Ron Watson: "Any other suggestions for USB cameras would be really appreciated."
Hi ya, Ron: I'll take a stab at your question only my take may be on the pricey side, but perhaps worth your consideration. Foremost the advantage to shooting using USB, presumably direct to a hard drive, is for the DTE (Direct To Edit) benefits. If this is your intention I'd suggest going with a dedicated DTE system (we use duel FS-H200 boxes by Focus Enhancements, on as many cameras, and couldn't be happier with the results). A used FS-4HD with 40 gigs of storage can be had for about 3 to 4 hundred, in reasonably good shape. Although if your intent IS NOT to record direct to a drive, a DTE box might be (dugh!) unnecessary. Of course you could (theoretically) shoot DTE using the Sanyo VPC-2000A, but this camcorder requires the docking station to be connected to the camera when shooting. And I'm not certain if the docking station can be mounted to a tripod (don't think so, though) but if not a height suitable table may do fine. Using either Sanyo VPC-FH1A or VPC-2000A you're going to get great HD video and stills, but might be subject to jittery frames using video if record media isn't fast enough to handle a swift moving dog. (Believe me, I can relate to camera temperamental dogs.) If you record using the docking station in a DTE-like mode in a studio setting, well lit and blocked accordingly -- jittery frames may not be an issue. But it's hard to predict; I've seen some footage from both units with lots of jittery frames, and still others with very smooth action. (This is due to the speed of record media used by the shooter, methinks.) All-in-all if you'd spend about double what you (presumably) had in mind, you could set yourself up with a quality used VIXIA HV20/30 & FS-4HD system. With this set-up you'd certainly be frame jitters free, and you'd also have waaaay more location creative control. ...Just a thought. Hope this helps. Mark Villaseñor, http://www.TailTrex.tv Canine Adventures For Charity - sm http://www.SOAR508.org
