Media Error – card must be reformatted

[Ian Cook]

This should not happen during recording. The “Media needs to be restored” messages that come up after the directories have been handled on a Mac are normal. A media error that comes up while the camera is rolling is usually caused by an issue with the media itself or a buffering problem on the camera. Were these SD or SxS cards?

Ian

[Olly Lawer]

Hi,

As mentioned above I am using a Kensington 7 in 1 Media Card Reader for Expresscard Notepad Slot. Plus a 16GB SDHC Card (Class 6).

Thanks

Olly Lawer

[Craig Seeman]

Buy good SDHC cards. Sandisk Class 10 for example.
These days, people having problems with SDHC cards are buying cheap. Like tape stock was, buy cheap and you get what you get.

[Don Greening]

[Martin Phillips] “The EX3 and EX1 now have a firmware update to make it work better.”

Keep in mind that the latest firmware upgrades will cause your media to lose one minute of recording time for every 8 Gbytes of card. My SxS Pro 32G cards went from 116 min. to 112.

– Don

Don Greening
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com

[Alex Elkins]

Just updating this thread to let you all know that the same thing just happened to me, and copying back to an MXM SDHC card worked fine. The camera immediately prompted for a recovery.

It sounds like it’s very hit-and-miss as to whether SDHC cards are safe, but fortunately in my case it was saved. On the last shot of the day the camera operator had forgotten to stop recording, then just powered down the camera to pack up, hence the incomplete XML files.

Alex Elkins
Twitter: @postbluetv
http://www.PostBlue.tv
View Post Blue showreel
Shot on RED @ 100fps, Post on FCP/Color: Capoeira Film

[Martin Phillips]

Hi Alex – You were lucky, but will you feel confident using them again on a shoot?

Very easy to do stuff like switch camera off whilst recording. Also to stop / start recording whilst the light is still red (another no no for SDHC). SxS doesn’t seem to mind what you do – it just gets on with it. In over 2 years, no hassles with SxS here.

Martin Phillips Freelance Cameraman / Producer / Editor
Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK. http://www.videodvdmaker.co.uk

[Bob Cole]

[Martin Phillips] “SxS doesn’t seem to mind what you do”

I love my SxS cards. They cost too much, and they’re worth every penny.

[Alex Elkins]

[Martin Phillips] “SxS doesn’t seem to mind what you do – it just gets on with it. In over 2 years, no hassles with SxS here.”

Same here. Trouble is I’m at the post production end of the process and often don’t have a say in what media gets used. People tend to be turned on by the fact they could record for almost 4 hours on the same 64GB card, something that turns my stomach!

Alex Elkins
Twitter: @postbluetv
http://www.PostBlue.tv
View Post Blue showreel
Shot on RED @ 100fps, Post on FCP/Color: Capoeira Film

[Don Greening]

[Martin Phillips] “In over 2 years, no hassles with SxS here.”

Over three and a half years here.

– Don

Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com