Ben is a commercial product and lifestyle photographer and videographer with a strong passion for telling stories and the outdoors. He has been capturing photographs and exploring for the past 10 years, and his passion has led him to where he is today. He specialises in creating content for consumer products, as well as tourism, travel and lifestyle.
@benwaugh
As a photo/video professional, I often find myself looking for better, more efficient and faster ways to work. Other than personal growth and experience, gear plays an incredibly important role in this process and can either make or break a production.
Over the years, like many people, my gear has evolved and changed. With more brands now focusing on high-resolution video, the gear you choose and its capabilities have never been more important. Because of this, I am currently using the Canon EOS R5 as my primary camera, which produces high-quality 10-bit 4K video and 45MP images. However, this setup does require a substantial amount of fast data storage due to the large files and quick write speeds required for the camera to perform.
During video production, I record externally to a Kingston DC500M SSD using the Atomos Ninja V system which really benefits my workflow in multiple ways. With the Atomos, not only do I have a high-resolution screen for monitoring recording but recording footage externally to SSD means that I have unlimited recording time and am able to switch out drives when necessary to back up during production much more efficiently. Being able to quickly switch out DC500M drives between scenes and back up all my data quickly saves me a lot of time once I have finished filming. Previously, I have used competitor drives and have found some to take hours to back up.
On production and long shoot days, I often record over 2TB of 10-bit 4k video. The video files from the Canon EOS R5 are pretty heavy and require a fast write speed, especially when the footage is being recorded externally via an Atomos Ninja V in ProRes format. I see now why this “data center” drive was listed on the Atomos compatibility list. DC500M is designed for a mixed-use workload while offering high-performance consistency so it meets both my read and write demands. Having fast write speeds with up to 98,000 IOPS, the DC500M makes my life a lot easier as I am not worried about buffering or having issues with my files recording too slowly, as was previously the case with competitor drives – which obviously causes massive issues during production and is a nightmare to deal with, so being able to avoid that problem is fantastic.
The DC500M drives are not only fast but very reliable too. If these drives are bumped, accidentally removed or my system suffers a power failure while recording, with PLP (power loss protection), on-board capacitors in the drive keep the data and footage I have recorded safe – which is vital, especially during large productions where repeating scenes can be costly. There have been instances where this has saved my footage and I couldn’t be happier in those situations to know that the DC500M has me covered.
While recording, I use the DC500M mounted inside the quick attaching case/caddy on the back of the Atomos system. This houses the SSD for fast connection, holds the drive securely in place and enables me to quickly swap drives when they are full or between scenes, so I don’t miss anything during production.
The DC500M fits snugly inside the case and attaches via four screws which remove any movement. When it comes time to back up/retrieve the footage, it’s exactly the same as using an external drive. I use a SATA to USB-C cable to connect the DC500M straight to my computer to access the files as if it were any other external SSD. Due to the high-performing speeds of the DC500M, backing up files during production or retrieving footage at home takes no time at all, which is incredibly helpful after a long shoot.
I also really appreciate the price advantage the DC500M offers over its competitors. The DC500M is a more cost-effective solution than its competitors, including Atomos’ own SSD drive built for the Ninja V. At a lower price point, there has been no substitute for quality, and the DC500M drives have always performed perfectly for me in a range of situations and environments.
I’ve personally found that the DC500M has made a massive difference to the way I work, allowing me to be more efficient with my time spent filming and data management.
#KingstonIsWithYou
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