trying not to buy p2 cards

Steve Laramie

Steve Laramie

Veteran
Can someone recomend a way to unload footage from a p2 card quckly on a job. I cant afford any more cards at the moment is there a fast way to just put it in a laptop?
 
I can suggest a variety of ways.

PC Cardbus Type II Slot, Duel Adapter, Addonics adapter.

But without knowing what OS and hardware, no body can be very specific.

It's always important to detail what you have including hardware, software and operating system
 
Mac pro with final cut studio 2 is my main machine where ill be editing the footage. But I also have access to a mac book pro that I could use as a hard drive for p2 cards.
 
Where you edit is irrelevant, what counts is what laptop you'll be using in the field. The macbook pro is not ideal, but can be made to work if you use a PCD20 P2 Drive, or a Duel Adapter.
 
Ive used dual adapter in the field a number of times, far from a perfect solution for someone on the go, but it gets the job done.
 
let me just note that this is wedding videography everything I buy comes out of my pocket. Im trying to find a way to save money. P2 is worst then gas for me right now.
 
I'm going to refraze the question. I have been using HVX's in the past with almost unlimited p2 because the producers payed for that whenever I was a DP. Right now Im looking to get an hvx200a setup of my own. I have 7300 to spend on this new setup. I guess it comes with 1 16gb card already. After that purchase what do you recommend buying. my main concern is storage. I plan on picking up a 35mm adapter after I get that issue fixed. So I guess I have about $2000 left over what is the most efficient form of storage to get with that. I'm thinking a firestore but I dont understand why anyone would buy a 32gb p2 card over a 100gb firestore when the firestore is cheeper.
 
Well I use firestore and have never had a single issue. I shoot with it on the shoulder and in all types of conditions. Then again I do have p2 cards for backup - murphys law, when you dont have it youll need it.
 
if you are doing long events, just get a firestore, save yourself the money from getting the P2s, the job lets you record over 4 hours of 720p/24pn, you probably want 30p(n) for wedding, but I don't know.

Just make sure you know how to use the firestore before putting it in action, I lost quite a few footages due to the lack of knowledge from an older model of firestore I rented once. [I hope he who rented me the unit sees this and laughs]

Regardless, it's all preference, I stopped using my Firestore, about to sell it, i never lost footages, but I just prefer P2. 16gb lasts me 40minutes on 720/24pn, & 16 minutes on 1080/24pa. Works for what I do, but not necessarily what you do. Good luck. =)
 
yeah im thinking it would be a pain to carry a firestore on the camera. Are they heavy or bulky if your holding the camera filming for hours at a time?
 
it's not a pain to carry a firestore if you get the mounting bracket that mounts on top of the camera handle [hotshoe],

it connects via. firewire, it works great. I loved it until i realized I couldn't playback in HD on external monitor.
 
This doesn't cover everything, but it may help point our options.

This doesn't cover everything, but it may help point our options.

I've used 2 P2 cards at 4 GB each and offloaded to a firewire drive. Not very fast, but it got me through the job I was using it for.

I've tried the CtitDisk and didn't like it. Dealing with the different combinations of blinking lights to indicate what the device was set to do was too much a distraction from shooting, and it and the camera didn't work together well enough for my liking.

Not so long ago I got a chance to use the nNovia QC Deck. For my purposes, I liked it. When done shooting, it writes footage to its' HDD as a choice of avi, mov or maybe some other types of files, keeping track of bins and clips naming files accordingly. See the nNovia site for details.

I also understand that nNovia is soon to release a device geared to the HVX that will handle DV, DVCPro, DVCPro50 and DVCPro100, all through a firewire connection. (As an extra, I believe it will also record HDV). Will definitely give that a shot, but it's supposed to be around $ 1,500-1,600.

I've been told that nNovia has a 120 GB drive for that unit, and will also announce a 160 GB drive when they release the new device. Those will cost extra, i.e. the device will not come with a hard drive. I think the 160 goes for $ 359.

Haven't used a FireStore, but I'm sure others here have and can relate their experience.

For my purposes, I'm most likely to go with the new nNovia product.

Just trying to point out options. Hope it helps.

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