FS7: Are 2 SQD cards enough?

Amadou

Amadou

Carbonite Member
I plan on shooting a movie with an FS7.

Will 2 SQD G 128GB 400 MB/s cards be enough for a feature production if I download the footage every evening?

Thank you.
 
Start with a minimum of 4 x 128GB cards, though preferably have at least 6 or 8.
It really depends on what you're shooting and the working style of the director. How long are the scenes?/ will the director want to reset and keep it rolling? / are the actors seasoned professionals?/ How long are your shooting days? The same director who shot a feature with a 4:1 ratio on 35mm film might shoot 40:1 in digital where it 'doesn't cost more' to keep rolling...
 
Just a correction note, it's XQD not SQD

You will have to figure out if you are shooting XAVC-I or XAVC-L. @ 24fps each 128GB card will give you 65 minutes with XAVC-I and about 160 minutes (?) with XAVC-L. XAVC I offer 10bit and DCI 4K where as XAVC L is 8bit and is UHD. If you are shooting lots of 60P 4K then that will burn through your cards much faster. On my most data hungary days I usually don't go through more than 640GB (XAVC I, switching between 60P and 24P) which is about 5 cards. for a scripted shoot I wouldn't expect to go through half of that in a day.
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You said you are going to get the G series cards, good. Don't get the M series
 
Suggest the Sony cards as well. After 2-3 years of use on Lexar cards they've started to go wonky on me.
Switched over to Sony G with no trouble.

Although strange note -> Lexar 64GB = 82 mins of runtime in HD XAVC-I ... Sony G 64GB = 73 Mins of runtime in HD XAVC-I .... wtf? lol

to OP -> I don't think 2X 128GB cards would be enough for full day shoots in 4K. Would also suggest 4 (or more if possible) depending on how much you're planning on shooting each day.
 
Amadou said:
If I shoot XAVC L in 420 then what's the point in using the FS7 over the FS5?
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Exactly. You need more cards. And most people would steer away from getting into a situation where they are having to reformat the cards during the shooting day. The last thing you want to happen is for someone to not transfer the card right or to think it was transferred and it wasn't and you erase a days worth of work or possibly a "one chance" take and there is no copy or back-up.
 
I would say you could live with 3 128gb cards if you really keep good track of them and the shooting is a bit less hectic than the norm.
 
Even $100 point-and-shoots don't come with a card in the box.

Sometimes B&H or another company will build a bundle and throw in free accessories (including media) to push the product, but media is rarely an accessory that is included inside the camera box.

EDIT - P.S. Sometimes cameras do include SD cards (small size) that are for settings and/or contain additional info, but I'm assuming you're interested in XQDs.
 
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I just shot a feature in XAVC-i 4K and only own one 128GB card. I never had to dump the card until the end of day. However, we never shoot 14 hour days- max of 9 or 10. Had we shot any slow motion footage, all bets would have been off.
 
Amadou said:
Does the FS7 not come with a card in the box?
Click to expand...

no

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FYI I have 2 128s and a 'reserve' 64.

I think you can always download a 128 in less time than you fill a 64.

Shooting at a reasonable pace I rarely fill up a 128 by lunchtime or in an afternoon.

If you download at lunchtime then you are always ahead, but if it gets sticky then pull out the reserve and do a mid afternoon download.

Obviously your location needs power and a functioning computer to do this. Dont rely on a laptop battery working all day.

S
 
Have the same experience with 2 128s... haven't made me feel nervous yet. Ofcourse if you know you are going to be in a location where you wont have time to dump for 2 days, I'd get 2 more cards just to be safe, but if you are shooting and going home each day, then I'd be willing to believe that your 2-3 128s would last all day.

Also, if you are not using v-lock or similar; I've been very happy with the SWIT B8-U93 batteries. They last incredibly long... reading around 7 hours when you power on. (ofcourse subjected to what ever you are shooting).
 
I use 4 128GB Cards and it works quite ok. You can always upload a card faster, than your recording time, but that is sometimes the issue, when you simply don't have the time or location to copy your card to a HD. So, a card (or two) in reserve, is always a good thing.
 
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