For those new to the AF100, or new to SDHC/SDXC card recording, here's some general advice:
Part 1: What Speed Class Do You Need?
If you're planning on using Variable Frame Rate footage, you need at least a Class 6 card. If shooting normal 1080/60i, 24p, or 30p, or shooting 720p, then all you need is Class 4.
If using SDXC cards, they have a new class rating of UHS-1, for Ultra High Speed. Those are obviously fast enough.
Part 2: What Brands Should You Be Looking At?
My personal choice in cards are the Lexar Professional, SanDisk Extreme, and Panasonic Gold (note: not the Panasonic Silver or Blue, but the Gold ones). The Gold are Class 10, but that's not why I prefer them; Panasonic makes a big deal in their marketing about how their Super Intelligent Controller makes the cards so much more reliable, and reliability is my A-#1 concern (moreso than speed, moreso than cost).
I know there are folks who will disagree with me, but I cannot think of any more foolish move than trying to save a couple of bucks on your recording media. Everything you do -- all your hard work, all your actors and sets and costumes, all your lighting and grip and crew, all of everything that you do -- all comes down to the footage you record on those cards. If the card chokes -- how can saving $10 possibly be worth that?
Not all SD cards are created equal. There is no requirement by the SD Card Association to put in extra reliability measures; that's entirely optional. I would think all users would be best served by getting the very most reliable cards that they can, regardless of what they cost.
Cheaping out on media is, IMO, profoundly foolish. I know there are folks that will say I'm "falling for marketing" but -- even if I am, I don't care. It's pennies in the grand scheme of things, whereas if it helps avoid a disaster, it's the cheapest and most valuable insurance I can think of. I would prefer P2 just for this reason alone, but since the AF100 doesn't use P2, I'm at least going to expend every effort and every necessary dollar to get the most reliable cards that I can possibly find. And so far, for me, that means Panasonic Gold, SanDisk Extreme, and Lexar Professional.
Last words on this subject -- DON'T GO BUYING CHEAPO CARDS OFF EBAY. Just google "counterfeit CF card" or "knockoff SD card" to see why. There are absolutely unscrupulous sellers out there who are printing up their own packaging and making fake/counterfeit cards. If you have a card failure, before reporting that "this brand" of card failed, you should definitely check to see if it's a counterfeit first!
How can you avoid getting stuck with a fake/counterfeit card? Only buy cards from authorized resellers. How do you know if where you're buying from is an authorized reseller? Go to the card's manufacturer's site, and look for a "where to buy" section. If your dealer doesn't show up there, don't buy it. If you're fishing for the very lowest price, you're going to run more of a risk of dealing with unauthorized resellers and, potentially, fake cards. If you stick to the manufacturer's authorized resellers, you should be guaranteed to avoid fake/counterfeit cards.
Some sample links for fake cards:
http://fightflashfraud.wordpress.com...-32gb-sd-card/
http://www. overclockers.com.au/wiki/Fake_Memory_Cards
http://members.shaw.ca/fakesandisk/
http://www.smartcomputing.com/editor...02%2F10s02.asp
Part III: What Workflow Should I Use?
A) Never ever ever remove a card when it's being accessed -- whether it's being written to, or read from. The Panasonic cameras have a door over the SD card slot to try to prevent you from pulling the card out while it's being accessed; open the door and it automatically tells the camera to stop accessing the card. Even so, WAIT A COUPLE OF SECONDS before pulling the card out. And observe the same restrictions when using the card in a computer or card reader -- if you yank a card while it's being accessed, there is a chance you could damage or even ruin the card.
B) The microsecond that you pull the card out of the camera, WRITE PROTECT IT. Immediately. And do not un-protect it until you've successfully offloaded the footage on your computer. If you write-protect the card, it serves as a notice to you (and anyone on your team) that the card contains footage that has not been offloaded. Leave that write-protection on there until you have successfully offloaded the footage. Secondly, you want that card write-protected if you use an Apple computer, because Apple's OSX will automatically write files onto the card whenever you put it in the computer. Don't let it do that. Write-protect that card before it goes in the computer.
C) When copying the card contents to the computer, DON'T cherry-pick individual files or directories! Copy the entire contents of the card, the entire PRIVATE and DCIM directories, intact. Some NLEs (or blu-ray players or other devices) cannot read the files unless they're in the complete card directory.
D) When formatting the card, only ever format the card in-camera. Don't format the card on the computer; computer formatting will not be SDHC-compliant (unless you download and use the SD Card Formatter program, a free download on the SD Card Association's site). Always format the card in-camera. And you should definitely format the card before first use, and whenever it's been used by any other type of device.
E) If using OSX, always "eject" the card or drag it to the trash. Don't just pull the card out, always go through the proper procedure to eject the card.
