PCD35 review - offload a 32GB P2 card in 4 minutes!

[Barry_Green]

http://studiodaily.com/main/technology/pvr/ROI-Review-Panasonic-AJ-PCD35_11176.html

[David Saraceno]

Great idea and wonderful utility, but $2k is too rich for my blood.

It seems that the high end is served by these readers in part I would venture due to high margins.

Perhaps not.

The masses are clamoring for a single or dual card reader with FW800 at a price point that makes sense.

Wish it were so.

thanks for the link.

[Barry_Green]

We know, we know... still, it's funny: if this was HDV, someone would be shelling out $4,000 for a deck, and they'd be glad that decks were so cheap... the cheapest dvcpro-HD deck is $25,000.

Here's a "P2 deck" that offloads five cards simultaneously, for half the cost of an HDV deck. It can push six hours of footage through the computer in less than half an hour. In the realm of putting together a professional production house, is it really that expensive? People pay $100/hr for someone to digitize tape. Three sessions with this and it'd pay for itself.

Besides, I guarantee you -- GUARANTEE -- that if someone came out with a $500 firewire P2 reader, within the first week we'd see threads complaining that SDHC card readers are $10, so why should the P2 version cost more than, say, $50... you know it's true...

[David Saraceno]

p2 has spoiled me Barry.

I would never go back to tape.

But if DVCProHD was only provided on tape, I couldn't afford it. I suspect I'm not in the minority.

But I just want a low cost single or dual card reader connecting via FW800.

Many of us are one or two people operations.

[Christian m]

I think Panasonic need a Fw800 reader at a much lower pricepoint than the current options. A single or dual FW800 reader for about 500$ or so would be nice.

For a post house or if you have a business that need something like the PCD35 fine, but a lot of 300,200 and 170 users can't afford it and are in need of a reader not to hold up the camera.

That said, P2 offer massive savings for "middle" and high end users, HPX500(dvcprohd)/2000 and up to 3700. You don't need a 100 grand deck as with Sony to do close to D5 quality. A Hpx3000/3700 with 5 64Gb cards and a PCD35 for offloading, tape or Xdcam are left trailing hours behind.

[Barry_Green]

But I just want a low cost single or dual card reader connecting via FW800.
And I want world peace and free tacos for everyone.

Neither scenario is going to happen.

So instead use the Lenovo S10e with Addonics adapter and a USB gig-E network connector. It costs less than $400, which is cheaper than the proposed $500 FW800 reader. That's the lowest-cost Mac-compatible reader that's going to happen.

Or keep waiting for the (increasingly vapor-ish) Sonnet QIO, but that's still a grand.


Many of us are one or two people operations.
Well understood. But even as a one-man operation in Vegas a decade or more ago, I had a $2500 DV deck...

I don't think the product "costs too much". I think it's all a matter of perception -- people don't think it should cost as much as it does, so they resist. But it's like the P2 Store -- those who had 'em, loved 'em. It does its job. And you can use it with a laptop, there's a Magma card that lets you connect the PCD35 to the laptop ExpressCard slot.

[Barry_Green]

David! I have made a delightful observation -- you and I are two sides of the same coin.

You want a cheap FW800 reader, and frequently bring it up, and will never rest until you have it. I tell you "ain't gonna happen, why not just use whatever product works that makes you happy? There are several alternatives." And you're not content with that, you think it should still happen.

I, on the other hand, want Apple to drop their ridiculous proprietary quicktime-only log & transfer workflow, and I frequently bring it up, and will never rest until I have it. You tell me "ain't gonna happen, why not just use whatever NLE works that makes you happy? There are several alternatives." And I'm not content with that... I think it should still happen.

:D

[Jason Adams]

We know, we know... still, it's funny: if this was HDV, someone would be shelling out $4,000 for a deck, and they'd be glad that decks were so cheap... the cheapest dvcpro-HD deck is $25,000.

agreed. I bought a DV deck just 24 months ago for 1800 bucks and it was a steal on ebay with low hours. I turned it on last week for the first time 6 months to capture some old SD footage.

On the other hand my Lenovo s10e set up cost 400 bucks. Brave new world.

[n8ture]

Back in the 4gig P2 Card days the P2 Store was really needed. Now I pretty much use it as a card reader so it's still useful. But it would be nice to offload that much footage with the PCD35.

[David Saraceno]

David! I have made a delightful observation -- you and I are two sides of the same coin.


:D

Shhhhhhh.

Don't tell anybody.

:)

[wgzn]

a 32 gig card in FOUR MINUTES?!?!? thats AWESOME. that reader would pay for itself in time saved on set in about 4 big jobs...

[David Saraceno]

Four REALLY Big jobs.