EX1 vs. HVX: SxS vs. P2 Storage

With all the debate about which is the better choice in the "about $6,000 camera range" between the Panasonic HVX and the Sony EX1, some of the focus has turned to a parallel discussion of which is the better form of solid state memory, the P2 cards used in the HVX, or the SxS cards required to shoot with the EX1.

Below are a few points of comparison between the two:

PRICE:

Some ballpark figures for P2 cards...
8 GB: $700; 16 GB: $850; 32 GB: $1550

And some rough figures for SxS cards...
8 GB: $400; 16 GB: $850

RECORDING TIME:

A single GB of space on a SxS card used in conjunction with a Sony EX1 records more footage than one GB on a P2 card, shot with an HVX. Links are provided at the bottom of this post that will take you to detailed charts if you desire. The difference is significant.

POWER USAGE:

Being physically smaller and slightly more efficient, the SxS cards require less power to operate than P2 cards.

MAXIMUM STORAGE:

Right now, the maximum storage size available on SxS cards is 16 GB, as compared to 32 GB for P2 cards.

FURTHER NOTES:

Before claiming SxS the undisputed champion, one thing to remember is that the EX1 (which uses them) does more heavily compress its footage while recording with a long-GOP format. While this format (XDCAM) is proving to be much more robust than the heavily-maligned HDV (the naked eye has difficulty detecting any artifacts and even blatant attempts to break the codec generally fail), this compression is a factor in the enhanced recording times of SxS cards. Quite simply, they are being used to record compressed video - of course they will record more minutes of footage for a given number of GB. Of course, that is not the entire picture.

SELECTED READINGS

Below are some supplemental readings on P2 and SxS if you want to learn more, or just don't want to take my word for it.

TAPESTOCKONLINE Reading #1

The above link includes a chart that lists the recording times provided by each type of media at different resolutions and quality settings on each camera.

TAPESTOCKONLINE Reading #2

JARRED LAND P2 OVERVIEW