focus, etc. So I wanted something better, but still didn't want to spend much of anything...

Okay, I rooted around, found a blank mini-DV tape, and am playing with this video camera. I think it will do. Here's the only irritant: it records to tape...

I think I can get it to record to a MacBook Pro using some combination of Firewire cables and Thunderbolt adapters, and Quicktime. I'm going to try anyway.

It would be cool if it could record to a hard drive. But I don't think that will be simple.

Anyone remember using these things back in the day?

Any tips?

I still have and use a Canon Elura2MC which also utilizes the MiniDV tapes.

It's got a connectable base for a tripod and exporting to VHS tape or s-video.
Both the OEM slim battery and the fat aftermarket still hold a decent charge amazingly enough.
Finding new tapes in stores might be impossible.

There are free capture software available on the net.
-I once bought Studio7 which I really liked, but when I bought the latest Corel Studio version it started doing odd thing to the computer which required reverting. No good. The software seemed too 'inquisitive' and demanding of internet access.
-Windows Movie Maker is simple.
-DaVinci Resolve is very big and powerful for just home movies.

I'm still trying to fix the Win7 1394 card, which is not recognizing and importing resolution video higher than 240 I think.
(It worked better with Win ME which got 640 iirc)
That retroactive software compatibility might be a challenge with Win10 but I don't know.

The official Apple FireWire to thunderbolt cable is ~$30.00.

IMovie will do the capture.

Walked around trying out the camcorder. This is interesting. I've done still photography so I'm used to manual control of focus, exposure, etc but doing it "live" is something else entirely. This will be a significant learning curve.

I've had to order various cables, a starter microphone, etc. Looking for a fluid head for my old Manfrotto tripod. Wife is rolling her eyes. I don't think she really gets the concept of "hobby". If I call it art or crafting, she'll get it.

Thanks! Got the FW800-Thunderbolt adapter and FW800 cable, and iMovie recognized the camcorder and imported the clips perfectly.

Now I have to learn my way around the custom preset settings.

I kind of love getting what seems to be a pretty capable three-ring camcorder for <$300.

Sigh. Anyone suggest an alternative app to iMovie for importing video from an old tape camcorder?

iMovie recognizes my Canon XHA1 and imports file, sometimes. Other times it crashes and deletes not just the clip being imported, but the last several imported clips. Basically it is flawless on short clips, but on clips longer than a few minutes, it is hit or miss. I can make it work, but it is slow.

I'm happy to edit in iMovie but a robust app to do the importing would be nice.

A different app may not make a difference.

Iirc you said older Mac laptop.

Stab in the dark but I’m guessing core duo processor with 4gb of ram and a 5400 rpm drive.

Most likely crashing on longer clips because the write speed of the drive is inadequate and ram cache can’t keep up.

While it’s an older camcorder it’s still prosumer grade.

Could also be a codec issue.

Give videolan a shot, Same crew that does VLC

Its a 2015 MacBook Pro Retina with 8GB RAM and SSD. The RAM is kind of puny but feels like it should still work.

Thanks for the Videolan pointer!

Believe it or not, SSD's are not the best choice for recording video, which is in effect what you are doing.

They don't do sequential writes any faster than an average platter drive.

They do excell at reads which is what gives the impression they are faster.

Grab this, it's from BlackMagic who is one of the most reputable names in video editing gear.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blackmagic-disk-speed-test/id425264550?mt=12

It'll benchmark your drive and tell you what it can handle.

https://youtu.be/7MeHOwiYRQs

My first effort. Many technical problems caused by my not knowing how to operate the camera or how to do an interview. But I love my neighbor for agreeing to be videoed.

(Background: my neighborhood is trying to become a historic district, some outside WSJWs - white social justice warriors - have been attending the hearings and testifying that we are a wealthy white neighborhood trying to keep minorities out, my neighbors of color are mad about such claims, and this lady agreed to do a video.)

Nicely done.

Nice first effort.

Practice shooting in manual focus. That camera needs help in low light AF. Subject is a bit soft.

Get a lavalier lapel mic or a decent shotgun to reduce the "big room" sound.

As far as setup the first thing you should do, (which helps with the big room sound) is sample the room. Capture a minute of nothing / silence. You'll pick up all the ambient noise from the environment. It's always there, no such thing as a pure silence except in space where no on can hear you scream.

You can use that audio sample to create a filter that will process it out of the final product. In a nutshell, a noise canceler. That lets you work with the subjects audio without the ambient introducing odd artifacts.

That camera shoots raw. Get a McBeth chart, couple a few bucks on Amazon. Sample it with the camera before you start shooting.

Let's you build a custom LUT / profile during post because you have known color values to target.

I'd get some exterior shots in and around the hood to edit into the piece when she's talking about the homes etc...

They'll make the context of her dialog more compelling and gives you opportunities to vary how close / far she is without relying on zoom. Basically edit the zoom out, use the VO over additional footage.

If you use headphones, the old over the ear type, while recording you can monitor the audio better.

Thanks, my education in video is proving fun. I have a cheapish-but-okay-for-a-beginner (so say the reviews, anyway) shotgun mic kit on the way.

Couple Qs:

1. I feel like I should settle on one video-editing application and learn it, and it should be a fairly mainstream app with plenty of user forums. Price-wise, my choices seem to be Adobe Premiere Pro (I have a CC subscription so I can add it on) or iMovie (already have it). Final Cut Pro seems quite pricey for a novice-with-a-whim venture. Thoughts?
2. What's a cheapish-but-okay-for-a-beginner brand of lavalier mic + wireless transmitter w/ XLR outputs?

The other thing I'll use the videocamera for is, of course, dance performances. Thinking I should really practice my manual focusing, and get a fluid head for my tripod. The tripod is a Bogen/Manfrotto.

I'd go with Premiere. Most support.

I'd go with a wired lavalier if it's got standard mic input.

You could also record separate audio to a separate device and drop in the track in premiere

Picked up a Firewire solid state DTE battery-powered recorder (FS-H200) for $125, a fluid head for my tripod, and going to fabricate a mount for the recorder.

Nice upgrade and at $125.00 a smokin deal.