Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

I will be giving the Samurai a try with a friend on a test shoot.

Makes sense to use SSD over HDD.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

I totally agree with Alister, SSD's is the best for samurai, I just gotten my own recently and I have been doing some stress test on the unit to know how hard it can withstand shake and sudden jolt and I discovered on several occassions that it stopped working and I had to do hard restart of the unit. but I must confess i did this on old HDD lying around in my studio. At the moment I am thinking of getting SSD for peace of mind. I think HDD might be good in a situation where you might do dual recording for extra security of footage not necessarily extra advantage that comes with recording uncompressed. I also think that the introduction of Avid DnxHD codec(8 and 10 bits) will be a real game changer for Samurai vs Nano.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

Anyone know a way of finding a used nanoflash at a good price?

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

What is considered a good price for a slightly used nanoFlash (including SDI & HDMI cable, usb CF reader, AC power)? I've probably only recorded 40-50 hours total on my nanoFlash aside from several hours of testing with greenscreen and a FS100. However, if I decide to start using a FS100 in more work, I will keep my nanoFlash because I really like the combo.

I have been thinking about selling mine, but I don't think I would get enough money for it to make it worthwhile. (I'm keeping my 64GB Transcend 600x and 32GB Sandisk Extreme cards since I use them with my Canon 5D & 7D)

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

Hal here is the link to my ad on DVinfo classified.

Will also send you an email as we discussed on the phone yesterday.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/private-...sh-extras.html

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

even SSDs are cheaper than CF cards, and we're talking about spinning or hybrid drives, they are way less expensive than compact flash.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

Thanks I checked and compared the pricing.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

In terms of reliability, nothing is better than the SxS cards which are designed for one purpose, and one purpose only - to record a constant stream of data.

Anyone who has been a Pro still photog knows that CF cards are not very reliable, which is why Sandisk would include recovery software with their expensive cards up until the last couple years (probably to cut costs).

Consumer SSDs are not designed to write a constant stream of data which is why many do not work reliably for video recording. However, the Enterprise SSDs which use SLC memory are designed for constant writing but cost 3-4 times as much as consumer SSDs with MLC chips.

There is a reason why Arri chose SxS cards for its internal recording and not CF cards or SSDs. Also, look at C-D's Gemini and their custom made SSDs and Red with their custom designed SSDs.

For the utmost reliability, you can't beat a memory device that is custom built for a single purpose.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

Good point Steve,

I have recorded over 30 TB with my SxS and not one dropped frame on 6 different cameras. But with CF cards and high quality ones I have had a 30% failure with cards. One of the may reasons to always dual record unless it is SXS cards.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

I tend to disagree with this: I've been a professional press and concert photographer, using digital camera's since the very beginning in the year 2000 (Nikon 1D), and on a total of more than 100,000 clicks, I have had only one instance where a CF-card let me down. Unfortunately it was the shoot of the start of the Tour de France in Antwerp, so that was a disaster. But otherwise, I have never had any problems, although some of my shoots were in rather difficult circumstances. 100 pix lost on a total of approx. 100,000... I would call that very reliable anytime.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

You can't base reliability off of your own experience and neither can I. I know a few wedding photographers who use only 4GB cards due to the problems they have experienced and do not want to risk losing more than 4GB of data at a time. For high end video, there are many people who use 2 recording systems because all forms of electronic recording fail - its not a matter of 'IF', its a matter of 'WHEN'. This is one of the main reasons why I use my nanoFlash.

Its very telling when CF manufacturers include recovery software with their products. Now, to save money, they tell their users to download the recovery software from their website rather than include mini CDs with the CF cards.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

I have based this opinion not only on my experience, but on that of numerous colleagues and friends, press photographers who also describe the CF-cards they use in their hi-end Canon's and Nikon's as 'very reliable'. Trust me, just as me they earn(ed) their living with these cards and the industry wouldn't tolerate major and frequent failures. Moreover: I would hardly compare a wedding photographer who shoots once a week (if he's lucky) to newspaper guys who shoot every day. Even the cheaper Transcend cards (without recovery software) have never let me down. The only card that ever failed was a Lexar.

That said, SD-cards are a completely different matter: they were designed for amateur use and I wouldn't trust these at all for any professional job: too flimsy.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

You really need to go and look at some of the websites that stress test SD cards for fun some time before making sweeping statements. Just even a cursory search on Youtube shows some very extreme testing. In the sample below while the Sandisk fails at the first hurdle (which granted was firing a bullet at it which shouldn't concern most of us), the Panasonic survives the bullet, being driven over and being baked.

The Most Brutal SD Card Torture Test Ever - YouTube
There were also some very interesting tests I saw last year regarding ATP cards and radiation and magnetism. The cards survived to a level that if the data was erased, frankly your footage would be the last thing you would be worrying about.

"Flimsy" is something that breaks in your hand easily, not something that breaks because it has a bullet fired at it!

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

SD-cards, compared to CF-cards, are very flimsy. Try to break a CF card in two and do the same with an SD card, you'll see what I mean. In my shirt- or back-pocket, an SD-card wouldn't live long. Moreover, SD cards have exposed contacts which makes them even more vulnerable. It's not a coincidence that all pro still camera's use CF-cards for more than a decade now. Only very rarely they also have an SD-slot, for backup, like some Canon 1D's. I do not know one of my friends and colleagues press photographers who would trust an SD card in his camera's. But that's in real everyday life, not a single test.

Re: EX3 nanoflash vs samurai?
 

"Flimsy" is exactly how I would describe SD cards. In fact, three weeks ago I had a 32GB SDHC card from a major manufacturer literally fall apart. I was using my finger tip (not fingernail) to insert it into a reader when the card split into two halves (like two slices of bread) and my finger went right into the card. After that, the card would not work and I lost about 40 clips. Luckily the camera and lighting was still setup in the studio so it only took a couple of hours to reshoot, but now I am even more wary of using SDHC cards.