Gopher_Greene
Well-known member
IS the 16GB cards going to be introduced at NAB? If so will we see a price drop?
NAB and P2
- Thread starter Gopher_Greene
- Start date
bilgami
Veteran
If all i wanted to shoot was dvcpro50/24p what size card would get me atleast 30 min? the 16gig or higher? I was looking at the p2 store AJ-PCS060G it says it holds up to 15 4gig p2 cards. if the 4gig holds 8min of dvc50 would that be 120 min of dvc50 that the p2 store can hold am i correct in estimation?
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lpcvideo1
Veteran
If you wanted 30 minutes of DVCPRO50 in camera, two 8gig cards would do fine. And yes, 4gig cards hold about 8 minutes.
Oh, and by the way, with DVCPRO50 it does not matter whether you use 25p or 60i--each will take up the same space on the cards since all the frames are recorded (i.e., it is not 24pn like that available in 720).
Oh, and by the way, with DVCPRO50 it does not matter whether you use 25p or 60i--each will take up the same space on the cards since all the frames are recorded (i.e., it is not 24pn like that available in 720).
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Filmjunkie677
Master of Horror
A few years from now, we should have 128 gig p2 cards. Oh yeah.
HowdyDoo
Well-known member
P2 Store Drive Size
P2 Store Drive Size
I wonder why the P2 Store doesn't have a bigger drive. With drives being so cheap these days, why didn't they throw a 200GB drive in there? Or at least give you the option of buying one with a larger hardddrive? 60 GBs would not work for an all day shoot.
P2 Store Drive Size
I wonder why the P2 Store doesn't have a bigger drive. With drives being so cheap these days, why didn't they throw a 200GB drive in there? Or at least give you the option of buying one with a larger hardddrive? 60 GBs would not work for an all day shoot.
Gopher_Greene
Well-known member
Yeah that drive is going to be useless real soon.
15 4gb
7 8gb
3 16gb - useless
1 32 gb
So within a year a 60 GB P2 store will be useless. Should be at least a 120, but more like 300 or more.
15 4gb
7 8gb
3 16gb - useless
1 32 gb
So within a year a 60 GB P2 store will be useless. Should be at least a 120, but more like 300 or more.
HowdyDoo
Well-known member
Yeah...
Yeah...
That would be cool if you could just swap the internal P2 Store drive with something larger. That 60Gb really doesn't make sense to me at all. I was going to buy one until I saw how big the internal drive was. $1700 for a video storage device with only 60 GBs ridiculous. You can buy a small laptop computer with twice the hard drive space for that price.
Yeah...
That would be cool if you could just swap the internal P2 Store drive with something larger. That 60Gb really doesn't make sense to me at all. I was going to buy one until I saw how big the internal drive was. $1700 for a video storage device with only 60 GBs ridiculous. You can buy a small laptop computer with twice the hard drive space for that price.
HowdyDoo
Well-known member
Hmmm
Hmmm
I don't know. $1600 is quite a bit of money to be outdated in a year. I agree with Gopher. If you're shooting with 4 GB or 8 GB cards it's totally worth it. But once those 16GB cards are out, I'm willing to bet Panasonic releases a larger P2 Store. I find that frustrating because they could have easily made a system NOW that would be compatible with the larger cards. I don't think an extra 100 or 200 bucks for a larger hard drive would've upset people that much.
Hmmm
I don't know. $1600 is quite a bit of money to be outdated in a year. I agree with Gopher. If you're shooting with 4 GB or 8 GB cards it's totally worth it. But once those 16GB cards are out, I'm willing to bet Panasonic releases a larger P2 Store. I find that frustrating because they could have easily made a system NOW that would be compatible with the larger cards. I don't think an extra 100 or 200 bucks for a larger hard drive would've upset people that much.
pjg1872
Member
The P2 store is not worth the money. I used it last week for a few days on an indy feature I was camera operating on.
First off, there is no digital display. All you get is little lights that are ambiguous at best. The info available from Panasonic is sort of convoluted regarding the unit. One instance is it doesn't tell you about formatting the unit for PC/mac in the manual (you must look other places). My phone can give me more info than that thing about what's on it.
Next, the unit doesn't have a fire wire 800 or 400 out. Just usb2.
Also, when you drop a p2 card onto the drive it saves it as "noname". If you save 10 p2 cards to the drive, ten "noname" icons show up on the desktop of your computer to import. They all have the same origination date too. So best of luck disseminating where the info is to guarantee you've got it all as you transfer files. This crappie system lost us half a day because the AC was moving alias files instead of actual files.
