No internal CompactFlash for MacBook Pro

On 3/9/06 10:02 PM, "Chris Pepper" <pepperreppep.com> wrote:

> I could replace my PowerBook's internal CF card reader (PC
> Card slot) with an SD reader, but then I'd have to switch back and
> forth to load pictures from the camera's card. I'm not ready to
> replace my excellent CF-based Canon S400 (thanks, Adam), or go back
> to connecting the camera via USB.

How about an adapter that lets you put SD cards in a CF slot? That way you
have media you can use in your current camera and use internally in both the
PowerBook and MacBook Pro.

I don't have any experience with such adapters, I had to google just to
confirm that such an animal exists. It appears there are many to choose from
so it's a matter of finding one that's reliable and fast.

http://www.google.com/search?q=sd+cf+adapter

http://forums.robgalbraith.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=406710&an=0&page=0

Quoting Chris Pepper <pepperreppep.com>:

> I'm pondering moving my email onto flash (my 800mb Eudora
> Folder + other key files are currently on a 60gb iPod photo), and
> like the idea of using a CompactFlash card, since they're cheaper
> than Secure Digital and I already keep a CF reader in my PowerBook.

I just got back from CompUSA and Best Buy. At both stores SD was the
same price
as CompactFlash. 1 GB of either was $69 from SAN. The faster cards were $79.
Best Buy had a 1 GB PNY SD card for $59 ($49 if you successfully get a
rebate).
They were completely out of them though.

CompactFlash still beats out SD in largest capacity (4GB is the largest CF I
could find, 2GB is the largest SD I've seen), but otherwise there isn't really
a price difference.

The solution I would probably look at is what someone else mentioned: a
SD to CF
adapter:
<http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-Minolta_SD_CF1_CompactFlash_Card_Adapter_8700_950>

However what I would probably do is get an SD plus USB card that SAN
has started
offering. These are neat little devices that are SD cards normally, but
fold in
half to reveal a USB adapter right on the card. These can plug straight into
the USB port without taking up your express slot at all (reserve it for a
wireless N card maybe?). They've got them in 512, 1G and 2 GB. At Best
Buy 1 GB
cards were $89 - $10 more than the other Ultra II SAN SD's, and $20 more than
the cheapest SAN 1 GB card.

<http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Default.aspx?CatID=1096>

Here's what it looks like folded:
<http://www.sandisk.com/Assets/Advert/ad3.gif>

Kevin

From the performance tests I've seem CF cards are significantly faster than SD. Maybe 12MB/s vs >8MB/s. CF cards have a 16-bit transfer bus and 50 pin interface vs SDs 4-bit transfer bus and 9 pin interface. CF cards have onboard microcontroller for memory.  

-- Thomas R. Treadway
Computer Scientist
Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab