Overcoming the cost of SxS media

John_Cline wrote on 10/22/2008, 1:13 AM
I know quite a few people on this forum have Sony EX1 and EX3 cameras. Here a simple way to use readily available, inexpensive SD-HC flash memory cards instead of SxS media. The EX1 does need the v1.11 firmware, but otherwise, it requires absolutely no modification of the camera.

http://www.glasseye.com.au/articles/sdassxs/

It is discussed further on this thread:

http://forums.dvdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=46514

Comments

PeterWright wrote on 10/22/2008, 1:49 AM
Thanks for posting John - very interesting - bound to cause quite a stir ...

I've already got two Sony 16Gb SxS, which with the supplied 2 x 8Gb cards are enough for my present needs, but unless Sony do the noble thing and drop their price, I know what I'll buy if I need any more.
farss wrote on 10/22/2008, 3:38 AM
Already ordered the SDHC card and adaptor. Still waiting for the adaptor to be delivered. Seems the idea has taken off and us au XDCAM users have exhausted local stocks.

Bob.
Ros wrote on 10/22/2008, 4:59 AM
I have been using 2 Kensington readers with 4 Sandisk Ultra II 16gb for a little over 2 weeks now and it is just amazing! No need to carry a laptop anymore. Only thing is that you cannot close the door on the EX1, but I can pretty well live with that! The adapter won't work with the Sony SBAC-US10 reader but will work with an SDHC card reader and the Sony Clip browser.

Rob
Jay Gladwell wrote on 10/22/2008, 5:19 AM

This has also been discussed in great detail at the DVi forum.

One of the draw backs is that you can't use the fast/slow option with the SDHC cards. But that's a small price to pay. Simply use your SxS card when SFX are required.

Unfortunately, the Sony card reader will not recognize the Kensington/SDHC card combination.

I doubt it'll be too long before Sony comes up with a "fix" in the firmware to put the kabosh on using this "alternative" method.

Peter, I'm using the SCHD cards as a storage/backup medium.


craftech wrote on 10/22/2008, 6:09 AM
Unfortunately, the Sony card reader will not recognize the Kensington/SDHC card combination.
========
I believe that is USB vs PCIe interfaces.

John
riredale wrote on 10/22/2008, 10:00 AM
So for those of you guys trying the solid-state route, what are your impressions at this point? Using SDHC media, how would the cost compare with using tape for archiving? How often do you hit a memory error, and does it cause a dropout like tape does? What's your process for getting the video into the editing PC?
Ros wrote on 10/22/2008, 10:34 AM
So far so good, no errors, no dropouts! I have been shooting all HQ modes and 720 60P. Just received some Transcend 8gb SDHC cards today and works great. I just insert the SDHC card in my computer card slot and have Sony Media Browser read the card. and convert to mxf and then into Vegas!
So at this point, the SDHC card is my backup! It is just amazing that you can fit almost an hour of HD video on a 16gb SDHC card.
johnmeyer wrote on 10/22/2008, 11:06 AM
I'll be very interested in further reports on this. I tried to do a similar thing with the PSP, using an adaptor I purchased which permits the use of micoSD cards in place of the proprietary ProDuo Sony memory. The first one worked for about an hour and then quit. I got a replacement and it was flaky. This soured me on trying to find a way to get the cheaper SD/microSD/SDHC media variants to work in proprietary Sony stuff. Much like their infoLithium batteries, you can find third-party replacements, but they never seem to work quite right, all the time, every time. In the case of the batteries, they work, but then the internal computer chip gets confused and they won't hold a charge; in the case of the memory, they work, but then no longer get recognized once removed and re-inserted.

At least that was my experience with these two similar, but different, situations involving replacing genuine Sony with a non-proprietary alternative.
farss wrote on 10/22/2008, 12:23 PM
SxS cards are not proprietary Sony tech. Currently the only other manufacturer is Sandisk whoe developed them with Sony but as far as I know anyone could manufacture them.

The non approved solution works through the USB interface in the camera's card slots that was enabled in a firmware update. It has to work so that the Sony HDD recorders can work. It did take a lot of experimenting before someone cracked a reliable solution. It doesn't work if you overcrank the camera it would seem but it's unlikely you'd want to shoot hours of footage overcranked so the cards that came with the camera will suffice for that.
Another unknown is what'll happen if you start deleting a lot of clips and fragmenting the card. The lower speed could bring it unstuck in that scenario. Again though not a scenario that you'd use the SDHC cards in, where they're a god send is for events. I've been connecting my EX1 to a VCR to record long shows, if this pans out it frees me from having to do that.
Despite what some have been saying I don't believe this shows that we're being ripped off by Sony with their SxS card pricing. All it shows is that like everything else the fastest / best always costs much more than the stuff below it on the performance scale.

Bob.