Recording issue.....lost footage!!!

S

shootit

Member
First, let me say hello to all. This is my first post here. Wish it was one of praise and adoration of my new HMC-150. Please read and give me any assistance you can. Thank you in advance.

Just did some shooting yesterday. Was a long shoot and was my first time using the camera without any real practice. Used two brand new Transcend 16GB cards, class 6. Had things to do right after and didn't get to review until a few hours later. Go to look at the clips and........WHAT?!?!?!?!? Half of them are gone?????? Can anyone explain this? Is it the media? I don't understand the first 4 segements recorded. After that there were about 6 more clips that should've been on the card. Nope, not there. Nothing. Nada. This is a huge loss to me financially. My first run out with the camera and it costs me about 25% of what I paid for it. Someone please help tell me if I did something wrong or if it's the media. I checked on media before I bought and most people said that Transcend was pretty reliable stuff.

Things I did between stops and starts include adjustments in shutter speed and switching from 1080/60i to 1080/30p to 720/60p. I can't see why that would cause the issue especially since some of the clips missing are of the same res than others that are there. Please, someone calm my fears.
 
Shootit,

Did you format the card in cam?
How are you viewing the clips, in cam or on a cpu?
If it was a cpu, how did you import and what are you viewing with.

Did you go to a paying gig right out of the box....hmm

Grant
 
Also, let us know if you are missing clip numbers in the sequence of clips you do have (e.g, if you have 00000.mts, 00001.mts, 00003.mts, but no 00002.mts), or if you are just basing what clips should be there by memory?
 
yes, check the number coz sometimes its an operator error. It happen to my wife, she thinks she pushed the record button but unfortunately not.
 
shootit said:
This is a huge loss to me financially. My first run out with the camera and it costs me about 25% of what I paid for it. [....] Just did some shooting yesterday. Was a long shoot and was my first time using the camera without any real practice.
Click to expand...

I hope you manage to recover your footage - I really do. It's a real pain if you lose it.

BUT - I would like to hold this example up as exactly what NOT to do for all other potential buyers or 'any' kind of gear.

NEVER EVER buy new equipment and then use it for a paid job - or a something that is costing you money before you have had time to get to know it, back to front, top to bottom, inside out. You should always be so familiar with your equipment before using it for 'real' that you don't have to think about 'how' to use it, or figure out whether it's going to work or not.

The same goes for memory cards. When ever I buy a new memory card the first thing I do it stick it in the camera, format it, then leave the camera recording until the card is FULL. Then transfer all the footage to the computer and check it's good. I generally do this a couple of times for each card before relying on it for paid work. The same goes for batteries. Never ever use untested equipment when you need to be able to rely on it. If it's untested, assume it WON'T work.

So, with this lesson learned the hard way - I do hope you recover the footage. If the cards still work then it's unlikely to be a hardware problem (camera or card). It's likely to have been user error at some point.

The only time I even lost footage with the HMC is when I was in a big hurry to change cards and I pulled the old card out too quickly - I though the light had gone out! The camera recovered everything up to the last shot, but I did lose the last shot. Lessons learned the hard way...
 
If your watching in cam you won't see what ever resoution you shot in different then what the cam is currently set up to record in.

If your looking at them on the PC and they are still missing crap..
 
shootit said:
First, let me say hello to all. This is my first post here. Wish it was one of praise and adoration of my new HMC-150. Please read and give me any assistance you can. Thank you in advance.

Just did some shooting yesterday. Was a long shoot and was my first time using the camera without any real practice. Used two brand new Transcend 16GB cards, class 6. Had things to do right after and didn't get to review until a few hours later. Go to look at the clips and........WHAT?!?!?!?!? Half of them are gone?????? Can anyone explain this? Is it the media? I don't understand the first 4 segements recorded. After that there were about 6 more clips that should've been on the card. Nope, not there. Nothing. Nada. This is a huge loss to me financially. My first run out with the camera and it costs me about 25% of what I paid for it. Someone please help tell me if I did something wrong or if it's the media. I checked on media before I bought and most people said that Transcend was pretty reliable stuff.

Things I did between stops and starts include adjustments in shutter speed and switching from 1080/60i to 1080/30p to 720/60p. I can't see why that would cause the issue especially since some of the clips missing are of the same res than others that are there. Please, someone calm my fears.
Click to expand...

When you hook up the SD card to your computer, what do you see?

Are all your mts clips there?
 
switching formats

switching formats

shootit said:
Things I did between stops and starts include adjustments in shutter speed and switching from 1080/60i to 1080/30p to 720/60p. I can't see why that would cause the issue especially since some of the clips missing are of the same res than others that are there. Please, someone calm my fears.
Click to expand...

