Storage in the field

M

manu2004

New member
Hey guys, I´m posting for the first time, hoping somebody can help me.
I recently bought an HVX, with a couple of 8G cards. I´m about to buy a notebook so I can offload the content of the cards in the field, and keep shooting. I´ve been researching for wich system (MAC or PC) will work best. I already now new MAcs don´t have the PCIMCIA slot for reading the cards.
But the offer in PC notebooks is too wide, and í´m a bit confused about the technical specs I need.

1)For instance: Do I NEED a 7200 rpm HD, or a 5400 will do?
2)DO I Need a dedicated graphics accelerator such as an Nvidia, or the onboard Intel graphics accelerator most cheaper notebooks have, will work?
3)If i preferred a MAC, is there any adaptor so I can read the cards and download the content to the computer?
4) I´m also about to buy an external portable HD. Wich one would you recommend? (Same question about the speed)
THanx to all!!!

MANU2004
:thumbsup:
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There are many options available. Being that I already owned a G4 powerbook with a PCMCIA slot that would take the P2 card directly, all I had to do was add an external drive and I was ready to go. I found the acomdata Ondago drive to be just what I needed. It is FW400 or USB "Bus Powered" so there is no need for external power supply which means I can hook it up to the laptop and off load the P2 card without any AC in sight. I also got HD log so I can actually view the footage to make sure it is all OK before re-formatting the cards. The drive itself is 80gb but only 5400rpm and it will play the DVCPro HD footage just fine although I haven't tried to edit using it. When I get back to the hotel or home or somewhere with power I then copy the footage over to a 250 gb drive which I will use for archiving. I purchased a few from mwave.com for $75 a piece and I just install them in an enclosure I got from Cooldrives. When they fill up, I take them out of the enclosure and put them on a shelf. They only contain the P2 card contents and lastclip .txt files. The files are then imported into FCP and converted to QT files for editing on my G-Raid . Here are some links

http://acomdata.com/hdp/fs.html
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=AA34700
http://www.cooldrives.com/esata-firewire-800-enclosure-case-external.html
 
I can tell you that if you go with an external Hard drive, like we did, firewire 800 with a SATA hard drive is considerably faster than a firewire 400 or USB 2 with an IDE 133 hard drive.
 
tak1108 said:
I can tell you that if you go with an external Hard drive, like we did, firewire 800 with a SATA hard drive is considerably faster than a firewire 400 or USB 2 with an IDE 133 hard drive.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I couldn't find any FW800/sata drives that are capable of being bus powered or I would have gone that route. Which one are you using? The 250 gb drives that I use when I have AC power are 7200rpm SATA drives and the case I have can be hooked up via SATA, firewire 800 or usb. It takes me 6 1/2 to 7 mins to offload an 8gb card onto the Ondago drive while it is being powered from the laptop and about 5 mins if I dump it to the sata drive.
 
Ahh, if only P2 cards were cheap and big enough so we wouldn't have to carry around computers or drives.
 
You don't need a fast harddrive just for offloading but I wouldn't try a 5200 rpm if you plan to edit on this thing.

Abaddon said:
Ahh, if only P2 cards were cheap and big enough so we wouldn't have to carry around computers or drives.
Click to expand...

Abaddon, could you maybe make one post where you don't whine about P2s in some way shape or size? I'm all for stating one's opinion but I honestly can't recall a single post of yours that didn't complain about P2s which is really impressive since you've never used them. If you hate them so then don't bother with the HVX200 (or perhaps actually try them so your opinion will be better informed).
 
If you are getting a notebook basically only for use in the field I suggest this:

Look for a used/refurbished G4 powerbook. You'll the PCMCIA slot, a DVD burner, fw800, an good processor, etc.

When I am in the field I use my powerbook G4 1.5Ghz with external drives through fw800.


As much as I LOVE the macbook pro I will not upgrade because of the lack of PCMCIA and no adpaters currently availble....even with adapters its another loose thing to run around with.
 
Yes, the Sarlacc has it down. I got my refurb PB 15" and it just rocks! Especially as a field editor and backup to fw800 dumper for our P2 store. Unfortunately "in the field" is relative to the shooter. For us the a powerbook is useless for us when shooting.

In our situation, the P2 store is the best thing since sliced bread, and we wouldn't be without it.


But if a laptop is going to do the trick for you, I definitely second the Sarlacc!

Have a super day!
 
Ok first of all, thank you very much all of you, this has been of great help.
I´m here in Argentina, where´s very few people with this camera, so it´s a bit complicated when you are looking for help, so again Thanx!
 
I usually have power at locations where I can plug a power strip in and juice up my laptop and drives.

If not...I have an inverter for my car/rental car where I just set up in there and use it when needed.
 
BTW, if you're looking for a used laptop, I have a 15" G4 1Ghz I'm looking to sell. I'm including some additional software (like MS Office) and FCP 3.0.
PM me for details. I know this probably belongs in the classifieds section, but it seems appropriate to this thread as a solution for those looking to offload their P2 cards.
 
I just spoke with a guy from Wiebetech the other day (when ordering an AC adapter) and we got on to the subject of FW800 enclosures. According to him, Wiebetech are phasing out ALL bus powered 3.5" enclosures because of reliability issues. They recommend 2.5" bus powered drives for work in the field, either 5400 or 7200 rpm.
 
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