OT: Another EX1 question

craftech wrote on 5/25/2008, 5:51 AM
I will be buying an EX1 next month, but right now I want to decide the best transfer method for those SxS cards as there is a nice deal on a Dell Vostro laptop for around $500.

I don't really need a laptop, but the other methods of transfer didn't seem as good or any less expensive if I understood the responses to the last post I made on the subject of SxS cards.

The Vostro has a 54mm express card slot (all of those will also take 34mm cards as a standard I hear) and also a firewire port as well as USB. You can upgrade the hard drive to 120GB really cheap.

Should I buy it or is there a better transfer method for the SxS cards?

The camera now comes with one 8GB SxS card with a second 8GB SxS card as a mail in rebate offer.

Thanks for all the help.

John

Comments

farss wrote on 5/25/2008, 6:50 AM
Last Friday I hooked up a WD 1TB MyBook to a Dell lappy. Installed Shotput Express and copied a 16GB card in 8mins with verification. Gets my vote. Didn't check how full the 16GB card was so my times migh be optimistic. Still a laptop with Shotput Expess makes it a no brainer.
I haven't tried one feature in Shotput. It seems you can configure it to do the download as soon as you insert a new card and beep at you when it's done. If that works I can't see how it could get any simpler.

My only complaint. Getting the 34mm cards into the 54mm slot is just a little awkward. If there was something to fill the extra space so the card always went straight in would help if working in the dark or cramped locations and trying to use the camera at the same time.

Bob.
craftech wrote on 5/25/2008, 6:54 AM
Thanks Bob,

Why do you need the MyBook? Can't you just take the card out of the camera and insert it into the laptop to copy it while the camera is working off the other card? Are you using the MyBook to transfer it to your editing computer from the laptop?

Or am I still confused about the workflow?

John
Laurence wrote on 5/25/2008, 7:41 AM
If I was buying a new laptop, I wouldn't even consider one without a eSata port.
craftech wrote on 5/25/2008, 7:56 AM
If I was buying a new laptop, I wouldn't even consider one without a eSata port.
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The Vostro doesn't have that. It has firewire and usb. What's wrong with the firewire for transer to an editing computer? Belkin does make an Express Card adapter with two e-sata ports that can be added.

John
Laurence wrote on 5/25/2008, 9:31 AM
external eSATA drives are as fast as internal drives on a desktop. They are quite a bit faster than firewire 400, 800 and USB2. Now the slower interfaces are all fast enough for editing native HDV or Cineform, but if you're buying new, why not get the features you want. Plus, file copies and smart-renders will make use of the extra speed.

Yeah you could use a card, but not at the same time you are transferring data from an SxS card.
craftech wrote on 5/25/2008, 10:06 AM
external eSATA drives are as fast as internal drives on a desktop. They are quite a bit faster than firewire 400, 800 and USB2. Now the slower interfaces are all fast enough for editing native HDV or Cineform, but if you're buying new, why not get the features you want. Plus, file copies and smart-renders will make use of the extra speed.

Yeah you could use a card, but not at the same time you are transferring data from an SxS card.
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This is why I posted this. I need something on a shoot to dump content from the SxS cards onto until I get home where I will transfer the clips from the laptop to my editing computer.

As I understand it the camera takes two SxS cards and one can be transferred and reformatted by the laptop to get it ready to go back into the camera before the other card is full. As I understand it, the capture device (laptop) has to have the Sony software that came with the camera in order to transfer the files from the card to it, and then reset the card for use in the camera.

Unless, as I asked above, I still don't understand the workflow.

John

I am planning on ordering the laptop today, but I don't want to order the wrong thing. I guess if the SxS cards were more reasonably priced, I could get a bunch of those and not be bothered with a transfer device on location, but they cost a fortune and so do the Sony made hard drive capture devices for this purpose. My typical shoot is 2-3 hours long.
craftech wrote on 5/25/2008, 4:43 PM
Bump
farss wrote on 5/25/2008, 5:51 PM
Why do you need the MyBook?

No reason other than wanting to backup every card as it comes back from rental. If the internal drive is big enough use that.
If you're a belt and braces kind of guy then hookup an external drive and Shotput Express will copy the SxS card to both disks and verify the files. You could even connect two external drives and it'll make a copy to the internal drive and both the external drives. Then give each to different people to take home along different routes, just in case of earthquakes or a meteor.

I don't know how much faster using an eSATA connection would be in this case compared to firewire, at some point the Express Buss must become the limiting factor although it should be as fast as SATA, the card itself might not, don't really know. Certainly the transfer from SxS to MyBook via 1394a was fast enough. A speed of 2x real time is adequate in my opinion, anything faster is great but not vital if you're offloading as you shoot.

Bob.
craftech wrote on 5/25/2008, 5:59 PM
Thanks as always Bob,

I am ordering the laptop tonight.

Regards,

John
MH_Stevens wrote on 5/25/2008, 7:54 PM
If you don't have eSATA you need the SIIG express eSATA RAID card to connect to the drives. Forget a silly 120G internal drive.
farss wrote on 5/25/2008, 8:04 PM
Forget a silly 120G internal drive

Please elaborate.
You can also get 250G internal drives, that leaves 200G for media which is quite a bit even in HQ. I think it really depends what your needs are. Also not all if any external drives can be battery powered.

Bob.
Serena wrote on 5/25/2008, 8:24 PM
In my view the laptop bought for this purpose should be highly reliable and cheap. You need enough HDD to store the day's shooting and and external USB drive is a good backup. As Bob said, ShotPut Xpress will copy files to 3 HDD and a 120 GB WD laptop USB is the size of a diary and can put in your pocket. Battery life is worth considering unless you can stay on mains power.
I prefer not to carry a laptop capable of full NLE power. An expensive laptop is attractive to thieves.
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 5/27/2008, 2:29 PM
$4K for that sager in my favorite config. woot woot :)

Dave