Bob Hart

I have a quiet confession to make.

Having read a multitude of horror stories on HDD devices in general and the Firestore products in a generic sense, I had become sceptical about how useful these things would really be.

I have since had a play with a DR-100 on a JVC HD-100 in helping the owner-operator set it up. There were some initial glitches with the main camera itself and the second cam. Both had obsolete firmware and dud firewire ports, one totalled, the other struggling on - just.

If one sensibly and strictly follows the instruction set and phones those who know instead of innovating and making it up as one goes along, the system is discovered to be reliable and easy to use.

The convenience of copying into computer of an hour's material in about nine minutes versus real-time capture is hard to beat.

Colin McDonald

I use a Firestore, but not all the time. For me, there's a few factors beyond system reliability and the convenience of capturing to consider.

Is is a static setup? Or is it a run and gun?
I really don't like moving about with one of these things whether it's tagged on to the camera adding extra weight or dangling precariously from a beltclip. Helicopter pilots worry less about the rotor bolts then I do about the firewire cable.

Is the shoot inside or outside? I don't have any weatherproofing for my Firestore and I wouldn't like to improvise. Rain/sand/dust/heat etc bad news.

On the other hand, is it a live event with a continuous shoot of more than 63 minutes? Do I need this in a hurry? Great. (Please, no FAT32 freakouts before I get it copied to somewhere safer).

Some of my concerns will be met when affordable high capacity card based external devices become available. (I still want the option of tape for backup and archiving).