Do we even need 16gb cards? Not I.

R

Richard Sutcliffe

Well-known member
Does anyone else see potential headaches with larger cards? I for one get less and less comfortable as the idea of card sizes increases. Im less comfortable with the idea of transfering 16gb of data in one hit than 8gb, more chance for corruption or hardware errors to my mind and 16-20mins is a long time to wait for data transfer which ties up the machine completely. Plus you have twice as much data on one card which is twice as much footage to lose in the unlikely though frequent (?) event of a accidental format.

I cant understand people creaming themselves about a 16gb card, I realise that it allows continuous recording for 16mins but so does swapping out cards and 2 8gbs is just the same as a 16gb card. With enough 8gb cards you can shoot continuously for hours, hell with three 8gb cards and a laptop, you can shoot continuously for hours.

I am so stoked to see the price of 8gb cards falling dramatically. If I can buy three 8gb for the price of a 16gb, I jknow full well what I am going to go for. This is exactly what should have happened from the launch. The pricing policy has undoubtably held back sales and no doubt helped HDV to get a more significant foothold (I relaise there is a lot more involved but it is certainly a factor). Now that the 8gb card is getting within realistic reach I can see P2 copping a lot less flack. Hooray.
 
So with 16 gig cards around the corner, what can we expect to pay for 8 gig cards?
I might be with you on just getting a few more 8 gigs.
 
Bigger P2 cards? Bring 'em on! I understand where you're coming from, but I hear similar arguments all the time from still photogs and the size of CF cards. Less to lose if a smaller card goes south, etc. Then 6 months later everyone has double size cards and there's a new "ideal size". But the fact is--we're talking about a very reliable storage medium. I 'd like to be able to shoot a couple of hours on a card and not even worry about transfer in the field. I'll have my free 8 gigger and will really try to stetch to afford a 16 if posssible. And come next New Year's, I'm hoping they'll both seem puny.
 
People who shoot continously with P2 are not using P2 the way it should be used they are still in a tape world. Shoot everything and waste your time and money during editing. P2 allowed it to be efficient and flexible in the field you could be rough cutting the story by deleting lots of garbage footage in the filed. But I guess this is tape guy always worries about missing or deleting clips. In a corporate world if you shoot 10Hours for 30sec commercial you will be out of business fast. It is lazy people who wants more cards and big cards so that they can smoke during the shoot and just leave the camera alone.
 
P2metoo said:
People who shoot continously with P2 are not using P2 the way it should be used they are still in a tape world.
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That's a pretty broad statement and suggests you think you know what everyone's P2 needs are.

Let me assure you, P2 is ideal for me - and I DON'T shoot continuously but I DO need bigger cards.

If trashing the last clip didn't take around TEN menu button hits, that would be a huge help but until that situation improves, 2x64 GB would suit me very nicely.

As for transferring large files, I have no worries on that score.
We used to fret about transferring 10 MB a few years ago - now, I often transfer 100 / 200 GB while I make a cup of coffee. Times are moving on, folks.

Andy
 
Even if you dont want to use a 16gig you still can benefit with a nice price drop on the 8gig !!
 
sign me up for 2-128's.. trust the media.. better than tape.. no moving parts.. your more likely to loose footage and drop frames with a 1 hour tape..HANDS DOWN..
 
Justin Marx said:
sign me up for 2-128's.. trust the media.. better than tape.. no moving parts.. your more likely to loose footage and drop frames with a 1 hour tape..HANDS DOWN..
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100% Agreed!

Andy
 
Two 128's would give you 10 hours of footage in-camera at once, in 720/24pN. You'd never swap a card, ever... shoot all day long if you wanted to, edit straight from the cards when the project's done shooting, and then archive them when you're finished...

A 90-minute feature film could shoot at a 6.5:1 ratio and have every clip you ever shot be active on the cards at once, without ever swapping cards or offloading...
 
P2metoo said:
People who shoot continously with P2 are not using P2 the way it should be used they are still in a tape world.
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Hmmm.

