Issue with GH2 - Stops recording randomly with "write speed" issue..

[James Palanza]

So, I have a card certainly up to par. Recently I've noticed that the gh2 will randomly stop recording because of the card not being able to keep up, though it is completely random.Sometimes after ten minutes, sometimes after thirty. Could this be a fault memory card? I upgraded to the latest firmware recently that adds the high bite rate option and what not, but i've been able to record 80mb/s hacks before just fine.

[William Hohauser]

Are you reformatting before using the card after filling it up or deleting files? Formatting is the best way to ensure that the card is writing at top speed as deleting files forces the new files to be fragmented as the card tries to fill all available space. Not a problem for photographs but an issue for the high data rate process video needs. That's possibly where the write errors are coming from. Also it could be the card, I have an A-Data card that, despite it's Class 10 rating, can't handle hacks.

[Don Litten]

I format mine in the computer every so often just to be safe, but it gets formatted every time it goes in the camera.

If the camera is hacked, the card can get flaky. For instance, a 30mb Sandisk is more dependable than a 45mb. A 64 gig 95mb is more dependable than a 32 gig 95mb.

SD cards do wear out also.

Electronic lenses take resources so changing from a manual lens to an electronic can cause lockups and write speed errors..

A little extra time pays off. This evening I have a shoot scheduled on an old Schooner. Spare cards and regulars are being formatted in the computer and camera in advance.

[Bruce Foreman]

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

Also it could be the card, I have an A-Data card that, despite it's Class 10 rating, can't handle hacks.

A-Data and Patriot have been two of the worst brands for not living up to marked ratings. I've been following this issue since 2008 and have seen more complaints about those two and also Dane-Elec.

If you want to depend on your card get SanDisk from a reputable dealer like B&H. It is the most counterfeited brand on the market.

[Bruce Foreman]

Originally Posted by Don Litten

I format mine in the computer every so often just to be safe,

Not as safe as you think. I've seen many reports of a camera not recognizing a card after it was formatted in the computer. It should always be formatted in the camera it will be used in.

[Kevin McRoberts]

Agree with high probability of card issue... reformat in camera, test with long takes a few times through, reformat again, and if the problem persists, replace the card.

[James Palanza]

Yeah I went ahead with a sandisk 32gig and i'm going to see how it works vs this one.

[Don Litten]

Originally Posted by Bruce Foreman

Not as safe as you think. I've seen many reports of a camera not recognizing a card after it was formatted in the computer. It should always be formatted in the camera it will be used in.

No, Bruce....I format in both. The computer format cleans them up, then the camera format prepares them for use in the camera. If the camera won't recognize a computer formatted card, the card;s flaky and shouldn.t be used.

[Bruce Foreman]

Hi, Don.

Not trying to be argumentive or contentious here. I don't doubt that you're not having problems the way you do it. But others have and there are other factors than the card being flaky. The reader in the computer may be or it may be going flaky as I experienced with the built in on one computer. In some cases the card the camera would not recognize (after formatting in the computer) would format in the camera. I had this happen once and the card worked fine after that.

In another incident the camera (Canon T2i) still wouldn't format the card so I tried it in a Canon HF100 which did, then put the card back in the T2i and this time it did format in camera. Shortly after those incidents I replaced the computer with a Core i7 based machine, but by that time I was paying attention to the advice both on forums and in camera manuals to format media in the device in which it is going to be used.

It's not an "absolute". But it seems to be somewhat generally agreed on in many forums that formatting in camera is best.

The reader that got flaky on me was built in that first Core i7 machine I got. Before I realized it was the reader it somehow managed to corrupt a whole editing project on the internal drive. Little SDHC readers (that plug in a USB port) sold with some cards continued to work so I ordered an external multiformat reader that also plugged into a USB port and that worked fine until I replaced that computer.

