[Brian Troy Films]

As it's getting closer to release time, has anyone seen/found/read any type of list that states which SSD is best used with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera?

I recently purchased the OCZ Vertex 3 SSD which John Brawley had been using. However, after exchanging a few tweets, he said that he had major problems with the Vertex 3. At this time I still have my SSD unopened and ready to be shipped back to B&H. I was wondering if anyone else had some more insight on this topic?

[thefulton]

Problems? What specific problems did John Brawley say he had? Was it an issue with the Vertex 3 or was it the camera that was having the problems? odd...

[John Brawley]

Problems? What specific problems did John Brawley say he had? Was it an issue with the Vertex 3 or was it the camera that was having the problems? odd...

I bought 4 240Gb OCZ Vertex 3's about 18 months ago. IN the first few months all 4 of them failed. "Bad Batch" was the reason I was given.

Since then though, two more of the replaced drives have ALSO failed.

So that's 6 out of 8 over 18 months.

jb

[Brian Troy Films]

John, I just saw your frame grabs from your recent BMCC shoot shot in ProRes (HQ). Really impressive the depth you get from the grade. Are you able to get the same outcome if you were to grade in Magic Bullet Looks?

[thefulton]

Problems? What specific problems did John Brawley say he had? Was it an issue with the Vertex 3 or was it the camera that was having the problems? odd...

I bought 4 240Gb OCZ Vertex 3's about 18 months ago. IN the first few months all 4 of them failed. "Bad Batch" was the reason I was given.

Since then though, two more of the replaced drives have ALSO failed.

So that's 6 out of 8 over 18 months.

jb

Ok. So it is a definite no to Vertex 3's. Thanks, John.

[Brian Troy Films]

What about the Crucial 256gb SSD? Is this something that is possible?

[Stephy]

Okay, no 240Gb OCZ Vertex 3. Now, what does work?

[Chris@Express35.com]

Intel SSDs have been rock solid for me and have been rock solid.

I have had problems with OCZ in the past and they still seem to have reliability issues.

[Tech]

Its a case of testing what works well with the camera I'm sure. Some good advice from Chris though. Its not the first good report on Intel I've read.

[Brian Troy Films]

I've been looking at the Samsung 830 Series along with OWC and Intel SSD's. I guess it's safe to assume as of right now to not buy a SSD until the list is released? Although, with the release of the camera quickly approaching, I thought the list would be out by now.

[Chris@Express35.com]

If the camera was finnicky, I'm sure they would have made a narrow list of SSDs that work. Considering how casual they have described SSD use in interviews, I think that any "quality" SSD will work. It is the SanDisk vs. Transcend question. I've never bought Transcend.

If we use the IT industry as a reference, the SLC Enterprise class SSDs will be the most durable over the long term. Unecessary in my mind though.

...Then again, what do I know ?

[Chris@Express35.com]

Side note...

Offload storage - 256gGB is 30 minutes of footage. A days worth of footage will require how much storage?

I think everyone's RAID storage is going to have to grow exponentially! (if usingRAW)

[Ryan E. Walters]

Any news on this front? I'm looking at getting this SanDisk 2.5" SSD: http://www.tigerdire...2690&CatId=5300

[Stephy]

Just found a small list of sorts. Further into the description.

http://www.3dbroadca...ema-Camera.html

[Brian Troy Films]

Just found a small list of sorts. Further into the description.

http://www.3dbroadca...ema-Camera.html

Stephy, do you happen to know where 3dbroadcasters.com got the SSD list? Did that list come off of the BMD Hyper Deck list?

[Ryan E. Walters]

Thanks for the link. I'm not sure I entirely trust their list- they aslo say that a 500GB drive gives you 35 minutes of RAW recording, where as the spec page for the BMDCC says that a 256 GB drive will give you 30 minutes of RAW ...

Although I have heard good reports about the SanDisk Extreme SSD's via twitter.

[Stephy]

Just a list I stumbled upon. I didn't even read the description in full as it just seemed to be a rehashing of the same information that has been reposted over and over.

I would prefer an official list rather than speculation. At the moment the only thing we know for sure, thanks to John Brawley is not to invest in OCZ. I would very much like to know more about Transcend or OWC.

[Ryan E. Walters]

I agree- a list would be great. Or at least a spec sheet showing the recommended minimum specs for drives ...

With SD cards, I've had better success with SanDisk over Transcend- but I know that is different tech. Right now, I think I may roll the dice on the Extreme SSD's from SanDisk and see what happens ...

[Brian Troy Films]

Just a list I stumbled upon. I didn't even read the description in full as it just seemed to be a rehashing of the same information that has been reposted over and over.

I would prefer an official list rather than speculation. At the moment the only thing we know for sure, thanks to John Brawley is not to invest in OCZ. I would very much like to know more about Transcend or OWC.

Absolutely! I bought the OCZ Vertex a few weeks ago and thankfully John Brawley told me about his troubles. I sent it back last week. A friend of mine recommended the OWC as that's what he has been using, especially with the BMD HyperDeck.

I agree with both yourself (Stephy) and Ryan on wishing there was an "Official" list. I hate having to assume here, but I'm assuming that maybe next week or the week after we'll be seeing an "Official" list. Here's hoping.

In the mean time, I am looking at the Crucial M4 256gb SSD. It's $199. However, I hope this isn't a case of, you get what you pay for. I would like to grab an OWC, but I know how expensive they are. Then again, from what I hear, they're very reliable and durable.

[Brian Troy Films]

Not sure if anyone has seen this, but I just checked BMD's website today and finally found that they added "support" FAQ's to their BMCC page. This is what I found:

http://www.blackmagi...id=27542&os=mac

However, the one drawback I found was the last question: "Which SSD's should I use with the HyperDecks?" You can use a HyperDeck with the camera, but what happens if you're not using one? I didn't see anything where they addressed John Brawley's issues with the OCZ Vertex 3 SSD's. On the contrary, the OCZ Vertex 3 is at the top of their list.

I might try the Crucial M4 256gb for now.

[Ryan E. Walters]

Thanks for the heads up.

Personally, I'd stay away from the M4 256GB drives as the wording on the site concerns me: " There are some SSD's which we have tested and found to drop frames when capturing RAW CinemaDNG video. However, they still work well when capturing compressed video. " And then under compressed they list the M4 256GB, the 512GB is listed under the RAW.

I'm very interested to know more about the Vertex 3- as they list it as good, but John's and others experiences say they are not reliable ...

[Ryan E. Walters]

Here is some of my research on the matter so far ...

Mr. Brawley is not alone in his experience with the OCZ drives- it looks like many others have had the same issues:
http://www.newegg.co...#scrollFullInfo

Crucial seems to be a little bit better, but not by a lot:
http://www.newegg.co...#scrollFullInfo

Kingston doesn't have enough reviews yet to really say how they might do over the long haul...
http://www.newegg.co...=9SIA0SF0BD7216

The Samsung they list doesn't have enough reviews either, but other drives seem to be getting good reviews:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147139

SanDisk is limited on reviews as well:
http://www.newegg.co...k Extreme 480gb

Although not listed on the BMDCC page as an "approved" drive, I'd be surprised if it didn't work. Intel seems to be getting the highest reviews and lowest failure rates around:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820167093

[kk5hy]

Hi Ryan,
That Kingston has a lot of good reviews and is almost $100 cheaper on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co...G/dp/B006YLTLUY

[Ryan E. Walters]

Oh, great find- thanks- very helpful.

It looks like there is even more research I have to do now, as apparently not all SSD's play nicely with Mac's. One of the 1 star reviews for the kingston drive said it didn't work on his Mac ...
http://www.amazon.co...erBy=addOneStar

[Brian Troy Films]

Ryan,

A friend of mine has recommended the OWC SSD's. He uses it with the BMD HyperDeck and has said nothing but positive things about it. From my research I have found a lot of positive notes on OWC.

[BlackmagicUser]

I saw that Brian. Sounded like he'd tried and tested a few.

[Brian Troy Films]

I saw that Brian. Sounded like he'd tried and tested a few.

I hope so. When I posted that I had bought the OCZ Vertex 3 he messaged me saying that was a bad idea. Shortly after, John Brawley had begun to tweet me and I then found out how much of a mistake it was ha! So, I know OWC is a little expensive, but I'd rather pay a little more than continuously spend more on new SSD's. Probably will go for the 240gb or 250gb, which ever it is.

[Ryan E. Walters]

Thanks for the heads up Brian. I agree, spending more up front on decent media is well worth it in the long run. I would really hate to be shooting on set with a drive only to have it fail part way through the day- reshoots will cost a lot more then an extra $100 on media ...

I think we are getting pretty spoiled with the really affordable prices on drives. If we look at P2 Cards, SxS cards, or Red's SSD's by comparison, these SSD's (even the more expensive ones) are dirt cheap ...

I think I'll take the plung and go with the OWC drives.

[Brian Troy Films]

Thanks for the heads up Brian. I agree, spending more up front on decent media is well worth it in the long run. I would really hate to be shooting on set with a drive only to have it fail part way through the day- reshoots will cost a lot more then an extra $100 on media ...

I think we are getting pretty spoiled with the really affordable prices on drives. If we look at P2 Cards, SxS cards, or Red's SSD's by comparison, these SSD's (even the more expensive ones) are dirt cheap ...

I think I'll take the plung and go with the OWC drives.

That's a good point in regards to the other media drives out there. I guess we should put some things in perspective.

Having said that, I did make the plunge and bought the OWC 240gb 6G SSD. For $237 and that fact that they're a solid company with products I feel pretty confident in my purchase. I also bought the Newer Technology Voyager Q Quad Dock station. A solid investment to format and dump footage to both my iMac and MBPro. Let's get on with shipping this camera now!

[Ryan E. Walters]

Thanks for the heads up on the dock station- that looks very handy.

For the drive, did you go with the Electra or the Extreme? I'm thinking I'll go with the Extreme, but I'm trying to figure out what size to go with, as I like to have 3 drives on me to cover my bases for an all day shoot ...

[Brian Troy Films]

I bought the Electra.

[ScottKarlins]

For anyone looking for a nice portable Thunderbolt solution for there SSD drives, I have one of these, and it works fantastic. Small, light, easy to pack:

http://www.amazon.co...1/dp/B006P1QWOQ

[Ryan E. Walters]

Scott,

That works with any drive? Not just the Seagate ones? If so, that is pretty slick!

[ScottKarlins]

Ryan,
Yes, any 2.5" SSD or spinning HD works great. Just plug the bare drive right on to the sled.

[Ryan E. Walters]

Woohoo! Thanks!

[Tech]

Great work in this thread lads well done, because you've pretty much covered a lot of the pitfalls the newcomer wondering about SSDs might have fallen into.

Might set up a poll. Allow guests to vote so we can get a true picture of what people are going for.

[Brian Troy Films]

That's not a bad idea as that might cut down on any confusion for the new user? Maybe...

[ianim8]

I just got word that a smaller drive is slower than a larger...uggh now that kind of puts a wrench in my purchase plans
Anyone want to challenge this to make me feel better

[soupkitchen]

Well I guess I'll run the two OCZ Vertex 3 120gig drives through the camera and see what happens. I have other uses for them if they don't cut it.

Are people buying the top of the line OWC drives or the standard 6g ones?

I'm only buying 120g drives so if I need to go the highest grade ones I will but it would be good to know.

[Ryan E. Walters]

Here is what I bought (240GB 6G Extreme): http://eshop.macsale...OWC/Mercury_6G/

Why? Well, for me the most important part of the camera system is the recording medium. If that bit is not rock solid and reliable, then the rest of it doesn't matter. I have actually been on a production where cheap hard drives were used as backup drives (against my recommendation) and the drives ended up failing, loosing irreplaceable footage, as what we shot was an non-repeatable event. So the question for me, is it worth it to loose a full days shoot / half a days shoot / or even a quarter of a days shoot to save $100? The cost of that lost footage will be more then $100. Even if you are a one man band on a low budget production ...

Then for me there is the question of 3G or 6G- is the price really worth the speed? Honestly, at this very instant, I cannot see the speed difference of the 6G over the 3G. My edit system is setup for 3G. However, as more thunderbolt options become available, I'll be upgrading to take advantage of that pipeline. So cutting my transfer times by half will be a welcome thing. The last thing I want to do is to upgrade my system and have slow drives ...

But that is just my $0.02 ...