128gb SDXC, or a 64gb SDXC?

F

filmguy123

Veteran
Any reason not to snag this guy: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...128CRBNA133_128GB_Professional_SDXC_Card.html

I know some people worry about failure rates or corrupt cards. I've always used one P2 card for footage in the field on my HVX200. Are these that much more unreliable? I currently have a 32gb SDHC card I use in my GoPro2 that I could use with my AF100, but I'll probably just use one card in the AF100 most of the time to start: either a 64gb or 128gb. I often don't unload in the field and prefer not to if possible.

Thoughts?
 
Using only one ( massive) card...what is your plan if you get a different job the next day?

The data will append in the same AVCHD Folder Structure and when you come to unload to your edit system, the two jobs are all in the same source folder.

What are you shooting that requires such large card(s) anyway?
 
Oh, well that was part of the thought. Different job the next day I'd just shoot on the same card. Did that all the time on my 64gb P2 card.

I never, ever deliver without editing myself and pulling my own footage off first. It's not hard to separate stuff out of same source folder.

I shoot 1080p60p a lot of slow motion for some stuff, which can eat through 12 hours quicker. And even in 1080p24p, I might leave to shoot something for 2-3 days without unloading, and then come back and dump all footage. Or just really long live event coverage days.

I like the idea of one 128gb card but some people seem pretty concerned about the reliability of these SDXC cards. Reliability was never a concern on the P2 system. Are these much different?
 
You cant pull stuff out of the AVCHD Private Folder without consequences. You need to keep the Structure in tact.

The rest of your practices with your data..I would consider very high risk. My insurers would not allow it and I wouldnt consider it.

P2 Cards were very reliable as they had redundancy built in. Effectively they are set up as RAIDs and thats why they are expensive. Even so..I would not work them the way you do.

Something you need to be very aware of especially in Post. AVCHD does not record unique filenames like P2. They always start from xxxxx0 ( "0" weird but true).
 
A 32 GB card will hold about three hours of footage. I realize there are many, many different styles of shooting video, but realistically, how often are you actually rolling the camera for more than three hours in a working day? If you dump off your footage every night (which would be the bare minimum, I'd think), owning a couple of 32GB's should be able to sustain you pretty much indefinitely. Reliability and workflow considerations aside, I just don't see the point in paying for capacity you won't use in those 128 GB cards. I could almost justify owning a 64GB if my work required it, but certainly nothing beyond that.

I carry a Pelican card case with 4 x 32GB and 4 x 16GB cards in it, and that serves two cameras. In practice, I have never filled up even a single 32GB card per camera in a day of shooting. (But the redundancy of having extras is reassuring in case one would fail or get lost.) YMMV.

- Greg
 
OK, I got the 64gb just to have some extra space. I have one for now, should be all I need realistically, with more frequent dumps. Sounds like these cards are generally reliable, but not as robust or reliable as the P2 setup.

What do you mean by redundancy of having multiple cards? Is there a way to set the camera to record the same thing to each of 2 cards in it's two slots, basically like a RAID-1 setup? On a related note - it would be cool to have a firmware update allowing RAID-1 mirroring for two SD cards being inserted if that's not currently an option.

Thanks for the advice shooter. I've probably been "careless" about it because in all my shooting, I've never had a problem. And I've done a lot. Of course, I understand that it's always being "overly cautious" until it happens to you - so I be more careful.
 
I never understood the fascination with large capacity cards. All that matters is having solid fast cards and lots of them. Say you filled up the 128gb or 64gb and that card fails. You have all that shooting lost. Having lots of 32gb's and 16gb's, one of the fails then maybe half day is lost. 16's and 32's are so cheap these days. Stock up on good fast ones...
 
