e-Films Australia releases the e-HDR Hard Disk Recorder

[Ross Herewini]

Originally Posted by Dave Tyrer

Ross

The picture on your website with it sitting on top of the camera...is that the AC adaptor it's coupled with or some other kind of power supply?

Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks for pointing out that we had the wrong picture there.

In fact it is a picture of one of the many powering solutions we tried before settling on using Alex Dolgins adapter and the BPU-30 battery. That particular power pack for instance, didn't have a charge meter on it. And the manufacturer refused to put one in. So they didn't make the short list.

If you recheck we will be replacing that picture with the correct one.

If you go to the bottom of the Product Description page there is a link to the User Guide. Don't worry it's not too long.

[Clark Peters]

Will additional drive enclosures be available? If so, how much will they cost?

Thanks.
Pete

[Ross Herewini]

Originally Posted by Tim Polster

Thanks for your reply Ross.

I am at the point that the SDHC setup is not a reliable option for important work as Transcend & Hoodman cards have brought about media errors during shoots for me.

To use another adaptor based product I will need 100% compatability to be able to trust it.

Since writing to hard drives does not come close to the data flow ceiling, do you see them as less prone to error? As the SDHC cards are really pushed to their limits with datarate and fragmentation?

For me, this is the heart of the matter.

Your product is a great step for long event shoots.

Hi Tim,

I'm sorry to hear you are having problems with your SDHC setup. We have many, many users happily using Transcend cards, 16GB and 32GB and have only had a handful of problems with them over the last nine months. I suggest you go back to your supplier for support on this issue.

"To use another adaptor based product I will need 100% compatability to be able to trust it." It's a pity you have experienced a problem right from the get go with a USB solution, as it makes it so much harder to gain confidence with it again.

I had problems with one of my Sony 16GB SxS cards, it let me down when it threw an error when the camera swapped to it during a shoot. Luckily for me I had B-Roll backup, but from that time on, I only used that card for B-roll. So I know what you mean.

Can we guarantee that it will perform in all instances under all conditions?

Well we've done many, many recordings with it, pulled out power while it was recording, pulled the USB plug while it was recording, and even pulled the card from the camera when it was recording. All went well. We didn't experience one media restore error in the recording, and I think that is due to the HDD and SSD's having a built in buffer which can handle the 8-10MB burst of data that the camera can generate, ( and which is probably overloading your SDHC setup).

The reason we went for our own cable and enclosure was precisely for the reasons you are asking. If it was under our control, then it would help troubleshoot any problem. If there is going to be a problem, then we are happy to stand behind the product, but if there are too many items out of our control, then it makes it very hard for us to sort out.

All I can tell you is we tested this solution more thoroughly than the MxR and we were happy with that.

[Ross Herewini]

Originally Posted by Brian Cassar

Is this a limit of the unit? Can I insert a for example 256GB SSD drive in the unit and have much more recording time?

Hi Brian,

As Bruce points out below, this is a limit of the EX-1, it will happily format to 84GB but not beyond. Larger sizes are possible, and solutions exist elsewhere for that, but we have not been able to ensure that it will work for everyone all the time, so at this time cannot recommend it.

[Ross Herewini]

Wouldn't this device have the same limitations as any USB external hard drive for direct recording? I seems no different than my Western Digital My Book in that respect except that it has an Express Card to USB converter.

We originally were just going to supply the USB Expresscard, so that you could add any hard disk you like. What we found out quickly was that some enclosures would work, and some wouldn't. Some drives would work with those enclosures that did work, and some wouldn't. We didn't want to limit the enclosure / HDD or SSD to just a small number of combinations. So we decided it was easier to build our own, that worked specifically with the EX-1, then any HDD or SSD could be used.

I'm not really sure what limitations of a USB external drive you are referring to, but if you could give me more detail I'd be happy to try and address them.

Also,

Where is the backup if recording to the device fails? The camera will only record to one slot or the other. Will the EX instantly switch to the other slot with a card in it if the device fails?

