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bsars

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hey.

I am currently shooting a full p2 card per day and I haven't figured out the proper way to remove the footage from the card..

I have my macbook pro and final cut here.

What I have been doing so far is to connect the camera via firewire and then basically copy and pasting the folders and files into a folder on the computer...

I plan on formatting the p2 card to erase the old footage...

If someone can give me a step by step process that would be very helpful.
Thanks.
 
You should write protect the p2 card.

Power up the cam after connecting firewire cable.

Once the card mounts, copy the entire card to the desktop or HDD.

Turn off the cam, then disconnect the FW cable
 
youre doing it right.

you could do it via usb. ive had better luck with usb on my mac desktop machine. but firewire is just as good if it works for you.
BTW - transfer method has no effect on video quality

and yes, you should create a new folder for each card you transfer.

i have several P2 cards and shoot to one while another transfers. to do this i use either an old powerbook G4 with built in PCMCIA slot or a macbook pro with an external duel adapter - that way your camera isnt out of commission while you transfer a card.

and i always reformat cards in camera after transferring. NOT on the computer or with a software formatting tool.

and im going to refute the write protect thing. ive been shooting P2 (and dumping to a mac) for about 3 years and ive never once write protected a card. and coincidentally ive also never had even a hint of problems other people talk about... many people will say that is indeed just a coincidence, and that write protecting has indeed solved other problems... but im just presenting it as a possibility.

if you do a forum search you will find literally VOLUMES of discussion, even debate on this subject : )
 
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Hey, thanks alot for the info. I just picked up the hpx 170 on monday and have not yet learned a work flow as smooth as with using dv tapes. I want to be able to easily review my footage on the MacBook but I'm also notsure on the bestbsteps tontake.. I basically want to upload footage and view it right away. How do you recommend I do that?? Bring it into fcp and then log and transfer from the hdd? Is that how I can convert the files to .mov files for viewing and using in the sequence ??
 
the initial switch from tape to P2 causes some people trauma. but trust me. once you figure it out you'll hate the idea of ever using tape again.

first thing to remember that each card IS your source archive - treat it like youd treat a tape. the way i handle that is file management. on my external drive (or wherever im transferring to that day) is a CLIENT folder and in that folder i have a sub folder with the PROJECT_NAME then in that folder there is another folder called P2SOURCE and in there each transferred card gets its own folder with the date and card number 010709_01, 010709_02, etc, etc...

this way, no matter what happens with the log and transfer. u always have the source archive to fall back on.

im a fan of drag and drop or copy and paste from the card to my target folder. but many people need the full metadata from the card (which apparently doesnt come across in a finder transfer) and they use P2CMS to copy and verify the footage from the card to the target folder

whichever you choose - ALWAYS REMEMBER TO COPY BOTH CONTENTS FOLDER AND THE LASTCLIP TEXT FILE!

then you can go into FCP, set your scratch volume, (i typically assign it to the same CLIENT > PROJECT_NAME folder i have my P2 source in) create and save your project then everything you log and transfer will be in that scratch folder.

now, what you log and transfer will be quicktime duplicates of whats in your P2SOURCE folder. it sounds redundant. but hard drives are cheap and this way you always have your original untouched source P2 footage as it was shot.

now as far as quickly viewing your source footage on your mac (either transferred to drive or straight from P2) on my old powerbook G4 i just view it through quicktime. on your macbookpro you can either view it via log and transfer window, use P2CMS or you can buy a P2 program like P2 log pro or raylight
 
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"Per Steve's comment - Dual Adaptor on a Mac Book Pro will not work in conjunction with Snow Leopard."

Good Point Jason:) I was able to get it to work about 3 or 4 times out of 10 on Leopard....maybe 1 or 2 times out of 10 with Tiger....LOL. I HATE that Duel Adaptor! It's never worked right for me:)

There are a ton (not really...they're starting to go away, but look around) of Windoze laptops that are still being made with the original 54mm PCMCIA slot...and you can find them for under 500 bucks. Also, as mentioned earlier, the older G4s are excellent (that's what I use)...or, if you are a PC user, I think Barry mentioned something USB oriented a couple of months ago...not sure if it's a real solution or vapor ware, but it's out there.

Also, your camera can control an external hard drive via firewire....just check the manual.

J
 
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