firewire 800 card reader, where to purchase?

[Belle&Sebastain]

dear folks, can anyone direct me to any shop that sells card readers using firewire 800 to transfer, i need to transfer 4 cards at a go so i perfer using firewire, USB 2.0 does not support my workflow completely. thanks!

 

[SilentWave]

I think Cathay Photo should be selling this Firewire card reader. According to Sandisk, it supports both Firewire 400 and 800 but I'm not sure whether the stated maximum transfer speed is with different between Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 or not. Anyway, I have read a review that mentions this card reader performs best when matched only with Sandisk Extreme IV cards. Transfer speed using other CF cards (Extreme III and lower) is not that much different than other card readers.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

thanks will take a look at it next week!

 

[tan131]

my guess is u are using a mbp. in that case, why not use cf card readers uses the 3/4 express slot.. shld be faster then firewire 400 or 800?

jus a suggestion

 

[yanyewkay]

what's mbp and 3/4 express slot?

 

[VSonic06]

You're probably looking for THIS one

http://www.lexar.com/readers/pro_udma_reader.html

- has a real firewire 800 interface and its stackable so you can mount 4 cards on 1 interface.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

the lexar reader only reads CF cards, i need for dual format like the SD as well, anyway i take a look, nope i do not have the mbp(macbook pro), just using a imac. thanks everyone for pointing me to the right direction!

 

[VSonic06]

the lexar reader only reads CF cards, i need for dual format like the SD as well, anyway i take a look, nope i do not have the mbp(macbook pro), just using a imac. thanks everyone for pointing me to the right direction!

It'll be better to just get 4 Sandisk Extreme USB readers (reads CF, MS, SDHC etc), they're about $25 each. These USB readers lose about 10% of transfer speed compared to firewire ones but cost about 1/4.

The Lexar stackable ones are expensive.

 

[totoro17]

It'll be better to just get 4 Sandisk Extreme USB readers (reads CF, MS, SDHC etc), they're about $25 each. These USB readers lose about 10% of transfer speed compared to firewire ones but cost about 1/4.

The Lexar stackable ones are expensive.

any good card reader less than $20?

 

[elcap]

It'll be better to just get 4 Sandisk Extreme USB readers (reads CF, MS, SDHC etc), they're about $25 each. These USB readers lose about 10% of transfer speed compared to firewire ones but cost about 1/4.

The Lexar stackable ones are expensive.

Where do you get it at $25? Anyone use the Kingston one? Heard it is quite fast also

 

[VSonic06]

Where do you get it at $25? Anyone use the Kingston one? Heard it is quite fast also

Got mine from MSC at AMK a few months ago. Its about $25 (+/- a bit). Haven't tried Kingston ones but this Sandisk reader can handle even the fastest 133x cards I have so I'm quite happy with it and its reliable too, haven't had any transfer errors or sudden disconnects I experienced with my other unbranded readers.

Personally I feel its better to pay a little more for reliability, too many nasty experiences with cheaper unbranded ones.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

It'll be better to just get 4 Sandisk Extreme USB readers (reads CF, MS, SDHC etc), they're about $25 each. These USB readers lose about 10% of transfer speed compared to firewire ones but cost about 1/4.

The Lexar stackable ones are expensive.

the problem is that each USB can only read about 2-3 cards at a go and i only have 2 usb slots, i need one for my secondary harddrive, and the second one shares just about everything. My mouse is so power hungry that it could not be fed from the keyboard usb (razor diamondback) so my only recourse is the unused firewire plugs.

 

[VSonic06]

the problem is that each USB can only read about 2-3 cards at a go and i only have 2 usb slots, i need one for my secondary harddrive, and the second one shares just about everything. My mouse is so power hungry that it could not be fed from the keyboard usb (razor diamondback) so my only recourse is the unused firewire plugs.

Hmmm :think: How about you move your HDs to the firewire ports (or daisy chain), get a powered usb2 hub for the keyboard/mouse and whatever usb devices that don't need such high speed, and use the remaining ports for card readers? If you still run out of ports, the remaining card reader can plug into the usb2 hub as well and still get decent speed.

If your ext HD only have USB2 interface, maybe plug a pair of USB readers all into 1 usb hub (or a pair of hubs ie. 2 readers -> 1 hub -> 1 usb port on imac)?