Wouldn't that kinda depend on what you are shooting?

In any case, 16 Gb cards sound fine, but I'd prefer to stay with 8Gb cards for their short time in offloading and ease of backing up.

Just a preference
 
Two 128s - what a dream . . !
(But if they existed, no doubt they'd be horribly expensive, so I'd rather not think about it)!

Andy
 
P2metoo said:
People who shoot continously with P2 are not using P2 the way it should be used they are still in a tape world. Shoot everything and waste your time and money during editing. P2 allowed it to be efficient and flexible in the field you could be rough cutting the story by deleting lots of garbage footage in the filed. But I guess this is tape guy always worries about missing or deleting clips. In a corporate world if you shoot 10Hours for 30sec commercial you will be out of business fast. It is lazy people who wants more cards and big cards so that they can smoke during the shoot and just leave the camera alone.
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I think this is rather a narrow minded point of view. After shooting a live show continuously for over 2 hours using P2 cards, I would welcome a larger capacity card, not because of laziness and I don't smoke. Although my 4 x 8GB cards did the job, I did have to offload them via a laptop as I continued to shoot. So in the HD tape world this would NOT have been possible, as I would have had to stop and re-load a tape every 40 minutes, thereby missing parts of the show.
 
I second ozduc. I think P2metoo is forgetting about another group of HVX users. For instance I shoot a lot of theater/weddings/events (where pretty much all the footage is crucial and I have to shoot continuously for most of it) and not having to worry about offloading p2 cards would be very helpful (especially when I have no assistant to offload cards). Right now I shoot straight to my powerbook but I welcome the day when I won't have to lug around the extra setup and can shoot straight to p2 cards. Though I'll probably end up buying the cineporter before then.
 
I would love to have bigger cards, I have to go shoot 24 hrs of Daytona with 3 8g cards and a P2store. I'll have lots of time to offload but it would be nice to have a pair of 128s in the camera. Also if I do a mountain bike race or another such event I don't want to carry anything I don't absolutely have to when I'm hiking up a mountain, so more = better as far as i'm concerned.
 
well it is interesting to hear peoples preferences. I'd still sooner have a box full of 8gb cards, all carefully labelled than two 128gb cards. The whole idea of larger cards goes against the principle of redundant backup which everyone aware is so vital. If you are shooting for hours at a time there is no opportunity to back that data up therefore greater risk, granted its a small risk but my blood runs cold at the thought of losing 128gb worth of data and no backup.

I'm no scaremonger, just a realist, if it happens, the consequences get larger, the larger the card is. I hope Panasonic bring out 128gb cards, just as long as I can get my 8gb cards free with a box of weetbix.
 
Richard Sutcliffe said:
I'm no scaremonger, just a realist
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And dare I say - a bit of a pessimist?

Richard, you must be basing this doom and gloom on some hard evidence, how many P2 cards have died on you to date?

(And are you afraid of flying, by any chance)?

Andy
 
P2metoo said:
In a corporate world if you shoot 10Hours for 30sec commercial you will be out of business fast. It is lazy people who wants more cards and big cards so that they can smoke during the shoot and just leave the camera alone.
Click to expand...

um.....ever been on a film shoot? A 10 hour day is typical for most shoots.
 
Andy, I am slightly afraid of flying now that you mention it. I have used P2 extensively in anger. I have never had a card fail on me but I am not naieve enough to imagine it cant happen. Nor am I arrogant enough to state that I would never accidentally format a full card, drop one over the side of a boat or out of a chopper. The potential is always there for user error or accident and when you are carrying that much data on a single piece of storage with no back-up, some people might argue that it is wise to be pessimistic. Thats the point I am making.

Thinking it through further I think that 16gb cards are probably the way to go but thats as far as my pesimism permits me to go. As for a 128gb card, it might suit some users and applications but not mine and there's no way I'd allow someone working for me to use that workflow.

I'm inclined to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Call that what you like.
 
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