Ultra-mobile P2 workflow

[Peter Richardson]

Hey guys,

I am trying to devise the most light-weight, fastest, Mac-based, and mobile P2 workflow. Here's what I've come up with:

MacBook Air P2 Genie and the Panasonic P2 software
2 x G-Raid Mini or G-Drive mini (250B, 500GB, or 1TB versions) with triple interface
1 x 5-slot P2 card reader

I think that the G-Raids and P2 card reader can all be daisy-chained on USB. If memory serves Panasonic doesn't guarantee USB on the Mac, though, so that might be an issue.

What's the consensus on this setup? Alternately, I could get a P2 gear and copy directly to hard drives. However, it doesn't seem the P2 Gear will support AVC-Intra, and I plan on getting a Varicam 2700 when it comes out. Additionally, I don't think I could daisy-chain hard drives with the P2 Gear like I could with the laptop, therefore necessitating copying all the footage shot for the day twice for redundancy. Anyway, curious to hear thoughts on this setup.

Thanks!

Peter

 

[EditingFX]

Does the Air have express slot? If so, get a DuelAdapter instead of 5-slot reader (why need so many?). I wouldn't daisychain, use FW800 for RAID1 drive. If Air doesn't have express & FW800, go with a MBP. Fuggetabout P2Gear. No need for P2 Genie, esp. going to a RAID1.

 

[Peter Richardson]

Does the Air have express slot? If so, get a DuelAdapter instead of 5-slot reader (why need so many?). I wouldn't daisychain, use FW800 for RAID1 drive. If Air doesn't have express & FW800, go with a MBP. Fuggetabout P2Gear. No need for P2 Genie, esp. going to a RAID1.

No ExpressCard or FW800 on Air. I need to use the 5-card reader because I can shoot 3-4 cards in a day and want to offload them all at once, rather than getting up at night every hour or so to switch cards.

It seems just getting a MacBook would be a more sensible decision. I have a 17" MacBook Pro already, and that's what I'm using now, but I'm looking for something more lightweight and portable, and also something I can rent out to clients as a "Mobile P2 Package."

Peter