A little bit of interesting reading I found (I don't visit this forum...). Expresses opposing viewpoints

Deleting Images Off Computer vs Camera - PentaxForums.com

[James Palanza]

So I put in a new card the other day, same problem. Randomly stops recording anywhere between 12 and 30 minutes. This time the write speed screen didnt come up. Argh no idea, I'm at the latest firmware, maybe I should try a hacked firmware just to see if it does anything different.

[Don Litten]

Sorry James, we veered away from the problem a little. It happens here because there isn't any fighting, just information exchanging.

Anyway.....what lens are you using, what hack are you using and what mode does this happen in.

For longer recordings, electronic lenses can and frequently do cause the recordings to time out for a while.
Some settings are worse than others,

[Don Litten]

Originally Posted by Bruce Foreman

Hi, Don.

Not trying to be argumentive or contentious here. I don't doubt that you're not having problems the way you do it. But others have and there are other factors than the card being flaky. The reader in the computer may be or it may be going flaky as I experienced with the built in on one computer. In some cases the card the camera would not recognize (after formatting in the computer) would format in the camera. I had this happen once and the card worked fine after that.

In another incident the camera (Canon T2i) still wouldn't format the card so I tried it in a Canon HF100 which did, then put the card back in the T2i and this time it did format in camera. Shortly after those incidents I replaced the computer with a Core i7 based machine, but by that time I was paying attention to the advice both on forums and in camera manuals to format media in the device in which it is going to be used.

It's not an "absolute". But it seems to be somewhat generally agreed on in many forums that formatting in camera is best.

The reader that got flaky on me was built in that first Core i7 machine I got. Before I realized it was the reader it somehow managed to corrupt a whole editing project on the internal drive. Little SDHC readers (that plug in a USB port) sold with some cards continued to work so I ordered an external multiformat reader that also plugged into a USB port and that worked fine until I replaced that computer.

A little bit of interesting reading I found (I don't visit this forum...). Expresses opposing viewpoints

Deleting Images Off Computer vs Camera - PentaxForums.com

I'm not doubting you Bruce, hardware issues happen. I have read other opinions in format in computer vs camera. Here's the rationale I and most other heavy disk users use. In some cameras the option for quick or full initialization is available.

It is not in the GH2. It does a quick format and establishes a directory structure. Over time the disk fragments and becomes unstable. A full format corrects that.

Every so often I use a prgram called SD Formater that does a very deep and complete format. This cleans house.

I have 16 game cameras that I get an average of 10,000 images a week on, 12 GoPro's that get heavy use, 5 camcorders, 2 of which are used daily, 2 GH2's again heavy use and a DSLR that mostly gathers dust these days.

Because of that I have hundreds of SD cards and only a couple are paired to certain cameras. Complete formatting is a must.

It's rare I have card problems anymore.

[Bruce Foreman]

Originally Posted by Don Litten

In some cameras the option for quick or full initialization is available.

It is not in the GH2. It does a quick format and establishes a directory structure. Over time the disk fragments and becomes unstable. A full format corrects that.

Thanks, Don.

I think I just learned something here. I begin to see the need for that "full format" procedure, I'm still fairly new to working with the GH2.

I've also been very leery of firmware modifications, but about a week ago installed the Sanity 5 patch on my older GH2. It's hard to tell with certainty but I believe I do see a difference in rendition of motion and I certainly appreciate not having ISO limits.

Thanks again

[James Palanza]

Originally Posted by Don Litten

Sorry James, we veered away from the problem a little. It happens here because there isn't any fighting, just information exchanging.

Anyway.....what lens are you using, what hack are you using and what mode does this happen in.

For longer recordings, electronic lenses can and frequently do cause the recordings to time out for a while.
Some settings are worse than others,

You brought up a good point, this only seems to happen when I have my 25mm lumix 1.4 attached.

[James Palanza]

Still never got to the bottom of this, it really sucks as I have to constantly stay by the Gh2 since I never know when it will randomly have the write issue. Three different sd cards now. Blah