FireStore FS100 various topics

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Matt,

I thought you mentioned that you have a Panny contact that has used the 800 with the FS100. Can you check with them to see what menu option(s) apply to optimized use between the two? I think there are a couple of 1394 settings in the menu somewhere, now that the optional firewire card is installed. I don't have it in front of me, but I believe there is a selection for DV out somewhere, and that the default is 'Auto', with other choices being DV or DVCPRO. Perhaps there's something that can be set here(?).

Update - considering the short time with the unit to test, my shoot went very well using the FS100 this weekend. I felt right at home, and it seems to have recorded clips correctly.

I haven't been through every second of the footage, and I can't help but think that there is an audio 'pop' or glitch every once in a while (perhaps when P2 sections (files on the drive?) are combined on the editor), but so far (for the most part) it works. I will compare the 'pop' sections with the original P2 card data and report back.

FYI - I plan to shoot DVCPRO50 - P2 files with this camera.

General update: I can't seem to get the syncro slave to work on a consistent basis. Sometimes it occurs when I reboot, or reboot when in REC pause mode. I don't know that I'm getting anything that I can count on. I have just rebooted it until it starts working. When it's working/activated, the files seem fine, no corruption, etc. So it's just a matter of getting it to kick off correctly.

For the most part, I want to run it in local mode anyway, recording to the P2 cards ad-hoc in the middle. So, it's a good problem anyway (for now).

Thanks again,
Shawn

[Matt McEwen]

Hi Shawn,

Does the camera have this setting in the menu?

Camera menu, OTHER FUNCTIONS -> 1394 CONTROL = BOTH

This is what you should have set to on to control FS-100 using Tapeless mode.

Let me know.

Matt

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Hi.

I now have a couple of FS4's as well as the Panny FS100.

I'm assuming that the batteries are interchangeable between an FS4 regular or high capacity battery on an FS100 (or the FS100 batt on an FS4)? I thought I saw different product codes for the batteries on the Focus site, and figured the only difference might be the color. I didn't want to experiment and find out that you need to keep them separate.

Likewise, the AC power strip for the FS100 is different than the simpler AC's for the FS4. Can you use an FS4 AC cable on the FS100 without any problem - if you're in a pinch, or if someone does it by accident, or is only the FS100 AC cable for the FS100, etc? So far it looks like the Anton power tap adaptor works fine between any and all.

I just ordered 3 of the high-capacity cradles - so I want to make sure I can swap batts at will, etc.

Also, Matt, is there a product code/price for the regular-sized plastic cradle? I think I'd like to get one more of those as well to fill out the kits.

Thanks,
Shawn

[Shawn Alyasiri]

It looks like the SPX800 firewire settings in the menu are (found in 'Option Mode 1' menu):

1394 Type: Auto (default), DV, DVCPRO
1394 Audio In: Ch1/Ch2 (default), Ch3/Ch4
1394 Audio Out: Ch1/Ch2 (default), Ch3/Ch4
1394 Speed: S100 (default), S200, S400
1394 In Ch: Auto (default), or individual numbers 00-63
1394 Out Ch: Auto (default) or individual numbers 00-63

I'd be curious what you and/or your Panny contact would recommend as the ideal settings for use with the FS100.

It's almost looking like if sync slave isn't working, I can unplug/replug the cable and it 'kicks in'. I'm not sure that's the fix, but I'm hoping that's not a problem (dangerous to camera or FS)?

My biggest concern right now are occasional 'pops' in the audio when placed on my Edius 3.61 timeline. The pop doesn't occur on the original files from the P2 cards - just the FS100. I'll have to test more, but for my first shoot with the cam/FS100, I'm going to use the data from the P2 cards, with the FS100 data as backup.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Shawn

[Joe Matyas]

Try turning off the Alarm in the Setup Screen. I was getting a beep in my audio every time a new segment was written to the HD. Turning off Alarm solved this problem.

Joe
http://www.powerbagjunior.com

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Thanks - However, I did have the alarm off. I always turn it off after a system reset. Very Cell-Phoney beeps when that setting is on...

The 'pop' I'm hearing is just that - a pop that is very momentary but loud. It's hard to put a finger on it, because it seemed like I had got the clip to play without the pop as well. It may be an issue with how Edius is playing it, how the P2 files were muxed on import or in the FS100, etc.... Hard to say. It's a longer clip - around 50 minutes long, so I thought it may be an issue on how/where some of the .mxf sections were 'seemed' together.

I will experiment more - but for now, I'm just going to use the original p2 card data on this project (which has no pop - at least in that section of the footage).

