hmmm is the new P2 E series really worth it?

[FREUDENBERG_FILMS]

The new E Series P2 cards are designed to provide highly reliable content recording over a number of years. When recorded once daily, at full capacity (100%), the cards are reusable for up to five years; when used at half capacity (50%), the cards will continue to record for up to 10 years or longer.

Lets do some calculations if we had the 32 gig P2 card.

once a day for 5 years is 1825 times before this card is meant to be dead or unreliable.
Now lets look at hours.

If I film using 80 minutes in DVCPRO HD 24p and I film my 5 years worth that should be:

80 min x 1825 = 146000 minutes or 60 minutes divided into 146000 Minutes equals = 2433 hours and 33 minutes.

So 2433 hours and 33 Minutes or 48 hours devided into the 2411 hours and 33 minutes which equals 50.6 days straight filming both day and night or from the 1st of January 2009 till the 19th of Feb 2009 of the same year? (draws breath)!

So correct me if I’m wrong. If I shot end to end for 50 days and 6 hours straight this card will then be u- reliable?

Now is that worth it?

That is if my calculations are correct. Please let me know if they are not

Sorry guys I'm bored waiting for a short film to render out :shocked:

[MrBill]

And if I use it 30 days a year, it should last me 60 years!

I'm Happy!!!

:badputer:

[FREUDENBERG_FILMS]

Oh hell yeah I'm buying the 32 gig E series soon and like you I would get a long time out of it. But if you use these daily all day you would be buying them every 6 to 12 months

[Spec-Comm]

I'm sure that if you were shooting with them day-in and day-out, then you will be getting paid handsomely for that project thereby making a new purchase a no brainer.

The other part of the story is if you're doing this kind of shooting on a regular basis, you should buy the A-Series card, hence the reason why they are kept in the product line.

I wrote an article picking this subject apart in the last DVXUSER Magazine. Take a look.

Sincerely,

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com
www.twitter.com/speccomm

[MrBill]

Thanks Andrew. Hopefully these cards will boost sales for you and Pana.
Is the article available online??

[Ted Spencer]

You like scaring yourself with statistics, don't you?

Try the same approach with a new car that you'd plan to sell once it's reached 100,000 miles. Let's say for the sake of discussion that you average 40 MPH overall, and like your P2 equation, the car is driven 24/7 until it reaches the mileage limit. So:

100,000/40MPH = 2500 hours/24 hrs in a day = 104 days.

So your brand new car will only get you from January 1st to April 14th of the same year before you wear it out...

What a rip... : )

[Ben_B]

I have no problem with the E-Series cards being cheaper and dying faster...seems fine...and you probably won't hit the limit during the operational life of P2 as a format...but still I don't like that they're now bundling the new cards with the cameras instead of the R-Series (which last longer if I'm not mistaken.) That said the E-Series is faster (right?)...but still...I feel like people buying new cameras are getting screwed...albeit minorly.

[David Saraceno]

This thread has some useful info:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=180770

[Barry_Green]

Thanks Ted, that's an absolutely excellent example.

[Barry_Green]

but still...I feel like people buying new cameras are getting screwed...albeit minorly.
By giving them something free that they don't even pay for? No other territory in the world gets a free card. Panasonic gives you a free card and you're complaining?

Seriously?

Seems like someone's got their priorities out of whack.

When they substituted out the "R" card for an "E" card, they also gave you a $500 rebate.

Sorry, but when someone complains about getting something for free and somehow saying that they're getting "screwed"... that's just preposterous and indefensible.

[David Saraceno]

In fairness to the post, his point is substituting the E series for the R series.

I can see his point, but having spent $1400 for am 8 GB card three years ago, I find this thread kinda of humorous.

[Barry_Green]

Yes, but you're still getting something for free. They could always just stop giving you anything. Seems like something about feeding and hands and biting happening here.

I have to think that 99.99999999999% of the users would be happier with a 16GB E card and a $500 check, than they would be with a 16GB R card.

[Jason Adams]

I do this film/video gig full time and I am very confident that by the time my E-series cards have bit the dust I will be able to get a much higher capacity card for a fraction of the cost. I will more than likely be shooting a new camera also. Technology is disposable now. Use it replace it. MY dvx 100B was worth half what I paid for it in 18 months. These are not classic cars people, homes, or collectibles. Its technology it loses value. Ask anyone with a set of 4 gig cards.

I don't understand these "buyer beware threads" There are a ton of these on the boards now. Panasonic is very clear. If you are super shooter, or like to run your HPX in loop record mode while you watch television then buy A series cards. T

Our first HVX came WITH NO CARDS. And the 4 gigs cost a fortune. If you are concerned about the E series don't buy. I sold my R series card for 750 bucks and bought two E series for around 850 bucks. I doubled my recording capacity for 100 dollars. I am thrilled with e-series. I would rather pay 500 for a card and then replace it 2 years when that 500 bucks will more than likely get me 32 or better.

These are not things we are going to hand down to are children. Disposable is ok for a capture medium.

[KMR]

It's likely that my HVX and/or myself will be dead before an E series card goes bad. I really don't see what the fuss is all about.

(And yes, Jason, it's so true that those 4GB cards did cost a fortune, and didn't come with the original HVX!)

