FireStore FS100 various topics

Michael Goode · January 13th, 2007, 01:39 PM

I will be leaving in Mid-February to Kenya, and I am planning on bringing my HVX to shoot some footage on some of the work I'll be doing there. I'm thinking of purchasing the FS-100 before I go, to make the run and gun process more fluid than using P2's. I just want any advice about what accessories to buy, and whether the Firestore would be able to function properly in extreme temperates in the 100's. In addition, the client is very interested in shooting with the Overcrank feature. Will the update be out before the 14 of feb? and I heard there is a possible work around w/ shooting 60p and somehow importing it into FCP at 24fps, is there any truth to that?

Matt McEwen · January 24th, 2007, 12:09 PM

Hi,

FS-100 is designed to be operated in conditions up to 35 degrees C. You may have to investigate some additional cooling options (fans?) in order to use in higher temperatures. There is a white paper on the Focus support site that details FCP workflow and covers over/under crank operation... http://www.focusinfo.com/dynassets/d...usFCPPaper.pdf

Hope that helps,

Matt

John Terendy · February 25th, 2007, 02:39 PM

Of course it's Sunday and my brand new FS-100 has stopped working.
The manual says to call Focus if you get the no hdd detected warning.
Is there a way to get the hdd back?

Kit Hannah · February 25th, 2007, 03:10 PM

Either something came loose inside or the hard drive possibly died. It's an easy fix, but if you open it up, Focus won't cover it under warranty, so you'll probably have to send it in. What size hard drive are you using? Do you have video on there that you need to get off?

John Terendy · February 25th, 2007, 03:15 PM

Hi Kit,

No, no footage on it thankfully. The funny thing is that it's only a day or so
old and I was just running FCP tests. I had just recorded 2 tests, and everything was fine. I followed the instructions meticulously, and made
sure I did not deviate from anything. Then when I hooked it back up to the
HVX, powered it up, I had nothing. No HDD found. Of course I leave at 6:00
am tomorrow morning supposedly with the Fs-100. Any other ideas? Thanks!

John Terendy · February 25th, 2007, 07:06 PM

Sorry, you asked what hard drive size. It's 100gb.

Kit Hannah · February 25th, 2007, 10:12 PM

Ouch. Honestly, I really don't have an answer for you unless you got the drive locally. A new hard drive can be had for $100 - $150 from compusa or circuit city, etc, if you're in a situation where you must have it. But again, Focus will void the warranty. That's a bummer though. Sometimes there are defects in hard drives, I suspect that is the problem as there is not really many things that will give you the HDD error.

Now, if it something where you put the 100Gb drive in yourself, most people have found that they put the cable on upside down, giving them this error. But other than that, not much more info to give other than to send it in to Focus or return it to your dealer for being defective.

Joe Matyas · February 26th, 2007, 07:09 AM

Try doing a format. I know it says not detected, but if you right-click over to utilities and select format, it made just do that.

Joe

John Terendy · February 26th, 2007, 05:34 PM

Thanks, but that did not work either. B+H has instructed me to send it back to them. They were very helpful. I'm getting a brand new one from them.
I managed to rent one last minute for my job, so thankfully I'm covered.
Thanks for all the help!

John Terendy · March 1st, 2007, 02:26 PM

I managed to get through my shoot with a rented FS-100. I received my
replacement FS-100 the morning of my first shoot day at the location. I used the rental FS-100 all of morning and then switched to the new
one after lunch. So far so good.

Kit Hannah · March 1st, 2007, 04:34 PM

That's great, John. Unfortunately, those hard drives are so mass produced that every now and again they will die after a short time. We've had good luck with ours, but it does happen. I'm glad you got everything worked out.

John Terendy · March 1st, 2007, 04:56 PM

The weirdness continues! I have been importing all of my FS-100 clips intomy MacBook Pro to FCP 5.1.4 but every once in a while I get a "Spanned Clip" that shows a clip thumbnail, but lacks In and Out points. These "Spanned Clips" do not play back in FCP. On my G5 Tower, running FCP 5.0.4 I can also see the thimbnails but WITH In and Out points,but 5.0.4 cannot import the clips at all. If I check the .mxf files that correspond to the missing clips, they are
all "fat" files that seem to be the right size for their running time.

Scott Auerbach · March 6th, 2007, 09:47 PM

I'm considering the FS-100 and have a question about it... With the Panasonic P2 card-based cameras, shots that span across two cards can be recombined (spanned) in Final Cut, but Avid continues to have problems with these files. I do most of my work on Adrenaline, but any spanned clips need to be processed in Final Cut, then exported into Avid as a Quicktime. Needless to say, this is a huge hassle on several levels (time code, for example, is lost when the file is exported as a Quicktime).

When the FS-100 is used for very long shots, I assume the shot is segmented into files that meet the 2GB FAT file limit. Since these would be similar to spanned clips, does anyone know if these files reliably load into Adrenaline?

