Newbie questions -- DV editing cards/software, camcorders

[greeny]

OK. I have some newbie questions. I'm interested in starting to play with some digital video. I'm inclined to get started with a Sony Digital8, because of the combination of low cost and backward compatibility with analog 8mm tapes. (I still have a few old ones shot with a now-broken camcorder.) I'm interested in the 720, or perhaps 820 (if I can ever find a place that carries it and shows a price).

Can anyone comment on the audio quality of these camcorders? Can one achieve decent audio -- i.e., with a good external mic?

Also, I need to choose a 1394 card and editing suite to start with. The best options I've identified seem to be Pinnacle's DV200 (with miroVideo software and Premiere 5.1 lite) and Pyro DV or DVpro (with Ulead's VideoStudio and Media Studio Pro).

Can anybody offer comments regarding these packages? It looks like I can get the DV200 package in the $350 neighborhood. The Pyro DVpro is in the $440 neighborhood (including Media Studio Pro 6.0 and a suite of additional software), or a cheapie version for about $120 (Video Studio 4.0, Media Studio Pro VE (lite)).

Any comments on the best choice for somebody getting started at the low end, but looking for some reasonable flexibility in case the interest matures? Are any of these packages likely to provide great room for growth/flexibility, or would I be better off just getting the $120 cheapie package and doing a wholesale replacement later on, if I want to move up?

Thanks for any thoughts and advice.


greeny

[This_Idiot]

Hi Greeny

I think option B) is probably the best. Most of us here cut our teeth on "lite" versions of MSVE and although many have (eventually) moved up to the full version, the learning curve is probably around a year depending on how much you use the software. And the "lite" version encompasses all the essentials of the full package. You'd be missing out on some of the more esoteric DFX, VideoPaint and CG_Infinity, but to be honest these are really only of passing interest to most amateurs and "necessary" only to advanced operators.

[greeny]

Thanks for your thoughts. I got similar feedback via email from another poster, who also pointed out Ulead's own comparison of the "lite" and full versions:

<http://www.ulead.com/msp/compare1.htm>

Looking at this, I concluded that the differences between the VE and the full version were probably not going to be terribly significant to me at the outset. Searching on shopper.com, it appears that the Pyro DVEdit package (with MSVE) can be found for about $79. They don't list the DVpro package, but I've seen it elsewhere in the $400 range.

However, one can get an upgrade to the full version of MS directly from Ulead for $199 --which leaves a good upgrade path. (And based on their apparent policy of giving the same upgrade price to users of all prior versions -- one might even be able to take advantage by delaying and waiting for the next release, before upgrading.)

This path would seem to be a very good one for newbies -- you get in for $80, while maintainign a low-cost upgrade option. The only downside vs. the DVpro package is that you give up a some set of (what appear to me to be) audio-related software packages, but my guess is that most newbies are not likely to use those much.

So, I think I'm pretty well set on getting the Pyro DVEdit package, with the VE version of Ulead MS.

Anybody have any thoughts to share regarding the audio quality of the Sony Digital8 units (and in particular, the 720 and 820)?

Thanks.

[greeny]

The following URL was supposed to make it into the last post:
http://www.ulead.com/msp/compare1.htm