[Bluemanband]

Hi,

Sorry if this is a dumb question (but I gather folk on here are helpful )

I have just purchased a SDHC card camcorder (Panasonic HDC-SD200) and I would like to be able to backup the AVCHD footage from the SD card to my netbook whilst on holiday (Netbook is Samsung NC10).

I realise the netbook wouldn't stand a chance of editing the footage however;

1 - Can I just copy the entire SDHC card contents to folders on the netbook HDD, then wipe and continue to use the SDHC card?

2 - Can I then copy them back to the SDHC card later to import into my editing package (on another PC)?

3 - Is there any software which would import the AVCHD content "as is" without recoding or loss of quality on the netbook just for archiving purposes (again I doubt the netbook would have enough guts to even play the footage at anything watchable)?

Thanks in advance

Phil

[ratbat]

well you could just buy a couple of extra SD cards to tide you over

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by Bluemanband

1 - Can I just copy the entire SDHC card contents to folders on the netbook HDD, then wipe and continue to use the SDHC card?

Yes. Copy the lot.

Originally Posted by Bluemanband

2 - Can I then copy them back to the SDHC card later to import into my editing package (on another PC)?

Yes. Copy the lot back.

Originally Posted by Bluemanband

3 - Is there any software which would import the AVCHD content "as is" without recoding or loss of quality on the netbook just for archiving purposes?

No need - just copy all of the folders on the SDHC card to your netbook's hard drive.

[Bluemanband]

Originally Posted by ratbat

well you could just buy a couple of extra SD cards to tide you over

I have two which should be plenty

it's more about backing up, against loss / theft etc (for me whilst the camera is expensive, the images are priceless)

thanks for the answer above though - I'll copy away

[milkmanchris]

I use my netbook in a similar way

The best work round I have found is to use IMGBURN on the netbook and make an image of the SDHC card (to a external passport in my case)

In the same vein I always shoot onto 4GB cards, and back up ISO's in a similar way to DVDr's, from my macbook at home.

Seems to work well.

Out of curiosity have you tried main concept, I have heard it works on some netbooks, I only have a baby 512mb 8GB SSD version so no go for me.

[Bluemanband]

Originally Posted by milkmanchris

Out of curiosity have you tried main concept, I have heard it works on some netbooks, I only have a baby 512mb 8GB SSD version so no go for me.

Just tried it out, and yes it works.

the netbook will not (as predicted) even think about playing AVCHD, however simply dragging files from the SD card to the HDD, and then slinging them back on works fine. I even formatted the card on the camera and made sure it was wiped - copied the files back and my movies were there

thinking about it, this is quite significant.

I avoided getting a HDD Camera because of the general fragility of HDD media, and the obvious temptation to treat the HDD as a permanent storage device.

This way, it is so easy to backup your SD cards, combined with the limited capacity of the media, means you are FORCED to backup to a more permanent solution

I'm happy

[Jimholt]

Glad you got sorted. Do you mind if i ask about your camcorder as i am thinking of getting it or a Canon? Are you happy with the quality of the footage and any other comments? Thanks and hope you dont mind me crashing into your thread.

[Bluemanband]

Originally Posted by Jimholt

Glad you got sorted. Do you mind if i ask about your camcorder as i am thinking of getting it or a Canon? Are you happy with the quality of the footage and any other comments? Thanks and hope you dont mind me crashing into your thread.

So far very impressed. I have found the fottage I have shot excelent, however I have to say it is early days and I haven't used the camera under many challenging conditions.

The camera feels well built, contrary to some reviews, and the controls are well placed and intuitive for a novice like myself. The only criticism about the build is if you have big hands like me, you have to e careful not to cover the mic when holding the camera.

I'll try to post a better review in a couple of weeks but I did look at a Canon for roughly the same price and I plumped for this one.

[Jimholt]

Thanks for that. What made you go for the panny rather than the Canon?

[Bluemanband]

Originally Posted by Jimholt

Thanks for that. What made you go for the panny rather than the Canon?

I think (from memory) it was price. You csn get the Panasonic for around £540 compared to £650+ for the Canon. In the reviews I read the Panasonic was coming out on top.

I must admit when it came down to it, my two models were the Panasnic
HDC-SD200 and the Sony HDR-XR105E (a hard drive model). I compared feature for feature using the Sony s the base model and the Panasonic came out better by far (in my view anyway).

Of course comparisons like this are always subjective to the user, but I was genuinely torn between these two so had no preference at the start of the exercise so I think I was fairly objective.

[Jimholt]

Thanks for that.