Suggestions/advice need for p2 vs firestore

[Spike Spiegel]

Is it better to sink the coin for 4 p2 32gb cards or a firestore f-100 (250gb model). Capacity and price wise, the firestore is a sure winner.

However,

-is firestore reliable?
-will it keep the raw recorded files in it's native form or will it need to attach a .mov wrapper?

Please please suggest which one you would pick if price wasn't an issue and what problems you forsee with either choice! Many thanks

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel

Is it better to sink the coin for 4 p2 32gb cards or a firestore f-100 (250gb model). Capacity and price wise, the firestore is a sure winner.

However,

-is firestore reliable?
-will it keep the raw recorded files in it's native form or will it need to attach a .mov wrapper?

Please please suggest which one you would pick if price wasn't an issue and what problems you forsee with either choice! Many thanks

With which camera?
What are your predominant shooting conditions?
Are you a professional or a hobbyist?


Dan

[Spike Spiegel]

Hi Dan, thanks for your response, to answer your question

-with a hpx500
-shooting conditions include anywhere out in field from India to north Africa to Thailand to Greenland, etc. You get the picture...
-this is for a professional production

Any advice appreciated! Thx

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel

Hi Dan, thanks for your response, to answer your question

-with a hpx500
-shooting conditions include anywhere out in field from India to north Africa to Thailand to Greenland, etc. You get the picture...
-this is for a professional production

Any advice appreciated! Thx

Hi Spike:

You will undoubtedly receive more suggestions, but personally, I would not stake my career, travel and reputation on the FireStore. When it was introduced, VER in Glendale sent me one to try out for a week. This was when 8GB cards were fairly scarce and we were looking for an alternative solution.

Kludgy software, not very clear menu structure and just basic unreliability were the main issues that I had with it. For the type of shooting you are doing, I would never even consider the FireStore. I shoot with the smaller cameras mostly, the HVX200 mostly and it too only had a fragile 4-pin FW connection, which is horribly unreliable. The HPX170 which I now use and the your HPX500 both have a 6-pin FW connection, which is better, but still, your entire shoot is resting on that small connection. One good yank on it when you snag on something and that shot is history or at least will have to be repaired.

P2 cards are pretty bulletproof. While they are more expensive, there is a reason, they are better and more reliable than the FireStore.

Hands down, I would recommend you use the P2 cards for your situation. The only time I would even consider the FireStore would be under much more conservative and controlled environment. Not sure about this but didn't Focus Enhancements, the maker of the FireStore, recently file for bankruptcy?

A spinning hard drive is going to die. They all die, it is just a matter of when.

Dan

[TingSern Wong]

I have had a Firestore once. It is gone now - into the rubbish bin. It is unreliable - just one bump - and you end up loosing the data. Then there is another issue - battery (power supply) for the Firestore.

I have used P2 cards in the field - on HVX202 - in Nepal Himalaya - up to 4000m last year - and temperatures down to -10 deg C - No problems at all.

Hope you get the picture.

[Tom Klein]

Hi Spike,

P2 is the one you should use for your shoot, I use P2 for the "travel n shoot" situation, for my long form on the sticks events I use a Nnovia HDD V-Mount to the rear of the cam,
G.D.B. International - nNovia QC80A2D QuickCapture A2D - 80GB Recorder
G.D.B. International - nNovia QC Mount Kit - V-Lock
it's very reliable, it has Two weak points first is the Firewire connection to the cam, I use gaffer tape to make sure it does not drop out during use, it's happened once in three years , that was because a Commentator next to the cam got excited and pulled all the cables. other is the formats it records to, mine has only DV25 limit. I believe the latest can record to a wider range of files.
Funny though about HDD's , we shoot P2 and then dump to HDD's, and because we don't trust them we dump to a second HDD, A strange world indeed.

Cheers and good luck on your shoot