P2 card alternative

PhilC

PhilC

New member
Does anyone know if there is a way to retro fit a Panasonic HVX200 to accept mini sd cards? P2 64gig are STILL SO expensive, even the cheaper E series is upwards of $600. I don't trust ebay or craigslist for these cards. Any thoughts?
 
Not that I am aware of. I have never seen a P2 to SD card adapter. But if you are concerned about P2 card cost why not buy used. There are plenty of 64GB cards on Ebay for less than $250 and 32GB for under $150. I bought several used cards, some from members of this forum. P2 cards are very robust especially the R-series which have more play/records cycles than the E-series.
 
PhilC said:
Does anyone know if there is a way to retro fit a Panasonic HVX200 to accept mini sd cards? P2 64gig are STILL SO expensive, even the cheaper E series is upwards of $600. I don't trust ebay or craigslist for these cards. Any thoughts?
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To me, a 64 Gb series E or F P2 is a bargain at $300-400 used and $525 new. I used to shoot in DVCPRO HD tapes and a $20K deck that needed expensive head maint and the long capture time of tapes. Absolutely no complaint here. I'm not sure what happened to the video market lately but seems odd that most still find P2 media expensive. The A series 64 Gb used to cost about $2,500 back in 2006-07 era.
 
While accepting that it's going in the opposite direction, you can pick up a Firestore FS-100 for next-to-nothing these days.
 
I have two 2700's and five 64GB cards for each. While not exactly "disposable cheap", they're not that bad especially when you consider the expected life: a full read/write/format cycle every day for five years. That's over 1,800 cycles. I've never used five cards in one day, especially if shooting 24P. So, let's keep going here… Right now you're looking at about $2600 for a set of five 64GB cards. 1,800 cycles x 5 cards = 9,000 cycles. 9,000 tapes would cost about $180,000(presuming they're still about $20 each). BUT each 64GB card is really equal to at least two tapes(a little more really: 70mins) @ 720/60P and 5+ tapes @ 24P. Soooo, P2 cards are really insanely cheap. I also have two decks that I picked up on ebay for a song. I grabbed the 2-slot "clamshell" deck for about $2500 and about a year and a half later I got a briefcase editor with the AVC-Intra 100 card in it for even less.

There's a reason the Firestore costs next to nothing… I don't know how many horror stories I heard from people that had HVX-200's and used them only to find out after the shoot there there was nothing on the drive and they lost the entire shoot.
 
Run&Gun said:
There's a reason the Firestore costs next to nothing… I don't know how many horror stories I heard from people that had HVX-200's and used them only to find out after the shoot there there was nothing on the drive and they lost the entire shoot.
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Hmmm ... I have three Firestores and I've never lost anything. Maybe care and diligence counts for something after all:happy:.
 
I used to use the FStore and the biggest culprit were the physical connection issues with Firewire and separate battery to deal with. Plus too much accessories on top of the cam restrict mounting additional wireless mics and lights. Thanks but no thanks. I don't want to be constantly looking at the device to see if the time code is running to confirm that it's recording and so forth. FStore is more suitable for locked down and controlled environment. But constant mobility and travel with the camera is just not robust or flexible enough. P2 cards are now cheap enough. FStore is not a big factor anymore. It was a great workaround for expensive P2 cards costing about $1500-$2500/card.


ceejay7777 said:
Hmmm ... I have three Firestores and I've never lost anything. Maybe care and diligence counts for something after all:happy:.
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You could get a component to HDMI converter and an Atomos Ninja/Star. You would need a way of powering the converter though, this is where a V-Mount comes in handy.
 
P2 series compatable with hvx200 and 170


The R series most compatable for hvx, also E-series can use it need instale 10.1 firmware for 50p interval... , F-series never cant use one hvx200 and may cant operation on 170,

The micro P2 adapter dont work on hvx200 and 170 , this compatable whith hier panasonic cam.
 

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