Yet another question on SxS adapters

[Craig Seeman]

[Dermot Geaney] “We were going to go the adapter and SDHC route but we’re being told that some functionality available on the the SxS cards are not available on the adapters.”

Does the teller know the current state of EX firmware and card capabilities?
An MxM, MxR, Hoodman adaptor with a top quality SDHC card like Sandisk Class 10 and a camera with current firmware has all the functionality of SxS including full overcranking (which didn’t work with old camera firmware versions). SDHC doesn’t copy as fast to hard drive as an SxS card in a laptop with a compatible Express card slot but that’s about it. If you only have a laptop with a built in SDHC card reader then you actually gain that ability and don’t need Sony’s SxS to USB reader.

[Brent Dunn]

A lot of the issues with the Adapter’s are gone since the EX-1 & EX-3 had a firmware upgrade.

The confusing part is which SD cards to purchase. I purchased the Transcend cards, which gave me problems before the firmware upgrade, but seem to work fine after the upgrade. I use SanDisc on my canon 7D & 5D MII which have been solid. I would recommend buying a couple to try. If they work, then buy more.

The SxS cards have faster writing speeds. They are more durable. I only use the adapter when I have a long shoot and fill up my 32G SxS card.

If you have the budget, you might want to consider using the Nano Flash recorder. This will give you redundancy in recording, thus providing you with dual card recording. This is important when using media instead of tape. Sometimes, even with the best cards, errors occur and cards crash.

Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.net

Sony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut Studio

HP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite