SDHC substitute for SxS cards

Al Woodard · September 3rd, 2008, 06:31 PM

I also wanted to confirm that with the 1.11 firmware upgrade the Lexar 16Gb SSD Express Card works just fine. Again however, it only works well in the 25mb SP mode. I also confirmed through testing with my camera that it will produce a card error after about 5 minutes in any of the HQ modes. The reason that felt compelled to post on this matter is because of the huge $$$ savings. I just picked up two 16GB Lexar cards for $169.00.
I was within one day of purchasing the 32GB Sony SxS card for $1499.00. That is a total savings of more than $1300.00. For anyone who does not need to shoot in the HQ 35mb
setting, I highly encourage you to spend the $100.00 on the upgrade, and save big on the Lexar SSD media. By the way, another nice benefit of the SP mode is that you get a total of 79 minutes of footage on one 16GB card. Nice!

Brian Rhodes · September 3rd, 2008, 09:12 PM

Be careful AL these cards are not Certified ..I would not trust a paying job on them. Also the write speed is slower on the 16gb cards. I am only using them for backup only.

Alex Raskin · September 3rd, 2008, 09:38 PM

It's interesting you can even record video on these cards in the first place.

Did you read users' feedback on Amazon and Newegg about these Lexar 16Gb cards? Consensus seems to be that they are very slow even for the normal file transfer operations.

Hmm

Anthony Smith · September 3rd, 2008, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Woodard

I also wanted to confirm that with the 1.11 firmware upgrade the Lexar 16Gb SSD Express Card works just fine. Again however, it only works well in the 25mb SP mode. I also confirmed through testing with my camera that it will produce a card error after about 5 minutes in any of the HQ modes. The reason that felt compelled to post on this matter is because of the huge $$$ savings. I just picked up two 16GB Lexar cards for $169.00.
I was within one day of purchasing the 32GB Sony SxS card for $1499.00. That is a total savings of more than $1300.00. For anyone who does not need to shoot in the HQ 35mb
setting, I highly encourage you to spend the $100.00 on the upgrade, and save big on the Lexar SSD media. By the way, another nice benefit of the SP mode is that you get a total of 79 minutes of footage on one 16GB card. Nice!

Hi Al, as long as Lexar 16gig works ALL the time when record on SP mode i would live with that. How many times did you record using Lexar 16gig and fill up the card ?

If it works ALL the time using SP mode that would be great but if it works 95% of the time that would be unacceptable.

Al Woodard · September 3rd, 2008, 10:15 PM

Hi Brian, I've got to say that it was you who got me on this Lexar kick to begin with. So thanks for that. Your lead has saved me a great deal of money this week. I know they are not certified, but they work. So far, I have only shot 60 minutes on one card. I do have several paying events next weekend, and I do intend to use these cards the entire time, or
until I get a error message at which point I will switch back to my 8GB Sony cards. I was just saying that so far these cards are working well for me and at 169.00 for 32GBs of Express card storage, I'm willing to take the chance. Yes, I second camera will always be running, but as soon as I fill up 79 minutes with no problems, I will be ordering two more of these cards.
I'll be certain to keep you all up to date on the outcome either way. Thanks.

Steve Shovlar · September 4th, 2008, 06:36 AM

Are there any faster cards than the Lexar? ( Obviously don't just say SXS!)

The faster the card the more chance of recording HQ mode.

Paul Kellett · September 6th, 2008, 08:30 PM

Does anyone know where to get the lexar sxs cards in the uk ?
Preferably a shop rather than online.

Thanks.
Paul.

Alister Chapman · September 7th, 2008, 01:35 AM

I've only been able to find transcend cards and these fail after only 30 seconds.

Paul Newman · September 7th, 2008, 04:48 AM

I've tested both Transcend 8gb card - fails after a few seconds and Lexar 8gb card which will record a full single file without errors, but if you stop and re start shooting over and over, you will get a request to "restore" the card randomly as well as more often when the card is close to full. This does not lose any data but is a bit of a drag.

