Best compact flash cards for Sony Z5 with MRC1K unit
 

I would be glad if anyone can recommend from experience the best make and type of compact flash card for use with a HVR-MRC1K fitted to my Sony Z5 camera. I bought a Kingston 16GB 133X card but it doesn't seem to be able to write data quickly enough (PAL 25fps). Any images containing the slightest movement appear jerky and I can only assume that frames are being dropped. Shots of the subject taken at the same time on tape are ok.

You should do some recordings simultaneously on the card and the tape and then compare them to see if the cards are the problem.

i use the sandisk extremeIII 16gig cards never had a problem

I also use sandisk extremeIII but the 32gig cards and so far I never had a problem.

Stelios

Thanks for the advice
 

Thanks for the info fellas. The footage was taken simultaneously on card and tape and it is definately the Kingston's slow write speed that is at fault. I will try a Sandisk high speed compact flash card as you suggested.

Sandisk
 

I use Sandisk everywhere - video, stills & audio and I've never had one fail on me yet - touch wood! (touches head ;-))

For the MRC1, I would recommend the 30Mbs ones (they have 30Mbs printed on them) as i have seen the Extreme III without that 30Mbs on them.

32gig cards are not recommended by sony Stelios make sure you record to card and tape

Really? Where does Sony say not to use 32GB cards?

Sony makes no mention of 32GB cards at all that I can find. The bigger cards aren't mentioned in their MRC1k Operating Guide because they didn't exist when the Guide was written. It makes no mention of the Z5, either.

This might explain what happened when I bought my Z5. The Sony dealer quoted me on 32G cards, and just before shipping told me that the Z5 "didn't work" with 32G cards and supplied 2 X 16G cards instead (at a reduced price of course!). They are Pretec 333X cards. I am glad to see that others are using 32G cards, because I need the extra length for conference work. I haven't had a problem with them.

There are already a few threads on this, but FWIW I've had five of seven Kingston 32GB Elite Pro 133xes go total failure on me, just as has been described by others. They've been RMA'ed and I just ordered nine Sandisk Extreme IIIs -- they've got a huge rebate deal going which brings their price down to about the same as the Kingstons ($82 each). We'll see how they work.

cf cards
 

Adam,

where are you purchasing your extreme III's ?

It's not a sponsor here, so email me and I'll send you a link...

But if you go to Bing Shopping and search for "32GB Compact Flash sandisk" you should end up with a (reasonably reputable) vendor selling a 3-pack for $446 after the Bing 3% cash back. Then there's a $200 rebate from Sandisk, which brings the price down to $82 each.

I hate to sound stupid but what is the conversion for the 30MB/s in relation to the cards that go by speed? In other words, my Lexar is 300x, does the 30MB/s convert to a number like that?

I believe it's the equivalent of 200x.

They don't make it easy for you to figure out, do they?

sorry to re-visit this thread, but i'm getting my z5 sometime this month....

i gather from the above that san disk extreme lll are compatible and widely recommended here.

a. any there any other brands of note?

b. what exactly am i looking for in a cf card? as adam pointed out - it's not easy correlating the card speed to the mb/s of hdv.

c. are 2 x 16 better than 1 x 32gig? in regards to potential failure, etc.,

tia

leslie

I can only tell you my experiences, and as such a sample size of one is always of questionable projectability.

That being said, I always thought there was no point to 16GB cards, as they're only a little longer than a tape, and my whole reason for going tapeless (well, my main reason, anyway) was to be able to record for much longer, continuously, than a tape would allow me to. It seems like the only reliability problems are being reported on the larger cards, though, so there may be a difference. At this point the cost per GB seems about the same within each brand and category.

In terms of 32GB cards, I have one Transcend 133x, which has worked fine. I had seven Kingston 133x cards, of which five went belly-up within the first day or two. I was able to get refunds on four of them (thanks, Amazon!) and had Kingston RMA one and send a replacement. So far it and the other two still work fine. Finally, I bought nine Sandisk Extreme IIIs (with the rebate they were offering they came out to about the same price as the others) and so far all nine have tested good.

I've heard mixed things about RiData.

I think Adam was correct when he said it was about 200x. I decided to wait on the 32GB cards because they have some faster stuff coming out soon. I'm still somewhat skeptical about anything under 300x

Hi.
i am utilizing constantly 1 32gb and 1 8gb (as backup) 30 mb/b extreme III
on my MRC1K (PAL) never encountered problems ... important never format
CF card on a PC or MAC only on the MRC1K.
regards mario

2 x 32GB + 1 x 16GB Sandisc Extreme III 30Mb/s here too. Better still, never format them at all, unless they come up with some error REQUIRING a re-format! It's totally un-necessary - just delete the files!

Best Compact flash for sony z5 with MRC1K unit?
 

