Patrick Mcload
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks Craig, though I didn’t mean to create so much work for you in replying. Yes, I am very misinformed and will refrain from any more posts.
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Thank you for those tutorials and suggestions; I’ll explore those workflows in the next couple of days.
Obviously, sitting here in the AC at my editing desk with a big powerful MacPro is quite different than being on location in the middle of a hectic shoot day. To empty a card, I do not want to have to bring the camera inside, connect to a laptop, and transfer files from the camera. I want to have the laptop inside with the card reader. This way, I can continue shooting while another person (or myself during a break or lunch) transfers clips. Granted, that’s probably an extreme situation, but it could happen, especially if shooting 1080p.
So a Mac laptop is probably in my future. Yes, I have one of those small Passport-style hard drives, but the problem with those is that you can’t SEE anything, and there’s no indication that files have all loaded correctly. Although I haven’t played with it much, I would be more prone to connect it to the laptop and drag files into it AFTER having transferred them to the laptop. At least with a laptop, you can open that portable hard drive to see what is in it.
In transferring files via iLink from the camera, a BVAP folder is created on the desktop which contains clips. However, this folder is still somewhat of a mystery to me. Subsequent connections (from camera to computer) does not seem to produce yet another BVAP folder for transfer of new clips. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, or if I have to first make a new destination folder for these new clips.
That’s another issue I’ll have to become more familiar with.It also occurred to me that a successful transfer of clips is highly dependent on the interconnecting cables. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of low-end junk that comes free with some of these devices. I think I’ll invest in a couple of gold-end, well made cables to accompany the card reader.
I have not done so yet, but do you use the software in the camera to delete all clips or some other way? say with Clip Browser?
Many thanks.
Patrick
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Thank you all for your kind responses.
Yes, I have read both the Transfer PDF and the Clip Browser PDF. BTW, the Clip Browser PDF must be for an earlier version, as it fails to discuss two or three additional tabs in Preferences set-up menu.
I was able to copy selected files to hard drive from the SxS USB card reader using Clip Browser application, From there, each clip can be viewed, or, in Transfer, select the appropriate file on left column and all files are readily viewable.
Tho seems like this could have all been done in one application, but what do I know.
Thanks again; I think I’m on track now.
Patrick
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Let me first apologize for coming to this advanced forum and complaining like a newbie. No doubt, my frustration is born simply out of lack of knowledge and experience with the applications, terminology, and work flows.
I understand that for all practical purposes, “Transfer” requires your media to be connected and accessible, either by camera itself or via a card reader. It also seems to be geared towards importing clips into FCP, which I can do okay.
But there is just stuff I seem to not understand. For example, when a SxS card is in the reader, and I can view and play all clips, then all is well. There’s the menu option to “Import All Clips” (and button). Selecting this seems to put all clips in a task que, and it looks as though each clip is being imported from the card onto the computer….but I can never find these files after the SxS card has been ejected. So I don’t know what’s up with that. Perhaps they all need to live in a BPAV folder, and the only way to do this is with Clip Browser, not Transfer. I don’t yet see how anyone can save clips from an SxS card using Transfer….that is unless into FCP.
Don’t mind me, I’ll find my own way through this.
P
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To further muddy the water, Apple has yet to remove the failed HD format from DVDSP4 and replace it with BlueRay. I use DVDSP for all of my authoring (SD up to now), and have yet to learn how to migrate a high-definition project from DVDSP to a BluRay burner for client use.
You would think with the popularity of this application, and their immense amount of money on hand, they could fix this with an update…..but NOOOOO…they are too busy selling I-Phones.P
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Not to beat a dead horse, but my biggest fear is returning from an out of state or country shoot only to find that I did not transfer my clips correctly for one reason or another. Perhaps the answer is to just have $5,000 worth of SxS cards and not transfer ANYTHING.
Why in the world would Sony title their software “Transfer” when it has nothing to do with transferring files? I quote from the XDCAM EX Workflows manual for FCP: “To archive media from an SxS card to hard disc or other media, the Sony XDCAM EX Clip Browser application MUST (underlined) be used”.
How can this be for an application named “Browser”? To browse is to look around; to transfer is to move from one to another. I bought an overpriced $300 piece of Sony junk, the SBAC-US10 SxS Memory Card USB Reader/Writer. Hasn’t worked yet, and I can’t trust it as far as I can throw it.
But you’re right…one of these days it’s gonna bite us, and I can’t imagine how that conversation will go with the client, informing him that we only have half of the footage shot. Oh, and that expensive set-up for the CEO? It’s gone too. Yet one more reason for expensive production insurance.
At least with tape, you knew it was in the can.
Patrick
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I had a demo 350 for about 5 days, and didn’t like it. Pretty images for sure, but no 1080P recording, and recording bit rate is 35 mbps.
Biggest problem was with the big-ass color view-finder. Couldn’t fit my hand between the VF and lens. The whole camera seemed to be a bit on the “gimmicky” side. To each his own though.Patrick
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David: I Called Sony Pro assistance, and the guy said that fat round thing is only a ferrite filter designed to eliminate interference, and it appears on a lot of stuff out of Japan. He said it is easily unclipped and discarded, leaving only the cable. But true, Sony should have designed a clip somewhere at the bottom of the viewfinder to hold the cable out of the way.
I decided to pass on this camera as well as the Pana 500, waiting for something that records 1080p.
Patrick
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After studying the viewfinder holding post, I do see how a couple of 1″ or 2″ brackets could easily be made to raise the viewfinder up…but you know, I shouldn’t have to 🙁
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Many Thanks Luke! I will print this out and go through it when I get some time, as well as well as the PDF. I figured there was something I missed in the technical papers.
Best Regards,
Patrick