Figures from HD Tach show:

figures are: random access ms / average read MB/s / burst MB/s

Transcend - 0.6ms - 23.6MB/s - 25.0MB/s
Lexar - 0.6ms - 32.7MB/s - 35.3MB/s
Sony SXS - 0.4ms - 49.0MB/s - 82.9MB/s

all 8GB cards

Bought my Lexar tax free UK airport, not sure if any of the high street shops do them.

Paul

Paul Kellett · September 7th, 2008, 05:49 AM

Paul, when you get the message to restore (with lexar cards) what do you do ? Just ignore it and carry on pressing the record button ?

I looked on google and selected uk based websites only, i typed in "lexar 16 gb" in the search bar, quite a lot of websites and stores have them listed, i've rang a few but most seem to be out of stock.
Hopefully it won't be long before someone like maplin get's them in stock, they'll be readilly available then.

Thanks.
Paul.

Paul Newman · September 7th, 2008, 05:56 AM

When the "restore media" pops up, it also switches slot so you can carry on recording, but to restore you appear to have to go into "media" position, and then restore - all a bit of a pain really, but I'm still testing. I fear that the Lexar 16Gb cards are slower than the 8GB, certainly a recent test I read on the 32GB Lexar said "not reccomended" as it was so slow. I'm continuing my tests here.

Paul

Gary Nattrass · September 7th, 2008, 06:01 AM

Correct me if I am wrong here but is there a basic speed problem here, HD is 35mbs so trying to record at lower bit rates will cause problems:
Transcend 0.6ms 23.6MB/s 25.0MB/s
Lexar 0.6ms 32.7MB/s 35.3MB/s

The sony will be fine though!

Sony SXS 0.4ms 49.0MB/s 82.9MB/s

Paul Newman · September 7th, 2008, 06:21 AM

We're only trying to record to 1440 1080 sp with these cards, 25Mb/sec is the same data write speed as HDV and DV to tape, obviously HQ at 35Mb/s is something else.

25megabits per second is 3.125megabytes per second.

just so we know what we are talking about.

Therefore the Lexar should be fine.

Gary Nattrass · September 7th, 2008, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Newman

We're only trying to record to 1440 1080 sp with these cards, 25Mb/sec is the same data write speed as HDV and DV to tape, obviously HQ at 35Mb/s is something else.

25megabits per second is 3.125megabytes per second.

just so we know what we are talking about.

Therefore the Lexar should be fine.

Agreed i understand now, I use the transcend 16gb cards with my Z7 for HDV and they are fine.

Paul Kellett · September 7th, 2008, 07:27 AM

I've been thinking about getting 8gb cards instead of 16gb, if one card goes down then it's less footage lost.

So if it appears that the 16gb's are slower the i'll go for the 8gb's, i'll just buy twice as many.

Paul.

September 3rd, 2008, 06:31 PM	#31
Al Woodard New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Albany, NY Posts: 14	I also wanted to confirm that with the 1.11 firmware upgrade the Lexar 16Gb SSD Express Card works just fine. Again however, it only works well in the 25mb SP mode. I also confirmed through testing with my camera that it will produce a card error after about 5 minutes in any of the HQ modes. The reason that felt compelled to post on this matter is because of the huge $$$ savings. I just picked up two 16GB Lexar cards for $169.00. I was within one day of purchasing the 32GB Sony SxS card for $1499.00. That is a total savings of more than $1300.00. For anyone who does not need to shoot in the HQ 35mb setting, I highly encourage you to spend the $100.00 on the upgrade, and save big on the Lexar SSD media. By the way, another nice benefit of the SP mode is that you get a total of 79 minutes of footage on one 16GB card. Nice! Attached Thumbnails

September 6th, 2008, 08:30 PM	#37
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	SDHC substitute for SxS cards Does anyone know where to get the lexar sxs cards in the uk ? Preferably a shop rather than online. Thanks. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

September 7th, 2008, 01:35 AM	#38
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	I've only been able to find transcend cards and these fail after only 30 seconds. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

