C100: Switching slots while rolling

[bclighting]

I haven't looking in the manual yet but I was curious if there was a way to manually switch slots while the camera is rolling. I tried hitting the slot select and that didn't do it. The reason being is that while shooting events and getting close to the end of a card, I would much rather pick the moment to switch cards over it switching by itself. It works cleaner in editing if the card switch isn't in mid sentence.

 

[MattDavis]

It's all really clunky. FWIW, the switch from one slot to another is seamless with apps such as FCPX and helpers like 5DtoRGB. No frames lost, no audio glitches, all seamless.

But...

I think the problem is the AVCHD format. Although the technical quality is surprisingly good, the actual way that the system works is very rigid regarding things like file structure, file naming, and 'the things that can happen whilst recording' (i.e. no shot markers, no essence markers). All of the wonderful stuff that can happen in schema such as MXF and XDCAM-EX CANNOT happen in AVCHD as lesser cameras lack the brainpower to do it.

Another issue is that you can't open the rear gate whilst filming. On the EX1, you can be filming on card A, it seamlessly switches to card B, and whilst continuing to film on B, you can eject A, put new media in the A slot, FORMAT it (!!?! - but you can't format the card you're recording to of course), and be ready for the switchover when it happens. Theoretically, you can hot swap a long record with your DIT to record indefinitely so long as you offload the cards quickly.

So this is one of those little wrinkles that separates the C300 from the C100 - but the cost of a Ninja is so absolutely not near the cost difference between the C100 and C300 that I'd still go for the C100.

 

[bclighting]

I was spoiled in the past by the P2 system of the HPX170. I have read some of your other posts on the AVCHD format and I understand what you mean. That's too bad but I will live with it. A $34 twin pack of 16gig SD cards at Costco sure beats the $700 64g P2 cards we used to buy so I can't complain too much.

Thanks for the explanation!