@dustlense, On the other hand, objective (not anecdotal) scientific fact for fail rates on SDHC cards is insanely low, and the #1 cause of failure is constant wear & tear that comes from insertion, removal, and exposure to elements. Thus one large card is not only more convenient and simple, but also avoids the #1 cause of card failure. Generally when memory or electronic products are bad, they you will find out quickly, and if they work initially, they will continue to work if cause for failure isn't imposed on the card (causes mentioned above). I've always left the card in my cameras and transferred from the I/O ports of the camera to computer.

It seems a lot of people dump footage to their computer, format the card, and keep going. Ironic, since I've had plenty of computer HDD crashes.
 
Actually...a lot of people including myself dump footage to the computer and an external drive and then check it before considering re formatting the card.

The reasons for multiple smaller cards have been well advised to you but in the end...its got to be a workflow that you (and maybe your client) are comfortable with.


I've always left the card in my cameras and transferred from the I/O ports of the camera to computer.
Click to expand...

..and that is about the slowest way you can transfer your footage.
 
Shooter said:
Actually...a lot of people including myself dump footage to the computer and an external drive and then check it before considering re formatting the card.

The reasons for multiple smaller cards have been well advised to you but in the end...its got to be a workflow that you (and maybe your client) are comfortable with.
Click to expand...

+1. After the shoot we make an image file of the card to a protected backup drive, dump the footage into the edit system, and keep the card shelved during the edit. Call me overly cautious, but I'm one of those fools who also looks both ways before crossing the street.
 
I come from the land of 11 minute film loads and 31 minute Betacam loads, so 45 minutes on an inexpensive 8GB SDHC class 6 card is a real deal! Less footage to loose, more cards to use
 
Agree with what's been said here. I have 10 x 16 GB cards plus a couple of 32s, and use the 16s almost exclusively. I dump to a RAID-1 external for archiving, then to two mirrored external RAID-0s, from which I edit. One stays at the office, one comes home with me at night. Maybe a bit over-cautious, but I sleep well...
 
...but we do have to love the indie spirit ..who dont appear to care so much ...and they probably sleep just as well as you or I.
 
I like 16GB cards. 80min of AVCHD is plenty on one card. Even if the data rate was double I still would be fine with 40min on a card.
 
Erik Naso said:
I like 16GB cards. 80min of AVCHD is plenty on one card. Even if the data rate was double I still would be fine with 40min on a card.
Click to expand...

Agreed and well said. I use nothing but 16 gig cards, occasionally 8gigs though I have a couple of 32's that are hardly ever used. Backup to a Raid 1, edit from a Raid 0.
 
Interesting. I'd like to see hard data on how many cards have failed when left in a camera (no wear and tear/mishandling) after 1 month or a handful of read/write cycles to confirm it's not a lemon. Statistically it seems about as likely as getting hit by lighting. I know transferring from the camera is the slowest way, but I usually transfer when I get home and so I go take a shower and eat dinner.

Anyone, not arguing the wisdom in multiple cards. Maybe I should start doing that. Just find it interesting cause I've never thought about it, probably because I've never experienced a problem.
 
Ha! Who cares if it's me alone? Try using that logic on Steve Jobs. Just because everyone does things a certain way doesn't mean they're right, so that's pretty much irrelevant to me.

My point is I won't argue the wisdom UNTIL I know more. I certainly will QUESTION the wisdom, and I certainly AM saying: I'd like to see hard data on how many cards have failed when left in a camera (no wear and tear/mishandling) after 1 month or a handful of read/write cycles to confirm it's not a lemon. Statistically it seems about as likely as getting hit by lighting.

If the data says there's no logical reason to use more than one card, I won't. In fact, there may be logical evidence to NOT use more than one card, and only anecdotal or emotional reasoning to use multiple. Like I said I'm not saying that's the case... I'd like to see the hard data first.

As it stands, I can't find that data anywhere :/

Anyway, not trying to be argumentative, but I am trying to get information. That drives some people crazy, but people who ask questions of established practices often do. They're also often the people who improve or innovate the way we do what we do. But that's another discussion altogether :)

Anyone have links to hard data on comparative SDHC card failure rates?
 
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