Will a $250 price range cam playback 24p?

[loosechange]

I'm shooting with a Sony V1U and I learned a long time ago about wrecking the cameras video heads. So i know not to use my V1U for rewinding and uploading footage into my computer or else im risking my video heads. Now this is where the question pops up.

The Sony GV-HD700 HD Video Walkman (search it on amazon.com) of course will do the job but it's $1000. I've been thinking of buying another consumer miniDV camcorder for around $250 and using that for rewinding and uploading my tapes into my Mac. I've been filming all my tapes in SD so I know the cheaper camcorder will playback the tapes just fine, since there not HD. However will the cheaper camcorder be able to play back footage that was shot using the V1U's 24p capabilities? Or should I just wait until i can afford the video walkman instead of dropping $250 on a little camera that wont playback 24p footage?

[jburas]

Any DV camera will play DV footage, whether it was 24p, 30p, or 60i. DV is a strictly-defined format and any variations are really just "hacks."

HDV is a different story. Sony, Canon, and JVC have all done HDV "their own way," so footage will only work with the same brand camera. So the HD700 will play tapes from the V1U just fine, but not from other manufactuers.

[loosechange]

Thank you for the response and for teaching me that!

I really only use 24p because when its turned on the picture quality does look noticeably different. Some ppl call it the "film look". Im still learning so I'm just gonna say it's different.

I had no idea that other brand cameras wouldn't playback HD footage shot on a different brand.

so is the same true for video walkmans? like i said in my first post im planning on getting the Sony GV-HD700 HD Video Walkman, lets say my friend wants to capture some footage he shot with his Canon XH-A1, would he be able to use my sony video walkman to do the job?

[jburas]

I had no idea that other brand cameras wouldn't playback HD footage shot on a different brand.

I misspoke a little bit. The Sony HD700 will playback 1080i footage from any HDV camera. I've played 1080i footage from the Canon XHA1 on the Sony HD700 just fine.

So Canon and Sony cameras shoot in 1080i. But JVC cameras shoot in 720p, so it won't work with 1080i decks. Likewise, JVC's 720p decks won't play 1080i footage.

The big problem is 24p on HDV. Canon uses a different kind of 24p than Sony, so Canon's 24p footage won't play on the HD700.

I think Sony makes a deck that can play Canon's 24p, but it's more expensive. Lots of people just buy a Canon HV30 as a cheap alternative to buying another deck.

It's all very confusing.

[EnipProductions]

I really think some of these things are blown out of proportion.

Ofcourse there is friction but it won't really start effect the camera for a good 4-5 years of alot of usage.

Remember the whole refiliing your TV with Plasma thing.. Its complete bollocks. I am not saying this is but it won't affect the camera for a long long time

[jdogg0075]

I dont want to start a new thread for this question. It relates to this one. For the HV30 when you record in HDV, instead of importing from the HV30 to the computer would it be ok to use a cheaper camera to get the same footage on the computer. Or will there be some data loss in the process. I just want to extend head life. Thanks!

[KMProductions]

Yeah, don't worry about your heads, as long as you clean them they will be fine. They were made to do that kind of thing so rewinding and importing wont do anything. Just be sure to clean them.

[jburas]

or the HV30 when you record in HDV, instead of importing from the HV30 to the computer would it be ok to use a cheaper camera to get the same footage on the computer. Or will there be some data loss in the process.

There is no loss. It will be okay, except if you shoot in 24p. If it's 24p, you can only use Canon cameras to do this.

I just want to extend head life.

Like KMProductions said, don't worry about it. Unless you run the camera for hours every single day, it's more likely you'll get a new camera before the heads ever wear out. Avoid cleaning tapes and instead get the dirty heads camera professionally cleaned. You should be fine.

[loosechange]

how do I professionally clean video heads? I mean I've got a lot of rewinding to do, (im on the 11th hour of tape and footage is still coming) and replacing video heads is expensive.