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P2 card offloading — alternatives?
I bought an HVX200 a couple of weeks ago but it’s malfunctioning, so I’m going to send it to Panasonic and ask, “What up?”
Meanwhile, I have two P2 cards full of DVCPRO-HD images. How will I get at them, I wonder, while the camera is at the spa? And in the longer term — when I have a rugged, dependable, functional HVX200 back in my hands — what is the best alternative solution for P2 card offloading?
Having read many posts and researched around the Web, it seems that I can either purchase a dedicated P2 device or a Windows laptop with a PCMCIA card slot. I involuntarily twitch when faced with the idea of using a Windows laptop. And the notion of forking out $3K or so for a dedicated P2 device makes me sweat.
Is there any alternative that won’t make me twitch or sweat?
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5 Replies
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Buy a used powerbook g4 off ebay.. $900 for a 15″ 1.67ghz w/superdrive and with proper card slot vs. buying a cheap pc for $700 or the panasonic p2 card slot for $2000.
Just my 2 cents though. Someone may have better suggestions. -
That might be the ticket — yes — and it makes me wonder if I have a friend who has an old G4 powerbook… hmmm…
Clearly, there’s a market for a PCM card reader which would connect to a modern USB or FireWire input…
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Duel Systems is working on a PCMCIA to Expresscard adaptor. It should be out in the next couple of months. It will be capable of reading P2.
JimJim Carswell
Spyhop Productions, Inc.
Savannah, GA
http://www.spyhopproductions.com -
[kevin morrison] ” I involuntarily twitch when faced with the idea of using a Windows laptop”
I know you’re saying this tongue in cheek, but let me say in all seriousness — the PC laptop is a more reliable way to offload cards. It simply works better. Mac laptops can have issues with the cards; occasionally volumes don’t mount, sometimes Macs hang up after ejecting cards, and sometimes they glitch the footage when you copy footage from the cards. PCs DON’T. They are absolutely completely rock-solid reliable when it comes to working with the cards.
And they’re cheap. So you can spend $900 to get a used Powerbook G4, or you can spend $500 to get a new PC laptop that will be more reliable and more functional with the cards. If you want to buy an Apple solution out of loyalty, just be aware you’ll be spending more and getting less when it comes to reliability with the cards. If you want a solution that actually works better, twitch just a little but get a PC.
I’ve used the PC to offload hundreds of cards that get edited in FCP, and it always works without a hitch. When Apple and Panasonic get around to fixing whatever’s wrong in the Mac drivers, the Mac laptop will be a great option. But that day is not today. If you want a reliable solution that works right now, that you can trust your footage to 100%, no qualms, no worries, no glitches, no “volume failed to mount”, no lockups, no anything but reliable solid workable transfers — the Windows laptop is the one you should go for. And for offloading you can get the cheapest little Best Buy Holiday Special you can find, as long as it has a PCMCIA slot. With Thanksgiving Weekend coming up, I have no doubt you’ll find plenty to choose from for $399, and probably a super-sale somewhere for $299.
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Get the most from your DVX camera. The DVX Book and DVX DVD are now available on ebay and at Amazon (https://www.fiftv.com/db) -
The only thing I like about doing the powerbook offload method is that after importing I can startup the PB in target disk mode, plug in my FW800, and dump to my G5 pretty fast. I suppose using a PC laptop you could just capture straight to a PC-formatted external (which a mac can read), and plug that right into the mac when it’s done, but all my drives are working drives, and while I’m offloading I’m cutting on my G5, so I can’t part with a drive for xfer. My question to powerbook dumpers is this:
Is there any way of seeing a P2 card in the PCMCIA slot on the powerbook while it’s in target disk mode and mounted on my G5? I would love to skip the step of starting up regularly on the PB, importing P2 into FCP, restarting in target disk mode, and dumping to my G5. I’m guessing the answer is no, that the PCMCIA Slot needs the system to be running in order to read, but it’s worth a shot.
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daniel haworth
FCP 5.1, G5 Dual 2ghz, lotsa ram
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