Apparently XDCAM disks are not effected by water. If you drop a cartridge in a puddle (or the sea) all you need to do is to rinse it with clean water, let it dry and off you go again. Don't think a tape would be so forgiving, not sure about a P2 card either. This also suggests that humidity should also not be a problem.

how did you find that out?

I was chatting with the XDCAM product manager on the way back from a conference. I explained that I filmed a lot of severe weather and he told me the disks are not effected by water. Haven't tried it, but If the substrate is sandwiched between two layers of plastic it should be at least water resistant.

Well, the problem with dropping one into the sea isn't the water... it's having to dive in after it... ! :-)

I know that compact flash cards are laundry-proof as it happened to some of the photogs I worked with at the newspaper.

I would guess that a P2 card would be equally immune to such abuse, but I wouldn't want to bet one that I owned on it.

Oh my GOSH what an amazing revelation! ...Wow, who woulda thunk it!

Here's a test:
Drop a DVD in a rain puddle
Rinse off with clean water
Dry with a soft cloth from the center to the edge (not in a circle)

Does it still play?

Ok, but seriously...I don't think a P2 card would take a good dunking like an optical disk. Remember, a P2 card is really a chassis holding 4 SD cards and a raid controller chip.

I would guess that a P2 card would be equally immune to such abuse, but I wouldn't want to bet one that I owned on it.

I thought Panasonic dunked a P2 card in one of their demos to prove that it was robust?

Sony dunked an XDCAM disc into a swimming pool to show off that feature 2 or 3 years ago.

Oh my GOSH what an amazing revelation! ...Wow, who woulda thunk it!

Here's a test:
Drop a DVD in a rain puddle
Rinse off with clean water
Dry with a soft cloth from the center to the edge (not in a circle)

Does it still play?

Ok, but seriously...I don't think a P2 card would take a good dunking like an optical disk. Remember, a P2 card is really a chassis holding 4 SD cards and a raid controller chip.

Just dunk it in Isopropol Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) after it comes out of the water. IPA will displace water, remove small amounts of oxide, and won't conduct electricity. If possible, blow dry with compressed dry air after the alcohol bath, or wait for the alcohol to evaporate.

The chips on a P2 card would not be affected because they are hermetically sealed. The danger from a water dunking is creating a short circuit between all the external connections of the chips. This is what the procedure I outlined above would take care of.

-gb-