P2 or P2e card alternative?

P

pauldiablo

New member
Hi Everyone,
new to the forums here, so hello!
I have a HPX-170 and was wondering if there were any 3rd party alternative P2 or P2e cards from other manufactures other then Panasonic. Nothing against Panasonic, just looking for something less expensive (I'm sure this has been asked before- just couldn't find a post). I saw something in regards to Hoodman making one, but then not making them? Other than that, love the camera.
thanks,
Paul:cheesy:
 
Fujifilm makes P2 cards. But their price is pretty much aligned with Panasonic cards. B&H has 16 gig E-cards for $359.99 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=618137&is=REG&A=details&Q=

I don't think you will find them cheaper than this unless you buy used. In that case I would look for R-series cards as they don't have a limit on number of uses. E-series is reusable for 5 years when used once daily but with a used card I don't think there is any way to know how many times it has been used.
 
Yes, there is a way to know the card's lifespan and status -- you can use the P2 Format Station software, and it will show you the remaining card life. At least, with E-series cards.
 
Being parsimonious (cheap) by nature, I have been looking at used P2 cards, particularly used E-Series cards. I get the impression that most folks following these discussions consider that a crap-shoot at best, so to improve my odds, I managed to upload the P2 Format Station software to my horrible office PC. (Anybody care to speculate why Panasonic decided not to make a Mac-based version?) My only P2 card reader is my reliable AJ-PCS060G (other than the camera itself) which is not listed in the Panasonic documentation for that software as one of the desired card readers. When I use the software, it thinks that the write-protect switch is on and won't work. Has anybody also experienced this and found a way around it? Am I better off setting the camera (a plain 200) to a USB device and using that as my card holder? Other ideas?

While we're at it, has anybody ever seen a failed E-Series P2 card?

Thanks.
 
P2 and the Mac work very well together. P2 Formatter is used to Format P2 cards on the Mac. It will let you know the life remaining on the cards. Any Panasonic P2 card reader will also work very well with the Mac. PCD2, PCD10. PCD20 and PCD35. HPG series also works very well.

The original P2 Store you have was great for the original 4, 8 and 16 GB cards. Not so much with todays cards.

I have never seen or heard of a E-series failure. The only thing I have heard are from user error.
 
Okaaaay. So there's a formatter for a Mac? I'll have to look for that. My old P2 store does have the latest software, and I do use it primarily as a card reader and not for it's HDD. It works fine with 32 GB E-Series cards.

Personally, I have been VERY happy working with P2 cards and FCP7. The workflow is so easy. Expensive, yes, but it works every time.
 
Steve Eisen said:
P2 and the Mac work very well together. P2 Formatter is used to Format P2 cards on the Mac. It will let you know the life remaining on the cards. Any Panasonic P2 card reader will also work very well with the Mac. PCD2, PCD10. PCD20 and PCD35. HPG series also works very well.

The original P2 Store you have was great for the original 4, 8 and 16 GB cards. Not so much with todays cards.

I have never seen or heard of a E-series failure. The only thing I have heard are from user error.
Click to expand...


I'll bet there is really little difference, other than marketing, between E series and original series. And I'll bet a card rated for say 20,000 uses will keep on going well past that. Kind of like a Toyota should go 100K miles but goes 300. But that's just me.
 
mainstreetprod said:
I'll bet there is really little difference, other than marketing, between E series and original series.
Click to expand...
Just google the difference between MLC and SLC memory and you'll see that there's a substantial difference.

Some of the differences between the "E" and the originals:
Original cards were rated to 640mbps, E series are 1200mbps.
Originals used 4 SD cards, E series use core memory components, no SD cards involved.
Originals used SLC memory, E series use MLC memory.
 
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