What’s The best Firestore..

[Rennie Klymyk]

It’s always good to see a user of a system chime in in support of a piece of gear, way to go Christopher! I was “dissing” the firestore on an earlier thread and you chimed in in support of them there too and I felt I should have responded back saying I’ve never used one. When something does the job you bought it for and works for you that’s a good thing. Thank you for your voice from experience.

I admit I’ve never used one but it’s the extra bulk and tethering of cables that scares me about the technology. I have such a phobia against hardware like that as opposed to a small card that fits inside the camera the choice is a no brainer for me. When you add that to other necessities often needed like a wireless mic, a DOF adapter, a matte box, an AC power supply, an audio feed, on board light, etc. the camera starts looking like an octopus. One day someone’s going to go to a venue and find the camera guy from the last event hanging off the side of a tripod, entangled in a web of cabling, and dead from strangulation or starvation. I’ll take the cards inside the camera anytime.

When P2 cards were only 4GB I would have considered the Firestore much more seriously. Today my criteria would be:
#1- bulk and tethering VS small card inside the camera
#2- cost per GB of storage
#3- extra desire-ables like spare batteries, chargers, mounts etc.

With 64 and 128 GB cards on the horizon the argument for P2 only gets stronger however if you only use the firestore for longform locked down shooting like Michael asked about I’ll agree, they are and always will be a viable alternative for data capture.

“thou can not stir a flower without crumbling a star” ……Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[Christopher Wright]

Thanks for acknowledging that Rennie! I have also used the Firestore on several feature shoots as well, and if you are used to having to rig up a 16mm or 35mm camera with video taps, filter boxes, etc., the Firestore really just becomes another “battery” to attach to the camera mechanism! I invested in the “BeBox” which attaches to the tripod as a mounting plate and holds the Firestore quite securely, as well as a gadget that ensures a tight fit for both the firewire cable and audio headphone output. Both of those contraptions make the addition of the FS pretty painless and transparent. The only situation where I find the Firestore less than perfect is in handheld “run and gun” situations, where it can indeed get in the way of quick access. And as I have stated many times previously, when the P2 cards get to 64 and 128 GB (and beyond??), and the price is more comparable per GB to the FS, I’m sure I can be persuaded to buy a few ;>)

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[Michael Sacci]

I’m have a love/hate relationship with the Firestore. I have been burnt big time but that was a while back. Totally lost 2 different shoots (Cost me about $20K of business). One was in the earlier days when there seemed to be firewire issues. Had 3 camera/FS setups and they all were going in and out of record, in the dark durning a concert it is hard to figure out what is going on. The other was a user error with settings.

If you do use this device you HAVE to read the manual, FAQ and every other thing you can find before you go live. Once you get everything down it does work well but as stated not really for Run and Gun shooting.

If I had my choice I would shoot with P2 cards but if it makes more sense (Cheaper, even to rent a FS verse several P2 cards) I use the Firestore. Honestly there is something nerve wracking about any of the tapeless workflows.

[Rachel Lears]

Hi,
I posted the other day regarding all the problems I’ve been having with my Firestore: https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/193/872112

Since I make documentaries, I need to be able to do “run and gun” type shooting; but since I also shoot events I’m worried about switching to P2. I read the entire FS manual and did tests before beginning to shoot; but still had all these problems.

Christopher, since you seem to have the best luck/process with the FS, if you had a chance to weigh in on the specific problems I had I’d really appreciate it. Anyone else with FS experience is also welcome to reply. I’ve heard the P2 arguments and am leaning toward going that route, but I’d love to know what I was doing wrong if anything. Thanks so much!

Rachel

[Andres Jimenez]

I work in documentaries also and that’s why I decided to use Firestores over P2cards. I haven’t had any problems except for one thing, they don’t work well on extreme temperatures so if you’re planning to shoot under a heavy sun or on an extremely cold weather I recommend P2 cards, besides that I don’t see any problem with Firestores.