I'm looking at getting an external CF card reader, as my new laptop does not have a CF reader. Just wondering what is the best one to go for and where to get it from?
Does your laptop have a firewire port?
If so go for a firewire card reader, miles faster than anything else, except a firewire800 one which I've not been able to source yet/
I use a Lexar fw reader, it only takes CF though and I don't know if there's one yet that will take SD or any of the other small cards
Ah, that’s easy, a 32 bit CardBus reader, PCMCIA, for a laptop. The best I found was the Lexar reader, and available from MyMemory I believe.
This also keeps all your USB ports available.
If you do go down this road, be careful, as CF cards come in two thicknesses.
Posted by Adrian North on March 6, 2008 at 6:16 PM
I second the Lexar Cardbus reader. I have one and it is fast
However if yours is a new laptop then you may not have a PCMCIA (Or PCCard as it is now known) slot - my wifes has a new shape slot (an Express 54 if I remember) so we got her an Integral USB2 reader and that is also quite fast
I agree with Major and Nigel, i put mine in then make a cuppa, by the time the cuppas ready, so are the images.
Posted by szekiat chan on March 7, 2008 at 4:31 AM
i think lexar now make a firewire800 reader. Fast but pricey. There are also a few express card 54 card bus readers available. These are all dedicated CF only readers so if u're like me and shoot both CF and SD, then its probably not the best idea. That said, most usb 2.0 card readers today can copy 1gb in 3mins or less anyway. I'd just get a regular 6 in 1 card reader. Slower copy times, but not that slow!!! I still rem the days of usb1.0 and copying a 1gb card could take 30mins to an hour.
I haven't bothered with a card reader since I bought an Epson P-5000.
As soon as I take my card out of the camera it goes straight into the P-5000. I never have to wait for it to download as it is doing it while I'm shooting. I carry 8 cards in the field (4 x 2GB & 4 x 4GB). That gives me a total of 1200 RAW files and they are backed up straight away.
Once back at the office I just plug it in and let it download while I stick the kettle on. It downloads it into Epson Link2 where I can organise it in Extensis Portfolio. I never bother with a laptop in the feild simply because it just adds so much weight for nothing and not to mention cumbersome!
FW Is the fastest by far for sustained throughput, but a lot of PC laptops only have the small 4 wire FW400 port instead of the larger 6 wire one... and that means that most FW card readers don't work with them as they can't get power from the laptop :( .. similar issue with FW PCMCIA cards - even those with 6 wire ports still tend not to have power available .
The Sandisk ImageMate readers - the ones that read multiple formats - are usually pretty good and work well with the esp enabled hi-speed Sandisk cards. When I can't use a FW card (eg with a laptop), it's the reader I tend to turn to.
Discussion
11 repliesI'm looking at getting an external CF card reader, as my new laptop does not have a CF reader. Just wondering what is the best one to go for and where to get it from?
TIA
Regards
Rob
If so go for a firewire card reader, miles faster than anything else, except a firewire800 one which I've not been able to source yet/
I use a Lexar fw reader, it only takes CF though and I don't know if there's one yet that will take SD or any of the other small cards
This also keeps all your USB ports available.
If you do go down this road, be careful, as CF cards come in two thicknesses.
However if yours is a new laptop then you may not have a PCMCIA (Or PCCard as it is now known) slot - my wifes has a new shape slot (an Express 54 if I remember) so we got her an Integral USB2 reader and that is also quite fast
Adrian
picstop. was £24.89 inc vat & postage end of last year.
Major.
As soon as I take my card out of the camera it goes straight into the P-5000. I never have to wait for it to download as it is doing it while I'm shooting. I carry 8 cards in the field (4 x 2GB & 4 x 4GB). That gives me a total of 1200 RAW files and they are backed up straight away.
Once back at the office I just plug it in and let it download while I stick the kettle on. It downloads it into Epson Link2 where I can organise it in Extensis Portfolio. I never bother with a laptop in the feild simply because it just adds so much weight for nothing and not to mention cumbersome!
Sorry no idea about card readers!
The Sandisk ImageMate readers - the ones that read multiple formats - are usually pretty good and work well with the esp enabled hi-speed Sandisk cards. When I can't use a FW card (eg with a laptop), it's the reader I tend to turn to.
The speed of the download is determined by the slowest link in the chain.
So I would check the speed of my laptop ports first, that could easily determine the direct you go in.
Adrian, thanks for the heads up about the change in technology, wasn’t aware it had changed. Not that it matters for the next year or two.
Has Firewire 800 readers here