Why I chose the RUVI. This is the smallest camcorder currently available. It is powered by either a lithium ion rechargeable - or - and this was my need - on AA cells. I was on a Grand Canyon trip for 8 days and had no AC source for recharging. Having the back up power of the easily carried AA batteries was the main reason for making this my choice.
After I got accustomed to the 3x manual zoom (I don't recommend zoom shots - it's too rough) and the ambient light view screen, I got to like the RUVI very much. I consider it a "video-notebook" that can travel with me in my back pocket.
The Extended Hi8 image quality is excellent with 400+ lines of resolution. You can see the results at the Grand Canyon web page but realize that this has been compressed about 50 times and has lost the original quality.
I transfer all to digital for archival purposes and future editing. The RUVI has a limited 30 minute tape length and the additional "tapes" are quite expensive ($80) since the cartridge is the complete VCR which includes motor, record and playback heads, as well as the tape. Each cartridge is good for 500 uses according to Sony. I have 3 cartridges and this was just enough for the 8 day Grand Canyon trip.
Some of the members of the Kevin Peer Workshop had looked to me for guidance on video equipment and technical questions on its operation. I'm always glad to help out with video equipment having owned nine 8mm, Hi8, and Digital camcorders and six 8mm or Hi8 VCR's over an eleven year period. So what do I recommend?
I currently use a Sony TRV-900 mini digital camcorder, a Sony "RUVI" miniature Extended Hi8 camcorder, and a DHR-1000 digital VCR. I also have a Hi8 VCR, the EVS-7000 and a VHS VCR for making dubs, a Sharp stereo capable device.
My editing is done on a nonlinear system using Apple's built in firewire with Media 100 CineStream software (Version 3.0). I have a Macintosh G4/867. Storage is on two internal ATA drives for a total of 140gig. For archiving, I use an Orb® removable 2 gig. The Orb is new and is about half the cost of a Jazz® with media at 25% the cost of the Jazz media. I also have a Videonics MX-1 mixer.
Why I chose the Sony TRV-900. Three chips! That's all that's too it! My major application of video is in my production of Distance Learning Lectures for Rochester Institute of Technology. RIT has a video production unit with expensive Betacam equipment, complete studio facilities, lighting, and a linear editing suite. With all this pressure for excellent quality, and a very skeptical (and I might add expecting me to fail) production staff in RIT Video, the 3 chip was a necessity.
So what's so great about 3 chips? First, the video image is made up of three separate colors, red, green, and blue. If you look at the spots on your TV screen with a magnifying glass, you will see the three colors. It is the variation in intensity that creates the gradation in color. If all three colors are at equal low intensity, you have a neutral or gray image. As the intensity increases, the gray becomes more white. This is called the "additive color system." In a one chip camera, the three colors are scanned onto the same chip which changes color character (red, green, blue) for each frame. This puts a lot of pressure on this single chip to perform.
In a three chip camera, the image is split into the three colors with an optical beam splitter. Each chip specializes on only one of the three primary colors. This produces color closer to the truth.
So, if you are in the market for a new (or first) camera there are four choices in the format. There are actually lesser quality options under VHS and Hi8, but these formats are becoming extinct.
- 1 VHS (VHS C)
- 2 Hi8 (8mm)
- 3 Digital Hi8
- 4 Mini Digital
VHS
The main advantage of VHS is the ease of using the tapes you make in your camcorder. However the quality is nowhere near even standard 8mm. The size of the VHS camera is huge compared with the other formats. My recommendation is don't buy this format.
Hi8
The big advantage of Hi8 is the very low cost since it is being replaced by DV or Digital Hi8. You can buy a fully featured Hi8 camera for about 1/3 the cost a year ago. Hi8 has good quality but is still analog. This means that there is a loss of quality with copies. You will also need to have a analog to digital converter to get the footage into the computer. I would recommend buying a digital Hi8 or Mini DV rather than saving $300-$400 on this to be obsolete format.
Digital Hi8
Sony introduced the Digital Hi8 system in March of 1999. It is the newest format and only Sony has it. Its advantage is low cost digital (half the cost of Mini DV), lossless transfer and editing. The disadvantage is the sole one and only Sony manufacturer. When Canon, Sharp, JVC, etc. start selling Digital Hi8, jump on it!
Mini DV
Mini DV was introduced as an industry standard about 4 years ago. At first, the equipment was priced well beyond the amateur. Today, while there are some $4000+ cameras on the market, there are cameras that are priced at levels of Hi8's of a year ago (I paid $1500 for the TRV700 Hi8 in 1995). Mini DV has the main advantage of pure digital. There is no loss in copies or transfer since the information being transferred is zero's or one's! If you can afford $2000-$2300, go for the 3 chip, Sony TRV900.
Once you have your footage you can use your camera to download to your computer or show the images to your family and friends.
But the recording heads in your camcorder will wear out sooner if you give them the double duty of recording and playing back. This is where a dedicated VCR (while costing as much or more than the camera) can save the camera's heads.
The other advantage of a VCR is that it's always set up ready to show the footage. I keep my DHR-1000 digital VCR right with my editing system and it is used to download into my computer and make the final cut tapes after editing.
The VCR is a component of the system that you might want to wait for, but plan to add to your serious system for making films.
If you have Hi8 now and don't want to change, keep your eyes open as others trade up to digital and the exceptional EVS-7000 Hi8 VCR (original street price $1600) is available for 1/3 of the original price.
Linear editing is a thing of the past. If you wanted to even do linear editing with any decent transitions (dissolves, wipes, etc.) you would need a mixer ($1000), and 2 more cameras or VCR's ($???)! I have done linear editing with and without time code. Some Hi8 cameras have time code (the hours, minutes, seconds, and frames are recorded on the tape rather than simply guessing where the tape is in its path). VHS and 8mm do not have time code. Since non-time code systems can have as much as 2 seconds error per minute due to tape stretch, exact linear editing is tedious and frustrating. I know, I've been there!
Digital (either Hi8 or Mini) has time code and makes exact editing possible. This is another reason for these two formats.
You will need a computer with either an analog to digital converter (if you have analog tape) or a Firewire (IEE1394 {this is an International Electrical Engineering standard }) card. The newest Macintosh G3 computers are Firewire equipped (Apple invented Firewire) and there are PCI cards that will allow your Wintel or Mac computer to use this new high speed connection. There are other advantages of Firewire besides connectivity to your digital camcorder or VCR. There are new external hard drives available now and unlike SCSI devices, the Firewire can be connected, disconnected and changed around without shutting your computer down. Since Sony does not want to pay royalties to Apple, they have named the IEE1394 "Ilink" on their computers and video systems.
Adobe has a domination of the market with Premier. I use Digital Origin's Edit-DV only because it was bundled with my Firewire card.
Apple has just released a program (Final Cut Pro) that Macromedia had put on a back burner. It's a $1000 program vs. Digital Origin's $700 with the board included and Adobe Premier's cost of $550.
Hard drives are dropping in price and increasing in capacity. I paid $1400 for a 9 gig HD in 1997 and $800 for an 18 gig HD in 1998 about 18 months later. Hold out for the firewire connectivity which is faster and less complex than the SCSI system. You will need lots of memory (minimum of 96 meg) and the more you have the better off you will be.