Part 1: What Speed Class Do You Need?
If you're planning on using Variable Frame Rate footage, you need at least a Class 6 card. If shooting normal 1080/60i, 24p, or 30p, or shooting 720p, then all you need is Class 4.
If using SDXC cards, they have a new class rating of UHS-1, for Ultra High Speed. Those are obviously fast enough.
Part 2: What Brands Should You Be Looking At?
My personal choice in cards are the Lexar Professional, SanDisk Extreme, and Panasonic Gold (note: not the Panasonic Silver or Blue, but the Gold ones). The Gold are Class 10, but that's not why I prefer them; Panasonic makes a big deal in their marketing about how their Super Intelligent Controller makes the cards so much more reliable, and reliability is my A-#1 concern (moreso than speed, moreso than cost).
I know there are folks who will disagree with me, but I cannot think of any more foolish move than trying to save a couple of bucks on your recording media. Everything you do -- all your hard work, all your actors and sets and costumes, all your lighting and grip and crew, all of everything that you do -- all comes down to the footage you record on those cards. If the card chokes -- how can saving $10 possibly be worth that?
Not all SD cards are created equal. There is no requirement by the SD Card Association to put in extra reliability measures; that's entirely optional. I would think all users would be best served by getting the very most reliable cards that they can, regardless of what they cost.
Cheaping out on media is, IMO, profoundly foolish. I know there are folks that will say I'm "falling for marketing" but -- even if I am, I don't care. It's pennies in the grand scheme of things, whereas if it helps avoid a disaster, it's the cheapest and most valuable insurance I can think of. I would prefer P2 just for this reason alone, but since the AF100 doesn't use P2, I'm at least going to expend every effort and every necessary dollar to get the most reliable cards that I can possibly find. And so far, for me, that means Panasonic Gold, SanDisk Extreme, and Lexar Professional.
Last words on this subject -- DON'T GO BUYING CHEAPO CARDS OFF EBAY. Just google "counterfeit CF card" or "knockoff SD card" to see why. There are absolutely unscrupulous sellers out there who are printing up their own packaging and making fake/counterfeit cards. If you have a card failure, before reporting that "this brand" of card failed, you should definitely check to see if it's a counterfeit first!
How can you avoid getting stuck with a fake/counterfeit card? Only buy cards from authorized resellers. How do you know if where you're buying from is an authorized reseller? Go to the card's manufacturer's site, and look for a "where to buy" section. If your dealer doesn't show up there, don't buy it. If you're fishing for the very lowest price, you're going to run more of a risk of dealing with unauthorized resellers and, potentially, fake cards. If you stick to the manufacturer's authorized resellers, you should be guaranteed to avoid fake/counterfeit cards.
Some sample links for fake cards:
http://fightflashfraud.wordpress.com...-32gb-sd-card/
http://www. overclockers.com.au/wiki/Fake_Memory_Cards
http://members.shaw.ca/fakesandisk/
http://www.smartcomputing.com/editor...02%2F10s02.asp
Part III: What Workflow Should I Use?
A) Never ever ever remove a card when it's being accessed -- whether it's being written to, or read from. The Panasonic cameras have a door over the SD card slot to try to prevent you from pulling the card out while it's being accessed; open the door and it automatically tells the camera to stop accessing the card. Even so, WAIT A COUPLE OF SECONDS before pulling the card out. And observe the same restrictions when using the card in a computer or card reader -- if you yank a card while it's being accessed, there is a chance you could damage or even ruin the card.
B) The microsecond that you pull the card out of the camera, WRITE PROTECT IT. Immediately. And do not un-protect it until you've successfully offloaded the footage on your computer. If you write-protect the card, it serves as a notice to you (and anyone on your team) that the card contains footage that has not been offloaded. Leave that write-protection on there until you have successfully offloaded the footage. Secondly, you want that card write-protected if you use an Apple computer, because Apple's OSX will automatically write files onto the card whenever you put it in the computer. Don't let it do that. Write-protect that card before it goes in the computer.
C) When copying the card contents to the computer, DON'T cherry-pick individual files or directories! Copy the entire contents of the card, the entire PRIVATE and DCIM directories, intact. Some NLEs (or blu-ray players or other devices) cannot read the files unless they're in the complete card directory.
D) When formatting the card, only ever format the card in-camera. Don't format the card on the computer; computer formatting will not be SDHC-compliant (unless you download and use the SD Card Formatter program, a free download on the SD Card Association's site). Always format the card in-camera. And you should definitely format the card before first use, and whenever it's been used by any other type of device.
E) If using OSX, always "eject" the card or drag it to the trash. Don't just pull the card out, always go through the proper procedure to eject the card.
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