What do you use and why - the Sony memory sticks or SDHC cards?

I use Sony brand Memory Sticks. Why? Because I also have an HDR-CX12 for a B cam, and it only accepts Memory Stick. I also have two Sony point-and-shoot photo cameras that only accept Memory Stick. So, it was a pretty logical choice. Works with all my cameras.

After that, though, one can always be certain that Sony has vigorously qualified their own memory cards with their cameras, and the price difference that used to be there has pretty much evaporated (at least if you're comparing to reputable SDHC cards like Sandisk).

I have two 32Gb Memory Stick Pro HG Duo cards and one 16Gb non-HG that float around between my cameras. Never had an issue with any of them.

Best,
Aaron

Transcensd SDHC class 6 cards for me. Why? Simple really - they're half the Memorystick price, gig for gig, and have never once let me down. On top of that they're becoming the industry standard - even Canon have moved to them with their new 60D.

tom.

I use a pair of SanDisk Extreme 16GB Class 4 cards because they're a lot more versatile - more cameras and devices accept them and my laptop and workstation screen have built-in SD card readers (no MMS Pro support).

I use the FMU..Why?? Cause I dont have to use cards and it takes 128GB. I shoot mainly weddings and find it to be ideal to not have to worry about cards..tapes etc...

I 2nd that FMU ALL DAY for me!! I dont think i've ever even inserted an SDHC into the slots! Olny reason i would is to get Hybrid HD HD or HD SD etc. Go get the FMU if u can afford it. If not stick with Transcend Class 6 cards. B&H sells 32Gb for 50$ i think thats pretty much a no brainer.

Is class 6 OK or is Class 10 better? A class 10 Sandisk 32 gigs is $200.

I was planning to get the FMU hard drive, but would still like to have some cards as a back up.

Is class 6 OK or is Class 10 better? A class 10 Sandisk 32 gigs is $200.

I was planning to get the FMU hard drive, but would still like to have some cards as a back up.

Class 6 is more than enough. Class 4 is the minimum requirement.

I like the idea of the FMU, but the fact that it must be constantly removed from the camera to be emptied is pretty stupid. In fact, generally speaking, I hate everything that has to be removed/reinstalled with any frequency. The FMU is nice if you need dual recording/backup. On capacity alone, it's not particularly compelling. Not IMO, anyway.

Best,
Aaron

The FMU is very easy to remove its as simple as pressing a button and sliding it out. The fact that it is removable is the point i'm assuming as who wants to take their Camcorder out every time they want to dump their footage. The 128GB FMU supports up to 11 Hours of continuous HD recording. Unless your shooting Day long events or shoots you would only be removing the FMU at Days end when you arrive to Post. Is it really that tiresome to have to do that? FMU all the way! No brainer. Otherwise as Aaron stated Class 6 is more than adequate especially at the Price point

The FMU is very easy to remove its as simple as pressing a button and sliding it out. The fact that it is removable is the point i'm assuming as who wants to take their Camcorder out every time they want to dump their footage. The 128GB FMU supports up to 11 Hours of continuous HD recording. Unless your shooting Day long events or shoots you would only be removing the FMU at Days end when you arrive to Post. Is it really that tiresome to have to do that? FMU all the way! No brainer. Otherwise as Aaron stated Class 6 is more than adequate especially at the Price point

:) Well, you're pulling something out of the camera bag, regardless. Again, this is all opinion, but I really think it's silly that all the NX5's storage isn't simply accessible through the USB port. Maybe they'll add that in a firmware update at some point. I guess I'm one of the few here who actually like the consumer-style "dock" concept, where you sit the camera down on a pad, the battery charges, the disc icon appears on your computer desktop, and you slurp the footage. Swapping parts on/off the camera, be it tapes, memory cards, batteries, ...FMUs..., unless you're on location, feels clunky to me.

...although I will admit, I'd rather be pulling the FMU on/off the camera than swapping out memory cards. Every time I reinsert a Memory Stick into the NX5 after it's been in the CX12 or some other camera, I feel like I'm going to break something. Those little multi-format card slots just seem sooooooo fragile inside! Of course, that just means I need another card.

Best,
Aaron

SDHC cards are dropping in price all the time, and I'm guessing that eight 16gig Transcend class 6 cards are a lot cheaper than the 128 Sony brick. Wonder if this will make Sony revise their 128 price downwards?

Whatever - has anyone modified the inside ribbing of their 128 plastic cover plate (the bit you get on the stock NX5) so that it can hold spare or used SD cards in a safe, 'snap-in' type of way? Looks to be an ideal storage place to me.

tom.

Whatever - has anyone modified the inside ribbing of their 128 plastic cover plate (the bit you get on the stock NX5) so that it can hold spare or used SD cards in a safe, 'snap-in' type of way? Looks to be an ideal storage place to me.
tom.

Yes indeed! If anybody ever figures out the Sony part number for the cover, I'd like to order a couple of them (I'm being lazy--I should just call Sony). My first thought for mounting a nanoFlash to one of these was to bolt it to a spare FMU cover. Much less flimsy and cumbersome than having it on a shoe-mount, IMO. Further modifying the cover as a storage place for cards is a great idea too.

