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Issue trading P2 cards between cameras?
We’re about to head out on a shoot with our HPX2000 and found that the cards were all displaying as full when we inserted them. They had been out with our HVX200 on a job last week but were all cleared by the client and viewing them confirmed that — the camera showed no clips and looking at the cards through PCMS showed no files. However, the camera swore blind they were full, flashing green lights above the card slots and “END” in the viewfinder. Formatting the cards in the 2000 cleared up the problem and they are now recordable.
Is there a known issue switching the cards between different model cameras? It appears to be an easy fix but I’d rather be aware of this going forward so that we don’t get caught out and our clients don’t end up calling me in a blind panic while on set. As always, apologies if this is common knowledge or has been answered previously.
Thanks,
Chris Cardno
Visual Edge Productions
Bethesda, MD -
6 Replies
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It’d be best to format them in camera, or if you have a PCD20, use the p2 formatter provided by Panasonic.
By the way, if you don’t have a PCD20, think about getting one. It will change your p2 life.
Jeremy
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Thanks, Jeremy, I appreciate the response. As a follow up question, though, how does the PCD20 work with any of the capture software when the cards come up as NONAME? Does the PCD20 come with it’s own software that allows you to assign bay numbers to each card and view and sort files before transfer? Also, is it going to be worth waiting for the PCD35? Thanks.
Chris Cardno
Visual Edge Productions
Bethesda, MD -
[Chris Cardno] “Thanks, Jeremy, I appreciate the response. As a follow up question, though, how does the PCD20 work with any of the capture software when the cards come up as NONAME?”
That is the beauty of it. You can format the P2 cards in the P2 foramtter and ASSING REAL LIVE NAMES to the cards that will follow along with the card ON A MAC(!). The onyl downside is that if you format in camera the card name goes away. Also, when you put the cards in the bays, the cards will show up on your desktop with a little number on it corresponding to which bay (1-5). It makes organizing soooo much easier.
[Chris Cardno] “Does the PCD20 come with it’s own software that allows you to assign bay numbers to each card and view and sort files before transfer?”
It has a set of drivers that you install that will determine which card is in which bay.
[Chris Cardno] “Also, is it going to be worth waiting for the PCD35? Thanks. “
If you don’t mind taking up the Express34 slot on your computer it might be. All of my storage is SATA and I use the express 34 for that. The fw800 on the PCD20 is a welcome addition and my p2 transfers have never been so fast. They would probably go faster with the Express card slot, but mine is taken up as I don’t like fw800 storage.
Jeremy
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Jeremy, late follow up question for you: what kind of speed are you seeing in transfers? The reason for the question is that we just got the DuelAdapter to allow us to use the P2 cards in the PCExpress slot and I was surprised that the transfer speed wasn’t significantly faster than using the P2 Store, connected by USB 2.0, as a reader and transfer device. Here is the equipment in play:
Apple MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4MB shared level 2 cache, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
OS X version 10.5.3
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Lacie 250GB Rugged drive, connected via Firewire 800
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Panasonic P2 Store, upgraded with 16GB compatibility, connected via USB 2.0
Duel Systems Duel Adapter
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Full 16GB Panasonic P2 cardAll files were transferred without the use of a Panasonic or third part software package — files were dragged and dropped to pre-created folders on the computer desktop and hard drive. As such, there was no real-time verification of data. Here are the results:
DuelAdapter to Desktop: 8mins16secs
P2Store to Desktop: 9mins38secsDuelAdapter to Lacie: 7mins53secs
P2Store to Lacie: 8mins46secsObviously, the above set-up is for transfers in the field and I don’t know if you’re in an edit suite with all kinds of blinking lights and top notch hardware which might make a difference. Either way, I’m intrigued by the results you’re getting with the PCD20 connected via FW800.
Cheers,
Chris Cardno
Visual Edge Productions
Bethesda, MD -
Hmm, I don’t have exact specs in terms of transfer speed like that. Unfortuantely, I don’t have any full P2 cards right at the moment either. I will say, that we have 32Gigs cards and the transfer was so much faster than the P2 store. I have never used the duel adaptor, so I can’t really comment on that. I was using a MacBook Pro 2.33Ghz connected to a little Sonnet F2 that runs at or over 100 MB/sec. I also use P2CMS which has verified copying on it. While that takes longer, it brings a little peace of mind for me. Even with the verification, I was very impressed. I can try and get an exact test for you sometime soon. This last shoot we were outside all day everyday so all transferring had to be done at the end of that day and I remember being extremely happy that I wasn’t going to have to sit there and watch paint dry as the cards transferred. Now, If P2CMS could only handle multiple cards at once, that’d be the beez kneez. For now, I do it one by one.
Jeremy
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ALright. DITing on a shoot today and a full 32 Gig P2 card using the brand new ShotPut p2 software took 17 minutes with the PCD20.
ShotPut is a good way to spend $49.99
https://www.imagineproducts.com/ShotPut_P2_Edition.html
Jeremy
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