AJ-PX5000G fast way to format media?

[Stephen Press]

Using a Panasonic AJ-PX5000G and the process to format media is driving me nuts. 18 button presses. I mean for goodness sake its mental. Not at all acceptable for an ENG camera in the field to take that long.
So what I want to know is there a ninja fast way to format the cards?

[Phil Rhodes]

Stick 'em in a laptop and delete everything?

 

(NB: Haven't tried it, may result in instantaneous heat death of universe.)

 

(Also: I have never been impressed with P2)

[Stephen Press]

I'm freelancing in a newsroom so when they dry hire me I'm using their kit and the cards come how they were left. :blink:

Just happy to occasionally get charged batteries, formatted cards would be far too much to ask.
I plan ahead as much as I can and format all the cards when I take over, but news is a mad environment and having a full card handed to you in the middle of a shoot is not that uncommon. Having to stop everything to format cards is BS.

 

These are the steps I go though now.
Thumbnail
Menu
down to Clip
across to Sub menu
Down 3 times to Format
Select
across to sub menu
Down to Slot#
Select
Up 1 to Yes
select
Select OK (FFS Panasonic )
Up 1 to Exit
Menu to exit menus
Thumbnail to exit thumbnails
Realize I just missed the shot.

 

Seriously if there is a better way out in the field I would love to know.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Stephen Press

[Robin R Probyn]

There must be another "format card/media " menu.. rather than in the thumbnail one.. find that and put it top of any User menu.. presuming you have the same camera each day.. I have a Sony and can also delete /format in the thumbnail menu.. but its a pain as your Pana is.... but there is another "format card" function in another menu.. thats only a couple of clicks.. a few too many.."are you sure" notices but I guess thats meant to be doing you a favor !.. Im sure the Pana must have similar..??

[Stephen Press]

You would think.

Believe it or not the steps above are the "quick" way we were shown, using a customized user menu to get to the clip menu.

Its a shame because I have to say I'm liking the picture the camera puts out.

It does have a tendency to go green when faced with a mixed light color balance, so I dial it in in those conditions.

Also it goes yellow highlights in high contrast. But I can work around that.

It's just little things like the bonkers menu system that make the camera a bit of a chore for daily turn around.

[Robin R Probyn]

Can you get in early and format them on a laptop.. if your down loading with shotput pro..I believe there is a format function..

Edited November 22, 2016 by Robin R Probyn

[Stephen Press]

I don’t have a laptop in the kit provided. The cards are mini-P2. There are only 4 cards with each kit. Shooting news means I can constantly be rotating cards. I drop them into the control room to be ingested and pick up ingested ones. Control room opps don’t like formatting, accidents happen that way.

Yesterday I had 11 card swaps. Thats not unusual. I feel like I spend more time in the camera menu than I do shooting.

All I want is a fast way to format all the cards in the camera. It feels like that is not too much to ask of a “news” camera.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Stephen Press

[Robin R Probyn]

Yes sounds annoying .. can you contact Pana and ask them ..?

[Stephen Press]

Waiting to hear back

[Stephen Press]

From Panasonic.

HI Stephen,

I have received your enquiry about formatting the P2 cards. Yes, it is a bit of a process, but some steps can be eliminated from your process. First of all you do not need to use the Exit button to back your way out of the menus. Simply press the menu button to turn off all Menus. Secondly once format is complete and you press OK, you can immediately hit record and the camera will exit the Menus and the thumbnails and start recording.

Having said this, there is a good reason they do not make formatting too easy, as it would be fatal to do it by mistake. Secondly most workflows involve formatting the cards once they have been ingested, rather than in the field under pressure.

[Phil Rhodes]

I've always taken the view that deleting things in the field is a dicey proposition.

[Stephen Press]

Well I don't get to formulate workflow and this stupid roundabout process is just adding to the pressure in the filed.