Question about old videocameras / camcoders

[Marty_Debiru]

Hello all,

Im looking to buy an early 2000's videocamera / camcoder to record car stuff with that true early HD feeling. I have been studying these cameras but really can't find a suitable one for me.
So my question is about recording format. I checked the Sony HDR A1E (generally good price second hand) but I can't really tell if the recording format is tape or memory card. Seems like both? Or the memory card only for pictures? Preferably I'm looking for a camera that can record straight to memory card, so I can just plug in into the PC and import the recordings with ease.

Also I'm open to suggestions about other camera models. Anything that's early 2000's, afforable used price (I can't pay 3k for a camera) and if possible with a straight memory card recording system. I know most people preffer tape but I think it's too much of a hassle.
Thanks!

 

[MatskiMonk]

For any practical use it'll be digital video cassettes. The Memory stick was just for intended for recording images, IIRC it was possible with some types of cards and cameras to record video, but keep in mind how low density storage was back in those days and IIRC the data transfer speed of most cards was quite low so they weren't suitable for recording video, at least, not at the full resolution of the camera. A quick look at the specs for the camera show a max memory stick size of 2GB, but it looks like it won't support writing to a 2GB card fast enough to record video....

... work on having to use cassettes, it is what the camera was designed around. Don't forget to check if you if you can plug a firewire cable into your PC, converting to USB wasn't reliable IIRC as USB 3.0 was not out (or very new).

I had two DV cams back in the early 2000's, if you don't want to mess around with tapes, just use a modern device and set, or convert, the video to 1080i.

 

[Marty_Debiru]

For any practical use it'll be digital video cassettes. The Memory stick was just for intended for recording images, IIRC it was possible with some types of cards and cameras to record video, but keep in mind how low density storage was back in those days and IIRC the data transfer speed of most cards was quite low so they weren't suitable for recording video, at least, not at the full resolution of the camera. A quick look at the specs for the camera show a max memory stick size of 2GB, but it looks like it won't support writing to a 2GB card fast enough to record video....

... work on having to use cassettes, it is what the camera was designed around. Don't forget to check if you if you can plug a firewire cable into your PC, converting to USB wasn't reliable IIRC as USB 3.0 was not out (or very new).

I had two DV cams back in the early 2000's, if you don't want to mess around with tapes, just use a modern device and set, or convert, the video to 1080i.

Thanks for the reply.
So with the i.Link cable, if I connect the camcoder to the PC I can transfer the recorded tape? I guess with an editor program that recognizes it.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Thanks for the reply.
So with the i.Link cable, if I connect the camcoder to the PC I can transfer the recorded tape? I guess with an editor program that recognizes it.

Yeah, pretty much. If the software integrates properly with the camera it's pretty straight forward. You'll get a feel for whether or not you just want to copy an entire cassette (for example), and trim it all down in editing, or whether you're more selective in copying off the camera in small chunks. Depends what you're shooting I guess.

It's been about 18 years since I did any video editing from DV, I used to have Adobe Premiere, and that worked well, not sure if modern editors will work that well with importing from tape, but I'm sure it's not impossible.