Hi there,
For some reason, I can't seem to copy the contents of two CF cards to an external hard drive.
I can copy one (the 'CONTENTS' folder), and that's fine. And I realize I can't simply copy the 'CONTENTS' folder of the second card to the same hard drive, because the folder has the same name... so I've tried to add it to a new folder on this external drive, named 'card 2'.
I thought this would be foolproof. But it doesn't work.
Am I missing something obvious?
thanks,
Malcolm

On my Mac, I've taken to copying cards to my Mac's Desktop using a simple "Rsync" command in Terminal:

rsync -av /Volumes/[name of card here] ~/Desktop/CARD-`date +%m%d%H%M`

This creates a folder on your desktop which is a duplicate of the card. The name of the folder becomes "CARD-05270944" (assuming the date and time I wrote this post) to avoid overwriting subsequent copies.

This folder then can be used as a source for the XF Utility or the Log and Transfer function in Final Cut Pro. Once you've imported the footage, the CARD folder can be deleted (or archived somewhere).

thanks for the reply and advice, Steve. Unfortunately, I haven't ever used Terminal to do anything like this, and I don't think I could, comfortably. I'm sure that sounds pathetic.
Is there not an app (as there is for my Sony EX-1; the app is called ShotPut Express) that I could use to copy multiple cards to the same drive?
Regards,
Malcolm

There must be some pilot error in what you are doing as if you create a folder on your desktop called CF Cards then create two folders nested within that & called respectively Card 1 & Card 2 you will be able to drag the first card to Card 1 & second card to Card 2.

However the better solution is to use the proper tool for the job that can have given you which is the XF Utility. Then you can backup cards, create virtual cards, copy just the MXF video files to one folder etc.

Hi Nigel,
I think you're right... I must have been making some kind of mistake. I was dog-tired, and was maybe doing forgetting something obvious.
The other half of my workflow worked: I edit in Avid, which uses MXF files, and I was able to export MXF files from each card, onto an external hard drive that I will then use for import into Avid.
But of course I also like to keep a copy of each card, unaltered (in case someone needs the footage for FCP or something like that). This is where I ran into my problem the other night, trying to make copies of both cards, via Finder, onto a second external drive.
Next time, you're suggesting, I should just open the XF Utility, and after exporting all the files as MXF (for Avid), I should stay in XF Utility, and backup each card (File/Backup Media) to my other hard drive?
thanks,
Malcolm

Hi Malcom
What version of MC are you using? I use MC 5.0.4 & I put the CF card into my card reader & AMA them into MC then I mark them up & consolidate or transcode them to my media drive to do the final edit. For back up I create & name a separate folder on a ext. drive & drag the contents folder to it . This work flow has worked well for me.

Hi Mike,
I appreciate the note. I'm using MC 5.5.2 (a nice stable version for me), but (and I know this is like admitting that I don't use Terminal) I don't use AMA. I just feel safer importing everything and then not having to worry about it.
Your backup workflow is what I've done in the past (I've not had the Canon XF100 for very long, but I've been using a double-backup-to-two-separate-drives with my Sony EX1 footage for years)... it's just that it didn't seem to work for me the other night, and I wondered if it was a quirk of Canon. I'm sure it was just me being too tired, and missing the obvious.
I love the fact that I can export MXF files from my XF100, and that these MXF files import so nicely into Avid. It's the reason I bought this little camera, after a couple of years of trying to use AVCHD cameras, and hating the long long import into Avid.
Regards,
Malcolm