1st HVX buy: Mistake to bypass P2 cards?

T

Torr

Member
The time has come to buy my first HVX and I would like your opinion:

Would it be a mistake to buy the HVX and a Firestore FS-100, and not own P2 cards at all?

My intention is to record real time 720/24pN footage directly in the Firestore due to its larger capacity and not have to deal with frequent P2 downloads using a PCMCIA port.

I understand I will need the latest firmware on the Firestore (v4?) and trust the "weak link" that the firewire connection represents.

But please let me know if you think this is a reasonable option.

Thanks!
 
Two 16Gb cards will offer you over an hour of recording time in 720p (pN even more), maybe that´s enough for your needs...?
 
Thanks Spartacus - but at eBay prices, two 16GB P2 cards would amount to around $1,600, while at B&H the FS-100 sells for $1,699.

Would the FS-100 still be a better choice since it's got 100GB?
 
I personally have not tried the FS. I enjoy the P2 card because I dont know its there.
I carry a laptop with me with a 500 gig drive and can offload in just 3-4 min when the card is full.
I suppose the 100 gig FS allows longer shooting time.
If you are shooting long events with no one to swap cards for you then the FS makes good sense.
If the shooting involves a controlled set where you can stop shooting to off load then go with P2
 
depends on what youre shooting. if you are ever going to shoot in a crowded environment like a press conference or live music event. that firewire cable (even if well secured) could be a problem.

there is nothing wrong with only using a firestore - like ive said in other threads, ive owned two of them and theve not let me down once - but i greatly prefer the confidence i get when shooting p2
 
buy the cards before a firestore.
You can use a cheap laptop to offload footage to. A laptop is less than the price of a firestore, and you can't play solitaire, write a script, read email or watch a movie on the firestore

50 gigs is about 2.5 hours in 24pN so you can get a few hours onto even the smallest laptop hard drive. Although I often bring along an external hard drive just to save one transfer later on. Video guys know they need a lot of hard
drive space.
 
Last edited:
I haven't bought any P2 cards yet but I love my FS-100 so far. You can't go wrong with the new 160GB FS-100 that records for 6.5 hours which means you can leave the laptop at home.

As well, all the new FS-100's seem to come preinstalled with firmware v4, a right-angle FW cord and 180min battery so you're golden.
 
I have the FS-100 for all of my major shooting, and a 4GB card for undercranking 1080 and frame rate changes with 720.

I say, you need at least one P2 card.
 
Spartacus said:
Two 16Gb cards will offer you over an hour of recording time in 720p (pN even more), maybe that´s enough for your needs...?
Click to expand...

Yeah, we were shooting 720pn and able to use our 16 gig cards for a ton of footage, it worked great. I have a second HVX200 and two more P2 cards on order, though, so we'll have plenty but it's a good investment, I love the P2 workflow, it just makes sense to me.
 
Buy the Cards.....there are too many opportunities for you to shoot unencumbred with cards....using jibs, steady rigs, aerials......the firestore is great as a backup, but the cards are ROCK SOLID. no worries.......
sp
www.mediacinedicate.com
 
You guys are the best -- I still haven't made up mind -- but I owe you guys BIG for the advice.

I can see that shooting style and theme/subject play a major role in the decision.

Please keep comments coming, this is increadibly helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top