Which tape for Sony HVR-Z1E?

[RobGTO]

I have this camera for the weekend and various use over the next 10 months, however I'd like to know which format I should record onto ?

I have Premiere Pro 1.5 which can deal with HD [I think], however I wont be able to view HD on any of my TV's.
I think I can record at HD but downgrade it to SD when recording into the computer ?

[mikef]

I use and can recommend Sony DigtalMaster HDV tapes (PHDVM-63DM). At first I could only obtain from ProTape in London, but they are becoming more widely available.

You can certainly record in HD and downconvert on playback from the camera. I think that's better than recording in SD, since you can re-edit in HD later on

It may not help you much if you're a PC-based Premier Pro user, but Apple Final Cut Pro 5 does a great job of editing native HDV

ps: if you're new to the camera, then the Hands-on HDV instruction DVD (not tape) gives a great fast-track to productive use of the manual settings

>> Edited by mikef on Saturday 1st October 22:50

[RobGTO]

Hi, MANY thanks for the reply, just what I was looking for.
The camera doesnt belong to me so I dont have access to that tutorial tape at the moment.
For this weekend I just bought some Panasonic MiniDV tapes, I'll order some of those HD tapes from the net for another meet.

Thanks for the help...wish me luck

[mikef]

No problem - the Hands-on HDV instructional DVD doesn't come with the camera, it's made by an independent company, you can get it for about £50 online (suppliers include <a href="www.dvc.uk.com/acatalog/DVC_Online_Shopping_DVC___Total_Training_Tutorial_DVD_s_26.html">www.dvc.uk.com</a>. Have fun

edited to say: it's not a tape, it's only on DVD as far as I know

>> Edited by mikef on Saturday 1st October 22:49