September 7th, 2008, 04:48 AM	#39
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	I've tested both Transcend 8gb card - fails after a few seconds and Lexar 8gb card which will record a full single file without errors, but if you stop and re start shooting over and over, you will get a request to "restore" the card randomly as well as more often when the card is close to full. This does not lose any data but is a bit of a drag. Figures from HD Tach show: figures are: random access ms / average read MB/s / burst MB/s Transcend - 0.6ms - 23.6MB/s - 25.0MB/s Lexar - 0.6ms - 32.7MB/s - 35.3MB/s Sony SXS - 0.4ms - 49.0MB/s - 82.9MB/s all 8GB cards Bought my Lexar tax free UK airport, not sure if any of the high street shops do them. Paul __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza Last edited by Paul Newman; September 7th, 2008 at 06:11 AM.

September 7th, 2008, 05:49 AM	#40
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Paul, when you get the message to restore (with lexar cards) what do you do ? Just ignore it and carry on pressing the record button ? I looked on google and selected uk based websites only, i typed in "lexar 16 gb" in the search bar, quite a lot of websites and stores have them listed, i've rang a few but most seem to be out of stock. Hopefully it won't be long before someone like maplin get's them in stock, they'll be readilly available then. Thanks. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

September 3rd, 2008, 09:12 PM	#32
Brian Rhodes Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 753	Be careful AL these cards are not Certified ..I would not trust a paying job on them. Also the write speed is slower on the 16gb cards. I am only using them for backup only.

September 3rd, 2008, 09:38 PM	#33
Alex Raskin Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,435	It's interesting you can even record video on these cards in the first place. Did you read users' feedback on Amazon and Newegg about these Lexar 16Gb cards? Consensus seems to be that they are very slow even for the normal file transfer operations. Hmm

September 3rd, 2008, 10:15 PM	#35
Al Woodard New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Albany, NY Posts: 14	Hi Brian, I've got to say that it was you who got me on this Lexar kick to begin with. So thanks for that. Your lead has saved me a great deal of money this week. I know they are not certified, but they work. So far, I have only shot 60 minutes on one card. I do have several paying events next weekend, and I do intend to use these cards the entire time, or until I get a error message at which point I will switch back to my 8GB Sony cards. I was just saying that so far these cards are working well for me and at 169.00 for 32GBs of Express card storage, I'm willing to take the chance. Yes, I second camera will always be running, but as soon as I fill up 79 minutes with no problems, I will be ordering two more of these cards. I'll be certain to keep you all up to date on the outcome either way. Thanks.

September 4th, 2008, 06:36 AM	#36
Steve Shovlar Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dorset UK Posts: 697	Are there any faster cards than the Lexar? ( Obviously don't just say SXS!) The faster the card the more chance of recording HQ mode.

September 7th, 2008, 05:56 AM	#41
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	When the "restore media" pops up, it also switches slot so you can carry on recording, but to restore you appear to have to go into "media" position, and then restore - all a bit of a pain really, but I'm still testing. I fear that the Lexar 16Gb cards are slower than the 8GB, certainly a recent test I read on the 32GB Lexar said "not reccomended" as it was so slow. I'm continuing my tests here. Paul __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza

September 7th, 2008, 06:01 AM	#42
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	Correct me if I am wrong here but is there a basic speed problem here, HD is 35mbs so trying to record at lower bit rates will cause problems: Transcend 0.6ms 23.6MB/s 25.0MB/s Lexar 0.6ms 32.7MB/s 35.3MB/s The sony will be fine though! Sony SXS 0.4ms 49.0MB/s 82.9MB/s __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

September 7th, 2008, 06:21 AM	#43
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	We're only trying to record to 1440 1080 sp with these cards, 25Mb/sec is the same data write speed as HDV and DV to tape, obviously HQ at 35Mb/s is something else. 25megabits per second is 3.125megabytes per second. just so we know what we are talking about. Therefore the Lexar should be fine. __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza

September 7th, 2008, 07:27 AM	#45
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	I've been thinking about getting 8gb cards instead of 16gb, if one card goes down then it's less footage lost. So if it appears that the 16gb's are slower the i'll go for the 8gb's, i'll just buy twice as many. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000