16GB or 32GB P2 conundrum...

H

hotchkiss

Well-known member
I'm getting ready to add some larger capacity P2 cards to my package, I currently have three 8 giggers.

Although the capacity of the 32 GB cards is enticing, having that much data on one card gives me pause. That's a lot of data to lose if a worse case scenario were to occur. At the present time, I'd either get two 16 GB cards or one 32GB card. I like the idea of having more smaller cards rather than just one big 32 GB card. But then would I regret not going "big" with the 32 GB cards?... I dunno.

Surprisingly, although they are not ideal, I'm surprised at how little card juggling ( offloading , reformatting and reusing ) I've had to do in the field with the 8 GB cards. When necessary , I've been able to swap and download with little interruption to my shooting. Of course, long form interviews and event work is more stressful with the smaller cards. 16GB may be the perfect size....

Conventional wisdom would say to get the biggest card available, I'm just wondering if going big is necessarliy the best route to take. Has anyone else considered the possible pro's and cons of the different card sizes and their workflow(s)?

I'd like to hear your thoughts and experiences on the matter.
 
It's best to have two (preferably 3) cards per cam, rather than just one. With two, depending on the format you are shooting in, you can pretty much shoot uninterrupted. With 3, you definitely can. offloading one card while rolling on the other(s).

With one, you are out of commission while you offload the card. But, if you don't need to shoot for more than 30 minutes, or whatever at a time, and can have stalls in between, then you can get just the one 32 and buy another later.

Later,
Jason
 
99.9% of the time there is a mess up it is human error, so as long as your confortable with the workflow I'd get the bigger card. Imagine not even having to download in the field because the cards are so big.
 
Jason Ramsey said:
It's best to have two (preferably 3) cards per cam, rather than just one. With two, depending on the format you are shooting in, you can pretty much shoot uninterrupted. With 3, you definitely can. offloading one card while rolling on the other(s).

With one, you are out of commission while you offload the card.
Click to expand...

Good point, but he already has 3 8gig's.
 
I just edited my post.... :)

Yes, but if you want more record time.... an 8 and a 32 is still going to stop you pretty cold every other time you offload... It depends on what you are shooting, etc. There is only a few hundred dollars difference between two 16's, and one 32, so...

Later,
Jason
 
Some day the cards will get so big that the producers will bring their own cards to set, leave at the end of the day with them, give the cards to the editor, and so on. Until then we have to do what each of us think is best. For me the biggest posible cards are the best as long as there is at least 3 cards in the mix.
 
Two things to consider:

1) there will always be people who need the biggest/best, and so they may unload their existing 8GB cards on ebay. If you need more cards you might get a deal by "helping these folks out", as it were. :)

2) There's a possibility that the bigger cards will be faster. I'd love to hear some test results. Phil, can you report to us how fast an 8 or 16 offloads, and how fast your 32 offloads?
 
35 minutes in 1080? Wow. That's nice. 85 is nice, too.... two of those would be niceeee.

Late,r
Jason
 
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Your wish is my command Barry...
1196983101.jpg



1x32gb + 1x8gb
 
Yeah, those fractions do add up with greater capacity. But without the gear to test myself, nore a solid datarate to go by (can't foget metadata & thumbanails.. - which vary by number of clips, and some other factors) I can't give 100% precise values, so I prefer to leave it as an approximation.

- Mikko
 
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