SD card advice for AF100

Not meaning to change the subject but i have had my AF100 for a month and just got my GH2 today. My problem is where in heck to you buy batteries for the GH2 i haven't had any luck finding any thus far. Stuart
 
robertrogoz said:
I started shooting tapeless in August of 2009. Since that time I had 3 Transcend (16GB, class 6) and one Lexar failure. All failures with Transcend were in mildly cold conditions- about 20-25F, which really is not cold at all. Lexar died in the desert in about 95F. All failures were total and no footage could be recovered. I was shooting for 2 documentaries and it made me looks like a total amateur- sorry guys no summit footage as my card died in cold. Ever since I am only using Sandisc Extreme III (16GB class 6) and I also have one gold Panasonic 32GB class 6. I mostly use 16GB, just because if the card dies you loose less. I keep 32 GB if I am filming something longer.
Click to expand...

Are you sure that was the fault of the Transcend card and not the limitation of the camera?

According to the Panasonic "manuals":

AF100 operating range is: 32°F - 104°F
HMC150 operating range is also: 32°F - 104°F
HMC80 operating range is also: 32°F - 104°F
HPX3700 operating range is also: 32°F - 104°F


The operating range for the Transcend class 6 SDHC cards is -13°F to 185°F.

The operating range for the Lexar Professional SDHC cards is -4°F to +158°F.

The operating range for the Sansdisk Extream HC class 6 card is -13°F to 185°F.

In "theory" it does not seem likely that the problems you experianced were due to to extream temperatures upon the card. However, it does seem possible that the camera was unable to handle those temperatures.

What do you think?

Tom
 
I just got a couple of 32GB PNY Professional cards. They both tested 100%, at ~13.1MB/s. I probably won't use these as my main cards, the idea was to have a portable backup where I could make an on the spot, card to card copy of footage, and maybe hand the card to the client.
 
It says the Eye-Fi Pro X2 can transfer the AVCHD files directly from the card to Wi-Fi host :-) But the customer reviews on B&H says that the card is slow at recording speeds :-(
 
Barry:

I did some interviews for a Documentary on The AF100 , PH mode at 1080 30p. I have footage in SD cards and Ki Pro also for comparation purpose. I was affraid to loose quality because of the compression but I compared The Images in my FCP project , and You can hardly see the difference. Even when you zoom it, it almost imperceptible.

I would like to know the difference between the footage capture in SDcards and the one capture in an External Recorder (Ki Pro in this case).

Can you explain it, please?
 
Well, the explanation is -- different codecs will capture varying degrees of quality. The onboard codec is really pretty good. Not perfect, but very good and extremely usable. Your experience matches ours, for most shots there just really isn't a difference that you can see.

External recorders have the capability of delivering higher-quality footage in certain scenarios, those primarily being:
1) Chroma keying, where you need and want 4:2:2 color, and
2) Demanding situations where the codec might become overloaded. It's not all that easy to overload the AVCCAM codec, but it can be done, if you shoot outdoors by a river with lots of rippling/rushing water and you shoot a wide-angle shot with billions of tree leaves blowing in the wind... those are situations where the codec doesn't have quite enough bandwidth to handle all the detail so it might get a little soft or mushy on the fine detail, or "crunchy" in the water.

For interviews and things like that, you're going to be really hard-pressed to see any difference. For most users the onboard codec is going to be plenty good enough.
 
Is anyone using the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC - UHS Speed Class 1 cards that are rated up to 45 MB/s, and have you had any issues with those cards?
 
Last edited:
Saddler said:
Is anyone using the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC - UHS Speed Class 1 cards that are rated up to 45 MB/s, and have you had any issues with those cards?
Click to expand...

U1 = C10 = rated at 10MB/s, regardless of what the manufacturer decides to print on the label. Many people consider the SanDisk Extreme Pros to be the best in the business, some have had issues with the non-Pro Extreme cards, but those cases are very rare.

To me when other aforementioned C10/U1 cards are just fine, the SanDisks appear overpriced overkill.
 
Wait, so it's really 10 MB/s instead of 45 MB/s? It would seem that the Transcend cards aren't very reliable from the posts in this thread.
 
The best answer!!! AF100 camera is a great camera.

The best answer!!! AF100 camera is a great camera.

Barry_Green said:
Well, the explanation is -- different codecs will capture varying degrees of quality. The onboard codec is really pretty good. Not perfect, but very good and extremely usable. Your experience matches ours, for most shots there just really isn't a difference that you can see.

External recorders have the capability of delivering higher-quality footage in certain scenarios, those primarily being:
1) Chroma keying, where you need and want 4:2:2 color, and
2) Demanding situations where the codec might become overloaded. It's not all that easy to overload the AVCCAM codec, but it can be done, if you shoot outdoors by a river with lots of rippling/rushing water and you shoot a wide-angle shot with billions of tree leaves blowing in the wind... those are situations where the codec doesn't have quite enough bandwidth to handle all the detail so it might get a little soft or mushy on the fine detail, or "crunchy" in the water.

For interviews and things like that, you're going to be really hard-pressed to see any difference. For most users the onboard codec is going to be plenty good enough.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Coming from you, is the best way to learn about it!
 
Saddler said:
Wait, so it's really 10 MB/s instead of 45 MB/s?
Click to expand...

It could very well be 45MB/s (I doubt it, and it's easy to test), but since there's no such thing as a C45 or U4.5, C10 and U1 it is. Considering the camera only needs C6 at most, it's a bit of a moot point anyways. Might make a difference when dumping the card, if you have a very fast reader. Not worth the price premium to me, however.
 
So far, I'm happy using Panny SDHC cards. I do need an external reader for my iMac though. Any recommendations? I also need to download other sized cards on occasion but I'm mostly concerned with SDHC compatibility.
Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top