Pro-level hi9 camera mated with low end dv camera = decent dv package?

OK, this may sound silly but I simply do not have the budget for a
vx2k/ xl1s right now..I COULD afford a high end analog camera (toshiba
TSC100 or sony evw300 is what I'm looking at now) - would mating an
analog camera to a low end digital camera be a terrible idea? I have
a low end minidv samsung camera with analog in so I figure that I can
use the miniDV camera as a middle step before editing in FCP.. Good
idea to save money or will I be losinga lot of quality? Who would
either cameras compare to say a vx1k/2k?

 

I know people who have done this with an EVW300. The output of the 300 is
quite high quality. In fact, you might want to think about recording in Hi-8
and then transcoding to DV on the way into the editing computer. I did that
for 3 years with great success. The EVW300 image is very good. Different
than DV but very nice.

Still, if you can afford (or have) both the low-end DV camera that will
indeed record (some only have analog connections for output) and the EVW300,
you should do OK.

Things to check about owning a large analog camera are:

Obviously have to have a lens
Need a fairly decent camera support
Need expensive batteries and charger

If you can get everything at a low price, you are good to go. But EVW300's
are still getting a fairly good price and batteries and support have never
gone down in price. So much so that I'd think a decent used 2000 would be
in the ball park..

 

Sam,

This technique can work well indeed. I did the same thing using a Sony
ccd-V5000 (Prosumer Hi8 with manual lens and such) connected with S-video
and RCA audio to a D8. Talk about budget, the whole setup probably cost me
~$1600 cdn (what's that, $1200 american). It was used to shoot a no budget
(literally...) feature film that has gone to festivals, and even had a
one-time showing in a cineplex. If you re interested in film details check
out.

http://go.to/noctivagation

As for the technology, it's a pain to have a recording deck on your side.
On theplus side, you get a colour LCD to check your white balance. Just a
note of caution: my camera died after shooting. If you're dealing with old
technology, there are no guarantees. That camera is much higher end than
the v5000 which had capacitor problems, but still. As the above poster
hinted at, even if it reduces cost now, it might be more expensive in the
long run.

Good luck!
Damian Bradley