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express slot vs. usb reader transfer speeds
Does anybody know how much faster the express 34 slot is over the SONY sxs USB card reader? I’ve seen the other forums but can’t seem to find a general estimate. The reason I ask is because I’m considering buying a new MBP for field work and was wondering if the speedier transfer times would make up for the extra heft of a 17″ MPB (the only one with slot now).
Workflow could be up to 100GB per day, offloading cards every 60GB or so. We work a variety of shooters/cameras (mostly Sony EX and Pana HVX) so I also want the most flexibility. Is it better to buy the 15″ with two card readers (Panasonic and Sony) or to get the 17″ with the slot. I’m leaning towards the 15″.
Any thoughts would be most appreciated.
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7 Replies
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The Express slot is smoking fast. I prefer popping the SXS card in and dumping to firewire 800 drives. I find USB is terribly slow.
Good Luck
Michael Palmer -
It’s been a while but I think I timed Express slot as twice as fast USB.
Of course if you’re shooting SDHC the 15″ MacBookPro has that built in. Since SDHC cards are less expensive you might even avoid offloading during a shoot. Even if SDHC is as slow as only twice as fast as real time, that’s still plenty fast to have a card copied, cleaned and ready to go while the other is in use.
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Thanks for the responses/thoughts. I might have to go with the portability over the speed here due to the heavy travel.
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I have been ingesting SDHC using a Verbatim USB card reader (which I think everyone has) for three weeks now and I think it is pretty darned fast and efficient. I have been using the CRC function of Clip Browser and really have been amazed at how fast it is. I have not decided on my final ingest tool yet (I bought a Sonnet QIO which does not work with my 64 bit Mac Pro) but this is working fine for now.
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I use the 17 with the express slot and it crushes the usb transfer to my old Mac Pro. Via usb I would transfer about 40 minute of footage in about 15 minutes. Via express can I can transfer the same footage in about 5. Another benefit of the 17 inch monitor is the ability to view 1080p video in pixel for pixel accuracy. Don’t forget about the 17″ MBP’s better battery life as well. If you really want portability have you considered this : https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/659880-REG/Sony_PXU_MS240.html#specifications ? I have not used it but it looks interesting.
I wish I was good at one thing rather than average at many, but oh well.
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Hi Jeffrey,
If you need just downloading, buy any cheap small PC.
If you need to edit buy a 17″ MBP.
the 15″ MBP is too much for downloading and too little for editing.
The SONY device pointed by Nick is OK if you are a millionaire.
Those devices are OK:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Nexto&N=0&InitialSearch=yes
rafael -
Thanks for all the advice on this. Ultimately I went with the 15″ and the card reader. Looking at my typical workflow, this should get the job done for now.
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