Shooting 720/1080 on tape???

[jrod81]

I realize that mini DV tape is not a HD eligibility, but I am wondering... is the P2 the only way to shoot 720/1080 on the HVX? If so, how in the world is this cost effective... I mean, goodness, the amount of P2 cards needed on a shoot would be insane it seems.

[Barry_Green]

And yet there are about 60,000 shooters worldwide using it daily, so obviously the system works. P2 is taking about 80% of broadcast sales worldwide, so obviously it works.

Read up on the many, many threads that document how the workflow works. Most shooters will never need or use more than two or three cards, ever.

[jrod81]

Sorry I should have explained better. It took months to convince my department to buy the camera but with only one P2 card (that came with the camera) and the inability to dump during long shoots I have only been using the tape feature (which is a complete waste of money). So before I took it upon myself to take another 5 months of convincing why we need to spend another $800 to get another P2 card I wanted to make sure there were no other options.

[slimchrisp]

I realize that mini DV tape is not a HD eligibility, but I am wondering... is the P2 the only way to shoot 720/1080 on the HVX? If so, how in the world is this cost effective... I mean, goodness, the amount of P2 cards needed on a shoot would be insane it seems.

i'm assuming you just jumped on the p2 bandwagon recently? be glad you weren't one of the brave early adopting souls. that's when it was REALLY EXPENSIVE. compared to now with capacity/cost ratio.

the 64gig card should be here before too long. and here's to hoping it brings a decent drop to the other lower capacity cards. that's what i'm holding out for. as long as you have at least 2 cards and a workflow for dumping data while you're shooting, you can go all day. and if you shoot enough, eventually that p2 card pays itself off (vs. tape, assuming you use each tape only once).

plus, tape just kind of sucks once you've entered the solid state world. you know?

[andoguru]

You can also get a Firestore or a Citidisk that will hold up to 100gigs I believe. It's just a different alternative to P2 with longer record times.

[David Saraceno]

You can buy a sub$600.00 PC laptop with a PC CardBus II slot and continually dump to that.

Get a 8 GB card and with the laptop and 16GB card, you could shoot all day.

[Dick Campbell]

Show your department how much you have spent on tape already, and how much more you will spend, then compare to P2 cards.

[Moog]

Aye -- I did a 3 camera live music shoot the other day, one of the cams was an old panasonic DV camera I used just to cover an extra angle.

I'd forgotten how much of a giant pain in the arse it was to rewind a tape and capture and all that nonsense, and I've only been using P2 for under a year.

I second the lightweight cheapy laptop solution - you'll be SO glad once you get into the flow :) hope you convince your department of the same.

[slimchrisp]

if you're a mac based shop and have a newer mac book pro, you can pick up a duel adapter. $119. http://www.duel-systemsadapters.com/?productid=DP-0001

that's how i do it.

[cmorrison]

So I am a bit confused. Exactly what tape formats will work in the HVX, will a DVCPRO HD tape work? Would a DVCPRO 50?

Trying to learn as much as possible.

[David Jimerson]

No. Only DV can be recorded to tape. It's a mini-DV drive. All other formats are recorded to the P2 card. And DV can be recorded to the card, too.