has anyone actually tried a PCMCIA / CF Card Bus Adapter in the HVX-200?

J

Jitup

Member
Hello,
I am a proud owner of a HVX200, but because of my job had easy accesses to extra P2, good audio equipment, good tripods ECT. But now I am moving across the country and have to get some of my own gear. I have a 16 GB p2 card, but as many of you know you can never have enough media. I am an avid hiker and backpacker, and would like to start taking the HVX out with me more often, but I need an economical solution to P2. I read an article somewhere about how a PCMCIA / CF Card Bus Adapter could work in theory on the HVX, but I am unable to find any proof of concept articles and I do not have a buss adapter and don't want to waste the money if it won't work. I usually just off load the card and then reformat, but I want to start taking this camera on longer trips. I usually use a canon HF200 in the brush since SDHC is so ridiculously cheap. It makes a nice image, but is no comparison to the HVX. I would just buy more P2, but then the issue of being a 19 year old student that spent all his money on the camera and tuition comes into affect. Any help would be great! Thank you!
 
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No adapter works, only genuine P2 cards work.

The cheapest way to offload P2 in the field is to get a USB On-The-Go hard drive. You can get a battery-powered hard drive enclosure for under ten bucks. Here's one on ebay, and here's a different one that has its own LCD. I assume that second one has its own internal battery, but I haven't used it; I have used the first one and it does work. It's not the fastest thing in the universe, but for ten bucks and an IDE 60GB hard disk, there's no cheaper way to have a portable P2 offload station.

There are other options now, including this one, or using a specific external USB clone box. USB On-the-go seems to have died off in general, it looks like most of the OTG boxes are for IDE drives and not today's newest SATA drives. But hey, that just means you should be able to get the older style of drive really cheap.

Or you could look into buying a P2 Store off of somebody, I think they're going for under $300 now.
 
Wow, that is great thank you so much! How exactly do you do the transfer? Just plug in the hard drive as if I was connecting it to my pc and let it rip? I would consider taking a laptop, but usually when I go on backpacking trips I try and go as light as possible and that would take up a decent amount of space in my pack. About how long would you say the battery lasts on the one you tried?

@ Barry_Green
As a side note, thank you so much for your comprehensive HVX200 vs. Xlh1 comparison, and your HVX200 boot camp DVD and book. I own both and have gone over them many times and they have helped me master every function of this camera. Keep up the great work!
 
You put the camera in PC mode, then you plug in the drive and push a button and it starts copying everything off. They claim the battery lasts about 1.5 hours.
 
I backpack as well and recently got a HPX 170. They are a bit more money and harder to find used, but i would seriously recommend switching over. The 170 is essentially a 200A without a deck. This makes it a bit lighter. If your backpacking every pound counts.
 
I just got the HVX in october used from my work at a price I could not refuse. If I could I would, but at this point in time it is unrealistic for me to upgrade. In all honesty tho, if I was going to buy a new cam, it would probablly be from the new canon XF line, or a 5d mark II. I have decided I am not going to get any other camera until the RED Scarlet is released, so hopefully I will have some more cash by then : )
 
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