Transcend Cards, MLC vs SLC/ 2 different class 6 cards

Anthony McErlean · September 28th, 2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Durham

A hard drive is ideal for cosy conference shoots. Don't fancy using one around a factory, hanging off a roof, doing handheld work in harsh environments etc. The thing about flash based media is that it is quite robust (aside from our issues with SDHC).

Running around on location, a spinning HD with heads levitating a hairs breadth from the platter? No thanks!

Nanoflash, nice but expensive.

Thanks again Marcus. That makes sense about the HD.

Paul Kellett · September 28th, 2009, 04:26 PM

Hoodman cards are coming to the UK soon,in a few weeks, i've been told by a source/supplier already.

Paul.

Anthony McErlean · September 28th, 2009, 04:33 PM

Good news Paul.

Marcus Durham · September 28th, 2009, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Kellett

Hoodman cards are coming to the UK soon,in a few weeks, i've been told by a source/supplier already.

Paul.

Hopefully it will be within the rules for you to post who the supplier is (Hoodman being a forum sponsor) when it happens as it will enable us in the UK to buy the cards without all the hassle of importing from Hoodman directly.

Hopefully we won't have to suffer the Apple trick of the dollar price just having a Pound sign stuck in front of it!

Craig Seeman · September 28th, 2009, 04:55 PM

Please tell me all the USA places that have the ATP ProMax cards. I see a few "no name" places but not the usual reputable places.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Durham

Of course you could order from the USA as there are loads of places online selling them but in the UK Amazon was the only place I could find.

Marcus Durham · September 28th, 2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Seeman

Please tell me all the USA places that have the ATP ProMax cards. I see a few "no name" places but not the usual reputable places.

My understanding of the forum rules is that we can't post details of retailers who aren't sponsors here. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I don't have any idea who is reputable on your side of the pond, but I did look at a couple of (what appeared to be) USA based memory specialists who had the ATP cards in stock. The MXM pages have links to a supplier they recommend.

As a more obscure brand I'd wager that counterfeit cards are less likely than the Transcends or other major brands. With those I am very careful where I buy from.

Ed Kukla · September 28th, 2009, 05:39 PM

I have 8 red stripe transcend 16g cards. so far so good.

Marcus Durham · September 29th, 2009, 06:39 AM

I now have the ATP cards and have tested both on one run through. The test consists of recording long and short clips as well as overcranking at 40fps. When overcranking I ensure movement in the shot to keep the VBR codec working.

The good news is they seem to work. Red to green varies between 4.5 to 5.5 seconds on both cards. Significantly better than my newer Transcends which take 8 seconds.

The cards will happily overcrank to 40fps and go on for well over 5 minutes without error. Would be interesting to see if I could fill a card like this. Going up to 42fps resulted in an error after about a minute. Didn't need a media restore on either card though interestingly. Tried this on a Transcend and it needed to be restored.

Could it be that at 42fps the camera hits the USB transfer limit and therefore the camera gives up and writes the TOC whereas the Transcends just error because they aren't fast enough?

Either way, from initial impressions these cards are worth a closer look. They certainly give me more confidence than a Transcend that takes 8 seconds to finish writing the TOC.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I guess I'll use them and see how I get on.

Craig Seeman · September 29th, 2009, 06:52 AM

Marcus try a straight through record. Load a card in each slot and do one long record so that it crosses cards and fills both in one shot.

BTW my 32GB Sandisk Ultra II Class 2 (yes, Class 2 NOT Class 4) can do 720p24/44 without error (although it's been a while since I tested that).

Thanks Marcus. This is promising. Now to find a RELIABLE USA distributer. Neither B&H nor AbleCine (DVInfo sponsors) carry the card. Nor do my "non sponsor" source, J&R (where I got my Sandisk cards) (sorry for mentioning them but I've had to buy from non sponsors since the sponsors didn't carry the above Sandisk either).

B&H and AbelCine, do consider carrying 16GB and 32GB ATP ProMax cards, PLEASE.

Anthony McErlean · September 29th, 2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Durham

I now have the ATP cards...

Marcus, are those ATP cards 8gb or 16gb and what card reader are you using? Will they work with the Kensington reader?.

Marcus Durham · September 29th, 2009, 12:35 PM

Well I've done a straight record through onto both cards and it seems have worked. XDTransfer can see and play both clips.

No idea how to join them up but apart from that everything seems good with them.

I think the next stage is to see if some of the old hands can get their hands on these cards to see if in their opinion these are a viable alternative.

I've also spent the afternoon trying to repeat the errors on my two Transcends that went wrong. No matter what I try, I just can't.

I guess these are dark arts but I would have perhaps preferred it if I could have made that card from Friday go wrong at the 20 minute mark again.

Marcus Durham · September 30th, 2009, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony McErlean

Marcus, are those ATP cards 8gb or 16gb and what card reader are you using? Will they work with the Kensington reader?.

