HD Video Camera, Editing, etc.

[PierredW]

I currently sit with an old TV, Video Camera and a Toshiba HD Recorder. My video editing currently consist of what the Toshiba can do, split chapters, add titles and delete unwanted footage.

It is time to upgrade to HD but I have many questions so I hope this is the correct place to get some help:

1. The TV will be either LCD/LED or Plasma, 1080P in 42 inch.
2. Camera in the R10 - R15k price range. Like the Panasonic TM700 but Sony and Canon also have nice ones. Any advice?
3. Require a Blu Ray player
4. I want to do decent editing, which PC package will be the best for an amateur who want to create decent home movies. It must be able to handle HD and have the facility to write to a Blu Ray writer.
5. I have lots of DVD's which I would like to re-edit. They were created on a Panasonic HD recorder and later on the Toshiba and then finalised. I believe once in that format on a DVD you cannot use the PC Package to edit. Is there a way that it can be done, must you convert the file to something else or are there specific packages that can do it.
6. I believe editing HD image require a powerfull PC. How powerfull(specs?), obviously a Blu Ray writer will be included.

I will appreciate help a lot.

Regards

[chipwelder]

Dunno if you looked at DSLR's - I appreciate they are not as great as DV's in a lot of aspects, but the very shallow depth of field you could get is potentially awesome.

One thing to look out for, some have 30min limits  - as it attracts more taxes once it can record more than 30 min continuously.
Only some have autofocus once in video mode. And I suspect the ones that do, have less than brilliant AF in video mode, as the DOF is comparatively lower...

But having said all this, I know zilch about videography

 

[Mervin]

Video Editing packages... for home, go for the Pinnacle Studio HD... cheap, quick and easy.  Bought it for my son (11 years old) as he wants do some production himself (budding artist).

Top of the line is what I use which is the Adobe Production Studio.  Much better but nice learning curve if you want all the special effects.

[FunkyB]

2. Looked at the Panasonic TM700 also now for a while and looks like a brilliant camera, would love to own one. Would choose it over any of the current Sony/Canon's in the same price range. As far as I know it is one of a few consumer camcorders that does 1080p, the rest does 1080i.

4. So many editing software to choose from. Currently using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 which works great, but not easy to learn. Rather go for something easier like Pinnacle Studio or other makes.

5. If it is in DVD format, most programs will load the VOB files. If not, all you do is rename the VOB file to MPG and it will load it in the editor. Works this way with Windows Movie Maker. 

6. Yes you need a decent PC to edit and decode 1080 video without hiccups and waiting for ever to decode. I would say at least an Quad, i5 or i7 processor and 6GB+ ram. Im using an i5 750 (overclocked to 3.8 GHz ) with 8GB of ram and a 64GB SSD and the editing works well but the decoding still takes a while.

Hope some of the above helps.

[audiomuze]

I have made a few family DVDs in the past using Adobe's software. Works well, but has a steep learning curve. From a PC performance perspective the 3 most important factors would be CPU, ram & hard drives. I'd go quad core, 8gb ram and most importantly I'd install 3 separate drives over & above the OS drive - one as the temp file drive, one as the video source, and another as the final destination. Makes a huge difference to performance while editing and when mastering final.

[Andrew]

From Brian Koping:

Hi Andrew,
Herewith my thoughts on our reader's questions:
1) Choice of camera: In this semi-pro market segment there are 3 main players namely Sony, Canon and Panasonic. To my knowledge Sony and Canon are currently the two top sellers and carry a full range of spares locally should these be required. To decide, it is advisable to ensure that the camera has the desired features as well as the performance so a comparative trial with the different machines is advisable.
Just to include a curved ball, bear in mind that a movie destined for cinema screens was recently shot in RSA using Canon 5D SLRs!

2)For a suitable editing package I recommend a specialist outlet such as W W Computers in Cresta (011)476 5500 where one can get the package plus salient advice.

3) How powerful a computer? HD is exceedingly memory intensive so investing in a Hard Drive (possibly external) of at least 2.5 Terrabytes is required.

4)   Editing old discs: The simplest route is to play them directly into a computer equipped with a suitable video capture card and treat the images as live capture. W W C can possibly help here as well.

[mickyc]

I personally have struggled with HD editing. Have a dual Core Intel PC, with 6gb of RAM, and my PC really struggles. I would certainly go i5 or higher. My understanding is that a MAC is significanly more stable (and Able) when it comes to video editing, so you can go with much lower specs and be able to edit without running into processor or memory problems.

As for cameras, I would shop on B&H photo-video's site in the US. They ship to SA and prices here are rediculous in comparison to theirs. PM me for the web address if you can;'t find it.

DSLRs still just dont cut it for HD Video IMHO.

[Uriah]

if you already have a PC with windows ,you can get windows movie maker free and try it out before parting with any cash,another good mid level editing suite is Adobe Premiere Elements 9 about R899.00 or you can get Adobe Photoshop Element 9& Premiere Elements 9 as a combination For R1499.00 you can do photo's and video then,to get video into your PC you need a capture card of some sort,i have Pinnacle Studio Card with breakout box where you can connect camera,audio,even a VHS video machine to convert VHS to DVD two drives are recommended and as much ram as possible,mic if you want to do voice over and i also use a mixer for audio,if your PC has a firewire card you should be able to import video without a capture card but dedicated hardware is always better,Sony,Cannon are my choice of camera's but i don't know much about Panasonic.there are 3 types of camera formats i think mini DV tape ,internal hard drive and memory sticks,your choice the ones with the memory sticks seem to offer bigger zoom lens for same money if you like to film wild life or(birds)Pinnacle Studio HD is very user friendly and comes with all sorts of 3rd party add ons free

[FunkyB]

If you get a new HD camcorder you do not need a video capture card, as its just plug and play with a USB cable from the camcorder to the PC.

Also if all your previous videos are on DVD and its in the normal DVD format (a video_ts folder on the disc with .vob files in that folder) you can also just copy it to your PC as explained in my previous post and therefore you do not need a video capture card.

Here is a nice list of 10 video editing software for beginners to intermediate users with reviews, and I think most of them you can download a demo/preview to see which one you prefer and then you just buy it online.

http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/