Helmut Kobler
Forum Replies Created
-
Every time Apple “reinvents” a product, it has to leave out a lot of features that existed in previous versions or competitors versions. When OS X was released, it couldn’t even play DVD movies. When the iPhone was released, it had no bloody ToDo list, MMS, etc. etc. When the “reinvented” iMovie was released, it lost a ton of effects, audio tools, etc. When QuickTime X was launched in Snow Leopard, it lost all those great editing features I had used for years in QuickTIme Pro.
So….
What will Apple leave out of this newly reinvented Final Cut Pro?? I bet it will leave out a fair amount of non-glitzy-but-still-very-useful-and-mature features, and it will take a good couple of years to get it all back. That’s dangerous territory for a product that has already languished for the last few years, with competitors like Avid and Adobe updating their products at a fast pace.
For me, this new FInal Cut hardly puts to rest my concerns for the app’s long-term viability…
——————-
Documentary Camera
http://www.varicaminla.com -
You should look into the Panasonic PCD2 USB card reader. I wrote a review here at the Cow (https://library.creativecow.net/kobler_helmut/panasonic_pcd2/1)
I didn’t test the reader on the PC, but on the Mac, under various scenarios, I copied a 32GB E series card much faster than 45 minutes.
———-
documentary camera
http://www.varicaminla.com -
I’m writing a review of the Nexto Video Storage 2500 *and* the new Panasonic MSU10. Both of these will solve your issue, if you don’t want to invest in new cards (those 64s *do* go a long way….I have 5 myself, but the Nexto and especially the Panasonic can keep you shooting forever, virtually.
Anyway, the review should up in late this week, or early next.
-H
-
A few options:
1) Get the PCD2 USB2 card reader.
It’s about $300. Here are some times I got recently when xfering a 32GB card (full) on a MBP:
Macbook Pro to internal 5400 rpm drive: 35:14
Macbook Pro to external 5400 rpm FireWire 800 hard drive: 22:49
See my review on this site for more.2) For in the field, invest in the MSU10, which is shipping within a month. It takes 1 card at a time, and xfers a card to an internal but removable SSD. Cost will probably be around $2500-$3000 but there are no moving parts so you can have it xfering while you move from one location to another, the battery life should be good, and you can hold the thing in one hand, and easily pack it for a trip.
3) Invest in a fast 5 card reader like the Panasonic PCD35 (about $2100). When connected to a fast desktop and raid, it can copy a full 64GB card in 10 minutes.
Your current setup is pretty complicated, and why would you want to tie up your camera and its battery for doing file transfers to a laptop?
-
I was going to start by asking if the lens cap was still on!
If it’s not an issue of iris or ND filter, I can’t think of any setting you might have accidentally invoked that would have disabled video to the viewfinder and LCD, or prevented the camera from recording. It sounds to me like your camera is broken. I would call Panasonic.
-
Unfortunately, you’re out of luck Robert, given that particular Mac. If you need 5 slots, then the PCD20 is the only option….but it’s so damn expensive for a USB2/FireWire 800 card reader (and the FW800 speed is just as slow as USB2 on the PCD20).
If you can make due with copying one card at a time, then then PCD2 is a better value.
-
Like Jeremy says, I leave all shots on my cards before editing. Hard drive space is cheap, and you never know when you might find something unexpectedly useful in throw-away footage.
But I do use P2 Flow to give bad clips a name, like “Ignore” or “Temp” or “Test Footage” before bringing them in for editing. You could do the same thing with Panasonic’s free P2 CMS utility, but P2 Flow is much easier. However, you can’t use P2 Flow to delete clips. It’s all about creating, not destroying. 😉
Also, I do flick the Write-Protect switch on every card as soon as I’m done shooting with it.
By the way, did you get any info from Panasonic regarding retrieving the card data?
-
I asked Panasonic about this at NAB, and got the sense that they were still debating whether 128GB cards were necessary. I have a bunch of 64GB cards and am quite happy with the capacity (my camera takes 5 at a time). If you need more than that, Panasonic might argue that you should invest in the upcoming MSU10, which is a single card reader with a user-installable solid-state hard drive. When in the field, you can dump cards quickly and easily off to the solid-state drive, and then reuse the P2 cards themselves.
If anything, I’d just like to see P2 cards get cheaper, rather than bigger.
As for card reliability, I’ve never, ever had a problem with a P2 card, and I’ve been shooting P2 since early 2006.
-
Just to be clear, it wasn’t the act of installing Snow Leopard that created the extra fan noise, it was that after installing Snow Leopard, I downloaded Atto’s newest drivers, and THAT’s when the higher fan noise started. Their drivers install some files that don’t need to be there anymore, according to Sonnet Tech Support, which had spoken with Atto tech support.
-
Hey, I have an R380 card, and had a similar problem when I upgraded to Snow Leopard. My Mac Pro under Leopard was very quiet, but when I upgraded to Snow Leopard, the PS fan in the Mac ran at about 1500rpm, instead of half that speed on Leopard. It took a while to figure it out, and I got help from the guys at Sonnet (I have a DX800 RAID). Here’s the first email where they identified the problem, followed by the email describing how to fix the problem (and I did indeed fix it). Here’s the first email:
———————-
Helmut,We don’t really need to see the video as you’ve discovered a bug that ATTO didn’t know about. My contact at ATTO got back to me about 30 minutes ago just before he was leaving for the day and explained what was going on. I just haven’t had a chance to send you an email about it. The ATTO software installs a service that revs the fans up a bit to compensate for the increased heat folks found in G5 machines. This was adversely affecting the ATTO card in those machines. They discovered a hardware fix for this heating problem so that service was no longer needed. ATTO’s software is supposed to remove it so the fans will go back to normal operation. For some reason, that service wasn’t removed in your machine. My guy at ATTO is waiting for an explanation of how to remove it from the software engineer. It will probably involve deleting a plist file of some sort. He said he’ll try to get that to me tomorrow. He wanted to call me today to let us know that something was being done.
So you’ve discovered a bug and hopefully ATTO will send me a fix tomorrow which I will pass along to you. It’s strange that yours has been the only report of increased fan noise. Or at least the only report I can remember.
Neal
Sonnet Customer Service
———————————Now here’s the second email which I followed and solved the problem……
—————————
Helmut,Left a message for my contact and had this email waiting for me this morning:
Have him delete the file /usr/sbin/fan-controllerd
He may need to be root to do this.
The plist item is /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.attotech.fan-controllerd.plist
So delete both of the above and that should restore your fans back to normal operation. Email me back if you are having any issues with the above.
Neal
Sonnet Customer Service
—————————–Hope this helps!
-H