The workflow of today centers on tapeless acquisition. Yet we must remember that it was Focus Enhancements—through its FireStore Direct To Edit products—that led the way to tapeless acquisition even when everyone was exclusively shooting tape.

Life was simpler in those good old days of just a few years ago. We shot SD, and then HDV came along in a few flavors: Sony's initial Long GOP format, joined by JVC's ProHD, and then Canon's 24F mode. Panasonic made the first leap in quality at the low end of the market with the AG-HVX200, which recorded DVCPRO HD to P2 cards. But Focus was already producing hard-drive-based recorders for SD and quickly entered the HDV market with offerings for Sony, JVC and Canon. Working with Panasonic, Focus developed the FS-100 specifically for DVCPRO HD cameras, extending recording time beyond the time then available on P2 cards.

All of these earlier units, as well as the more recently introduced FireStore FS-5, use hard drives. While reports of drive failures have been infrequent (owing to the ruggedized mechanisms and excellent shock absorbing features of the units), a mechanical device with its failure potential made some shooters nervous.

Focus has answered those concerns with the FS-H200 and FS-H200 Pro Direct To Edit solid-state recorders. Based on the same compact, lightweight form factor as the FS-5, the FS-H200 and FS-H200 Pro record to 16GB or 32GB CF cards (SanDisk-supported, primarily) for up to 2.3 hours of video per card.

Insert a compact CF card into a side slot, connect the FireWire cable to your HDV camcorder and record. It's that simple. It is also very important to note that the one unit supports all the flavors of HDV offered by Sony, Canon and JVC. read more...