sxs cards v tape

I would very interested to hear from divers who use the Sony xd cams and how they store their footage after each dive, on say, a ten day dive trip.

Coming from a Sony Z1,Fx1, it was simple and cheap, simlpy put a new tape in, number it and keep a record of what was on it.

But what to do when you are stuck with the high price of ss cards? Do you download after each dive? And what are you using in the way of a storage device?

Are you happy enough to trust all that hard earned footage to just the one device????

thanks

There are a few ways to store and backup. The Nexto Di drives are card readers with Wifi and USB3.0 (only the latest model) and can download onto the onboard HDD and/or to other USB HDD for redundancy. Great little devices but they aren't cheap. However, being multi-format, they are essential for the roving production crew.

Another way is to use a laptop and then copy from there to other drives. USB3.0 2.5" backup drives are the best and cheapest way to backup. I would still have a spare SxS card in case of failure.

Thanks Drew

And what about the ss pro cards compared to the cheaper vision? Are they more likely to fail and how common is it for one of these cards to fail?

I've only heard of PRO failures but never witnessed it. So it's best to use Google to find out about reliability. Sorry.

I use Sony Vaio laptop which has an express card slot an external USB 20/USB 3.0 HD and download using Sony Clip browser. It has been reliable and not a single failure. It is better to set the quality check (CRC) on Clip browser when moving or copying to avoid any data transfer error. In addition you can have a redundant external USB HD which you can start during your dives or night time while you are asleep.

Never tried the fast SD option yet. It is quit lucrative even for backups.

Good luck

Thanks

If I am doing some editing on the trip, I bring my Apple laptop with small external Firewire hard-drive and back up daily to that.

If not doing editing on the trip, I bring one of these things from HyperDrive: http://www.hypershop.com/HyperDrive/HDU2-1TB.html and back up daily to that.

But, in any case, I make sure that I have enough cards for all the video that I will shoot on the trip. Then I have two copies, one set travels back with me and one set travels, well secured and sealed, deep inside my luggage. I figure that, with this approach, the risk of loss is acceptable.

I never zap a memory card until I have the content copied onto my main editing computer at home and have taken at least one reliable backup. Call me cautious, but (touch wood) I have never lost an image or clip through media problems.

Regards

Peter

But, in any case, I make sure that I have enough cards for all the video that I will shoot on the trip. Then I have two copies, one set travels back with me and one set travels, well secured and sealed, deep inside my luggage. I figure that, with this approach, the risk of loss is acceptable.

 

Seriously you have enough SxS cards for an entire trip Peter? I know they have come down in price, but still that's like $3000US of media for 1 week of diving.

When using a PMW200 I generally have enough capacity on the cards to shoot all day unless things go really crazy. I then download in the evening/overnight and backup to 2 hard disks before anything is deleted from the cards.

Unfortunately I don't have deep enough pockets (and neither has anyone else I've worked for) to take $3000US of media on an XDCAM shoot. Of course maybe I'm not getting the right gigs! LOL

Cheers, Simon

Seriously you have enough SxS cards for an entire trip Peter? I know they have come down in price, but still that's like $3000US of media for 1 week of diving.

 

Cheers, Simon

Until you mentioned it, i hadn't thought of the total cost of the cards. Because I did not buy them all at once. But, yes, I do have 5 SanDisk Extreme Pro 64Gb CF cards. The first pair were 800 each but now are a bit cheaper. Probably a total spend of 3,000 USD. Ouch!

The good news is that the same cards are used in my Hasselblad so I do get double duty out of them.

Expensive but the peace of mind of having two copies of the footage is worth something...

Regards

Peter

Just as I expected, a lot of mucking about. It was so much easier and cheaper wih a $10 tape.

Just as I expected, a lot of mucking about. It was so much easier and cheaper wih a $10 tape.

Ahh, the good old days when we used hand-cranked movie film cameras in a water-proof shoe box. Nothing ever broke.

The results were crap, but nothing ever broke.

Move on, my friend. Embrace the new technology...

I'll do my very best of wise and wonderful Guri

Just as I expected, a lot of mucking about. It was so much easier and cheaper wih a $10 tape.

I also always felt happier knowing I had everything recorded and archived on a $10 tape!

Well, once again I have to encourage you into the 21st century.

Magnetic tape degrades, even in good storage conditions. Gamma rays knock the little magnetic particles out of alignment. 10 to 20 years maximum and then you'll get read errors. Of course, by then, there'll be no device that can read them anyway. Video tapes are not a good archival solution, unless well-supported by some other media.

Disk drives also deteriorate from gamma rays but have more defense from their metal casing. But they are cheap enough that you just buy another (larger) set every few years and keep your video archive alive. But, don't forget to have at least two backup sets and keep one somewhere else, in case of fire or flood.

Regards

Peter

I also always felt happier knowing I had everything recorded and archived on a $10 tape!

I always thought someone could take a joke, apparently not

I always thought someone could take a joke, apparently not

It avoids confusion if you flag a joke with one of those little smiley faces...

Lessons in etiquette as well? You really are a :"college of knowledge"

Lessons in etiquette as well? You really are a :"college of knowledge"

We aim to please.

Max, I use shotput pro to transfer footage onto 2 separate hard drives simultaneously at the end of a diving day.

That way I have 2 separate copies incase of hard drive failure & shotput will give you a green light at the end of the file once it has checked that the two transfers are identical file size & numbered files.

Cheers Pete.