I posted this over at Scubaboard, I know most of the people use both forums, but any advice is appreciated
So I think I have settled on the canon HF10 with ikelite housing. (for me best balance of price and quality). I am not the best computer person out there. Basically I know enough to get me into trouble! I currently have a laptop computer with a duo processor (gateway bought 2 years ago, I do not know the specifics of it as I am at work), but I am asuming I will need to upgrade to edit my videos. What do you recommend as far as minimum requirements, and as far as how far above the minimums should I purchase in order to fully utilize the capabilities of the camcorder? Also what editing software is the most user friendly. I am going to stick with a PC vs a mac (I know the pros and cons of each). I do not have a blue ray DVD burner - just a SD DVD burner. Can you buy a desktop with a HD DVD burner? Are those DVD's compatible with a SD DVD player?
One option I was considering was burning to SD then hopefully santa claus will bring me a Blue Ray next december and then upgrading my SD DVD to HD?
I posted this over at Scubaboard, I know most of the people use both forums, but any advice is appreciated
So I think I have settled on the canon HF10 with ikelite housing. (for me best balance of price and quality). I am not the best computer person out there. Basically I know enough to get me into trouble! I currently have a laptop computer with a duo processor (gateway bought 2 years ago, I do not know the specifics of it as I am at work), but I am asuming I will need to upgrade to edit my videos. What do you recommend as far as minimum requirements, and as far as how far above the minimums should I purchase in order to fully utilize the capabilities of the camcorder? Also what editing software is the most user friendly. I am going to stick with a PC vs a mac (I know the pros and cons of each). I do not have a blue ray DVD burner - just a SD DVD burner. Can you buy a desktop with a HD DVD burner? Are those DVD's compatible with a SD DVD player?
One option I was considering was burning to SD then hopefully santa claus will bring me a Blue Ray next december and then upgrading my SD DVD to HD?
The specs on your old computer may work. As to blu-ray or HD DVD, they will not work on a standard DVD player (HD DVD is dead). At some point blu-ray burners and media will drop more in price (they have already) to make it a bit more worthwhile, though you should check to see current pricing. As to editing on a PC, there are a few options (I use Macs), such as Edius and Vegas. I am sure some of the PC users will jump in, but if you do a quick search for that until then you will see some of the thoughts on it.
Gets lots of ram. At least 4 gigs minimum. As the NLE software has improved and grown, so have the ram requirements. Have a good sized boot drive and a high quality external or 2nd drive for your media. Do not store your media and project folders in the same drive. Back up everything.
Steve
Check the TechBargains site for posted deals. There is a 20% off coupon for Dell Desktops. I just looked at Dell Studio XPS desktops and see a fast & loaded 6GB system with BluRay writer and a 23" screen for about $1400.
Gets lots of ram. At least 4 gigs minimum. As the NLE software has improved and grown, so have the ram requirements. Have a good sized boot drive and a high quality external or 2nd drive for your media. Do not store your media and project folders in the same drive. Back up everything.
