Firestore drive issues, please advise!

[goofs59]

Hello all, I am having a couple of issues with my FS-100 drive that I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on.

First the battery life is way too short, which is quite upsetting considering these things retail for around $1700. What is the best way to possible provide alternate power when needed? Usually I can get away with conserving and plugging it back in to charge while I use my p2 card, but this is not always practical. It's funny, I love this thing because people always complain about how expensive the format is but a spent a little over $1000 (p2 came with HPX-170) and have never used up all my space in any format. What ends up happening is that the stupid battery dies first. If anyone has some suggestions please let me know.

Also the one technical issue I have had can become a serious problem. Sometimes parts of my footage seem to just cut out. It will go from one shot and then blink with horizontal bars into a new shot. Sometimes when I capture the clips I get weird looping parts too, like it will cut out to a new part and then repeat that part at the end. Sometimes I suspect this being a connection issue but I wonder if it is more. Does this happen to anyone else? I have tried to use the repair clip function but am not very clear on how to utilize it best. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

[Lighthouse]

I have used the FS100 extensively on a documentary film and, at first, had many of the same issues you are having. Here's what I did.

1. Get the extended capacity batteries. The one they ship with the unit is too small. At first, I would use it as a back up, but eventually, I replaced the small battery with 2 extended capacity batteries. I have been able to use this battery for the duration of a shoot: 111 minutes of HD video being shot within about a 2 hour span.

2. Get the charger. Before I purchased the second extended battery, whenever I would shoot, I almost always had the smaller battery on standby on the charger.

3. If you can, use an Anton Bauer battery or AC to power your unit when it is on a tripod. I rigged up a power snake for tripod shooting. I took all the power cords needed to run the camera, FS100, and external HD monitor, and cut the plugs off. I then spliced them together and ran them all into one plug. Now, when I go on location, I have one plug to plug in and a power snake that runs up the tripod leg to the camera. I've also rigged up some other little things to keep all the cords organized and out of the way when shooting, but you get the idea.

4. Whenever you are downloading the files to the computer ALWAYS plug the unit in with the battery on and let the battery charge. Once the download is complete, I always leave the unit plugged in until the battery is charged up.

So far as the wierd clips, I've never had that happen, even when I've had a bad FW cable. I have found the folks at Focus Enhancements to be very helpful. I even called them when I was on a shoot and they walked me through the issue I was having (it was a learning curve issue and I just wasn't fully up to speed yet on the unit). So I would suggest you call them.

I have shot extensively with my FS100 and it has worked beautifully. I've probably shot 6TB of data from the FS100 and since I've implemented the things above, I've never ran out of juice. I have even rigged it up to shoot from my Artemis, which allows me to do extended "steaycam" shoots without reloading the P2 cards.

Good luck and hope your experience with the FS100 is as good as mine has been.

[Sumfun]

Regarding battery life: Do you have a standard battery (850 mAh) or a high capacity battery (1950 mAh)? The standard battery is rated for 90 minutes, and the high capacity is rated for 180 minutes. I use the high capacity battery, and find that it usually lasts a lot longer than 180 minutes. Definitely longer than my camera battery. If yours is significantly lower, than you should get it checked.

Also, I found a rechargeable battery for bicycle lights. It's shaped like a water bottle, and has a ~14V output. Just plug the battery into the FS100's power adapter, and it will run for many more hours. And recharge your battery to boot. All for about $50.

Regarding bad video: I have had blinking or looping, but that usually comes from too much vibration. There is some shock protection built into the enclosure, but remember that you're still writing data to a hard drive. If you're running around with your camera, then chances are good that you will get corrupted video. That's when you need P2 cards.

[goofs59]

Great info. I do have the 850mAh battery which is no surprise, and I knew I could get an extra battery but I really like the external power supply idea, I think my dad has one of those actually for biking. So I can just plug the drive in like I would to a normal wall socket? I do I need some sort of converter or extra charger?

As for the footage problems that makes a lot of sense and probably explains most of my cutouts. What is the quickest way to switch between recording on firestore and p2? Simply unplugging the drive? Can a p2 card be disabled from recording while still in the camera? Sorry for all the newb questions I recently got my firestore and am trying to perfect its use. I do like it for sure though. Saves so much money!

[Sumfun]

The bicycle battery I have came with a set of interchangeable plugs (I think). Probably for different types of bike lights. One of them is a perfect fit for the FS100 adapter socket. I have to use a different plug when recharging the battery.

The model I have is the Powerizer 14.4V 4500mAh NiMH battery from Batteryspace.com.

Don't know how to disable P2 cards, because I've never used one. I assume you just unplug it.

[goofs59]

Ok so I can't seem to find the exact model you have would it be similiar to this:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2887

And also it seems to say it comes with a "female adapter" which sounds wrong so would I need one of these:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4021

If you have a specific link to another one let me know, I want to buy one of these asap because then I should essentially have all the issues fixed!

Edit: Found one on ebay WITH the charger, might even be the same one : http://cgi.ebay.com/NiMH-13-2v-5Ah-Water-Bottle-Battery-w-Smart-Charger_W0QQitemZ350162026488QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCy cling_Parts_Accessories

Would that work? Thanks for all the help!

[grimrebes]

You can also use a nebtek adapter to power your fs-100 using the standard crg panasonic battery type.

I was facing the same power issue, but wanted to invest in the same battery type as the camera's if I had to drop cash into the scenario.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=153814

[Sumfun]

goofs59,

The battery part looks the same, but the connector looks different. Mine has a 2 prong female connector that you put an adapter on the end. My charger also looks different. It looks like most of the chargers you get with your electronics stuff (a black cube that you plug into the wall), but it's 16VDC, 700mA.

I probably got this stuff 4 years ago, so things have changed. I'm pretty sure the battery will work (it's 14.4V - 17.4V, and the FS100 needs ~15V input), but somehow you have to find an adapter that fits.

Or you can get the high capacity battery from Focus Enhancement and look less "ghetto." And to be honest, I've rarely had to use the bike battery. It's too big when I need to be mobile. And I can usually get about 4 hours out of the high capacity battery. Then I switch to the standard battery, or wall outlet.

Sorry I can't help more. I'm flying to South America this afternoon and still need to pack. Good luck.

[monday1313]

hey goofs...

i think this is what they meant

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2627

you also have to buy the charger and tips.
there are links for those at the bottom...

comes out to about 100$ total...