Shooting over Firewire

Rick Spilman · October 13th, 2004, 01:56 PM

This seems like a silly but non-trivial question. The four pin Firewire slot on my cameras don't seem particularly secure if I am recording to disk rather than tape. I would worry about knocking the Firewire cable loose, given that there is no mechanical connection to speak of. I can always fall back on gaffer's tape I guess.

Has anyone had this problems or have a particularly good solution to it?

Rick

Daniel Kohl · October 13th, 2004, 02:42 PM

Hi Rick,

I am a big fan of hot glue. I have had success using a very thin film of oil spread with a q-tip around the area of the Firewire jack on my camera. I then plugged the four pin connector into the camera and glued it into place with hot glue. After the glue had cooled I rocked the newly molded connector, along with a bit of gentle prying until it separated from the camera body. The glue releases pretty well if the oil is well spread. This has worked very well with my XL1 since there are a lot of nooks for the molded plug to grab onto.

I hope this is of some use.

Bob McRee · December 10th, 2004, 08:54 AM

you have a very legit problem---would like to know if you find out a good
way --this problem has plagud me also ---lots of luck

Vic Owen · December 10th, 2004, 11:01 AM

With my XL-1, I use a thinner (2-3 mm) FW cable to run to the Firestore. I just take a couple of turns around the tripod neck and leave a loop -- I've never had a problem with the connection.

Even with FW recording, I always use a tape as a backup -- weird things can sometimes happen with the hard disk.

October 13th, 2004, 01:56 PM	#1
Rick Spilman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 366	Shooting over Firewire - Securing the cable This seems like a silly but non-trivial question. The four pin Firewire slot on my cameras don't seem particularly secure if I am recording to disk rather than tape. I would worry about knocking the Firewire cable loose, given that there is no mechanical connection to speak of. I can always fall back on gaffer's tape I guess. Has anyone had this problems or have a particularly good solution to it? Rick

October 13th, 2004, 02:42 PM	#2
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Hi Rick, I am a big fan of hot glue. I have had success using a very thin film of oil spread with a q-tip around the area of the Firewire jack on my camera. I then plugged the four pin connector into the camera and glued it into place with hot glue. After the glue had cooled I rocked the newly molded connector, along with a bit of gentle prying until it separated from the camera body. The glue releases pretty well if the oil is well spread. This has worked very well with my XL1 since there are a lot of nooks for the molded plug to grab onto. I hope this is of some use. __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

December 10th, 2004, 08:54 AM	#3
Bob McRee New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: jackson ms. Posts: 7	firewire securing you have a very legit problem---would like to know if you find out a good way --this problem has plagud me also ---lots of luck

December 10th, 2004, 11:01 AM	#4
Vic Owen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 540	With my XL-1, I use a thinner (2-3 mm) FW cable to run to the Firestore. I just take a couple of turns around the tripod neck and leave a loop -- I've never had a problem with the connection. Even with FW recording, I always use a tape as a backup -- weird things can sometimes happen with the hard disk. __________________ -- Vic Owen --