They are 16gb cards. I'm using the Mac Book Pro reader as well as a USB expresscard reader plugged into a Mac Pro.

No idea about any brand other than MXR (although I believe from elsewhere on the forum that MXM and Hoodman are just the same adaptors with different labels).

Anthony McErlean · September 30th, 2009, 01:12 AM

Ok, thanks.

Marcus Durham · September 30th, 2009, 08:58 AM

Just back from my shoot. Used both the ATP cards with no drama at all. The red to green time is consistant as well. Always 5 seconds.

One thing I have noted with my "dodgy" Transcends is that the red to green time can vary depending on how much of the card is used. One of the cards takes 10 seconds to clear at the start of the card but gets better a few minutes in. That suggests to me some kind of manufacturing inconsistency on what is already a slow card.

If I get any problems with the ATP cards I'll post again, but I'm certainly looking at ordering more on the basis of two test runs in the office and a real life run today.

Leonard Levy · September 30th, 2009, 10:32 AM

With all the problems I've been reading here about Sandisks and Transcends, I wonder - Has anyone had a problem with Hoodman cards yet?
I haven't seen any posts that mention it. Perhaps that's because fewer are out there, or maybe they were right and they are worth the extra $50. A small price to pay for security - if its true.

September 28th, 2009, 04:26 PM	#32
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Hoodman cards are coming to the UK soon,in a few weeks, i've been told by a source/supplier already. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

September 28th, 2009, 04:33 PM	#33
Anthony McErlean Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,077	Good news Paul.

September 28th, 2009, 05:39 PM	#37
Ed Kukla Major Player Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: All over, USA Posts: 512	I have 8 red stripe transcend 16g cards. so far so good.

September 29th, 2009, 06:39 AM	#38
Marcus Durham Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 693	I now have the ATP cards and have tested both on one run through. The test consists of recording long and short clips as well as overcranking at 40fps. When overcranking I ensure movement in the shot to keep the VBR codec working. The good news is they seem to work. Red to green varies between 4.5 to 5.5 seconds on both cards. Significantly better than my newer Transcends which take 8 seconds. The cards will happily overcrank to 40fps and go on for well over 5 minutes without error. Would be interesting to see if I could fill a card like this. Going up to 42fps resulted in an error after about a minute. Didn't need a media restore on either card though interestingly. Tried this on a Transcend and it needed to be restored. Could it be that at 42fps the camera hits the USB transfer limit and therefore the camera gives up and writes the TOC whereas the Transcends just error because they aren't fast enough? Either way, from initial impressions these cards are worth a closer look. They certainly give me more confidence than a Transcend that takes 8 seconds to finish writing the TOC. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I guess I'll use them and see how I get on.

September 29th, 2009, 06:52 AM	#39
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Marcus try a straight through record. Load a card in each slot and do one long record so that it crosses cards and fills both in one shot. BTW my 32GB Sandisk Ultra II Class 2 (yes, Class 2 NOT Class 4) can do 720p24/44 without error (although it's been a while since I tested that). Thanks Marcus. This is promising. Now to find a RELIABLE USA distributer. Neither B&H nor AbleCine (DVInfo sponsors) carry the card. Nor do my "non sponsor" source, J&R (where I got my Sandisk cards) (sorry for mentioning them but I've had to buy from non sponsors since the sponsors didn't carry the above Sandisk either). B&H and AbelCine, do consider carrying 16GB and 32GB ATP ProMax cards, PLEASE.

September 29th, 2009, 12:35 PM	#41
Marcus Durham Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 693	Well I've done a straight record through onto both cards and it seems have worked. XDTransfer can see and play both clips. No idea how to join them up but apart from that everything seems good with them. I think the next stage is to see if some of the old hands can get their hands on these cards to see if in their opinion these are a viable alternative. I've also spent the afternoon trying to repeat the errors on my two Transcends that went wrong. No matter what I try, I just can't. I guess these are dark arts but I would have perhaps preferred it if I could have made that card from Friday go wrong at the 20 minute mark again.

September 30th, 2009, 01:12 AM	#43
Anthony McErlean Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,077	Ok, thanks.

September 30th, 2009, 08:58 AM	#44
Marcus Durham Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 693	Just back from my shoot. Used both the ATP cards with no drama at all. The red to green time is consistant as well. Always 5 seconds. One thing I have noted with my "dodgy" Transcends is that the red to green time can vary depending on how much of the card is used. One of the cards takes 10 seconds to clear at the start of the card but gets better a few minutes in. That suggests to me some kind of manufacturing inconsistency on what is already a slow card. If I get any problems with the ATP cards I'll post again, but I'm certainly looking at ordering more on the basis of two test runs in the office and a real life run today.

September 30th, 2009, 10:32 AM	#45
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	With all the problems I've been reading here about Sandisks and Transcends, I wonder - Has anyone had a problem with Hoodman cards yet? I haven't seen any posts that mention it. Perhaps that's because fewer are out there, or maybe they were right and they are worth the extra $50. A small price to pay for security - if its true.