Loading, Importing, and Clearing CF cards.

[Finnegan]

I'm assisting a music video production tomorrow and we're shooting on a couple 7Ds. I've never worked with the 7D before, so I had a couple questions about loading, importing footage from, and clearing CF cards. Now, I imagine loading is exactly like loading any other solid state media to a camera...there's a slot somewhere on the cam where the CF card slides in, and the footage can be cleared from the card from the camera after the card is loaded. Is this correct?

Secondly, when I'm handed a full card from the cam to load to a field computer in FCP, will I be handed the camera to log and transfer the footage via Firewire, or will I most likely use some type of CF card media reader that connects via USB 2.0? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to bug the DP about it tomorrow!

[shaocaholica]

1)Yes, you can clear or format the cards directly from the camera which is probably the fastest and safest method.

2)None of these cameras support firewire. You can hook up the camera directly via USB and it will show up as a drive with files that you can copy. However, this will tie up the camera and use its power too. I would recommend either a USB card reader or xpress card CF reader. Its all file based so I'm not sure if "log and transfer" really applies. Just drag and drop the files where ever you want.

[J Davis]

My only advice is to copy from the card twice to two separate drives before erasing the card.

Where possible copy from the camera instead of a card reader as there is less errors and once in a blue moon a card reader can corrupt a card.

[Finnegan]

Thanks for the advice guys. I imagine that I'll be provided a laptop, necessary cables, and extra HDDs to backup files onto but in case I don't I will bring my own.

[shaocaholica]

Don't make it to be more complicated than it is

[Lee Wilson]

don't make it to be more complicated than it is

+1

[Lee Wilson]

I'm assisting a music video production tomorrow and we're shooting on a couple 7Ds. I've never worked with the 7D before, so I had a couple questions about loading, importing footage from, and clearing CF cards. Now, I imagine loading is exactly like loading any other solid state media to a camera...there's a slot somewhere on the cam where the CF card slides in, and the footage can be cleared from the card from the camera after the card is loaded. Is this correct?

Secondly, when I'm handed a full card from the cam to load to a field computer in FCP, will I be handed the camera to log and transfer the footage via Firewire, or will I most likely use some type of CF card media reader that connects via USB 2.0? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to bug the DP about it tomorrow!

No firewire anywhere on Canon vDSLRs.

Transfer is slower from the camera, faster from a card reader.

No real logging to do, not like in the OldenTimes™ - just drag the footage into a folder, the date, size, file name . . . etc . . is already there.

[Finnegan]

When I plug in the 7D to my computer via USB 2.0 to import footage/stills off the card, all the Canon installed software comes up instead of the card as a HDD icon on the desktop. Is there a way to avoid this when importing from the camera, or does the card only show up as an external HDD if you're importing from a CF card reader?