Erase Files off Red media on camera

[Christopher Lowden]

Hello
I was wondering if anyone can tell me if it is possible to erase shot files directly in the camera.
If not, what a great feature it would be. It would save me so much time. I can't believe that it is not possible.
Any thoughts are very welcome.

[David Battistella]

You can not do this.

It has to do with how r3d files are written to the magazine and the way the file structure works on this format.

It has never been possible to erase clips on red mags since the beginning and this most likely won't change.

David

[Chris Henze]

The RED way has always been to consider the "mag" like film, once "exposed" the camera can't change it. It also makes sure that nothing will be erased mistakenly. I like it. Convenience isn't always best.

[Christopher Lowden]

Strange that the RED file system format has not been revised. I can't see why this function should not be available as I can erase the files from the card on a computer. Probably more to do with safety. I remember that that one of the initial bugs on the red one was flakey media.. I think that we have moved on from that.
Thank you for confirming what I suspected.

[James Falco]

Strange that the RED file system format has not been revised. I can't see why this function should not be available as I can erase the files from the card on a computer. Probably more to do with safety. I remember that that one of the initial bugs on the red one was flakey media.. I think that we have moved on from that.
Thank you for confirming what I suspected.

You can erase a single file of the mag on a computer but if you put that mag back in camera it will still not have more space. ; )

[Adrian Weinbrecht]

It's also best practice to fully format every card for every camera. When erasing single clips or images you increase the chances of write errors, as data is written in different blocks instead of being written consistently. In other words a bit here and a bit there and then another bit over there.

[Peter Plevritis]

I always thought it was to protect Red from being blamed for a false failed record/take. Someone mistakenly erases a clip and then blames it on that buggy Red camera again. Besides reputation it could get sticky legally - even with log files. So no code to delete a single clip is in the camera, I suspect. All you can do is reformat the mag - with plenty of warnings before committing. Aren't Arri and all digital cinema cameras the same way?

The nonsense we've all heard about Red cameras - especially early on. Red is not without it's share of mistakes but I've heard some incredibly idiotic things said about it - with authority - no need to give more opportunities.

But I could be wrong.

[Björn Benckert]

I guess, If you start to fragment the SSD the read write speeds are less consistent.

[David Battistella]

Strange that the RED file system format has not been revised. I can't see why this function should not be available as I can erase the files from the card on a computer. Probably more to do with safety. I remember that that one of the initial bugs on the red one was flakey media.. I think that we have moved on from that.
Thank you for confirming what I suspected.

I would't be erasing slips on computer and then recording on that same media without formatting that media in camera. That would not be a great idea for the reason Bjorn explained in his post.

Best to copy the entire mag, reformat and continue.

David

PS: Never lost a shot on RED media since the very first ones on CF cards, so not sure where your flakey media comment comes from but if you are erasing selected shots and then continuing to record without formatting then it is understandable as file structure not eh magazine is an important part of the red system.

David