How many SxS cards do you own and types.

[Mark Bolding]

I use the 16 gig that came with my EX1R and a 32 gig SxS pro that I bought at the same time. Picked up 2 of the 8 gig Sandisk SxS cards before B&H closed them out; I wish I had bought a couple more at the time. For $159 that was a good deal. I also got a Kensington 7 in 1 long before I bought the camera but have never tested the SD card option as I thought I would. I wish the 16 gig Sony card would drop to a more reasonable price as $525 seems crazy when the 32 gig SxS 1 is only $580

[Dan Crowell]

I have 2 x 32gig cards and have found that for me, that seems to fit the bill for my shooting style. In most cases I'm shooting a single project at a time. But for those shooting multiple projects you may consider having dedicated cards for the duration of the project to maintain a continuous file name and numbering just in case you forget to change them and to avoid the hassle of changing them back and forth between projects. I plan to pick up a couple more if I get the green light on a couple pending projects to avoid those issues.

[Chris Paporakis]

1- 16gb sxs
1- 8gb sxs
2- mxr adapters
1- 16gb sdhc sandisk
5- 16gb sdhc Transcend

[Paul Newman]

I use:

2 x 8gb SxS Sony cards for overcrank
16 x 16GB SDHC various cards with Kensington adapters

3x SSD power/storage units at 80gb each for those long days in the studio or at concerts (1 each for 3 EX1's)

index - this just for information - they are no longer for sale.

Paul

[Michael Armao]

Do you think there would be a problem using the recorder for weddings and other parties. I mean with all this talk about shock and vibration do you think you have to walk on egg shells while this is mounted on your camera to avoid it from failing.....

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

Marcus, good points, but it depends on what you're shooting. If I'm shooting in the studio or a classroom or long-running sit-down interviews, I'd have no second thoughts about using the hard drive on a tripod. That's really what it's intended for anyway. I'd never suggest using it for run & gun hand-held shooting. No matter how reliable it was, it would still be awkward and throw the camera out of balance. That's where SxS cards rule. I'm still not willing to put any of my footage on SD cards. The risk is not worth it to me. To other people, it might be worth it, but not to me. It's a personal choice.

[Doug Jensen]

I just think the hard drive would be awkward to use for hand-held shooting. I'm sure it could be done, but personally wouldn't want that thing mounted on top of my camera with a battery, cable, etc. And if you have to mount a light on top of the camera too, that just makes things even worse.

Perhaps Olof has a mounting solution that will put the hard drive to the side of the camera or underneath. I'd be willing to try that type of mount, but I already know I don't want the hard drive located on the handle.

For hand-held shooting, I always shoot on genuine SxS cards. And if I couldn't afford enough cards to get me through the whole shoot, I'd do what I do right now and that is to offload cards to my PXU-MS240 mobile storage unit.

One thing I like about XDCAM EX is that there are many options for recording.

[Michael Armao]

Doug the only problem I see with the portable storage unit it that for a 32 gig SxS card it takes 20 min for it to down load to the unit. when doing a party, where do you place this unit down where someone wont steal it.... I wonder if there is an extension cable for the unit so you don't have to mount it to the camera maybe you can mount it to the VSB1 shoulder brace?

[Doug Jensen]

Michael,

Are you asking about the PXU-MS240?
It is a stand-alone battery-operated drive with its own card slot.

You can start the copying and then put the unit into a bag, a case, or wherever you want that is safe and leave it totally unattended while copying. You could probably even put it into a large fanny back or small backpack if security was really a concern.

[Michael Armao]

Hey doug
have you heard about that MxM SSD hard drive unit coming out for the sony pmw ex1r? If so what do you think about it. And how does it work?

[Chad Johnson]

I just checked it out Michael: MxM Express SSD Recorder

Looks handy, but they don't give much info in it. No price, and no telling how much storage it has. It's definitely not like a NanoFlash in that it bypasses the compression. So you'll get the same footage you get on SxS, but still, a large capacity hard drive to shoot to could be just what the doctor ordered if you can get 100gigs on it and it comes in under a grand. Great for shooting long concerts or plays.

[Craig Seeman]

Two 32GB SDHC cards will give you 64GB (close to 4 hours) for around $400.

I do think SSD is likely to be more reliable than Sony's hard drives have been.

I don't see much point to external devices the record EX codec when SDHC can give you theoretical endless recording depending on the number of cards. While one card is recording you swap the other. 4 cards (128GB) can keep you going nearly 8 hours straight.

[Chad Johnson]

Yeah, SDHC cards are a gamble. We've read too many posts of people trying to recover lost media from card errors. This little HD would have to prove itself, but really, anyone working professionally should Stick with SxS, or get a real deal recorder like the Nano, that upgrades your capture quality. I have a Hoodman RAW card & adapter, but it's the last in the bag to get grabbed, and actualy never does. Can't risk it. Imagine shooting a wedding or some one time event. You get one chance. Sure some people will never have a problem. But some do. You could blow a whole gig's pay and a chunk of your reputation by trying to save a few hundred on business expenses. I say if this is your business, then buy the good stuff.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Michael Armao

Hey doug
have you heard about that MxM SSD hard drive unit coming out for the sony pmw ex1r? If so what do you think about it. And how does it work?

Sorry, I don't know anything about it, nor do I have any interest in finding out anything about it. As I have said before, I shoot on genuine SxS cards only and don't feel the need to bother with other media. My workflow is safe, fool-proof, and easy. I'm not looking for anything to change that.

As Chad recommends, I bought the "good stuff" a couple of years ago and haven't spent a penny since on cards or had a single glitch. I can't afford to take unnecessary risks.

[Michael Armao]

Chad
The company sent me the info below about drive size and price.



On EX1 and EX3 the max partition is 80GB which is 5 hours.
On EX1R...unlimited and new version EX3...as well, PMW320, 350 &
500...unlimited
It should be release this weekend...shipping in approx. a week's time...
The kit without the hard drive is $249 which is what you'll see on the
website when launched.
Plus the choice of your hard drive approx....64GB $150, 80GB $240 and
128GB
$280.

[Chad Johnson]

So EX1 owners can get 80 gigs for 500.00 bucks. Not too bad for a locked down gig where you don't have to carry the camera. It'd be nice to get a firmware update that allows for more space. Still 5 hrs will cover most situations. I would rather have 2 decently priced 64gig SxS cards. I think SxS pricing is a big scam. 800.00 for a 32 gigger is just insulting.

I wonder if you can get a larger drive with multiple partitions?