How long will a P2 card last?

[Gary_McClurg]

I just checked EVS an a PANASONIC AJ-HP23L tape costs $32.25 if you buy one and $30.96 if you buy more than ten.

That tape holds 23 minutes of HD recording.

My guess on average I'd use at least 3 tapes per job. *

So that comes to give or take a few cents a $103 bucks with tax.

So if a card lasts two years my guess is you'll come out far ahead of buying tape stock for those two years because you can use the card over and over.

And if I'm doing a pro job I never use used tape. *

The key to the success of the camera over the Z1 will be longer and cheaper priced P2 cards which I'm sure Panasonic has thought about.

Just had a crazy thought it'd be nice like the SDX and Varicam if you could keep settings that you like backed up to a card and then you could impute those settings back into the camera.

That way you could down load someone's look and just transfer them into the camera.

Also a question on the side. *How do you make your post have the little "new" logo in front of the posting?

Gee, I better stop this and go look for the dog I promised by niece for her birthday.

But I was just thinking, I think I read that the camera holds two cards. I was wondering if your shooting and you're getting close to the end of a card would the camera just automatically start recording to the other card?

Barry is the one who probably would have the best guess. And I just joking here but like I said in another thread. I hope he's beta testing the camera so that when it does come his book and DVD will be included.

Jan, I'm sure you've thought of it but if not its just a hint.
;D

[Flintstone]

Also a question on the side. *How do you make your post have the little "new" logo in front of the posting?
When you create the post, there is field for that purpose.


But I was just thinking, I think I read that the camera holds two cards. *I was wondering if your shooting and you're getting close to the end of a card would the camera just automatically start recording to the other card?
Yes

[Barry_Green]

So that comes to give or take a few cents a $103 bucks with tax.
For an hour of footage, yes, about $100.

Now, the fun thing is, a 30gb hard disk costs a whole lot less than $100, and could theoretically hold more than an hour of HD 720/24p footage. Even if you were shooting 60p, you could store over an hour of 720/60p on a 60gb hard disk, which is still a lot less than $100.

If the Panasonic P2->60gb HD device allows for interchangeable hard disks, then it's possible that you'll actually be able to shoot longer, for less, on the P2 camera (and get all the advantages of no dropouts, instant edit, etc). Archiving a hard disk seems wasteful to me, but maybe we'll get used to it? Or archiving on blu-ray or HD-DVD's...

Handing over the footage to a client at the end of the shoot, well, that's one I haven't figured out yet. But I'm sure Panasonic's working on it.


The key to the success of the camera over the Z1 will be longer and cheaper priced P2 cards which I'm sure Panasonic has thought about.
Well, sort of. That's one key, for some people, yes. But the key to me is that there's NO DROPOUTS, and no variable-resolution MPEG compression hassles. I've used the FX1, and frankly I would not trust a paying job to it due to the HDV/tape issues. Not that they're common, but man, if it bites you, you are SCREWED. If they come out with an HDV FireStore that might alleviate a lot of that concern. But P2/HD recording is dropout-proof, and P2 recording is indestructible -- there's reports on 2-Pop of a guy demonstrating the SPX800 P2 camera, and he sat there banging it on the floor repeatedly, and the recording was pristine and perfect -- no dropouts, no hassle, no nothing.



But I was just thinking, I think I read that the camera holds two cards. *I was wondering if your shooting and you're getting close to the end of a card would the camera just automatically start recording to the other card?
That's the way the SPX800 works (it actually holds five cards). Nobody knows how many cards the new HDX may hold, but I'm really hoping it's at least two, because that way you could record literally *forever* -- not just for an hour like on tape, but you could keep swapping in cards (with it automatically rolling over to the next card) and keep going and going and going... unloading the full cards onto a hard disk or laptop, and plugging 'em back in...


Barry is the one who probably would have the best guess.
I'm guessing, yes... but I don't know anything yet. If I knew anything I wouldn't be able to talk about it, and probably not be able to speculate (in case I came too close to the truth, which would make it look like a *leak*).


And I just joking here but like I said in another thread. *I hope he's beta testing the camera so that when it does come his book and DVD will be included. *

Jan, I'm sure you've thought of it but if not its just a hint.
;D
I'm very interested in doing exactly this!

[Gary_McClurg]

Thanks for the answers

on

http://www.hdforindies.com

A guy named Ben Howard has some comments on the P2 card and bigger sizes coming, etc. when the camera is to be released.

Not sure if I can post his answers or not.

[Rich Lee]

this whole P2 card idea kicks ass. i cant wait.

does the fact that there are no moving parts on the recording device increase the performance of the battery when compared to cameras recording with tape? that would be sweet!

[Jan_Crittenden]

And the short answer to the original question of how long will a P2 card last, we are saying about 100,000 rewrites. Hope that helps in your budgetary analysis.

Best,

Jan

[Barry_Green]

Hmm, battery life -- interesting question. Jan, do you know how battery life compares between an SPX and SDX? That should give us a good idea.

Also, a P2 camera with no moving parts will be utterly SILENT in operation... not that video cameras are loud (although the higher-speed tape transports of HDCAM/DVCPRO-HD are louder than the lower-speed tape transports!) But silent operation is always a good thing...