If the second sentence above is accurate, this probably won't help, but: if you switch formats, the camera will not play back scenes shot in the other format. If you switched from 1080/601 to 720/60p, and then went to review and play back scenes, the 1080/60i scenes would not play back. I believe they will appear on the thumbnails screen; but the camera will not play them.
 
on at least 2 separate occasions, i've been on a broll-intensive shoot and thought i was recording only to find out a few shots later that i wasn't.
for some reason, that little red record button can be tricky. i wound up recording everything between my actual shots! as much as i try to double check and make sure i'm actually recording, i've found it isn't very hard to screw up, especially when you're in a fast-paced environment.
not that this is any help to you. =(
 
I'm sorry to hear this and hope some of the advice above is helpful.

Regarding the SD card check out several long posts on the forum about issues with faulty cards and you'll see that Transend 16gb cards Made in Taiwan versions crop up regularly and are not to be trusted. However I found the problem they give is a "check card" message on the viewfinder and loss of the last recorded clip and not a number of clips as you've had.

Apart from that problem which was bad enough at the time I've used my HMC-151 as main camera for two years now and have found that it is otherwise very reliable. By the way my Made in China 16gb Transends are working fine still as are 2x Sandisk Extemes.

Anyone want to buy 2x little used Transend 16gb cards Made in Taiwan? Offers? Maybe not then.
 
averan said:
on at least 2 separate occasions, i've been on a broll-intensive shoot and thought i was recording only to find out a few shots later that i wasn't.
for some reason, that little red record button can be tricky. i wound up recording everything between my actual shots! as much as i try to double check and make sure i'm actually recording, i've found it isn't very hard to screw up, especially when you're in a fast-paced environment.
not that this is any help to you. =(
Click to expand...

I also had this exact thing happen on two different shoots with my HMC150. Now I ALWAYS pay attention to the display to ensure I am recording when I think I am. I think Panasonic should look at the design and placement of the record button. It is way too easy to press it without it engaging. My recommendations for changes:

1. Move the button 1/8 inch further out from the wall of the recess area.
2. Place a raised dimple or something similar to give tactile feedback that your thumb is actually on the record button.
3. Provide a detent that gives tactile feedback when record is switched on, and a different tactile feedback when record is switched off.
 
VideoMaker said:
I also had this exact thing happen on two different shoots with my HMC150. Now I ALWAYS pay attention to the display to ensure I am recording when I think I am. I think Panasonic should look at the design and placement of the record button. It is way too easy to press it without it engaging. My recommendations for changes:

1. Move the button 1/8 inch further out from the wall of the recess area.
2. Place a raised dimple or something similar to give tactile feedback that your thumb is actually on the record button.
3. Provide a detent that gives tactile feedback when record is switched on, and a different tactile feedback when record is switched off.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've missed a few minor b-roll shots as a result of false REC activations. Some haptic feedback in the system would be nice.
 
I think we've all blown shots due to not pressing the button when we thought we had. Worst one was one of my first corporate jobs way forever ago, and the company was doing a takeoff on "Friends" and we were shooting them splashing around in a fountain... in January (hey, they set the schedule). It was freezing cold. Well, almost freezing; the water wasn't frozen, but you get the idea. We set it up, I hit "record", they frolicked, I hit 'stop', and saw the red light come on...

While they were all drying off under the portable heaters, I had to go up to 'em and say "um, guess what... we have to do it again."

Always always always always always always check for the record light to be on...
 
Yeah... I had to run an unattended "conductor camera" yesterday, which had to be placed atop a motley collection of things to get the camera 18 feet into the air to see over the heads of a choir. The climb up was always precarious and took a minute or two.

Before each half of the concert I had to climb up, make sure it was aimed/exposed/focused right, and start it running. Each time I'd climb down, get nervous about whether it was recording, climb back up to make sure... lather, rinse, repeat! I must have climbed up nine extra times through the night to make sure everything was OK.

That's sorta the paranoia you have to have to make sure you never "lose" shots...! It's very ingrained since the time I did miss a shot this way in '04... I may seem crazy, but I haven't lost a shot since.
 
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Yes. Sometimes I think we need a giant YES YOU ARE RECORDING message to fill the screen. :)

I do find the HMC's button to be odd. I have never had a problem with recording when I shouldn't be and not recording when I should, before I bought an hmc150.

I swear the button sometimes double taps when you hit record or end record. Also when run and gunning, the button is way,way, way, way to easy to hit.

Perhaps a stiffer button would help on the next model. Not sure how to modify the existing one though and I still have 2+ years on my warranty so I don't even want to try.
 
Yes I reckon recording or not is the single most common operating mistake and a constant worry especially when shooting rapid one take wedding footage.

I agree the record button is a bit hard to find when you are under stress and needs redesigning. It's not as bad as the XHA1 though where the on/standby switch seems to be on a hair trigger. I lost count of the times that I accidentally brushed it and stopped recording something important. Really, with all the clever technology that goes into these cameras I wish they would let us field test them first before production to sort out these snags that are so avoidable. Rant over.
 
I glued a piece of roughed up cork to the button to raise it and give it a different feel. I also use PZFI on a tripod handle for start and stop or on my DVTEC Rig.
 
Following on from the tips above making the record button easier to find I've used sticky back velcro tape, the felt side not the rough side. It sticks nicely and feels about perfect.
 
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