Is the Firestore Worth It?

Ive used a firestore for quite some time and never had an issue. Though since the introduction of 64gb cards I havent used it once. Thus (is this allowed?) I am happy to part with it for a reasonable price - pm if interested. - check my profile 6000 something posts been on here for sometime and know met many face to face even though Im in aus).
 
haha well thanks for the offer i actually got one off someone and it's on it's way here.

i also don't want to fork out extra money right now for a p2 reader.
 
One thing i would recommend is gaffer tape the firewire connection to the camera. I have been shooting with a couple of fs100 for 2.5 years with no problems except that firewire port (and nosiy fan!). When doing handheld it helps to have rails, handle and shoulder pad because it gets top heavy.
 
With the new P2 E-series out, the cost factor should no longer be an issue. The 64gb is $900, which can record up to 180min in 720pn. Not too shabby....

I would NOT recommend using the firestore (based on my experience with the FS-100) for the following reasons:

*Heavy (not practical for steadicam shots or hand held even)
*Unreliable
*Moving parts
*Firewire cable inputs are not solid. My DV input got loose from constantly plugging and removing that the contact became loose in the middle of an important shoot. Luckily, an extra p2 was on hand.
*Not good with loud noises. - I shot a music video and noticed on the post end that every time the drummer hit the cymbal, the resonance or high frequency affected the moving disk putting pixelation on the footage.
*No immediate playback for slo-mo.
*Low battery life

P2 is the way to go. Hands down. Especially since they have come down in price so much.
 
DPIX24 said:
With the new P2 E-series out, the cost factor should no longer be an issue. The 64gb is $900, which can record up to 180min in 720pn. Not too shabby....
Click to expand...

The FS100 offers certain advantages over P2 cards like a really easy option for shooting timelapse. I'll admit, the E series cards are tempting even considering the 5-10 year lifespan and the annoyance of the P2 file format.
DPIX24 said:
I would NOT recommend using the firestore (based on my experience with the FS-100) for the following reasons:

*Heavy (not practical for steadicam shots or hand held even)
*Unreliable
*Moving parts
*Firewire cable inputs are not solid. My DV input got loose from constantly plugging and removing that the contact became loose in the middle of an important shoot. Luckily, an extra p2 was on hand.
*Not good with loud noises. - I shot a music video and noticed on the post end that every time the drummer hit the cymbal, the resonance or high frequency affected the moving disk putting pixelation on the footage.
*No immediate playback for slo-mo.
*Low battery life
Click to expand...
I use the FS100 on a camera stabilizer and it works fine.

I've shot 2 feature length films and a slew of commercial projects with the FS100 and it has yet to be "unreliable" in any way.

Moving parts? Yeah, my G3 has moving parts too.

I've shot with the FS100 close to firearms being discharged, and in clubs with live bands and I've never experienced anything like pixelation.

The battery life is fine, but I'd recommend using a dedicated battery charger which charges at a fairly fast rate.

.
 
Last edited:
I'll second that. I've never had so much trouble with a piece of kit as I had with this overcomplicated piece of rubbish. Any movement whatsoever and it froze up on us. We lost 2 major scenes on a feature that would have been hugely expensive to reproduce. Over 30 minutes was corrupt and zero chance of recovery. I cannot think of one solid reason why anyone should buy one of these Firestores. They are paper weights, pure and simple. Following this let down we went out and purchased 4 P2's and haven't had one single issue since. Run and gunning is not a problem. P2 transfer is not a problem. No complicated setups, no fiddling about with that ridiculous firewire connection and no living in hope that we actually got what we recorded this time. The stress, time and money that that piece of crap caused us is impossible to calculate but if I ever see another one I'll drop kick the darn thing back to where it came from.
 
maranfilms said:
umm, you do know this thread is two yrs old.
Click to expand...

It took me almost a full page of Firestore talk before I thought "Wait a minute?".

I do some freelance work with a major university. Some of the longer and less "important" lectures or speaker series we still use SD. We use 4 XL2's connected to switcher. Then out to an old Sony DV-Man recorder with a Firestore connected. Most of the time we stream and archive for web at the same time. The thought of capturing all those tapes and cutting makes me want to stab myself in the face with a pencil. Maybe it just because of all the times in years past that it was the only option. In these modern days of 64Gb P2 and USB card readers the Firestore is only really good for what it has been the best at since it was introduced. Very, very long static shoots. Especially DV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top