tape vs. sd cards

[Royer Films]

I didn't trust going to digital media for a long time but when it came time to buy my next camera I ended up deciding to get one and try it out. I'm really impressed with the workflow and coming from tape, I have to say that in my opinion digital media is much better! Consider investing in something to backup your data on - I purchased a DROBO with 6tb, expandable to 8tb in the future. When you break down the cost for storing media digitally on something like the DROBO vs the cost of tapes, the digital media option is actually cheaper in the long run. So my recommendation definitely goes to digital media for many reasons - don't be afraid to leave tape behind - like me, you will probably end up happy that you did.

[engineer]

Today tape provides a good backup. But not forever because you need a machine to play the tape. At some point I expect my HV30 will no longer work and thus I won't be able to read my tapes. And it is highly unlikely that I will be able to buy a new camcorder that will read the tapes. So depending on tapes for long term backup is probably not a good idea. My current backup solution is: Tape if things aren't too important. Hard disk if things are important. DVDs and hard disk for really important stuff and DVDs and hard disks are refreshed every few years. If you have really important digital stuff and want long term (tens of years or more) you must have a strategy of refreshing the backups every few years just to keep up with technology changes.
In another life I had lots of experimental data and computer models that were backed up on floppy disks, tapes, zip drives, tape, other high density drives, tape, removable hard disk, external hard drives, etc. The only data and models that are currently recoverable are those on external hard drives. The technology (hardware and software) necessary to read the other backups no longer exists. The lesson is that technology changes and you must change your backup solution to adapt to the changes or you will lose your data.
Les

[Janke]

technology changes and you must change your backup solution to adapt to the changes or you will lose your data.

Indeed, I agree 100%. I have backed up all my important old VHS stuff to DV, and the most important of that additionally on DVDs and two external HDs.

[2Bdecided]

You can't record 1920x1080p50 with tape. You can with card and HDD...
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_G...617/index.html
No more deinterlacing + an even higher bitrate than the HV20 + a more modern codec = quality bliss.
(good luck editing it though).

Cheers,
David.

[wheresgrant]

I've been using my HV40 since July filming close to 25 hours of footage. Although I love the camera I can see why HDV tape format is coming to an end in the consumer space. Let's face it, managing tape at times can be a little bulky. I've had situations like the video below where I've run out of tape while shooting. Last I agree with the complaint above... at $3 a tape it is NOT cheap... if your are shooting hours of footage. I estimate that I'll spend $250-300 per year on tape. I still have to store footage on TB drives during editing so there is no cost savings there. Lastly tape is not easy to find... I have to order them in bulk online. The only retail locations that sell HDV miniDV tapes are Radio Shack or Best Buy... at nearly $9 for a simple 63min tape. If I run low, I have to pay for express shipping while only increases my inconvenience and cost. There are certainly advantages to miniDV or HDV... but cost or accessibility not really part of that list. As much as I'd like to spring for a 2nd HV40 I may end up with a Panasonic TM700 as a 2nd unit cam. I would prefer not to mix and match, but my guess in 2-3 years I'll still be using AVCHD as the HV40 will be on the shelf, dinosaured into obscurity by a shrinking tape supply.

This is what happens when you have just 3 minutes of tape with still at least 5 minutes of footage left to cover.

[Janke]

I've run out of tape while shooting

And you will never run out of hard disk or card space??

[wheresgrant]

Well, now you are really comparing apples to oranges aren't you? How much video does a single HDV tape hold? 60-63 mins. How much video shot in AVCHD on a 32GB SD card hold? I imagine alot more than 1 hr of video. The fact is that all my shoots are 3 hours or less... that's still 3 tapes to change in a single gig. I imagine I can fit 3 hours of video on a 32GB card quite nicely.

1 TB worth of external drive space is about $80. It took me a year to fill up a 1 TB drive for storage while editing video. In just 6 months I spent more that $100 on tape... and still had to fund the external drive.

[jet]

Yes a 32gb card allows around 100/105 mins of video,cost wise rather more expensive than tape, what i miss when using my 550D as aposed to my HV 30 is not knowing how much total video i have filmed and how much is left on a card.

[BLP88]

Yes a 32gb card allows around 100/105 mins of video,cost wise rather more expensive than tape, what i miss when using my 550D as aposed to my HV 30 is not knowing how much total video i have filmed and how much is left on a card.

I thought the t2i did show how much of the card is used. I could of swore I seen it on mine.

[wheresgrant]

Is it more expensive because you are using a drive for archeiving? Yes I can understand that. My projects are much more in the moment. I usually import the footage I need for that week' worth of video. The rest can be discarded, never to be used again. Now I log and store video after I shoot which is time consuming, however I am much more choosy about the amount of video I import. However, I feel more comfortable deleting a file off a hard drive oppose to using a tape several times (which defeats the benefit of archieving to tape). Maybe I'm underestimating the storage demands of AVCHD video then. I can import about 25 minutes of HDV and have it use about 18 GB of drive space. I'm on my 3rd 1TB external drive... however I can easily access the video I need by project or folders indvidually much quicker than finding an old tape and trying to remember where a particular piece of footage was. Moreover I'm extremely concerned about the wear and tear on my HV40 just logging and capturing video. Some have suggested an external miniDV drive deck... but at $750+ I'd be better off buying a new camera wouldn't I?



Everyone has their preferences based on their project needs and there are pros and cons to tape vs Flash vs HD storage. Still I scratch my head when I hear people say that HDV miniDV is cheap and convenient.

[jet]

I thought the t2i did show how much of the card is used. I could of swore I seen it on mine.

Knowing me i may have missed it, let me know if they do.

[Bif]

I thought the t2i did show how much of the card is used. I could of swore I seen it on mine.

It does. Press MENU button, scroll with the main command dial over to the "wrench&one dot" icon, drop down to the FORMAT item and press SET. It will show how much of the card is used both in "bar graph" form and text.

From there just don't scroll to OK. You can press SET if CANCEL is still highlighted or I just press lightly on the shutter button.

You don't want to "accidentally" FORMAT the card, just check it.

I just pulled mine out of the bag, put it in "MOVIE" mode and ran through the whole routine. Best to run through it several times a week while just handling the camera. Then on "location" you can take a few seconds to check the card and get back to "work".

Bruce Foreman

[Timbit]

1 TB worth of external drive space is about $80. It took me a year to fill up a 1 TB drive for storage while editing video. In just 6 months I spent more that $100 on tape... and still had to fund the external drive.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to backup all the footage on another drive, just in case...

[wheresgrant]

That's what the 2TB drive is for... all the footage I plan to keep. Found a great Black Friday Deal at Best Buy....A Seagate 2 TB Firewire 800 drive for $83. Normally retails for $169. I should have bought two (kicking myself).

[jet]

Knowing me i may have missed it, let me know if they do.

Yes of course its on the menu under format,stupid of me.

[handy1]

Fortunately, drives have become a lot cheaper the past year or two - I just brought home two 2 TB (USB 3.0 = somewhat "future proof") WD MyBooks from Verkkokauppa, at 122 euros each...

Enter Thunderbolt...10 Gbps both ways (20 Gbps total), multiple protocols, daisy-chaining.

[Janke]

Enter Thunderbolt...

Yeah, but my puter is older than that...

[cgbier]

handy, TB is not meant for such standard situations. USB3 or FW800 are absolutely sufficient. TB is too expensive for that - the cable itself is 50 bucks alone. Got an SSD RAID cluster? Then maybe, yes, the cluster might be able to saturate your line, but a single, spinning drive?