AJ-PX270 and 128 GB UHS-II

S

singer64

Member
I intend to buy the AJ-PX270 camcorder and I have to create AVC-Intra 100 footage. I want to use SDXC cards (UHS-II) instead of microP2 and I want to use 128 GB cards instead of 64GB.

Can anybody confirm or rule out that it is possible to use cards like Lexar 128GB SDXC UHS-2 (LSD128CRBEU1000) to shoot AVC-Intra100 footage with AJ-PX270? If 128GB isn't possible, will 64GB work?
 
I believe (but confirm this) that the max data rate for SD cards of any type is 50Mbs, so on the 270, you could use is AVC-LongGop50. And for long form recording, this codec gets you a lot more recording time with good results. I'll try to dig up the recording matrix for what you can and can't do. The 270 does offer sd card recording, but at heart is is a P2 cam and is somewhat crippled using SD cards. This may be Panasonic protecting their P2 memory, but there is no doubt even the compact P2 cards are more secure.

I haven't used one, but the brochure states that 128GB Sd cards can be used.

If you want to avoid buying a large amount of P2, and want Intra-100, you might be more well served purchasing an external recorder for long form work.

It really is a nice cam and can produce some great images.

Grant

Grant
 
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Grant, thank you for your reply and all your hints. I'm German, I'm not quite sure whether I understand your first sentence totally right. microP2 cards are compatible to UHS-II standard, allowing high data rates. UHS-II cards like microP2 have more pins than UHS-I cards to do so. Lexar and SanData offer UHS-II cards (incl. U3 and class10) that have the same extra pins as microP2 and easily allow the data rates for AVC-Inra 100 etc.

So, the max data rate of SD cards can defnitely be higher than 50 Mbs. Do you (or any other user here) know, whether AJ-PX270 accepts non-panasonic UHS-II SD cards for AC-Intra 100 and higher?
 
MicroP2 cards are not UHS-II cards. They are more than UHS-II cards. They are backwards compatible with UHS-II, but UHS-II is not forwards-compatible with MicroP2.

Grant is correct - if you use any type of SD card, you will be limited to using AVC LongG-50 megabits. The PX270 cannot record any manner of AVC-Intra footage onto SD cards of any type. That footage can only be recorded onto MicroP2 cards.
 
The long gop 50 is a very good codec. Out of the cam, I think it mostly looks as good as Imtra100 unless you are shooting tree leaves in a stiff breeze. Like any long Gop codec, it may not edit as well. IMHO, if you have the money to buy a cam in this class, using less than the right memory system is a fools errand. I mean, Cfast cards are pricey too. Maybe you buy a few P2 cards for when you really want the I-frame codecs, and shoot to your sd cards when you don't.
 
Grant, Barry, thank you very much for your clear statements and advice. Indeed, buying a P2HD handheld should include mircroP2 cards. Nevertheless, I think it was worth a try to investigate whether cheaper alternatives exist with the same functionality; no one wants to waste money deliberately. Obviously there is no microP2 substitute. That was one of the answers I was looking for.
 
Meanwhile I looked around and found out that Black Magic Design offers an affordable monitor/recorder, the Video Assist. That device uses (selected) standard SDXC UHS-I cards (!) to record e.g. 10bit ProRes 422 HQ files (with up to 440Mb/s (!) when recording 1920x1080p60 footage from SDI or HDMI). The bigger Video Assist 4K uses SDXC UHS-II cards for 4K video with even higher bit rates. I tested the Video Assist successfully. By doing this, I wondered again why Panasonic limits SDXC card usage to 50 Mb/s footage. Why not let the user make the choice, whether to use the advantages of microP2 media for higher bitrates or not to use microP2. What is BMD able to do Panasonic can't or doesn't want to do?

I definitely follow ggrantly's tip, I shoot long gop 50 using two SanDisk 128 GB SDXCs (giving me a 580 min. total recording time, and there is no 128GB microP2 yet), and if I wanted I-frame coded files, I'd use the Black Magic Design device (with a 256GB card and ProRes 422 HQ). That gave me 90 minutes 1920x1080p50, i.e. 50% more than two 64GB microP2 and AVC-Intra100 could provide.
 
Singer64 said "What is BMD able to do Panasonic can't or doesn't want to do?"

Can't speak for Panny that they cripple SD cards; really, it is a P2 cam at heart. I think it is pretty amazing that it offers the options it does. With regard to external recording, that it a whole different thing, where output is taken from sdi or hdmi. At that point, the signal is absorbed by an entirely different piece of hardware.
 
ggrantly said "I think it is pretty amazing that it offers the options it does."


Yes! And that's why I bought it ;-)

And in deed, the microP2 vs. UHS-II topic must have to do something with "P2 cam at heart" and not with data rates:

"The Variable Frame Rate function (AVC-Intra100) was inherited from the Panasonic VariCam, which is widely used for producing movies, TV series and TV commercials. Featuring a variable frame rate of 1 to 60 fps, this function creates a wide range of film-camera-like images, such as overcranking for slow-motion and undercranking for quick-motion effects."

So, to get slow-motion or quick-motion footage with PX270, one must select AVC-Intra100 (and nothing else) and that works only with microP2 cards. Yes, AJ-PX270 is a P2 at heart with all its benefits and "special characteristics" ...
 
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