Ok, this thought hit me late last night...

ok, assume (note assuming does make an ass out of you and me) that the body follows the traditional camera style with a fold out LCD screen on the left side of the camera like the GL2 or VX2100. If that's true, then the P2 slots would be located were the tape mechanism would of been, right? and based upon some other comments in this section <cough> JAN <cough> that where will be atleast 2 slots.

SO this is the question, how easy is it to hot swap a P2 card while hand-held shooting in a situation where you can't point the camera away -CEO making the main point of the presentation, bride cutting the cake, etc?

This leads to a couple of follow ups: Do the cards release on the side of the camera or out of the top? How easy is it to release the cards with out shaking the camera? Especially if you are shooting lone gunman style or your crew is not near by.

Granted, with 2 cards, we are talking about 16min of HDV footage and normally takes/screen time doesn't last that long of a duration, but then again, in this line of work, expect the un-expected while shooting live events.

then again, that was a thought that hit me at 2-3am in the morning, so i could just be completely nuts :-)

any thoughts?
<cough> JAN? <cough>
hmmm...i really should get that cough looked at!

Hi Mike,

Well, regarding any details of where the cards are located, etc., Jan is in no position to say anything until Monday, when it's announced.

But consider this...

Those situations you've outlined are not the best moments to be changing tapes, nor would they be the best moments for changing cards, either.

You would not want to bump the camera while shooting... so to change cards you'll want to go to rec pause, although I'm sure the cam is capable of recording during the switch. The result though may not be pretty to watch!

Chris,

Is there ever a perfect time to swap tapes? it always seems as though the only time the footage matters is right as the tape ends....so playing to Murphy's laws, that thought hit me. of course if you are placed on a tripod, or other support system, this shouldn't be a large problem.

But given that fact, i am still curious since there will be some situations where this is unavoidable.

Especially if it has a card ejector similar to that found on digital cameras or PCMIA Slots on laptops, where you have to press the button in to relase the card....

From what I've seen of existing P2 cams, yes, it's a push of a button just like any PCMCIA card. I don't think there's any way to get around this, but it's definitely easier, faster and more quiet than having to change a tape.