Posted by Gary Eickmeier on 10/05/07 03:33

I just took my first shots with the Firestore FS-4HD and transferred the
shots to the computer.

This is one weird critter, but it works. It only uses FAT-32 for the
file system, but there is no real limit to the shot length. They just go
seemlessly together on the timeline. Haven't tried it yet, but that's
their story.

I'm using a Sony VX-2000 and a Matrox/Premiere 6.5 editing system. The
Firestore can shoot Matrox AVI files, and they work great - they even
have separate audio files associated with them, but you don't need to
import the audio file to your editing program. Audio and video are still
married together just fine.

I shot with tape in the camera and controlled the Firestore with the
record button on the camera. This gives you a backup on tape if desired.
With no tape in the camera, you start the recording manually with the
Firestore. If you wish, you can set the Firestore to begin the recording
six seconds before you press the button. This will be great for dance
recitals where you don't want to leave it running during every blackout
between numbers. Just stop it after one number, then wait until the next
one begins, then press record, and it will start the recording six
seconds ago. Neat.

Transfer wasn't as fast as I thought, but it was faster than real time.
We'll see as I get more experience. All I did was select all in the
Firestore, then copy and paste onto my hard drive.

Main reason for buying it was that I have been experiencing sound
dropouts on my tapes, probably due to less than competent alignment
during the last maintenance. With the Firestore, no more tape drive
problems.

Mine will record for 3 hours, which should be enough for any wedding or
dance recital out there.

Anyone else have one of these things?

Gary Eickmeier

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