What media do EX1 & EX3 record to? SD cards or what?

[Francis Lee]

1 - What media does the EX1 and EX3 use to record video? (SD memory?)

2 - There are two slots in the cam(s) right?

3 - If they won't take SD card memory then what does storage units cost and how much (GB's &/or Minutes) do they hold?

Thanks for any help.

[Bruce Mitchell]

The manuals for the EX1 and EX3 can be found in the sticky thread at the top of this forum.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...downloads.html

[Perrone Ford]

The EX1 and EX3 record to SxS cards, but can record to SDHC with the use of adapters.

There are two slots on the camera.

You will need to update the firmware on the camera (easy and free) to use the SDHC adapters. I've been doing it for 2 years now.

[Tuy Le]

Also with new firmware updated, you can use Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG DUO with MEAD-MS01 adapter.

[Richard Crowley]

Originally Posted by Francis Lee

1 - What media does the EX1 and EX3 use to record video? (SD memory?)
2 - There are two slots in the cam(s) right?
3 - If they won't take SD card memory then what does storage units cost and how much (GB's &/or Minutes) do they hold?

1) The "native" media is the Sony SxS card. These are flash memory cards with the form-factor of the Express Card 34. They are available from Sony (and 3rd party vendors??) in sizes of 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB at very steep prices. The 16 GB size holds slightly less than 60 minutes at 720P, 30FPS.

Subsequently, the 1.1 software upgrade made it possible to record to SDHC CLASS 6 cards using an ExpressCard34 to SDHC adapter. These adapters are available from several sources. Note that most SDHC cards are NOT capable of running full slo-mo speed (60 FPS). Depending on exactly what brand, model (and even batch) you have. They may be good up to only 45 FPS (or whatever).

The latest firmware revision adds the capability of using Sony's own SxS to SDHC adapter, and Sony-branded SDHC cards at slight lower prices than Sony SxS cards, but not competitive with 3rd party adapters and SDHC cards.

2) There are two slots in the camera (EX1, EX3)

3) They DO take SDHC cards with the optional adapters. Note that only premium SDHC cards are fast enough even for "normal" shooting. And many people report problems finding reliable SDHC cards. Vendors seem to play games with SDHC cards, and a brand/model that is reliable one month changes internally and is not longer capable and/or reliable. I use 16GB SDHC cards and pay $40-50 each for them. I reuse them and dump the contents off to a computer regularly, so I don't buy new supplies all the time. I suppose I should start keeping track of how many times they are written to so that I can avoid running them into their end of life.

[Francis Lee]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Would someone be kind enough to suggest a 3rd part adapter brand... ditto for the SDHC cards.

And, how much for the Sony adapter and cards?

Thanks again.

[Craig Seeman]

Adaptors:

MxR, Hoodman

The best SDHC cards now seem to be Sandisk Extreme Class 10 which can supposedly overcrank as well as SxS cards.

[George Strother]

I am using MxR w 3 SanDisk Ultra 32GB Class 4 that overcrank to 60fps. Longest clip so far 24 minutes record time.

If you can get a fast enough card reader connection (mine is USB 2), the Class 10 may download faster.