Can you capture while shooting with canon XL2 in fcp on Macbook pro

connect the camera to the laptop via firewire as usual, in th elog and capture window, switch the device control setting to "non-controllable device". now when you record to tape you should also be able to capture direct to the hard drive ... if you don't hit record though, the camera may not pass through the video signal to the firewire output ... in the past you could often work round this, with some DV cameras, by simply opening the tape transport door. no idea if that would work with the XL2 nor even if it would be a problem in the first place.

If you don't run tape as a back-up and anything happens, you are hosed.

Try to keep that in perspective.

As usual, Jim is correct. There's a reasonable possibility that something could go wrong with the capture; without a tape backup you would be hosed.

Here's what I do for live multi-camera recording (it works as well for single camera setups):

• Connect all cameras to a video switcher/DVE

• Connect the switcher's output to a DVCam VTR

• Connect all audio sources to an audio mixer

• Connect the audio mixer's output to the same DVCam VTR

• Connect the DVCam's Firewire output to my Mac

With this set up I can switch/mix live between cameras while recording to the VTR and simultaneously to the Mac in FCP.

Not only do I end up with the live mix recorded to tape and captured in FCP, I also run 'safety' tapes in each camera for additional backup in case the TD (me) makes an error.

-DH

Another method that we use often ... (like every time we shoot) Camera goes into firewire drive, firewire drive into Macbook Pro.

Agree with the crowd, tape backup is a good idea. FYI, in over two years of doing this we've not had to use the backup tapes a single time. But we still do it just in case.