Anyone notice that 64GB A-series cards now cost barely more than E-Series?
- Thread starter ullanta
- Start date
mikkowilson
Steadi-Guru
We are a broadcaster, that also does news.
On today's budgets & market uncertainty; 5 years is plenty for any media, the money just isn't there for a lot of niceties.
And given the calculations here by Barry; "investing" in re-sale value of the cards seems a foolish maneuver.
- Mikko
I understand your point, but many of us approach some purchases based upon the likely market for a resale.
That's isn't investing as much as it is smart purchasing
That's isn't investing as much as it is smart purchasing
Barry_Green
Moderator
Why would they do that, when they have 80% of the world's broadcasters on P2?
They have less expensive media already, the AVCCAM lineup uses SDHC cards. But P2 is for those who want and need ultimate performance and reliability.
They have less expensive media already, the AVCCAM lineup uses SDHC cards. But P2 is for those who want and need ultimate performance and reliability.
Jim Carswell
Well-known member
kabtv,
I don't see Panasonic leaving the P2 realm any time soon. Someday sure. Remember 3/4", M2, Hi-8 and S-VHS? Each recording format served a purpose during its time but eventually was dropped when technology passed them by. When it comes to P2, Panasonic has invested a lot of money in the technology and produced so many industry leading cameras that utilize it that it just wouldn't make sense to drop it in the near future.
Besides ( and as it has been said here many times in the past) expensive is a relative term. The dependability and durability of P2 cards is proven over and over again each day. That comes at a cost. It may be expensive to some but to others its just the cost of doing business. I can remember buying a box of ten Beta SX tapes for about $180. Those tapes would last me a couple of days. I would shoot on them once and put them on the shelf. So for the cost of on $1100 dollar P2 card I could shoot for 12 days on Beta SX tape. A P2 card lasts for years and thousands of cycles. That alone makes P2 a clear winner in the cost category. So why change?
Jim
I don't see Panasonic leaving the P2 realm any time soon. Someday sure. Remember 3/4", M2, Hi-8 and S-VHS? Each recording format served a purpose during its time but eventually was dropped when technology passed them by. When it comes to P2, Panasonic has invested a lot of money in the technology and produced so many industry leading cameras that utilize it that it just wouldn't make sense to drop it in the near future.
Besides ( and as it has been said here many times in the past) expensive is a relative term. The dependability and durability of P2 cards is proven over and over again each day. That comes at a cost. It may be expensive to some but to others its just the cost of doing business. I can remember buying a box of ten Beta SX tapes for about $180. Those tapes would last me a couple of days. I would shoot on them once and put them on the shelf. So for the cost of on $1100 dollar P2 card I could shoot for 12 days on Beta SX tape. A P2 card lasts for years and thousands of cycles. That alone makes P2 a clear winner in the cost category. So why change?
Jim
mule ferguson
Well-known member
Jim: Good to see that people still remember M2, I still have a lot of M2 20 min tape footage from 3 years of doing most of Lowes Corporate new product training, shooting and editing.on(Toaster & Flyer) + other companies. Glad to say that p2 is a very good investment. more than paid for all my P2 cards. :love4:
Merry Christmas
Mule
Merry Christmas
Mule
You have to consider the costs of HD space though too. And usually double because you should backup at least twice. Tapes sit on the shelf holding your footage, same as HDs.
Steve Eisen
Well-known member
I too have noticed the price drop. I also noticed that other resellers have matched B & H's 64 gb E series price. I finally picked up a 64 GB P2 card to add to my 7 16 GB R series.
We'll have to wait and see when the 128 GB cards come out.
We'll have to wait and see when the 128 GB cards come out.
Last edited:
TwistedLincoln
Veteran
The new apparent price drop is really incredible. I really can't see anyone paying such a slight bit less for the E-Series, even if they aren't using them on a regular basis.
I suspect this is a signal that the 64gb A series cards are on their way out.
Perhaps the 128mb cards will be A series only, and aimed exclusively at those that would use them for a news gathering or other high volume use. That would leave the E series for the budget and indie shooters, with a rather large price differential.
I suspect this is a signal that the 64gb A series cards are on their way out.
Perhaps the 128mb cards will be A series only, and aimed exclusively at those that would use them for a news gathering or other high volume use. That would leave the E series for the budget and indie shooters, with a rather large price differential.
mikkowilson
Steadi-Guru
128GB is more of a documentary & event length. Obviously more capacity is a plus for anyone; but one concern I've heard many times is broadcasters - specifically those doing news - hoping that the smaller cards (16GB) stick around and continue to get cheaper.
More smaller cards is generally better for news; 16Mins of HD is plenty, and an hour of DV for those (the majority) still working in SD is way more than you use in most news stories.
In addition to hard drives being multitudes (about 3x) cheaper than even "cheap" MiniDV tape, (1000GB HDD for $100 = $0.10/GB; 13GB MiniDV for $4 = $0.30/GB) it's also important to consider the fact that very very rarely do you use a full tape. P2 (and other file based formats) only use as much space as needed; unless you take the time to dub and "de-frag" your tapes, there is generally a notable amount of wasted space there too.
- Mikko
More smaller cards is generally better for news; 16Mins of HD is plenty, and an hour of DV for those (the majority) still working in SD is way more than you use in most news stories.
In addition to hard drives being multitudes (about 3x) cheaper than even "cheap" MiniDV tape, (1000GB HDD for $100 = $0.10/GB; 13GB MiniDV for $4 = $0.30/GB) it's also important to consider the fact that very very rarely do you use a full tape. P2 (and other file based formats) only use as much space as needed; unless you take the time to dub and "de-frag" your tapes, there is generally a notable amount of wasted space there too.
- Mikko
Barry_Green
Moderator
That apparently is what happened, that's what this thread is about; 64GB P2 A-series cards have plummeted from $2600 to $1100.
i took this from Gizmodo site about the latest CES:
Panasonic Unveils World's First Integrated Full HD 3D Camcorder at CES 2010...
...Solid-State Reliability and Workflow Right and left Full HD video streams of the twin-lens 3D camcorder can be recorded as files on SDHC/SD Memory Cards, ensuring higher reliability than on other tape, optical disc, HDD or other mechanical-based recording systems....
...
More Affordable
Using a standardized, fully integrated design, the Full HD 3D camcorder will be offered at a much lower price than traditional 3D rigs. Transportation expenses for this handheld unit will be less and faster setup times reduce labor costs. Using standard, re-recordable SDHC/SD Memory Cards available already everywhere, media costs become almost insignificant.
-Suggested Retail Price for Main Unit: $21,000
Barry_Green
Moderator
Right, that's a lower-cost unit, so it gets SDHC cards. If they make a high-end version of it, it'll use P2...
So, if i follow you well, every new models under $21K (and perhaps updated models) could record on SDHC ?
Last edited: