Will the GH1 always tell you if your card is too slow?

thisisapocalypse

thisisapocalypse

Well-known member
Hey guys, quick question. I noticed in one of the other threads about folks saying that in 720/60 mode, if your memory card is not fast enough, the camera will post a warning that the card is too slow. I was wondering if this is also true for 1080/24 mode, or if it will just drop the bitrate of the codec in 1080/24 mode and still allow you to shoot video.

I just got my camera and all I've had to test it with so far is a Class 2 card until my faster one comes in the mail. When the card was mostly empty, it seems like the video did not have problems recording at the full (or nearly full 17mbps) rate, but now that the card is nearly full, even in static scenes (they do have good amounts of detail) the areas of detail seem to shift in and out...detail one second, loss of detail another 2nd, etc. then it comes back...seem to happen at all ISOs/shutter speeds/different lenses, etc., it appears that its having trouble maintaining the image/codec.

Any help is appreciated!
 
Why I couldn't remember the term "compression artifacts" escapes me, but that is what the issues look like, but it is happening on a static image which is what puzzles me a little, I'm almost certain its the Class 2 card, but I'm just curious since I'm not getting an error message.
 
If cards are very full, too slow or haven't been formatted, you can definitely get dropped frames. There have been a few threads on this. In my experience this has been in the shape of a half second or so freeze of motion. You won't always get a warning. You should only shoot on class 6 or faster and don't shoot anything important without having tested the card to full first.

It's been argued that the codec is not affected by the card speed, but the more I read posts like yours the more I think that it is a possibility.
 
AdrianF said:
If cards are very full, too slow or haven't been formatted, you can definitely get dropped frames. There have been a few threads on this. In my experience this has been in the shape of a half second or so freeze of motion. You won't always get a warning. You should only shoot on class 6 or faster and don't shoot anything important without having tested the card to full first.

It's been argued that the codec is not affected by the card speed, but the more I read posts like yours the more I think that it is a possibility.
Click to expand...

Right, I don't see any dropped frames, but it does seem like on static shots with moderate detail, nothing moving, i am getting some minor artifacting...i notice it more on the computer than when i watch it through my PS3 on my 73" DLP, which is interesting, but it is still there. It makes sense as Class 2 can only technically handle 16mbps and the codec does 17mbps, so it does indeed seem possible that i could be losing 1mbps, which would amount to about 6%, and interestingly enough, it's probably only about that much of the frame that has this issue...i know the codec doesn't really work that way exactly, but I am finding it curious.

Once I test a Class6/Class10 card, I will report my findings, and maybe shoot some side by side comparisons and post them.
 
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