Yes it does, when the e-HDR goes offline for any reason, ie if you pulled the power, or USB cable or the disk is full, the camera will automatically switch to the other slot, and continue recording.

[Tim Polster]

Thanks for your thoughtful and informative reply Ross.

Sounds like the SSD solution is going to be more reliable than the SDHC approach.

[Ross Herewini]

Originally Posted by Clark Peters

Will additional drive enclosures be available? If so, how much will they cost?

Thanks.
Pete

Hi Pete,

The enclosures will be available separately, but we haven't decided on a price for it just yet, as we have just caught our breath from all the release lead-up. Can I back to you on that?

[Enrique Orozco Robles]

sorry for my question, but, what about WD passport drives that are only USB-powered ? wouldn't be possible to use them with your product ?

by the way I have your MxR solution and ALWAYS works great !!!!

kind regards

[Ross Herewini]

Hola Enrique,

The "USB-powered" is the problem. You can actually power a USB device from the camera, but when we tried it, we were worried about the current drain on the camera, and heat build-up. Each slot produces 0.5ma of power, so you would have to ensure that the USB device draws under that amount. We even built a model using both slots, to power hungrier devices. It worked, but there would be no slot fallback when recording.

Pity, it would be a real nice solution.

I'm pleased to hear the MxR's are working great for you. If you thinking of moving to 32GB recording, have a look at our updated card the e-LCR it will work Sandisk Ultra II 32GB as well as Transcend.

[Enrique Orozco Robles]

...all I need then is an adapter or cable from my Dtap connector (using AB dionic with the QR-EX3 adapter on my EX3) to power your HD enclosure and figure out putting the enclosure-HDD on the rear accesory shoe of the camera and will be fully portable !! is something like this out there ?? ... (don´t want to use the dolgin with an extra-battery)....


kind regards

[Alex Dolgin]

Hmm, you need to have a 14V/5V step down voltage regulator to power the HD. But you do not need to use the extra battery. We could install a 14V input jack on the adapter, so you would use the adapter either to connect to the D-Tap 14V for your own power source, or plug in a BP-U30 battery if want an independent power source.

[Enrique Orozco Robles]

... the 14V to 5V adapter INTEGRATED in one HD-enclosure will be NICE !!... (or an HD-enclosure with 14V input capabilities) maybe as an EX3 special product, including a simple base plate to "keep" the product in the special EX3 rear accessory shoe ... that way you just "power" from your D-tap to the enclosure and all set !!
... maybe some others EX3 users with long lasting 14V batteries will appreciate this solution... I'll be the first one to get one !!!


Thank you Alex & Rose

[Mike Chandler]

Originally Posted by Alex Dolgin

Hmm, you need to have a 14V/5V step down voltage regulator to power the HD. But you do not need to use the extra battery. We could install a 14V input jack on the adapter, so you would use the adapter either to connect to the D-Tap 14V for your own power source, or plug in a BP-U30 battery if want an independent power source.

Don't you have to use the dtap to power the camera, so you can't use it to power the hd? Looking for a solution that would use one battery to power both the cam and the hd to avoid a situation like using the Phu-60, where you need to mount an add'l bpu30.

[Alex Dolgin]

Mike, I am not sure if you are familiar with the SWIT S-8U62 battery, which is a 3d party replacement for the BP-U60. It has a 12V cable coming out of the battery, it goes to the EX1/3 12V jack to power the camera. The battery also has a D-Tap jack mainly to power the on camera light. Both the cable and D-Tap are energized. So instead of the light the D-Tap can power the HD enclosure. Our 12/5V converter plate would be in line between the D-Tap and the HD. Alternatively, if you do not want to get the SWIT battery, you would get a separate BP-U60 and plug it into the plate. This way the camera and the HD would have separate power sources.

[Mike Chandler]

That's great, Alex, not having used a battery like that, I thought the dtap and the 12v were the same.

Do you make just a cable that would convert the D-tap?