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Sony PMW-200
Hi Im working on a job next week with the Sony PMW-200 i dont have the card reader can i connect the camera to my mac book and take the footage from the card? Thanks Emmet
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11 Replies
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I do that all the time with my EX 1 which presumably works the same way. That’s the only way I ever take the media off the cards, camera lead into the USB of my MacBook an straight on to an external drive, preferably twice to different drives to make sure. I don’t have a reader at all.
Michael Slowe
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Cheers Michael, hopefully i should be ok, i asked camera man if there is usb output , still waiting on response from him, all the best Emmet
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Cam has USB 2.0 port and can be used as a card reader. If you shoot in 50 Mb UDF mode you will need the UDF file system driver:
https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/sxsudfdriver
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It has to be something in your applications or GPU or elsewhere, as the PMW200 does not do Proxy (hence the empty Sub folder) and when you import into FCP or Premiere you are seeing the files in their native 422 codec.
On the FCP side, make sure that in the Import window ‘Create Proxy Files’ is not enabled. This will generate ProRes Proxy which is at a much lower resolution than the XDCAM footage.
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yes, correct, there is really no other way to do it without voluntarily selecting to transcode and going through a lengthy process.
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hihi,
I got a problem after using PMW200. When I want to view the clips in XDCAM Browser which shooting by PMW200, it’s not smooth to view the clips. What’s the problem. Anything setting should be changed or the computer hardware maybe not powerful? I am using Macbook Pro.
Thanks. -
When shooting in FAT (EX) mode:
-using camera as reader or using external USB card reader = no drivers required
-using express card slot on computer = SxS device driver required
When shooting in UDF (XDCAM/HD422) mode:
-using camera as reader or using external USB card reader = SxS UDF Driver is required
-using express card slot on computer = SxS device driver and SxS UDF driver are required
Because the UDF driver is a file system driver, it is always required for UDF formatted cards. The SxS Device driver is a hardware driver which is only required when you use the built in express card slot on a laptop to mount the SxS card.
If you transfer files by any means you are transferring the full resolution clips. It’s not really possible to do otherwise. It’s recommended that you use Content Browser to do verified copies/transfers rather than just OS drag-and-drop copying. When evaluating the image quality, try and use CB or an editing program as opposed to VLC or 3rd party players. If you think you are seeing noise/artifacts, connect one of the HD outputs of the camera directly to a monitor to check the image quality.
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Hi Ian,
I was wondering if you had any advice for a problem i’m experiencing.
When filming on the PMW200 the footage on the screen of the camera and the footage when played straight from the camera into a TV is looking really great.
The issue i’m having is when the footage is being converted in an edit programme, it’s loosing it’s quality and looking noisy.
I’ve taken raw footage from my laptop, and put it back on the card and into the camera again to make sure it’s not the transfer from camera to laptop that is causing the issue and when I view it, it looks totally fine.
It’s really stumped me.
Any suggestions would be greatly received!!Many Thanks
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I just got off the phone with Sony to make sure I understood how we should copy the clips from the Sony PMW200 camera to our hard drives.
You will have to download the following software in the following sequence for it to all work properly. You may have already done this, but here it is:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Sony said that it is best to use this method to copy the footage so that you can have the software confirm the footage. DO NOT SIMPLY COPY THE CONTENTS OF THE CARD ONTO THE HARD DRIVE BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT KNOW IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE DOWNLOAD. If you use this method, then when you see the thumbnails in the top window and the bottom window, and you can play back the clips from the bottom window then you will know that the clips have been properly copied.
1. You need to register for a FREE serial number, which you will use to download the CONTENT BROWSER, which is used with the UDF 422 mode (NOT the XDCAM Browser or XDCAM Clip Browser used with the EX-1 or 3). Apparently in 30 days you will receive a notice saying that your serial number has expired, but Sony said that is only for other peripheral things, not for the Content Browser, so don’t worry and just ignore that notice.
Here is the address for the FREE serial number: https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/campaign/contentbrowser2. You then need to go to the Sony XDCAM Download page, and download TWO separate things: 1) the Content Browser and 2)
SxS Card and iLink FAM Device Drivers (for either pc or mac). This includes the SXS driver and the SXS UDF driver Version 2.00 for MAc OSX. We will only record UDF 422, but we now have both. Once you are on the page that I refer to below, you have to click on Applications, Plugins and Device Drivers.
Address for XDCAM Download page for Sony PMW200 – https://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/micro-xdcam/resource.downloads.bbsccms-assets-micro-xdcam-downloads-XDCAMSoftwareDownload.shtml
3. a. When you have the Sony reader hooked up to the computer, a large dark window opens, with the card reader on the top.
b. In the BOTTOM Browser window, you will need to create a folder in which to copy the contents of the card. You click on the destination drive, then click the little folder+ button. If you have not specified a drive, the little folder+ button is greyed out. Our folders will be on the external hard drive, and I named mine XDCAM UDF Folders. I will create a new folder for each card and the date of our shoot. If the reader sees the shots, you will see thumbnails in the top window. (Good sign!)
You then highlight the clips in the top window and then drag the clips down to the bottom window, and you will see a prompt window asking if you should copy the clip. Yes. I just copied 3 clips, 35 minutes, 90 minutes and 2 minutes – in 12 minutes. Seems too fast – I’m not complaining, but I will recheck this.
4. When you have checked everything, and we have exchanged cards so that we have a back up, we will need to delete the clips from the cards. Sony said to delete the clips from the TOP Browser window, which of course deletes it from the card. When you reinsert the Card into the camera, the camera DOES NOT NEED to reformat the card, it just starts recording. Sony said that will prolong the life of the media.
Good luck!
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Connie
Thanks a lot for that write-up
Very informing and at the same time surprising!
Surprising that you need to do all that to capture
your footage; what about simply plugging in the usb,
dragging the folders to your external hard drive
and away you go !?? Is there a problem with that
because that’s what I’ve been doing! And that
involves none of the steps you were advised on
that came from Sony. Im gonna follow your way though!
Thanks again
Neil
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