I'd rather use/rely on the FS100 footage in the future - more/cheaper storage and faster transfer speeds.

[Gary Bettan]

The batteries, chargers and mounts are the same, only difference is the color. So you can interchange them as needed.

BTW, we have FS-4 & FS-100 accessories in stock http://www.videoguys.com/FireStore.html

Gary

[Matt McEwen]

Hi Shawn,

I have sent a question off to my Panasonic contact and will let you know when I hear back. We don't have an SPX800 here, so it is not possible to investigate this first hand.

Thanks,

Matt

[Matt McEwen]

Hi Shawn,

I have received a response form my contact at Panasonic. Here is his instructions on setting up the SPX800...

The name of the menu is "1394 CONTROL", please follow the steps below.
1) Press menu button below the lens mount for at least 3 seconds.
2) Move to "SYSTEM SETTING" by rotating jog dial next to menu button.
3) Press jog dial to select "SYSTEM SETTING".
4) Rotate jog dial to move to "OPTION MODE 1" and press jog dial to select it.
5) Select "1394 CONTROL" by jog dial. (same manner)
6) Select "BOTH" by jog dial.

Please note "1394 CONTROL" setting has "OFF" or "BOTH".
This menu shall exit when 1394 option board is equipped.

This should work with the FS-100 Tapeless mode with or without a P2 card.

Regarding the pop in the audio, do you only hear this in Canopus? Are you playing back directly from the FS-100 or had you copied it to the local drive? I checked with the guys in our lab and they said that with Canopus, sometimes they heard audio pops when playing back directly from FireWire devices they had heard pops, but copying to the local drive eliminated the issue. This only happened with Edius. Just a thought. My contact at Panasonic did try to recreate this with Edius 4, but did not see the issue.

Matt

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Thanks Matt.

Please tell your contact that I don't have the 1394 'control' selection/menu option - only the 1394 options that I detailed above.

Additionally, I did copy everything over to the system harddrive - a large system RAID - where I heard the pops - sporatically. I'm auditioning Edius 4 on my laptop, and my main/large Edius SP system is at 3.61, until version 4 is released for SP, and deemed reliable.

Not sure what else I can do/try based on the advice. Perhaps I need a camera firmware upgrade(?). Any chance I can contact your Panny guy directly? It was a significant broadcast purchase... if that's possible, please email me the name/number to: shawn.alyasiri@verizon.net. Maybe I can get everything answered tomorrow, prior to my next shoot (Saturday).

Thanks again very much,
Shawn

[Matt McEwen]

Hi Shawn,

I would recommend that you contact Panasonic service here in the US. My contact is in engineering at Panasonic in Japan. I think they would be better equipped to help you.

Regarding the pops in the audio, have you tried it in P2 viewer or another application? The reason I ask is that our lab as well as Panasonic has tried to repeat this issue and been unable to reproduce it at this point.

Thanks,

Matt

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Hi.

I've been powering my FS100 & FS4's recently via the powertap to FS cable with good success on my SPX800 cam. However, I'm going to add their 900 monitor which draws 17-18 watts. Add that to the 30-35 on the camera, and it starts adding up.

If I use the Titan AC adaptor, there is a 70watt threshold - 65 to be safe. So I'm trying to get numbers on all of my accessories (aja box, etc).

How many watts does the FS100/FS4's draw? A maximum watt figure would be good to know, to be conservative, and prevent any problems.

I may have to choose separate power supplies for various devices based on the spread.

Thanks much,

Shawn Alyasiri

[Shawn Alyasiri]

I was going to try to get a number today if at all possible, so I could shoot in confidence tomorrow. Any tech numbers would be most appreciative - maximum watts required/used on startup/powerdown, while recording, etc.

Thanks very much,
Shawn

[Joe Matyas]

[QUOTE=Shawn Alyasiri]Hi.

How many watts does the FS100/FS4's draw? A maximum watt figure would be good to know, to be conservative, and prevent any problems.


The standard FS-4 battery is marked on the back as 11.1 volts and 850 milliamps. Volts times amps equal watts (9.4 watts). Since this battery runs the FS-4 for about 90 minutes this means that the FS-4 consumes about 6.3 watts per hour.

Hope this helps.

Joe Matyas
http://www.powerbagjunior.com

[Alex Bowles]

So I understand that the drive can be connected directly to a laptop easily enough, but has anyone tried actually editing DVCpro100 in the field? Or do you need to downconvert to something like Offline RT before you can start working with your media in Final Cut?

Many thanks,

Alex