My Time with the Hoodman SXSxSDCH Adapter
 

Hello,

I had the good fortune to spend some time with the new SxS adapter on the market made by the Hoodman corporation and would like to share my experience.

I worked with the expresscard adapter, one 16gb SDHC card and the included SDHC reader.

The packaging was clamshell but easy to open. I did not need a scissors and no injuries were reported.

The first thing I did was take the SDHC card and insert it into the SxS adapter. The fit is snug and is easy to take in and out. One thing I like is that for each action (insertion and removal) there is a definite "click" which tells me the card is locked in or being ejected. This is a plus for a system made to work together as it gives a little more confidence that the SDHC card is where it needs to be and will stay in place.

As far as I can tell, this adapter is identical to the MxR adapters I own as shown by the photo. As it needs to fit the SxS standard to use in the camera.

I then inserted the adapter with the SDHC card in the camera. The door closes just like the SxS cards. The card formatted instantly and I was filming. I tried some overcranking and found the company's claims of 48 fps to be close but a little high as I recieved error messages at 43 fps. An overcrank of 42 fps was sustainable.

After turning the camera off then back on from the last "media error" message I set the mode to 1080p30, started recording and let the camera run until the card filled up.

I wanted to push the situation and run into some errors and let the card run out of space to see how the camera reacted and behaved. In every instance I had to turn the camera off and back on to get it responsive. There might be a proper button to hit to move forward but I don't know one at this time. Upon turning the camera back on, the memory was responsive and functioning as usual. I then transferred the BVAP folder to my PC.

The SDHC card was inserted into the reader and the reader in the USB 2.0 port. I chose to just measure the raw speed of the card/reader and did not use clip browser this instance.

The transfer for the 16gb took 14 minutes so the transfer rate was over a gigabyte a minute. This is pretty nice for a USB reader and beat my other reader by a healthy margin.

So what do I think about the Hoodman SxS adapter?

I think this is a properly functioning unit for the EX-1 and a nice alternative to the price of SxS cards. I would like to see some data on reliability compared to other SDHC memory on the market to support the increased dependability claimed by Hoodman. If they can show the memory is more reliable, then this product is a must have as it is 1/4 of the price of a 16gb SxS card.

See product sheet here. Hoodman claims 720p24/48fps.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1070590-post1.html

Base on your report the behavior seems to be exactly the same as MxR, which it should be if it's the same build.

It seems the performances of their SDHC card also doesn't seem any different than Sandisk or Transcend 16GB cards (assuming Sandisk hasn't also made changes in their 16 Ultra II).

Thanks for pointing that out Craig.

I got mixed up with the number that worked rather than what Hoodman had stated.

I get media errors at 43 fps overcrank.

I will change the text in my post.

I will want to re-test the overcrank as after running a 42 fps overcrank for a while longer than before I just got a media error message.

So the 42 fps works, but for how long needs to be timed.

A sustainable fps will need to be tested further...

Hi Peter,

I did a test some time ago, well actually 05 March 2009, to be exact, comparing all the memory I could get my hands on at that time, (RAW included), that you might find interesting in your testing.

I didn't include any 32GB at that time as they were not procurable in Australia, but now are.

I guess it's time to roll up the sleeves again for an all-nighter!

Ross Herewini

You're a good man Ross!

JVC SXS recorder
 

Does anybody know if the Hoodman reader is compatible with the JVC KA-MR100G SXS recorder. The JVC sxs is PCIe based unlike the Sony sxs which is USB based. I had already got an MxR Express card but now i know (and MxR told me) that it will not work with the JVC SxS. JVC don't seem to know if any reader works as they haven't tried any yet.

Any chance these will work with the older firmware on an EX1? I really don't want to send my camera in for an upgrade. It's hard to not have it for a week or two!

I'm hoping the price of SxS cards from Sony will drop, or someone makes one that is backwards compatible, though I bet thats not possible.

Your options are send it to Sony for firmware upgrade (and it can be THREE WEEKS) or do it yourself.

You seem to be a bit confused

SxS cards, by design, is PCIe based. There is only ONE kind of SxS and JVC licensed it from Sony.

Firmware in Sony EX (EX3 from the start and EX1 by upgrade) allows the use of USB as Sony did it for their EX hard drive recorder. This is for RECORDING.

READING is another story and Sony has a SxS READER that only reads PCIe SxS. Sony has no USB reader.

Someone will have to test with JVC SxS recorder to see if the MxR USB card will work. There's no way to know without testing or JVC revealing it. It probably depends on their firmware.

Thanks Craig. I've seen the do it yourself video on VIMEO. Sort of scares me, but I just may take a few shots of whiskey and go for it! I'm also looking at the NEXTO device. Looks pretty sweet. A 320gb HDD, that connects directly to the camera or to the Sony reader. eSATA port for offloading to a computer. Can be totally battery operated using SONY batteries....looks like they are an intersting option.