[PhilNYC]

That Sandisk reader looks great, but it appears to only work with CF cards.  I still have a camera that uses SD cards, so I'm hoping for a good one that accepts both.  Sandisk has a USB reader that accepts both...anyone have experience with it?

[SET Man]

I heartily endorse the Sandisk Extreme Firewire card reader.  This was the kind of speed upgrade I usually only imagined in far off fantasies.  I went from about a 1MB per second real world copy rate to like 30MB per second!     It's just plain sick.  Uploading files turned from a chore or a leave-and-come-back-later thing into something that was almost an afterthought.  "Ah, it's done…"  Maybe those of you with built-in USB 2.0 will not share my excitement, but getting that thing made file copying a true delight.  I also notice a difference in cards, the Extreme IV cards really are 'more extreme' than my Lexar card in read\write times.  And in true subjectivist audiophile fashion: I don't need a lousy benchmark to tell me it's faster!   It just FEELS faster.  (well hell, if I was so bored as to run benchmark software I'm sure it would also measure faster too, but you know what I mean.)

That Sandisk reader looks great, but it appears to only work with CF cards.  I still have a camera that uses SD cards, so I'm hoping for a good one that accepts both.  Sandisk has a USB reader that accepts both...anyone have experience with it?

Hey!

   I bought the Sandisk Extreme Firewire reader last year.

   If you using a couple of GBs shooting this could be a time saver. I could download 8GB card in just a few minutes on to my computer. This is very useful when you are on location.

  So, Nathan... is not only FEEL faster but it IS really faster! Definitely worth it.

   Phil, if you need a fast CF reader than this is the one to get. You could always keep the old Viking reader to use with other type of card.

Take care,
Buddy

[SET Man]

   My oldest card I have now is almost 3 years old now... I better keep an eye on it than. Thanks for the input but I'm just wondering, what brand of card that photographer you've talk about failed anyway?

   Well, wish me luck guys!  BTW.... Oh! I picked up an 8G Sandisk Extreme IV

Take care,
Buddy

The ones that failed were cheapies- that we (the rest of the photographers in the studio)  have told him he should get rid of- they were standard CF cards and he was shooting 3-4 times a week with them.

one more thing about flash cards: do not buy cards from china on Ebay- I got one a few years ago and it wouldn't  work in any camera- 

Hey!

    I see... well, he cheap out and didn't listen to you guys 

    Yes, I've heard horror stories about CF card off eBay. That's why I don't buy CF card off eBay.

    BTW... I used my new Sandisk Extreme IV 8GB on Friday and Saturday at a photo gig and it perform flawlessly in my DSLR with great speed in a hot 94*F heat! And with 8GB I had to change card once this time.

    But I have to admit that there is a fear of having a lot of files on one card. If it fail that would be nearly the whole work for me 
 
   Well, I guess is paid to buy a good card from a well established brand.

Take care,
Buddy

[Levi]

I hope you are talking about the CF card having faster performance when shooting in High speed mode. 

Firewire interface is slower in total throughput compared to USB 2.0, Firewire 800 and SATA. 

MacBook pro has the older firewire 400 port boasting (50MB) per second vs USB 2.0 (60MB) vs Firewire 800 (100MB) /sec vs SATA (150MB) per second.

Just an FYI...like audio if it feels wholesome so be it.  As long as it is less filling and taste good to you.  That all that matters.

-Levi 

I heartily endorse the Sandisk Extreme Firewire card reader.  This was the kind of speed upgrade I usually only imagined in far off fantasies.  I went from about a 1MB per second real world copy rate to like 30MB per second!     It's just plain sick.  Uploading files turned from a chore or a leave-and-come-back-later thing into something that was almost an afterthought.  "Ah, it's done…"  Maybe those of you with built-in USB 2.0 will not share my excitement, but getting that thing made file copying a true delight.  I also notice a difference in cards, the Extreme IV cards really are 'more extreme' than my Lexar card in read\write times.  And in true subjectivist audiophile fashion: I don't need a lousy benchmark to tell me it's faster!   It just FEELS faster.  (well hell, if I was so bored as to run benchmark software I'm sure it would also measure faster too, but you know what I mean.)

Hey!

   I bought the Sandisk Extreme Firewire reader last year.

   If you using a couple of GBs shooting this could be a time saver. I could download 8GB card in just a few minutes on to my computer. This is very useful when you are on location.

  So, Nathan... is not only FEEL faster but it IS really faster! Definitely worth it.

   Phil, if you need a fast CF reader than this is the one to get. You could always keep the old Viking reader to use with other type of card.

Take care,
Buddy

[navi]

I've used USB2 and firewire card readers and the firewire is faster than the USB2 reader. The problem with USB2 is cannot transfer a constant 'whatever' Mbps it suppose to transfer at.

Get a firewire CF card reader over USB2

[Levi]

I would go with Firewire 800 reader for double the speed to make the most of the transfer speed.

As for a fast CF card in a camera that does slower than 7FPS, a 40MB/s(266x) card is probably an expense you don't need.  BTW, I find the Lexar 4GB UDMA 300x CompactFlash Card (300x (45MB/sec) cheaper. 

Hmmm...

I would probably still buy the fastest memory card I can buy even though my camera does not support it.  Lol