Re: SDI worth 'upgrading' to? Also, which DV/DVCAM deck

Sounds like a good plan. Where I work we use DVCAM and have a "main" editing station with SDI connections. We also have 3 firewire-connected decks at our desks that all capture to the same server. Most projects we do end up with a mix of firewire and SDI captured DV footage and I've never been able to tell what's what.

The only time we make sure to use the SDI is when doing green-screen work, and even then it's still a time-intensive process to key it well.

Also, as for decks... we use an 1800 on our main station which works great and DSR-11s at our desks. I would rate the 11's as being slightly better than a camera which is to say, fairly slow at everything. It does work, but unless you're strapped for cash I'd go for the 1500 or 1800.

In fact, I really love the 1500 and have used it elsewhere. It's a much smaller unit that gives almost all the functionality of the 1800. You'll have to read the specs to see exactly what it's missing, but the handling of the tape is just as good in the 1500...it's super fast to get to anything.