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P2 Disaster – computer crash wiped out 16 gig card!!
we’ve just had a nightmare happen. Card # 3 (of 4) shot this weekend is blank after the computer crashed while it was being offloaded.
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> The cameraman is 100% sure the footage was on the card. (The camera is an HPX 500)
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> The media wrangler put the card into the card reader (Duel Adapter) and the moment he did that, the computer (Macbook Pro) froze. When he turned the computer off and on, and looked at the card it was empty. The card reader loads the card but it says it’s empty.
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> I also put the card back into the camera and it appears to be blank.
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> Our cameraman said this happened earlier in the month to another
producer he was working with. Same thing. The computer crashed while offloading media. They were also using the Duel Adapter to transfer the footage.
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> Is there any way to recover this footage? Is it a faulty card or a faulty card reader? The card reader was brand new. I just took it out of the packaging today. He downloaded two cards with no problem. Then, we had a 4th card with just one shot on it. And
we successfully downloaded that, after the computer crash.
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> So does that mean it’s the card at fault? Should I “trust” the card reader. Actually, I don’t trust the whole workflow now.Anyone else had this problem? Any hope of recovering my footage???
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7 Replies
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Use the camera to repair the card. There is a menu that leads to this option…refer to the manual.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Always write protect your cards before offloading.
I find it very unlikely the card would reformat itself after a crash.
If I had to blame someone, it would be the cam op. Even if he believes 100% was shot.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
Another possible solution is to use something like P2 Log Pro. They also have a clip repair option.
I’m not sure if Panasonic’s P2CMS software has that option as well, but I would definitely poke around on their site for a solution.
Good Luck,
Benny Christensen
Producers Playhouse
Oklahoma City -
Is there anything on the card at all? If it’s just a card with the normal CONTENTS folder, I don’t think there was anything on it. If the card is totally nuked, then you might have lost it.
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Hi. What could the camera operator have done wrong? There was definitely material shot because we have a time code gap between cards 2 and 4 that corresponds to what would be expected if we had the material from card 3. So he definitely turned the camera on.
Unfortunately, I just found out the card was not write protected when it went into the card reader.
Apparently that diminishes the chances that we can recover the footage?
My editor spoke to Panasonic last night and they said we should send them the card – that it’s possible they can recover the footage. But I think it’s less likely given that the card was not write protected.
And what should I do for the rest of the shoot? Obviously I won’t be using that card, but can I trust the Duel Adapter?? It was brand new yesterday but could it be faulty even though it downloaded three cards just fine. Is the problem more likely to lie with the card itself?
What should I tell the shooter to possibly do differently?? (Other than to write protect the card after he shoots it)
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Good luck with recovering the footage. I know how much that sucks.
We routinely use ShotPutPro to get the footage off the cards and onto a hard drive (twice ultimately) and import from that rather than the cards in the camera.
I would set up a routine of backup before importing. And we only bring the footage in from the camera if we have no other choice.
In fact, we have high hopes for the new card reader from Panasonic. We expect it to speed up transfers significantly. And since it is USB we won’t be limited to using a Dual Adapter card in a MacBook Pro for transfers.
Benny Christensen
Producers Playhouse
Oklahoma City, OK2 x 3GHZ Quad Core Intel Xeon – 10.5.8 – 16Gb RAM – FCP 7.02 – KONA3 – ATTO UL4D – 2 x HUGE 320RX – Facilis Terrablock 12D
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This is the fault of whomever was downloading the card, you ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS pop the protection tab. The Duel is junk anyway, mine often locks up the laptop, I would say about 40% of the time.
I would also agree that if the structure on the card is intact (Contents folder and last clip.txt), then there was no material on the card to begin with. If the card gives you “format error – cannot read card” then the card is defective, I had that happen once in 2007. Sent the card back to Panasonic and they replaced it. When shooting with multiple cards, if the camera ops and the person downloading are not well organized, it is easy to get cards mixed up and grab the wrong card/blank card, I have done that in the past.
Usually a card that has had the header not completed because of a power interruption or someone ejected the card without stopping the camera will show up as material is there but it cannot be played. Then the card repair function in the camera or with P2CMS or P2 Log Pro can repair the clip because all it is doing is completing the header. The easy way to tell if there is any material on the card is to insert it onto the Duel and just highlight > click on the card icon > command I. In the information readout, it will tell you if there is any information on the card. If it shows zero with full card capacity available, repairing the card probably won’t do anything for you.
Good luck,
Dan
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