Tag Archives: CFExpress

FX6, PMW-F55, PXW, PXW-FS7, PXW-FX9

FX6-FX9 XAVC Card Recording Times

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How much can I fit on a SD card, CFExpress card, SxS or XQD card is a question that comes up regularly. So I have prepared a table of the typical record times for most of the different XAVC-I and XAVC-L codecs and frame rates . Originally drawn up for the FX6 this table applies equally to any other Sony camcorder that uses the same codecs, including the PXW-FX9, PMW-F5 and F55 as well as the FS7 and many others.
Do note that the times given are approximate and do not include proxies.  Not every frame rate and codec is included but you should be able to figure out the approximate record time for most cards, codecs and frame rates using this table.

CODEC/FRAME RATE 32GB 64GB 80GB 128GB 256GB
UHD/4K XAVC-I 24/25p  16 32 40 64 128
UHD/4K XAVC-I 30p  13 26 33 53 106
UHD/4K XAVC-I 50p  8 15 19 31 62

UHD/4K XAVC-I 60p

 6 13 15 26 52
UHD XAVC-I 100fps  4 7 10 15 30
UHD XAVC-I 120fps 3 6 8 12 24
UHD XAVC-L 24/25/30p 39 79 96 158 315
UHD XAVC-L 50/60p  8bit 26 51 63 103 206
UHD XAVC-L 24/25/30p 100fps S&Q 8 bit 10 19 24 39 78
UHD XAVC-L 50/60p 120fps S&Q 8 bit 8 16 20 32 64
UHD XAVC-L 50/60p 100fps  S&Q 8 bit 15 30 37 61 122
UHD XAVC-L 50/60p S&Q 120fps  8 bit 13 25 31 51 102
HD CODEC/FRAME RATE 32GB 64GB 80GB 128GB 256GB
HD XAVC-I 24/25/30p 34 67 83 135 270
HD XAVC-I 50/60p 17 35 43 70 140
HD XAVC-I 100fps 10 21 26 42 84
HD XAVC-I 120fps 8 17 21 35 70
HD XAVC-I 240fps (lower quality) 4 8 10 17 35
HD XAVC-L50 24/25/30p 75 150 180 300 600
HD XAVC-L50 50/60p 72 144 175 288 576
HD XAVC-L50 24/25/30p S&Q 120fps 36 72 88 144 288
HD XAVC-L50 50/60p S&Q 240fps 18 36 44 72 124
HD XAVC-L30 24/25/30p 101 201 250 405 810
HD XAVC-L30 50/60p  96 193 237 387 774
HD XAVC-L30 120fps  48 96 118 193 387
HD XAVC-L30 240fps 24 48 59 96 193
FX6

What’s the difference between Full Format and Quick Format in the FX6?

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The Sony FX6 offers two different ways to format the the SD cards and CFExpress cards. These are Quick Format and Full Format. 

What’s the difference and which should I use?

Full Format erases everything on the card and returns the card to a completely empty state. All footage is removed/deleted from the card and it cannot therefore be recovered later should you perform a Full Format by mistake. Because Full Format returns the card to a completely empty state removing any junk or other clutter it also ensures that the cards performance is maximised. Full Format should be used whenever possible as it ensures maximum performance. However once a card has been Fully Formatted you cannot ever recover lost files from it.

Quick Format erases the cards database about what files are on the card. Quick Format is faster than Full Format, but it does not actually remove your video files. When you then start a new recording on the card the new recording will use any empty space on the card if there is any. If there is no empty space then the new file will overwrite any existing files on the card. This does mean that in some cases if you have accidentally done a quick format you may be able to use data recovery software to rescue any files that have not already been overwritten.  But file recovery is not guaranteed and should not be relied upon. As quick format does not clear all data from the card, over time the performance of the card may be degraded, so a Full Format should be performed periodically to ensure the best card performance.

It’s also worth noting that if you want to load LUT’s into the FX6, the card should be formatted in Slot B so that the correct file structure including the LUT folder is added to the card. Once any LUT’s are placed in the LUT folder the card must be placed back in slot B to so you can load the LUTs into the camera. You cannot load LUTs via slot A.

For more FX6 posts and information click here: http://www.xdcam-user.com/camera-setup/ilme-fx6-sony-fx6/

FX6

ProGrade SD Cards For The FX6

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Screenshot-2020-12-09-at-16.51.27-339x450 ProGrade SD Cards For The FX6

I’ve been testing a lot of different SD cards with the Sony FX6. I have been a long time user of Integral, Lexar and SanDisk cards and generally found them to perform well and to be reliable. But in my search for affordable v90 SD cards I came across a good deal on the ProGrade v90 64Gb SD cards.

I hadn’t ever used the ProGrade brand before and their pricing almost seems too low. But I decided to purchase one to test. Well I have not been disappointed.  The card performs very well and has no problems at all with all of the XAVC-I frame rates up to and including 60fps. 

If you try to use it to record UHD at 100 or 120fps you will get an “unsupported media” warning but the camera will try to record to the card. Most of the time the recording will be OK provided you keep the duration short and don’t try to stop and then restart recording too quickly. Of all the SD cards I have tried this seems to be one of the best.

However you will still see recording failures with this card at 100 and 120fps. Often resulting in the card suddenly becoming completely full. So I still would not recommend relying on any SD card for 100/120fps UHD.  But, as I have said this is one of the better cards that I have come across and given the low price it seems like a winner.

Other cards I have been using successfully with the FX6 are:

Integral Ultima ProX v90 for all codecs including XAVC-I up to 60fps.

Lexar 1667x Professional v60 for all codecs including XAVC-I upto to 30fps.

Sony Tough CFExpress Type A 80GB for all recording modes and formats including UHD 100/120fps.