Ways to damage P2 cards

C

Can Scanner

Well-known member
Has anyone damaged their P2 cards? I know they're supposed to be less prone to damage from extreme tempertures and humidity, but is there any risk of static discharge? Should you ground yourself before handling the cards? Are there any specific precautions to take?
In the manual it says to use felt tip markers on the label, but not pencils or ball point pens. I doubt that would hurt the card unless you held it like an ice pick, but how careful should we be?
 
The pencil warning would be in regards to the graphite, which is conductive and could theoretically short-circuit something. The ballpoint pen warning is probably in regards to excessive pressure one might apply while writing on the card, or ink that may not dry on the label area.

One other problem I saw reported here is that someone had a stick-on label come off while the card was inserted (don't remember if it was in the camera or a computer). That caused problems removing the card.

I haven't labeled my P2 cards (I'm a freak about keeping things looking new and untouched), but if I do, I will use a Sharpie pen on the label area.
 
I've given lots of demos where I "accidentally" drop cards, and I've never damaged one. I think you could probably run over one with a car and not damage it. I would think throwing it off the roof of a building might damage it, but it probably depends on whether it's landing on concrete or grass.

In other words, in normal handling you shouldn't be able to damage it at all. You'd probably have to do something rather extreme to it, such as hit it with a hammer or put it in a fire or something.
 
I've broken off part of the plastic where the pins plug in with what I considered normal handling. I never slam them into the PowerBook or camera yet I lost a good chunk of plastic off one. It still works fine though.
 
Ooh. Maybe you accidently threw it off a roof...
Do you think you could you RMA it, or would they assume you were hitting it with a hammer?
 
Barry_Green said:
In other words, in normal handling you shouldn't be able to damage it at all. You'd probably have to do something rather extreme to it, such as hit it with a hammer or put it in a fire or something.
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What's the chances of someone recording a 60fps slow-mo clip of this? :evil:
 
So those posts on other forums about P2 cards breaking off pins all the time are NOT true?

FWIW, I'd volunteer to over crank a filming of one being smashed, if YOU supply the card! LOL!

What about the posts on other forums I see about with regular use and no breakage, the P2 card only recording a few hundred times before it's insides die?

Seems there are a couple of threads on DVinfo.net forums complaining about P2 cards falling apart and pins breaking all the time, etc.
 
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BenB said:
So those posts on other forums about P2 cards breaking off pins all the time are NOT true?
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Well, you're on DVXUser/HVXUser, the largest community by far of HVX users, and I've never heard of a pin breaking, you'd expect that we'd hear about it if it was happening, wouldn't you?

FWIW, I'd volunteer to over crank a filming of one being smashed, if YOU supply the card! LOL!
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How 'bout we overcrank a shot of someone smashing a $20 "Digital Master Series" HDV tape instead? :evil:

What about the posts on other forums I see about with regular use and no breakage, the P2 card only recording a few hundred times before it's insides die?
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Unmitigated bullcrap. Complete fabrication, absolute lies. Probably harsher words too but I think you get the point.

Seems there are a couple of threads on DVinfo.net forums complaining about P2 cards falling apart and pins breaking all the time, etc.
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In the HVX forum? I haven't seen any there. Or is it in the HDV forum somewhere, where they're trying to spread FUD or something? Link please...
 
THoff said:
The pencil warning would be in regards to the graphite, which is conductive and could theoretically short-circuit something.
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Don't be silly.
 
Barry_Green said:
How 'bout we overcrank a shot of someone smashing a $20 "Digital Master Series" HDV tape instead?
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHA!!!!!! Oh Barry, that's funny! I gotta get ahold of one of them tapes ASAP! If someone sends me one of them tapes, I'll post the slo-mo of it's smashing! LOL!
 
J P said:
Don't be silly.
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I'm not.

Graphite doesn't adhere well to hard, non-porous materials, which is why it is sometimes used as a dry lubricant. There will always be graphite particles from whatever you write on with a pencil that simply fall or flake off.

And graphite is an excellent conductor. Simply Google "pencil mod" and you'll see lots of examples of computer enthusiasts using pencil marks to change the electrical behavior of motherboards, video cards, and other devices by rerouting the current flowing through exposed portions of the electronic circuits.
 
Ok, P2 cards do break down! I can prove it! Last night, during an outdoor cookout, I threw one in the fire, when I pulled it out the next morning, IT WAS BROKEN!

Just kidding. If I ever throw something that costs that much in a fire, someone shoot my stupid ass!

Funny, I can't find the link back to the HDV forum on DVinfo.net where they were trashing the P2. But here's a link to Video University and DMN where they are trashing DVCPRO-HD and P2 as a viable tapless format. Sorry they're such long URLs, but there you have it. And on that second link to the DMN forum, click the Read Whole Thread button. It got sort of out of hand.

http://www.videouniversity.com/foru...view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

http://www.wwug.com/cgi-bin/displaywwugpost.fcgi?forum=apple_final_cut&post=060730134247.htm
 
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