Best,
Aaron

Well when you can get a Transcend Class10 16GB card at 29.00$USD there is notting wrong with this. I have been using these cards for a long time now. I find those cards to be reliable and when comes the time to transfer the information on the computer it goes fast.

I own Panasonic, Sandisk, Sony and Transcend cards and my favorite one up to know is the Transcend one.

For the type of filming I am doing, I have to remove the SDHC card of the camera between 50 to 75 times a day then no way I would do this with the FMU. One thing I really do not like about the FMU is the fact each time you take the FMU off the camera a reboot must occur.

My fear is that one day the camera would not reboot.

Daniel, why are you removing your cards that many times daily when the maximum amount of data you can create with a single NX5 at 24Mbs/ over a 24-hour period is 260GB, which fits onto just over 17 cards (and I doubt you'll be doing 24-hour shooting days). Now say you only have a single card and you removed it every time it was full to transfer to PC then placed it back in, that would only make 34 times a day.

With an FMU, you'd only have to remove it three times and re-insert it thee times in that same time frame.

Or am I missing something here?

Felix,

I film sport event like dancing competition event. After each eight dance performances I must download the sequence video onto a computer. Since there are many dancers who have to performed during a day I then need to remove the cards quite frequently. Also those event usually last for three to four consecutive days in a row. 50 to 75 times is the right number.

That was one of my worried when I've acquired my NX5U. After a year of usage I can say the SDHC port is quite robust. I own about 50 SDHC cards, those are required for me to manage the name of video file being created. I always have a Sony memory stick in the camera, ready in case it fails with a SDHC card.

As per the FMU, I will wait for an event to be completed before removing it. This could mean between 5 to 25 time a day. This is still way too many camera reboots to go through. However, in two weeks I will start recording both SD and HD format. I will then have no choice to go through those reboots and I will be crossing my fingers each time.

You spend over 5000$ on a professional camera and you are afraid to Turn it off? Am i missing something here!?

I for one always purchase an extended warranty, as peace of mind is Priceless in my books! Removing a card that many times a day is clearly a workflow disadvantage however you have managed to compensate by purchasing 50+ SDHC Cards! Not to mention constantly Dumping footage while shooting. For the average shooter that kind of workflow is odd to say the least.

Granted, the price of an FMU is pretty steep. I myself took advantage of the 400$ Mail in rebate when you purchase the NX5 and the FMU as a combo. So 600$ for 128gb "FLASH" Memory unit was a no brainer for me. The transfer speeds are way better and not having to remove it 10 Times a day is very nice.

I hate when people try to compare purchasing 8 16gb SDHC cards vs. 128gb FMU but the fact is they are COMPLETELY different! FMU Stands for "FLASH MEMORY UNIT" I guess some people need to do some research before putting them head to head like that. Sure you may save some money in comparison but transfer speeds and flash memory is what you are paying for with the FMU. In the professional world those 2 features are invaluable.

To each his own i guess. Some people don't mind Jumping through hoops as long as it works for them. In Daniel's case 50-75 SD Card removals per day is Acceptable. To others it may not be. The important thing is finding which workflow works best for you. Thats the great thing about this AVCHD cameras is that they give you so many different ways to accomplish the same end result. Its Great to have options!

You spend over 5000$ on a professional camera and you are afraid to Turn it off? Am i missing something here!? The fact you spending 5000$ on a professional camera is not the issue. The camera requiring to reboot each the FMU is removed is a valid concern. If only done one or two times a day you have less of risk the camera will not reboot. Those camera's are little computers, they behave at some points like computer. Sometime computer do not reboot.The only way for me to know better is just to do it.

For the average shooter that kind of workflow is odd to say the least. You are right my workflow is odd compare to others. However, given the type of shooting this type of workflow is the most efficient and has proven to work OK. It took me a year of try and errors to put this workflow in place and it this reason our customers are pleased with our services.

Sure you may save some money in comparison but transfer speeds and flash memory is what you are paying for with the FMU.This is not the case for me, I find the transfer rate of the Transcend class10 16GB cards to be faster than the FMU.

In Daniel's case 50-75 SD Card removals per day is Acceptable.It's not that this is acceptable but that it is required. One the most important thing in my situation is to manage the way the camera sets the filename of video sequences. This helps me doing it.

The important thing is finding which workflow works best for you.You are right about this.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.

When the time comes, I'll get the 16 and 32 gig Transcend SDHC cards. I was planning on using the cards as the primary and the FMU as the back up, but now I think I'll use the FMU as the primary and cards as the back up.

Chris, SD cards are flash memory too, just like the FMU.

Daniel, although these cameras are indeed computers, they don't work in quite the same way. Bugs don't develop over time and they can't get viruses - they use firmware to control the chips. These are designed and made to be turned on and off thousands of times and develop no issues whatsoever - prosumer cameras don't just fail out of nowhere.