EX-1 Clip numbering messed up, electric discharge
 

Hi,

something strange happens to the numbering of my clips from time to time.
For some reason the camera sets the number back, for example I had reached 197, then it started again from 176. This can be dangerous because xdcam transfer doesn't warn before overwriting files.
Another thing that happens and that I think might be related is that sometimes I get a little electric discharge when I touch the camera. This happens to me from time to time with other equipment as well, for some reason I seem to be a little charged sometimes.
I was wondering if this might affect the memory where the numbers are stored...?

Regarding the discharges, is it something to be alarmed about, could it damage the camera?


thanks,

David

I had the same static shock and it knocked out about 1min of footage whilst recording.

It didnt stop or hang, just when played back it froze then resumed as normal about 60secs later. I didnt know anything was up until i reviewed the file.

it is something to be careful of for sure

Maybe you need to stop wearing artificial fibres (while shooting).

I'm curious (don't want this to happen to me). What are you touching on the camera that gives you a shock? Isn't it mostly plastic?

well i was in a dry non humid place and simple went to touch the handle.

it is all plastic outside but must have been earthed enough to discharge through

The transfer tool will not overwrite files even if they have the same name/number. Instead it adds a -1 or -2 etc to the end of the file.

That's great news Allister!! I'm sticking with my work flow then.

1) Transfer from SxS to archive using XDCAM EX Clip Browser
2) Transfer from archive to RAID (for editing) using XDCAM Transfer

Sounds like this would prevent any loss of footage due to static issues. (great thread!)

That's true if you are transfering to a folder where the first file already exists. The software will prevent overwriting the original.

However, a more likely scenario is that you transfer clips with duplicate file names into different folders -- the software does nothing to prevent it -- and at some point in the future, you can't tell which file is which. What if the files get mixed later and one overwrites the other? What if you have to rebuild a project and you link to the wrong clips? All kinds of things can go wrong if you have duplicate file names.

You must be vigilant to never allow two clips to have the same name no matter where you are storing them.

I agree, but I wonder what is messing with the clip numbering in my EX-1.
After the last shock discharge I checked the numbering and it was ok, so I think there might be another reason for it. From time to time the clip numbering gets set back between 20 and 40 numbers.

Then you should use the clip browser copy tool instead of simply dragging and dropping, that way each folder will have the date and time the footage was shot as it's name which will keep clips organised.

As I said, clip browser and the transfer tool will not overwrite a clip. If your file management is poor then yes you do risk having duplicate names but that is not the fault of the software.

As Doug, myself and others advocate always use the clip title prefix to help define the clips from each shoot or job. It will help prevent duplicates, make searches easier and keep your footage organised. 20 seconds at the start of a job setting the prefix can save a whole bunch of time later.

Your clip numbering shouldn't be messed up, are the clip numbers messed up on the cards or is something happening when you copy or import the files?

Does this happen when you have deleted a clip whilst shooting?

I know with my screen capture software if I delete a shot/capture then the next capture tales the number from the one that has just been deleted.

Just a thought

I am usually naming the card and folders according to the project I'm working on in the XDCam transfer program. I didn't have any serious trouble yet, but got confused when I realized that I have several clip numbers more then one time.
I would prefer not to have to change the clip prefix for every project as I like the idea of having all my clips numbered continuously and as far as I know the camera should just keep counting.
I usually don't delete clips in the camera except for using the "last clip delete" function sometimes.