Blackmagic Forum

Hey guys.

I have an issue with my SSD (Samsung Shield T7). I'm thinking it could be a port malfunction but it acts differently in diffrerent conditions.

When I record my footage at 5:1 it sometimes stops the recording and the name of the SSD as well as the red button on the screen begin to blink, displaying an exclamation sign. It doesn't happen all the time, mostly when the scene is bright or if there are stroboscopes involved. When I set the bitrate to 8:1 or higher there are no issues.

The SSD itself never had a writing speed problem even in similar conditions so I'm wondering if the port malfunction could affect the writing speed somehow or I'm using wrong settings.

Thank you in advance.

There are a lot of reports about issues with the T7.

I get perfect results using this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _525r.html

Using an internal card as Jim suggests may be more reliable. The Samsung T7 may not be on the list of approved external drives, but the Samsung T7 Shield is approved AFAIK and should be satisfactory.

Did you format the drive in the camera before the recent problems occurred? How did you format it? HFS+ is recommended, but you could try exFAT which has less overhead and may perform better.

What frame rate and resolution were you using? Some higher frame rates may not be approved for the SSD. I shoot successfully with the Samsung T7 Shield HFS+ on my BMPCC using 4K/UHD at 30 fps in a controlled environment.

Normally I shoot Q0 or Q1. I’d recommend trying those to see if you get better results. If shooting tests for Constant Quality, you would want your test scene to have a similar complexity compared to what you’re shooting your production work. Constant quality can save you storage if a significant portion of your frame is simple such as a featureless sky whereas if the scene is very complex, it can take more storage.

there are many variables.

One of the first things to check are the terminals and cables. As time passes by, things can happen when gear is getting old and possibly worn out. Ports and cables can get less reliable. Good light sources should be available for any filmmaker. A good loupe is also an important tool. If there is abrasion and corrosion, you want to see it in detail.

An SSD might also need a firmware update. Samsung has an utility for this.

A new USB C cable might also solve such problems.

Good luck!