It's official I'm on the Firestore bandwagon!

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Ash Greyson

Why no 6 pin? Because it can be problematic as a 6 pin can be powered.

I bet I have more hours logged on 1/3" CCD cameras than anyone on planet earth.

Then why do most 2/3" chip cameras that output FireWire use a 6-pin connection?

Your assertion is silly, there is a little Japanese man in Kyushu, Japan who has shared a room exclusively with his VX-1000 since 1998. He has had it turned on 24 hours a day for 9 years and chants Shinto prayers to it incessantly to keep it working. He has shot more hours on a 1/3" CCD camera than you have!

Best,

Dan

[Ash Greyson]

Maybe I am second then! 2/3" Cameras are not consumer products, they are professional products, costing exponentially more and, at least in theory, being operated by more skilled technicians. One thing I am going to try is a 4pin to 6pin adapter fitted into the Firewire Saver.



ash =o)

[David Skillicorn]

I am also most often a run and gun documentary shooter, and am encouraged to read posts about people using firestore on the run like this.... but it also scares hell out of me.... "hanging my career" on the little 4 pin connector.

I understand that by pushing the record button on the lens, it will start the firestore recording. But what about confirmation that it is actually recording. Did those of you using this in run and gun situations find yourself having to look down at the firestore on your hip constantly to make sure the light was indicating it was getting and recording the signal properly?

[David Saraceno]

The six pin need not be powered.

The 4-pin is easily the worst invention in video.

[Nate Weaver]

Based on anecdotes from shooters I trust, and my own experience with many flaky 4-pin firewire connectors, I too could not see hanging my reputation on a firestore.

That said, I'm sure I do some things in my daily production that others would say "you do what?!" to and shake their head in disbelief.

So I guess in the end it's all what works for you, and HAS worked for you and continues to work for you.

[Douglas Villalba]

Life is full of compromises.

The under $10,000 market doesn't have a better choice of camera for most jobs that you would use this type cameras.

Sure the Panasonic to FS-100 4 pin FW connector is the worst connector ever, but please don't tell me that you don't compromise all the time.

If you use any of the HDV cameras you are compromising sharpness, color and drop outs. I own an FX1, Canon A1 and the HVX and even tho the HVX is by the numbers the lower resolution chip, I definitely see a huge difference in image quality in favor of the HVX. I am talking about in a studio control situation with all 3 cameras running at the same time.

Am I comfortable using the FS-100? NO, but until someone comes out with a sub $10,000 with the features and image quality of the HVX for long form I'll have to put "my reputation" ;-) on the FS-100.

I just notice that we are placing blame for the 4 pin FW on the FS-100. People the FS-100 is a 6 pin FW. Panasonic is the one using this connection. Maybe Panasonic should come out with a solution for the deficient connection.

In any case the FS-100 comes to the rescue of Panasonic and it does a great job at it. The new v4.0 firmware gives better features than the P2 cards for FCP users. You can choose to record directly to QuickTime and get the same multi-frame rate of the P2 card without having to convert to QT. I can even do a quick edit right from the FS-100.

A tape solution is not 100% safe either. I've had a single image throughout a one hour tape.

Only TAXES & DEATH are certain.

[Jason Boyce]

David, I often found myself checking & double-checking the FS to make sure it was recording. During sit-down interviews, I would basically frame the shot, then go look at the FS and make sure it was going.

Not so much luck in the middle of actually running, nothing I can do there, but it always worked. If you put the camera in 1394_EXT mode, then the record button will come up when the FS is recording, regardless of whether you start it via the camera or start it on the FS itself. That's been pretty consistent, pretty much as consistent as the ability to be sure the camera is actually recording to P2 when the record button is on.

If you know what you're doing & do some tests with it, it's not a problem at all. I'm going to order the FWS-01 myself just to be on the safe side, but it held up just fine for me. If I had the money, I'd order one myself. Until then, I feel confident renting or borrowing it for gigs that require it, although recording to P2 is always the best solution - I'd prefer to keep everything attached & enclosed in one spot than have a cable, but it's the next best thing, and certainly far better than being tethered to a laptop.

[Gregg Bond]

Originally Posted by Dan Brockett

A six pin that supplies power and locks like a BNC would make all of our lives much easier.

Neutrik do a d-housed firewire port, however its only for putting a socket in a pre-drilled panel there is no cable to match this. There is evidently a market for more robust connections.

http://www.neutrik.com/uk/en/datacon...oductlist.aspx

[Dean Sensui]

When I was using a Firestore one of the problems I ran across was RF noise being picked up by my wireless mic receivers (700 mHz Audio Technica diversity system).

They were mounted adjacent to the Firestore (I also do run-and-gun). To reduce the problem I ended up mounting the wireless receivers on my belt. I didn't much like the idea of having to tether equipment to my camera as it becomes a clumsy package on small boats.

Apparently the hard drive was spewing a lot of RF. Matt McEwen did his best to help find a solution. He even sent some ferrite beads at no charge, hoping that the source was the cable. But no luck.

After some experimenting I found out that a lot of hard drives spew some sort of RF. The LaCie external drive generates a heck of a lot of noise, so it's not a problem specific to Focus' product.