I used 32 Gb pretec card x233 . Had some problems 1 file that had split into 3 would not transfer.
I had backed up to a 32 Gb & 4 Gb( Sandisk extreme IV 45Ms/s )cards to Lacie Rugged Hard Drive, straight from the CF Card after the Job. Done this on 2 occasions. In The Log & Transfer window in FCP 6 & 7 with the correct sony plugin. Only the files from the 4 GB card where able to Transfer.
Has anyone else had these issues.

Update: I've now had a sixth (out of seven) Kingston Elite Pro 32GB 133x go belly up on me with the dreaded A:12 error. Kingston sent me a replacement but I have yet to test it.

So far, flawless performance from my nine Sandisks and one Transcend, all 32GB.

Mystery
 

Adam,

I have a 133x Transcend 32GB as well. While I have not had data loss so far,I have encountered a couple of strange issues.

- Once I had wierd recording dates show up on a couple of clips . I imported them to my hard drive - then when I replaced the card into the MRC1 it showed an error - I reformatted the card and the issue hasn't came up again.[ thankfully ]

- The ".dat" file shows strange random dates. The other day I recorded several clips, got ready to import them and noticed the year was 1980. The clips I recorded yesterday show " tracks.dat Dec 31,2007 11:00pm 384kb DAT file " This has not caused data loss and the clip time/date info is correct.

The only issue is that during playback from the MRC1 via HDMI on my TV - the clip will sometimes freeze, go to blue screen , and then continue later in the clip. When that same clip is imported - no problems - complete clips.

I'm scared that the cards will fail at the wrong time - any ideas on what's up ?

Thanks,
Darin

Puzzling. I'm wondering if these could be issues with your MRC rather than the card. Have you tested other cards?

I only have one 16gb and one 32gb. Both Transcend 133x. I rarely use the 16gb - it's for back-up. I am strongly considering a faster card just in case that's the issue.
Under what circumstances should I reformat the card?

I reformat my cards after each time I use them. No issues whatsoever.

I've been trying to get a 32GB Lexar 300x card but they sell as fast as they come in. Of course, I don't know what kind of quantities they're receiving.

Based on advice I've seen here (well, actually in the MRC forum) I never re-format. I just do a "Delete All" before every shoot.

But if you do reformat, remember that you must do it in the MRC, not your PC.

I agree, never 'format, always 'delete all'


Ive been using 32gb transcend 133x for over a year, used them every weekend, never had any problems

James

why not format?
that's my SOP and it's fine

I just got my setup today and am using the z5u and the mrck1 recorder and it was recommended by B and H that I use nothing slower than 60mbps, so I bought two 32gb 60 mbps cards from them ran it with no tape and the footage was awesome... He said do not use anything less than 60mbps...

Sony dealers stock 16gb and 32gb Sandisk extreme 60mb/s cards - so have been using them and they work fine - have not missed a beat.

just used a Transcend 64GB card and it seems OK so far but time will tell...

Rob may I ask why you reformat the cards after you use them?
I have 3 Transcend 133x cards that I use and I only delete the files once I transfer them to my PC. I never had a problem with so far, so I don't see the point of reformat the cards.

Stelios

There is no need to reformat at all.
Never have done it, and never had data loss.
Shooting on sony cards only tho, I know way too expensive but in my twisted logic it gives me peace of mind. So I reckon that is worth the extra money....

not reformatting - however, interested in whether we're talking about 'quick' format, or full format?

i made the mistake early on of deleting files off card from pc - when i put the card in the camera i got a 'format error' on the little display. there's NO way to format the card on the camera with is error!!! put it back in pc, did a quick format and all came good again.

leslie

Stelios, I have done that since day one and haven't had any problems. Since everything went well I never changed the habit. Since everyone was talking about not reformatting the disk, the last 3 jobs I've done I just used the delete feature. No difference.

Thanks for the reply guys and Rob,
The Photographer that I work with, tells me that he always format his cards used in his DSLR camera because his says that when you delete the files only, your card is not completely empty (less space available) so he always formats his cards after he transfers the photos to his PC. Any comments.

Stelios

That actually makes sense. As long as you format in the unit I really don't see how formatting the card causes problems.

Sandisk card types for MRC
 

Hi, I am looking at the below 3 card types for the MRC.

Sandisk_Extreme_32Gb_UDMA_60Mb/s_$173
Sandisk_Extreme III_32Gb_30Mb/s_$172
Sandisk_Extreme PRO_32Gb_UDMA_90Mb/s_$311

Any views on Extreme vs Extreme III vs Extreme PRO or UDMA vs NON UDMA. Would the Extreme PROs be overkill? Which would you recommend?

Colm

I have nine of the Extreme IIIs and they have all worked flawlessly. I'd buy more but I can't find them anymore.

Colm, The Extreme 60mb/s card is great and fast. Not sure if the 90mb/s one is worth the extra cash at the stage.