[Nick Walters]

I agree with jason.....these cards have their purpose, and so do the old ones. Loop recording is a perfect example of a good use for older cards. Rental houses that have their cards see ALOT of uses(although even in this case see below).

I myself want to get some new cards, and here are my two reasons:
1. more capacity for the buck
2. higher transfer rate

The first explains itself...and the second basically does...If I want to record at higher rez(1080) I want to be able to dump the cards quicker, so the E series makes sense....and this goes hand in hand with having cheaper cards, cause with the cheaper cost I'm able to have more capacity and more cards, and justify the cost....cause lets be honest, we'll all be able to re-purchase with the cash we make from the number of gigs these cards can handle.

So at it's core E-series TO ME means being able to record at 108024PA instead of 72024PN.....thats sells me on it.

[Sneakle]

Panasonic had to lower the price of the p2 card to maintain share for future growth of the p2 concept without p***ing off those of us that have already bought them at the higher price. This whole comparison thing is a non-issue. Sure, there may be some differences, but as stated in previous responses, not enough to worry about.

[Ben_B]

Yes, but you're still getting something for free. They could always just stop giving you anything. Seems like something about feeding and hands and biting happening here.

I have to think that 99.99999999999% of the users would be happier with a 16GB E card and a $500 check, than they would be with a 16GB R card.


Forgot about the $500 rebate. Me>:violent5: < Barry

In any case my point was simply that they replaced the free card with a cheaper one and are acting like it's an improvement (my subjective opinion based on their advertising.) :)

In any case yes, any free card=good, and no I don't have a problem with the E-Series, and yes I would prefer a $500 rebate.

[SantaCruzMichael]

The $500 rebate makes the switch to an E-Series card with the camera a great, and fair, deal for consumers.

Nevertheless, I am growing weary of this whole "Free P2 card" marketing strategy.
Nothing is free, and I am starting to feel like my intelligence is insulted every time I see "Free p2 card"

If you look closely at the pricing structure of P2 cameras, you'll see that the cost of the card is quite obviously factored into the MSRP, and selling price, of the camera.

[Barry_Green]

Can't win for losing. They used to offer the cameras with no cards, and people complained incessantly. So now they put a card in the box, and charge less than the prior model, and -- people complain...

Ben, it's all good. Michael, sure there has to be some factor in there, obviously. But it's a simple fact that the HVX cost $5995 with no card, and the HPX170 is $5695 (MSRP) with a card, and a $500 rebate. No matter how you slice it, that's a much better deal.

[Ted Spencer]

seems like something about feeding and hands and biting happening here.

lol!

[Rakesh Jacob]

To the OP: the odds of you dying a painful and lonely death of cancer or heart disease are way more certain and immenant than you using these P2 cards past thier expected life cycles. So no worrys mate!

[davidnssbm]

are you really going to be using this car so many times a day EVERY day? how many shoots do you have?

it comes with the 16GB and that's awesome... now I just need a 64gb... anyone know when the hell thats gonna come out anyway?!

[AJ101]

Hey Barry, they should all stop complaining and start shooting:)
64GB are shipping...

[n8ture]

I'll take anyone's E series if they don't want it! :)

Panasonic's given you a choice. I'll go with the E series because I know they'll be paid for many, many times over before they give it up.

If you're worried about it buy the R series.

[David Saraceno]

If you think about it, a 32 GB E series is worth twice what a 16 GB card is worth given that you don't have to remove it as often.

But this whole thread is kinda of whimsical for those of us who have been with p2 cards for the last four years.

[Jimmy Moss]

I'm not complaining here, because I think pana is doing it right by adding the E series card to the box and droping the price (people always like lower prices); however, we all know that "free" card isnt really "free." They just factor it in to the cost of the camera. having worked at a big company I know exactly how a meeting like this would go.

"Well, the cost to manufacture is lower so we can either drop the price of the camera, or add somting of eaqual value to the box for "free", keep the price the same, and count it as a double sale." Hence on their sales figures they get to factor in all those "free" cards into their numbers.

Personally I like getting a product and not having to buy extra stuff right away just to get features you should be able to use in the first place. I rather the cost just get rolled in upfront. Your not getting screwed because they still offer the card AND drop the price by the difference between the E and R series cards.

[Spec-Comm]

Thanks Andrew. Hopefully these cards will boost sales for you and Pana.
Is the article available online??

You can subscribe here:
http://www.dvxusermonthly.com/

Here is the issue with that article in it:
http://www.dvxusermonthly.com/issue/2009/07

Enjoy!

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com
www.twitter.com/speccomm

[David Saraceno]

Thanks for the link Andrew.

Interestingly, I initially subscribed to the monthly, and never was notified or sent the monthly.

Resubscribed and hope it works now.

[FREUDENBERG_FILMS]

LMFAO

I didn't think anyone would hop onto this thead and have a bite.

But some did LOL

I'm getting a 64 gig E series because its huge and its cheap and it will last a long time.

I liked the comment about the car by the way.

I wonder if we could crunch some numbers to find out how much time we waste talking about filming movies on this site compared to actually doing it....

Hmmmm I might start a new thead :grin:

Hey anyone see District 9?

Love it shot on the RED. If you haven't seen it I would slap yourself then go buy a ticket :Drogar-Evil(DBG):