Blackmagic Forum

Hello,

I am a new BM 6K Pro user. I just started up the camera and am following the manual. I am attempting to format the CFast card in the camera. The manual says:
------------------------------
Preparing Media on Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
1 Tap either storage indicator at the bottom of the LCD touchscreen to enter the
storage manager.
2 Tap ‘Format CFast card’ or ‘Format SD card’.
-------------------------------
I have tapped the CFast icon at the bottom of screen and nothing happens. It does not take me to the storage manager. Therefore, I'm not able to format the card.

Please advise. Thank you!

You can format the card on your computer, see user manual p. 16/17
Then try again in camera.

Which Cfast card exactly are you using?

I'm using the Angelbird AV PRO CF CFast 2.0. I attempted to format it in the camera because that is what the manual recommended. But, I'll look into using the computer. Thanks for your reply!

But if it formats in the computer, don't forget to format again in the camera.
if it doesn't, send it back. That said, I've yet to come across a faulty Angelbird card.

Uli, I have.
An Angelbird AV PRO CF CFast 2.0 256GB card. While working in duel card mode on the 12K shooting 8K60p 120fps Q0 to test for dropped frames at high bit-rates the card stopped working. The other card (from the match pack) is still good. I tried the "cleaning" recommended by Angelbird but the card still bad and won't format and has been returned to them under their warranty. The card was used for about 18 months and was purchased directly from them. Even so, I have found Angelbird AV PRO CF cards to be excellent. I have another match pack of 512GB cards.

The 12K can shake out problems as it can put the strain to any card. That said, I am still looking for a USB-C card that will work at BMD's stated output of 900 MB/s for the 12K. I would expect a likely move to CFexpress by BMD. And I will likely be getting those from Angelbird as well.

As to prepping, I always format in camera before each shoot. I have a Windows system but now format to OS-X because I have HFS+ but they can be formatted exFAT as well. Also periodically I will do a complete erase and deep format. I have filled the cards up recording several times. I do a quick edit after downloading and only save what I want through Media Management in Resolve.

Sure, any kind of electronics can break at any time. Thanks to EU we get two years of warranty.

I attempted using Disk Utility in the Mac. The Angelbird Disk is in the Angelbird Reader connected to the back of the Mac. The CFast Angelbird Media is showing in Disk Utility. After several attempts using different format options, I keep getting the following error screen:

"Erase process has failed.
A writable disk is required.
Operation Failed."

When I simply connect the Angelbird Disk to the Mac I also get the following screen:

"The disk you attached was not readable by this computer." Plus the disk does not show up on the desktop.

Please advise what you would recommend. Thanks!

This looks like a problem with the Angelbird card. I think you should contact Angelbird for RMA (usually their support is excellent) - or if you just bought the card brand new, have your dealer replace it.

I just noticed that the write Protect Function switch was on - which understandably prevented the disk from being formatted. So, it is now formatted on the Mac. I put the card back in the camera and am still unable to locate the formatting screen I mentioned above on the camera.

Thanks for your help!

Did you accidentally format it in APFS? Did you try any other card in that camera?

pacificmm wrote:I just noticed that the write Protect Function switch was on - which understandably prevented the disk from being formatted. So, it is now formatted on the Mac. I put the card back in the camera and am still unable to locate the formatting screen I mentioned above on the camera.

Thanks for your help!

Which write protection switch? CFast2.0 cards do not have a write protection switch like SD cards.
EDIT: I guess you meant the switch on the reader.

be shure you format the card as HFS+ (macOS extended) on the mac, and NOT as APFS !

My mistake. The Write Protection switch I was referring to is on the reader, not the card.

I did format the card with the Mac using the format recommended in the manual - OS X Extended.

The manual also states, "You can format your CFast cards, SD cards or USB-C flash disks using the ‘format card’ feature on your camera’s storage and formatting menu."

The manual does not say exactly where that is located. Is anyone able to direct me to where that is located?

Thanks for your help!

pacificmm wrote: Is anyone able to direct me to where that is located?

Here's a video clip showing the process:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m0Ara5Fn_NlkiCxNLxqH9RtkE1Vbw86w/view?usp=sharing

I finally was able to format the card in camera. The trick was activating the touchscreen below:

This screen was not showing on my camera and I could not locate how to activate this screen. I finally wiped up from the bottom and it appeared. Was this covered in the manual and I overlooked it?

Thanks for all of your help!

Yes, that is covered in the manual

pacificmm wrote:I finally was able to format the card in camera. The trick was activating the touchscreen below:

This screen was not showing on my camera and I could not locate how to activate this screen. I finally wiped up from the bottom and it appeared. Was this covered in the manual and I overlooked it?

Ah yes, that can trip over a lot of beginners.

You can find this in the manual on p.60:

Full Screen Mode
It can be useful when framing or focusing a shot to temporarily hide your touchscreen’s
status text and meters. To hide them all at once, swipe up or down on the LCD touchscreen.
The record indicator, frame guides, grids, focus assist and zebra remain visible.
To show the status text and meters again, swipe up or down again.

I had no idea that you didn't see the full status indicators because in your first posting you wrote:

I have tapped the CFast icon at the bottom of screen and nothing happens.