AVCHD -- new HD format from Sony & Panasonic

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Rodger brings up a lot of salient points, and we've been a tapeless house for nearly 3 years, excepting our extreme sport stuff like BASE, Skydiving, and motorcycle stunts. I disagree that the memory itself is the problem; it's what happens in the Xfer and aftermath that create problems. Dual backups are a *must* for critical projects. For this one reason alone, I *love* the Sony Z7 for the light work, and the 270 for heavier lifting. I also have recorded to DR60 while using SXS on the EX1, but all of this is moot if the storage mechanisms are junk or less than bombproof.
Folks that buy cheap WD storage or similar at the local Costco are just begging for trouble vs the guys that buy enterprise-grade drives. Logging, adding metadata, and having a good file system is equally critical.
FWIW, I have a class that I teach on this subject at NAB, and will be teaching tapeless workflows at the NYC NAB in November.

I can't point a finger at P2 quite as hard as Roger does, although I have big issue with P2. the only "stability" issue I can point to with P2 is the small pins DO bend (although you'll hear folks swear to heaven they don't) and dirt DOES get inside the small connector points (Again, you'll hear folks swear they don't). The media itself is bulletproof until you remove it from the camera and insert it to something else and vice versa. CF cards *may* suffer the same fate, but CF has been around longer, has a lot more use, and has fewer connections. It also is significantly cheaper, even for UDMA CF.

Tapeless workflow is WONDERFUL and can save a LOT of time. But....consider your intentionality, and plan your post-acquisition workflow CAREFULLY and with long-term goals and searchability in mind.

[Dave Blackhurst]

Rodger -

One must ALWAYS take the time to understand new technology/processes/workflow before undertaking serious production, unless one wants to discover lots of "new" problems while "on the job training"... you yourself admit it's not the tech, it's operator error... in most cases cameras don't kill footage, bad operators kill footage...

I use cheap drives, and I've had some "episodes", but I've recovered anything critical because I back up data to another cheap drive <wink>, sure it's a pain, but realistically you need to make it a part of using technology that can and will eventually fail. You change the oil in your car, right? Tires need replacing, and you have to keep putting air in them...

ANY mechanical device can fail under the "right" conditions, just like "human beans" can make mistakes. The key lies in establishing and maintaining a process to minimize mistakes/errors/failures that is appropriate to the situation.

Tapeless has been painless, but I've got quite a lot of time on HDV, and THAT was a pain being an early adopter...

[Rodger Smith]

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

. . . Tapeless has been painless, but I've got quite a lot of time on HDV, and THAT was a pain being an early adopter...

I like tapeless to edit with the Z7U but what I really like . . is having that tape just in case :o) I also like that HDMI OUT and with the Sony Z7U front end . . wow what a picture. I can assure you that my HVX never gave me this picture. Whew, it will scare you it's so HOT. I guess it's true there just is NO REPLACEMENT for a removable lens.