And using the p2 store with a mac is truly a harrowing experience onset. There isn't a mac viewer (like they have for the pc) to quickly check footage. Everything has to be dropped into final cut in a very slow work flow, and losing all that exciting metadata. Frankly from my point of view, if you can't verify the footage is really on the harddrive and intact, you can't format the p2 store.
So, as you sit around wasting your shooting day, while the computer renders your footage before you format your cards and p2 store, remember, I told ya to avoid that thing. Spend your money on a used 1 ghz powerbook g4 and upgrade the chip to almost 2ghz. Drop your cards directly to a portable 1 terra mirrored raid enclosure. When the shoots over rent one drive to the producer and hold the other until the production drops the footage into their own drives and returns yours. And pray panasonic releases a mac viewer for the p2 cards before NAB ends (or before you shoot).
PJ Gaynard
Filmmaker
Los Angeles/ All-world
310-743-2953
First off, there is no digital display. All you get is little lights that are ambiguous at best. The info available from Panasonic is sort of convoluted regarding the unit. One instance is it doesn't tell you about formatting the unit for PC/mac in the manual (you must look other places). My phone can give me more info than that thing about what's on it.
Next, the unit doesn't have a fire wire 800 or 400 out. Just usb2.
Also, when you drop a p2 card onto the drive it saves it as "noname". If you save 10 p2 cards to the drive, ten "noname" icons show up on the desktop of your computer to import. They all have the same origination date too. So best of luck disseminating where the info is to guarantee you've got it all as you transfer files. This crappie system lost us half a day because the AC was moving alias files instead of actual files.
And using the p2 store with a mac is truly a harrowing experience onset. There isn't a mac viewer (like they have for the pc) to quickly check footage. Everything has to be dropped into final cut in a very slow work flow, and losing all that exciting metadata. Frankly from my point of view, if you can't verify the footage is really on the harddrive and intact, you can't format the p2 store.
So, as you sit around wasting your shooting day, while the computer renders your footage before you format your cards and p2 store, remember, I told ya to avoid that thing. Spend your money on a used 1 ghz powerbook g4 and upgrade the chip to almost 2ghz. Drop your cards directly to a portable 1 terra mirrored raid enclosure. When the shoots over rent one drive to the producer and hold the other until the production drops the footage into their own drives and returns yours. And pray panasonic releases a mac viewer for the p2 cards before NAB ends (or before you shoot).
PJ Gaynard
Filmmaker
Los Angeles/ All-world
310-743-2953
BobDiaz
The Professor
I didn't see any word from NAB about the 16GB P2 Cards. :crybaby:
The 16 GB cards are coming, but now I would not expect to see them this summer or fall. There must be a good technical reason for the delay, like right now, they can't get the kind of performance from the 4GB SD cards or maybe the card production is just delayed...
Now my best guess is 2007....
Bob Diaz
The 16 GB cards are coming, but now I would not expect to see them this summer or fall. There must be a good technical reason for the delay, like right now, they can't get the kind of performance from the 4GB SD cards or maybe the card production is just delayed...
Now my best guess is 2007....
Bob Diaz
Barry_Green
Moderator
They were saying look for them towards December of this year.
Travis Cooper
New member
I love the P2 Store! 
I love the P2 Store!
I am sorry you had such a bad experience with it.
For my work the P2 store is worth every penny, and to me it is an essential.
In the field it makes transfering your material much faster and makes my workflow far easier than if I was trying to open up my Powerbook every time.
Back at the ranch it acts as P2 card reader for my iMac intel.
I can see where no digital display can bug somebody, but really I prefer the straight forward LED indicators. I have used equipment with LED indicator only for years and am quite used to it. In the field it has been just fine. But a good read of the manual and learning what the P2 is telling you based on those indicators is really important.
As for whats on it, true the indicators only give you remaining capacity when less than five dumps are left but still I should be aware of what I have most recently dumped. When I finish up, I will of course dump to a backup drive via powerbook.
As for mac/pc operation, yes I ran into the same thing. There is a specific combination of buttons on the P2 store that switches the unit from PC to Mac compatibilty. That should have been in the manual and it was the only initial irritation I had.
The USB2 has not been an issue. It is not FW800 but a 60GB transfer on my Powerbook has only been 10-15 seconds faster from FW400 drives I have used.
That noname threw me for a loop also. The P2 store is dropping each card onto its own partition. Perhaps relabeling each partition with a sequence name/number would be nice.
I have never lost anything from the P2 Store transfer to another machine. I just go into the each partition and drag and drop the content and lastclip file over to a folder on the mac.
