Christopher Wright
Forum Replies Created
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Focus hasn’t done a software update since 3.01, quite awhile ago, which mainly offered the Quicktime versus P2 option in recording your footage. There never was a problem with the second firmware update which corrected 720P24F issues from the original firmware. The 1080i P2 recording option has never been a problem. I have responded personally to many people in the FS-100 forum (and continue to do so offline) who did indeed not read the manual and had the majority of their problems by going in and changing settings that were default settings from the manufacturer. To say that others aren’t having problems with the P2 cards is ludicrous. Just follow your arrow down the long list of posts in this forum.
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“the FS100 – and if you’ve ready any of the posts here it seems fraught with issues”
FWIW, Once again most of the FS-100 “issues” seem to be operator error and just plain not reading the manual. If you read this same forum there are just as many “issues” with people using the P2 cards. I have done many shoots in Mexico and overseas, and my guess is that Steve didn’t use a voltage regulator/converter and fried his FS-100. Never leave the USA without it. Mexico is notorious for bad and wildly fluctuating AC power.
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Rumpy,
I have only had the FS-100 stop recording twice in all those 1200 hours of use, both times due to a (former)camera assistant bumping the cables during a film shoot. I caught it immediately though in the HVX viewfinder and we just shot another take. BTW, if you can afford to use those separate monitors on a shoot it seems again a simple matter to have any assistant or PA look at the Firestore to see whether it is recording or not. That is what any conscientious DP, camera assistant, Nagra operator, etc. would do with their equipment and workflow. It is kind of like not cleaning the gate in your film camera and blaming the resultant scratched film stock on the film manufacturer. Sorry it still just seems a like a lot of whining to me.
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Yes as I have often stated in both this and the Firestore forum, it really helps if you actually read the manual before you go out on a shoot. I don’t care which camera you decide to use, you need to at least peruse the manual before proceeding. It seems like a no brainer that you would also do a test shoot and import before showing up for a major job. They don’t make DPs like they used to.
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Rumpy,
I can always tell if the FS-100 stops recording because the round red record light in the HVX viewfinder goes off if their is a problem with the firewire connection and it quits recording.
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Yes, I bought one of the first ones available over a year ago, refusing to support the overpriced P2 4/8 gig cards. I have now shot over 800 hours of footage on that one without a dropped frame or damaged clip. I bought my second one later in the year, have over 500 hours on it, and again no problems. I actually used mine during a film festival shootout where everyone else used the P2 workflow. I was the only DP who didn’t have dropped frames, missing or mangled clips upon import into FCP in the whole group. I guess it always mystifies me when people bash the FS-100 on this forum, as I haven’t had a single bad experience with either one that I own! So yes, send me your Firestores in lieu of destroying them! I’ll put them to good use!
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BTW Rumpy, please don’t smash your Firestores with a sledgehammer! Just send them to me instead! I’ll even pay postage!
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Well, so much for an affordable P2 solution in the distant future…
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Do you have the FS-100 set to external CTR Pause? This will sync your camera record button to the FS-100. If you still have problems, send it in!
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Can’t help you out with this one! I’ve never bothered to use the FS-100 if I was shooting to mini-DV tape. I have only used the 720p, 720 pn, and 1080i HD modes and have never had a problem on the two I own!