Also, what are the options to mount the unit on the new HPX2000? Will it fit in a wireless box? Is there a mount that will screw into a thread on top of the camera or onto a Noga arm? There isn't any information on Focus's website (that I could find, anyway) about the mounting options for the FS100.

Thanks!

Shawn Alyasiri · March 16th, 2007, 08:22 AM

I recently received my v3 upgrade for the FS100. In testing with the HVX200 I was surprised to find that to record in pN on the FS100, you still need to be in 'non-native' mode on the camera. Therefore, you can get extended run-times on the FS100, but the camera will eat up P2 cards faster if you record to both (which I do).

I'm assuming that this is a Panasonic issue, only allowing a 24/30p (over 60) stream out of the firewire port, by which your unit strips out the extra info?

The ideal scenario would be to record 720 24/30 pN on both the P2 cards and on the FS100 - eating the same amount of data.

Just wondering if this is the way it is and will be, or if Panny can make changes, etc. It would be great for the HVX, but I'm more concerned about using it with the bigger HPX2000, which is supposed to have pN firmware around 3rd quarter.

Thanks,
Shawn

Ric Shellhammer · March 24th, 2007, 12:53 PM

Yesterday I shot some aerial footage from a helicopter ... my first using the HVX and FS100. Most of the clips are not useable and I don't think it was a camera problem. I was shooting 720p30 with the FS100 set to record Native Quicktime. Before the flight I did a short test record to make sure we had a firewire connection ... and did. During the flight, the record/pause seemed to work in the viewfinder, yet the footage looks like it was recorded randomly. The other issue is that on several clips a portion of the clip repeats itself numerous times. Like something was set on loop mode, although that was not the case. Very Strange. Could a intermittent firewire connection cause this?

I've use the fs-100 on several projects, always a bit nervous about the results, but it's worked out. My main gripe, albeit small, has been that you can't see fs100 timecode throught the camera's monitor out. This issue though, makes me very nervous about it's reliability, particularly in adverse situations. Any insight out there as to the cause of this?

ric

January 13th, 2007, 01:39 PM	#76
Michael Goode New Boot Join Date: May 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 10	FS-100 in hot climates and the update? I will be leaving in Mid-February to Kenya, and I am planning on bringing my HVX to shoot some footage on some of the work I'll be doing there. I'm thinking of purchasing the FS-100 before I go, to make the run and gun process more fluid than using P2's. I just want any advice about what accessories to buy, and whether the Firestore would be able to function properly in extreme temperates in the 100's. In addition, the client is very interested in shooting with the Overcrank feature. Will the update be out before the 14 of feb? and I heard there is a possible work around w/ shooting 60p and somehow importing it into FCP at 24fps, is there any truth to that?

February 25th, 2007, 02:39 PM	#78
John Terendy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago U.S.A Posts: 28	Brand New FS-100: No Disk Detected Of course it's Sunday and my brand new FS-100 has stopped working. The manual says to call Focus if you get the no hdd detected warning. Is there a way to get the hdd back?

March 1st, 2007, 02:26 PM	#85
John Terendy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago U.S.A Posts: 28	Follow Up I managed to get through my shoot with a rented FS-100. I received my replacement FS-100 the morning of my first shoot day at the location. I used the rental FS-100 all of morning and then switched to the new one after lunch. So far so good.

March 1st, 2007, 04:56 PM	#87
John Terendy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago U.S.A Posts: 28	Import Into FCP The weirdness continues! I have been importing all of my FS-100 clips intomy MacBook Pro to FCP 5.1.4 but every once in a while I get a "Spanned Clip" that shows a clip thumbnail, but lacks In and Out points. These "Spanned Clips" do not play back in FCP. On my G5 Tower, running FCP 5.0.4 I can also see the thimbnails but WITH In and Out points,but 5.0.4 cannot import the clips at all. If I check the .mxf files that correspond to the missing clips, they are all "fat" files that seem to be the right size for their running time.

March 6th, 2007, 09:47 PM	#88
Scott Auerbach Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 291	Question on FS-100 mxf file structure I'm considering the FS-100 and have a question about it... With the Panasonic P2 card-based cameras, shots that span across two cards can be recombined (spanned) in Final Cut, but Avid continues to have problems with these files. I do most of my work on Adrenaline, but any spanned clips need to be processed in Final Cut, then exported into Avid as a Quicktime. Needless to say, this is a huge hassle on several levels (time code, for example, is lost when the file is exported as a Quicktime). When the FS-100 is used for very long shots, I assume the shot is segmented into files that meet the 2GB FAT file limit. Since these would be similar to spanned clips, does anyone know if these files reliably load into Adrenaline? Also, what are the options to mount the unit on the new HPX2000? Will it fit in a wireless box? Is there a mount that will screw into a thread on top of the camera or onto a Noga arm? There isn't any information on Focus's website (that I could find, anyway) about the mounting options for the FS100. Thanks! __________________ DP/Editor, Sputnik Pictures \| Atlanta HD video and RED digital cinema production

January 24th, 2007, 12:09 PM	#77
Matt McEwen Focus Enhancements Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Campbell, CA. Posts: 508	Hi, FS-100 is designed to be operated in conditions up to 35 degrees C. You may have to investigate some additional cooling options (fans?) in order to use in higher temperatures. There is a white paper on the Focus support site that details FCP workflow and covers over/under crank operation... http://www.focusinfo.com/dynassets/d...usFCPPaper.pdf Hope that helps, Matt

February 25th, 2007, 03:10 PM	#79
Kit Hannah Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Fresno, California Posts: 528	Either something came loose inside or the hard drive possibly died. It's an easy fix, but if you open it up, Focus won't cover it under warranty, so you'll probably have to send it in. What size hard drive are you using? Do you have video on there that you need to get off?

February 25th, 2007, 03:15 PM	#80
John Terendy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago U.S.A Posts: 28	Hi Kit, No, no footage on it thankfully. The funny thing is that it's only a day or so old and I was just running FCP tests. I had just recorded 2 tests, and everything was fine. I followed the instructions meticulously, and made sure I did not deviate from anything. Then when I hooked it back up to the HVX, powered it up, I had nothing. No HDD found. Of course I leave at 6:00 am tomorrow morning supposedly with the Fs-100. Any other ideas? Thanks!

February 25th, 2007, 07:06 PM	#81
John Terendy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago U.S.A Posts: 28	Sorry, you asked what hard drive size. It's 100gb.

February 25th, 2007, 10:12 PM	#82
Kit Hannah Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Fresno, California Posts: 528	Ouch. Honestly, I really don't have an answer for you unless you got the drive locally. A new hard drive can be had for $100 - $150 from compusa or circuit city, etc, if you're in a situation where you must have it. But again, Focus will void the warranty. That's a bummer though. Sometimes there are defects in hard drives, I suspect that is the problem as there is not really many things that will give you the HDD error. Now, if it something where you put the 100Gb drive in yourself, most people have found that they put the cable on upside down, giving them this error. But other than that, not much more info to give other than to send it in to Focus or return it to your dealer for being defective.

February 26th, 2007, 07:09 AM	#83
Joe Matyas New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 22	Try doing a format. I know it says not detected, but if you right-click over to utilities and select format, it made just do that. Joe

February 26th, 2007, 05:34 PM	#84
John Terendy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago U.S.A Posts: 28	Thanks, but that did not work either. B+H has instructed me to send it back to them. They were very helpful. I'm getting a brand new one from them. I managed to rent one last minute for my job, so thankfully I'm covered. Thanks for all the help!

March 1st, 2007, 04:34 PM	#86
Kit Hannah Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Fresno, California Posts: 528	That's great, John. Unfortunately, those hard drives are so mass produced that every now and again they will die after a short time. We've had good luck with ours, but it does happen. I'm glad you got everything worked out.

March 16th, 2007, 08:22 AM	#89
Shawn Alyasiri Major Player Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 256	Matt - FS100 v3 - pN vs. p over firewire limitation/stipulation I recently received my v3 upgrade for the FS100. In testing with the HVX200 I was surprised to find that to record in pN on the FS100, you still need to be in 'non-native' mode on the camera. Therefore, you can get extended run-times on the FS100, but the camera will eat up P2 cards faster if you record to both (which I do). I'm assuming that this is a Panasonic issue, only allowing a 24/30p (over 60) stream out of the firewire port, by which your unit strips out the extra info? The ideal scenario would be to record 720 24/30 pN on both the P2 cards and on the FS100 - eating the same amount of data. Just wondering if this is the way it is and will be, or if Panny can make changes, etc. It would be great for the HVX, but I'm more concerned about using it with the bigger HPX2000, which is supposed to have pN firmware around 3rd quarter. Thanks, Shawn

March 24th, 2007, 12:53 PM	#90
Ric Shellhammer Tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Oceanside, CA Posts: 2	FS100: Bad Aerial Footage Yesterday I shot some aerial footage from a helicopter ... my first using the HVX and FS100. Most of the clips are not useable and I don't think it was a camera problem. I was shooting 720p30 with the FS100 set to record Native Quicktime. Before the flight I did a short test record to make sure we had a firewire connection ... and did. During the flight, the record/pause seemed to work in the viewfinder, yet the footage looks like it was recorded randomly. The other issue is that on several clips a portion of the clip repeats itself numerous times. Like something was set on loop mode, although that was not the case. Very Strange. Could a intermittent firewire connection cause this? I've use the fs-100 on several projects, always a bit nervous about the results, but it's worked out. My main gripe, albeit small, has been that you can't see fs100 timecode throught the camera's monitor out. This issue though, makes me very nervous about it's reliability, particularly in adverse situations. Any insight out there as to the cause of this? ric