The mac viewer would be nice, and it looks like something you must really need for how you work. My macs and FCP have played niceley with P2 store and it has been great. Speed hasn't been an issue for us. But we are also reviewing the majority of our shots in camera before a dump is made. There is a verify switch where the battery goes but I have never lost footage after countless dumps. Plus, when we get the perfect caught fish, I take that card out of the loop and toggle protect on it, transfer it to P2 store and then dump it to a dvd on Powerbook at the end of the day.
There is a lot to be said here, and you should consider everything. No solution is perfect for everyone.
But whatever you do try the P2 store for yourself people, and see how it fits for you. Like any equipment you need to read the manual, and really get familar with the unit.
Out on a river or in the field I can't take a RAID system with me. Everything is direct and I would be wasting my shooting day if I had to pull out a powerbook everytime I needed to dump footage and clear cards.
If you get the P2 store, a nicely equipped iBook G4 will get your footage off the P2 store. Otherwise a Macbook Pro is great for doing more with what you have. The P2 store can act as a card reader and give you a fast dump directly in to any machine.
My P2 store is attached to my Tortlerig pack across my chest in neat little bag used for Nikon speedlights.
Last week when it was pouring rain below 48 degreess, with 25mph winds on the Columbia River in a dinky 12 foot klamath boat with a host and two ol'boys holding fast for the wake of every freighter cruising by, the P2 store made the grade with flying colors.
So take a look at it, and let your own experience be the judge.
- Have a great day!
Travis Cooper
Beaver Hill Productions - Oregon
I love the P2 Store!
pjg1872 said:
I am sorry you had such a bad experience with it.
For my work the P2 store is worth every penny, and to me it is an essential.
In the field it makes transfering your material much faster and makes my workflow far easier than if I was trying to open up my Powerbook every time.
Back at the ranch it acts as P2 card reader for my iMac intel.
pjg1872 said:
I can see where no digital display can bug somebody, but really I prefer the straight forward LED indicators. I have used equipment with LED indicator only for years and am quite used to it. In the field it has been just fine. But a good read of the manual and learning what the P2 is telling you based on those indicators is really important.
As for whats on it, true the indicators only give you remaining capacity when less than five dumps are left but still I should be aware of what I have most recently dumped. When I finish up, I will of course dump to a backup drive via powerbook.
As for mac/pc operation, yes I ran into the same thing. There is a specific combination of buttons on the P2 store that switches the unit from PC to Mac compatibilty. That should have been in the manual and it was the only initial irritation I had.
pjg1872 said:
The USB2 has not been an issue. It is not FW800 but a 60GB transfer on my Powerbook has only been 10-15 seconds faster from FW400 drives I have used.
pjg1872 said:
That noname threw me for a loop also. The P2 store is dropping each card onto its own partition. Perhaps relabeling each partition with a sequence name/number would be nice.
I have never lost anything from the P2 Store transfer to another machine. I just go into the each partition and drag and drop the content and lastclip file over to a folder on the mac.
pjg1872 said:
The mac viewer would be nice, and it looks like something you must really need for how you work. My macs and FCP have played niceley with P2 store and it has been great. Speed hasn't been an issue for us. But we are also reviewing the majority of our shots in camera before a dump is made. There is a verify switch where the battery goes but I have never lost footage after countless dumps. Plus, when we get the perfect caught fish, I take that card out of the loop and toggle protect on it, transfer it to P2 store and then dump it to a dvd on Powerbook at the end of the day.
pjg1872 said:
There is a lot to be said here, and you should consider everything. No solution is perfect for everyone.
But whatever you do try the P2 store for yourself people, and see how it fits for you. Like any equipment you need to read the manual, and really get familar with the unit.
Out on a river or in the field I can't take a RAID system with me. Everything is direct and I would be wasting my shooting day if I had to pull out a powerbook everytime I needed to dump footage and clear cards.
If you get the P2 store, a nicely equipped iBook G4 will get your footage off the P2 store. Otherwise a Macbook Pro is great for doing more with what you have. The P2 store can act as a card reader and give you a fast dump directly in to any machine.
My P2 store is attached to my Tortlerig pack across my chest in neat little bag used for Nikon speedlights.
Last week when it was pouring rain below 48 degreess, with 25mph winds on the Columbia River in a dinky 12 foot klamath boat with a host and two ol'boys holding fast for the wake of every freighter cruising by, the P2 store made the grade with flying colors.
So take a look at it, and let your own experience be the judge.
- Have a great day!
Travis Cooper
Beaver Hill Productions - Oregon