Yeah Jeff, they're space hogs alright! We used a Mac laptop w/Final Cut Express to dump data onto a bank of external hard drives. No way around that for a project of any heft. We ended up with about 45 hours of HD footage--a few terabytes of 1s and 0s. Unfortunately, now my ex-gf and I are not seeing eye-to-eye on the project, so I may soon be casting about for an alternate (read: high quality/low cost) process for editing the footage. I am many things, but a video editor ain't one of 'em. Some great footage, too! We found the poet Rumi's ancestral home in Balkh (outside of Mazar-e-Sharif near the Uzbek border), shot footage of ISAF forces talking about their work, explored a 1700 year old stone Buddhist stupa, interviewed Afghans and Westerners about their experiences of the Taliban era and now the reconstruction effort--all kinds of goodies that really should be being shared with the world instead caught up in a custody battle. Sigh. Human nature. But that's another topic... on 1/19/10 9:00 AM, Jeff Rutherford at jeffrutherford at gmail.com wrote: > Adam, > > I'm curious. What kind of computer did you use to transfer that video to? > > I've edited very short digital videos (3-6 minutes), but those videos quickly > take up a lot of space! > > Jeff > > Jeff Rutherford > jeff at jeffrutherford.com > 413 475-0087 - phone > > > On Jan 19, 2010, at 8:38 AM, Adam Bauer wrote: > >> ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area. >> ** If you did, we all thank you. >> >> >>> My son has been working with a small $250 video camera that uses memory >>> chips, >>> rather than tapes. He is frustrated with its limitations and wants to get an >>> HD video camera that uses tapes instead of memory chips. He has budgeted >>> about >>> $1,000, but can go up to $1,500. >>> >>> Does anyone know, >>> a) is this the best way for him to go? (he does a LOT of video editing,) >>> b) is this a reasonable amount to budget, and >>> c) what would be a good camera for him to get? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> stephanie >> >> Hi Stephanie, >> When I went to India and Afghanistan to work on a film/media project, I >> faced exactly this scenario, and my girlfriend/travel partner at the time >> was media person. >> >> She preferred tapes. No chance of a simple digi-glitch ruining all your work >> and leaving you no backups. Yeah, you've got to capture all the video onto a >> drive for editing, but that's OK. >> >> HD is a must. We chose the Canon HV20 (I think they are up to the HV 30 or >> 40 now)--very small, very high quality, pretty easy to learn and use. I >> think the unit itself (through B&H in NYC or whomever else) was approx $700; >> once you added all the necessaries--external shotgun mic w/on-camera >> adaptor, lavalier and proper boxes for plugging the mics into the HV20, >> you're definitely somewhere north of $1000. >> >> Maybe the whole thing is doable in the ballpark of $1500 (depending on one's >> choice of mics etc.), although then you've got to get a supply of digital >> media (not too expensive from the right sources but still, every 100 tapes >> adds up!). >> >> So depending on what he needs for external mics etc., he might bust his >> budget--but for a solid HD video recorder that's small and potent, he should >> at least look at the Canon HV 30, or whatever takes it place these days. >> >> B&H in NY may be worth a call for basic info gathering. >> 866.264.7509 / 212.560.3239 >> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ >> >> Good luck! >> adam >> >> -- >> Adam Bauer >> Founder, Dharma Boutique >> >> http://www.dharmaboutique.com >> sacred & sensual offerings ~ 3% for people & planet >> >> See video of our latest container of goods arriving from India: >> http://www.youtube.com/dharmaboutique >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net >> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net >> >> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. >> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members >> page on the Hidden Tech Web site. >> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > -- Adam Bauer Founder, Dharma Boutique http://www.dharmaboutique.com sacred & sensual offerings ~ 3% for people & planet See video of our latest container of goods arriving from India: http://www.youtube.com/dharmaboutique