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Need specific information about spanning and sandisk 64gb 95mbs cards for event shooting.
  • Loganm187Loganm187

    I will be shooting an MMA fighting event and will be using 2 gh2's and an AF-100. I am aware of the the spanning problem with the 64 gig cards and have a few specific questions. (I will be using cake or flowmotion by the way.)

    1: Do you have to record a short(few seconds?) clip after spanning on the a 64 sdxc card to keep from getting the "file number limit exceeded" message on an UNHACKED Gh2 after turning it back on or does that only apply to once it's hacked?

    2: Is there a certain record limit I should refrain from reaching (30 minutes?) where I should stop the recording and then follow up by recording a small clip right after to just be safe? Basically is it safe to record an hour straight then stop and record the tiny clip then turn off the unit.

    3: Only one of the two gh2's will be hacked and will be the only mobile cam during the event. Would using the hacked gh2 with cake 2.0 or flowmotion with 2 64 gig cards be fine for 4 hours of record time?

    4: Does recording over 100 clips also get the "file number limit exceeded" I just want to be confident on this shoot and heard this mentioned somewhere.

    I have read various things about the following, but really just want these answered by someone with some experience. Thank you.

  • 10 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    You like to make topic for each question. And we try to avoid such approach.

    Use either beginner topic (one about settings) or Sandisk 95Mb/s topic in Stotage.

    Otherwise I like how your clearly formulate questions. :-)

  • Loganm187Loganm187

    Sorry Vitality ;) I will post over there instead of new topic.

  • LPowellLPowell

    File-spanning is one of the GH2's touchy areas - I've seen it fail on occasion even with unhacked firmware using a slow Class 6 SD card. Since it's also very time consuming to test, a patch's file-spanning performance is a track record that accumulates over time

    With Flow Motion v2, I was able to do enough testing to verify that 95MB/sec Class 10 SD cards can support spanning in all video modes except at NTSC 1080p30 and 1080i60 frame rates. However, if you need to shoot a single extended take of a one-time event with the highest level of confidence, I'd recommend using Flow Motion's 60Mbps 1080p 24L mode or 720p H mode. Aside from their peak bitrates being limited to 60Mbps, these video modes work exactly the same as FM2's 100Mbps 24H and SH modes, and produce consistently excellent motion picture quality with just a notch more compression.

    With respect to the "File number limit exceeded" error message, I did not encounter this syndrome while developing and testing Flow Motion v2. The only situations where I've seen this glitch occur is transiently when manually switching the GH2 between PAL and NTSC frame rates. In those cases, reformatting the SD card and powering the camera off and on was all that was needed to resolve the problem.

  • Loganm187Loganm187

    Thank you LPowell and that's really good to hear. I have I think the flowmotion 2.0 100mps patch on my gh2 now, but i'm not sure. So I need to use Flowmotion 1.0 or 1.1 that does the 60Mbs? Is there an archive of patches on this site anywhere. I'm not sure which version is which. Thanks again.

  • Loganm187Loganm187

    Oh shit just switch to L mode. Duh it's the same patch, I believe I will record small clips in between my large files to just be on the safe side though to avoid the "File number limit exceeded" and I will not be switching to PAL for anything.

  • driftwooddriftwood

    File number Limit Exceeded error happens on all spans with all hi bitrate settings- flowmo too :-) - simply record a little file BEFORE switching off the camera. How many times must this be mentioned?

  • Loganm187Loganm187

    Sorry Driftwood I just worry myself when there is a lot at stake. I got it pretty drilled into my hand. tempted to put a note on my rig just in case.

  • Jim_SimonJim_Simon

    "You like to make topic for each question. And we try to avoid such approach."

    As a newcomer here, I have to say that separate questions and specific answers to that one question are MUCH more 'user-friendly' than lumping a bunch of questions into one incredibly long and often highly irrelevant thread.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    Here is some thoughts on this subject. Disk space is a simple calculation. If you feel that you don't have total confidence in the calculation , you should definitely bring more cards. But of course, you should bring more cards anyway, so it is moot. IMHO 4 hours is OK with two cards at the lower, more stable rate. But I would also bring spare cards. Take the cam outside and run it for an hour and see what happens at F5. As for the card crashing, not only is that a very real possibility, but it has happened once--and only once--to me using Flowmotion. Will I use Flowmotion on my next gig? Absolutely. (Maybe without the WB....) Suppose the card has a brain fart? Since I was running four cams, no biggie. In fact, every piece of gear I have ever owned except my Schoeps microphones has bit me at least once, including some very pricey stuff. Go figure. Have fun!

  • RRRRRRRR

    Just to be safe (if it´s crazy important); bring a laptop and card reader that can handle the sdxc cards. That way you can at least save the footage and reformat should anything happen. (+spare gh2)

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