Best bus-powered portable firewire drive for HVX, DV Rack?

[panther0271]

Currently I own an HVX, 2 4-gig P2's, and a Macbook Pro. I'm shooting an HD short film next month and want to shoot continuously (no waiting!) like when I shot on tape. We've got a tight schedule and small crew.

Can't afford to waste my limited money buying a Firestore. That $$$ is designated for the Summer 2007 release of the Cineporter. I may do some P2 workflow if I really move the camera, but I don't plan on wasting a crew member with the duty of offloading PS2's. So here's my plan:

1) Run BootCamp on MBP. Buy DV Rack HD and use for focusing, DTE, scopes
2) Get most reliable and largest BUS-POWERED or battery- powered external firewire 800 Hard Drive I can afford = $400 ish
3) Get express card-to- firewire 800 adapter = DV Rack HD. Express card ----> portable HDD = scratch disk.
5) Live Record and digitize to external HD

I figure we can use this setup outdoors where there is no power available, review takes at full resolution, and edit right away.

Lots of questions... sorry.

1) Which portable HD should I buy? Getting mixed reports on Lacie drives... G-Tech is pricy.
2) Is this the right workflow? I heard MBP firewire 400 & 800 on same buss.
3) Do I lose any functionality (variable frames) by going with DV Rack?

Thanks in advance...

[panther0271]

I guess this question should be in workflow or hardware... my bad

[Alexa]

Can't afford to waste my limited money buying a Firestore. That $$$ is designated for the Summer 2007 release of the Cineporter.


hmm. I never knew a FS was a “waste”..at least it works and is usable NOW…

I’ve never tried it myself, but I always thought and have heard it is not a good idea to try and edit off off bus-power. Just not enough juice in those drives. Try it and let us know if it works?

[David Saraceno]

Firestore seems to be working for a whole bunch of people here.

G-Techs are pricey because they're well made

Same with wiebetech.com.

If this device is going to hold you data, then don't skimp on quality

[panther0271]

hmm. I never knew a FS was a “waste”..at least it works and is usable NOW…

FS is great, but to purchase doen't make sense because I'm making the commitment for a MUCH better option due out in months. I own the SD version of DV Rack and I'm comfortable with setup. I think I can get by without FS and purchase items I can add with future workflow
.

I’ve never tried it myself, but I always thought and have heard it is not a good idea to try and edit off off bus-power. Just not enough juice in those drives. Try it and let us know if it works?

Not really editing while bus powered... looking to capture bus-powered. Has anyone out there done this successfully with DV Rack?

[panther0271]

Firestore seems to be working for a whole bunch of people here.

G-Techs are pricey because they're well made

Same with wiebetech.com.

If this device is going to hold you data, then don't skimp on quality

Agreed. I'm leaning toward the G-tech mini 200gig 7200rpm Sata drive... retails at $499.

http://www.g-technology.com/Products/G-RAID-mini.cfm

If you know a better selection, please let me know. I'll check out wiebetech... thanks.

[Denada Chile]

youre wrong about Firestore, it's a lot of saving ...with the new firware you can record up to 2.5 hours of HD...compare with p2 cards for instance...