Sandisk Extreme FireWire Reader
by SanDisk
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sandisk Extreme FireWire Reader
Customer Review: Not Vista Compatible
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this product intending to plug it into my Vista 32bit desktop computer and use it to read my new 16 GB Sandisk Extreme IV UDMA chip. I thought it might be useful to have a fast reader.
On the plus side, I can download a completely full chip in less than 10 minutes, and this is exactly what I wanted.
What I didn't want was hardware that would cause Vista to crash so hard it has to reboot itself. My Vista setup is only a half-year old, and it's been very stable. I run it for weeks at a time before some new Microsoft update makes me reboot. When I leave my reader plugged in, Vista crashes after an hour or so and reboots. It will continue to crash and reboot every few hours. When I remove the reader, I'm back to my usual stability (and so is my computer).
When Vista asked me if I wanted to see if there were known fixes to whatever caused my machine to crash, Microsoft came back with a hot-fix specifically for this card reader. Hot-fixes are unofficial, interim patches that Microsoft releases outside its update cycle and only to people who can figure out how to ask for it. Microsoft also cautions that its hot-fixes aren't fully tested and might cause big problems, so don't blame them if anything goes really wrong. I opted not to install the hot-fix until I'm ready to re-build my machine. Hopefully Microsoft fixes this during a regular update cycle before then.
Just to be sure, I Googled the problem and learned from Microsoft that this reader is fully compatible with the 32-bit Vista. Apparently Microsoft isn't aware that Microsoft has a hot-fix available. I left Microsoft a note about this. I'm pretty sure that Amazon's readers will see this review long before any human at Microsoft does anything about the polite and useful feedback I left for them.
So the card reader is workable as long as I'm willing to plug the reader in when I'm ready to use it and immediately unplug it when I'm done. That's not exactly what I expected for "ease of use".
Customer Review: Works EXTREMELY WELL once you figure it all out
Summary: 3 Stars
Being a Windows user (and I consider myself a fairly advanced user) I never really heard much about 1394b, or at least ignored it somehow, so when I ordered this item I figured my run of the mill firewire port would allow me to download my HD videos at record speed. To my horror when I first used it, my "60 MB/s" CF cards were downloading at a horrid 5 MB/s. My USB 2.0 reader was downloading them at 20 MB/s!!! I was quite irritated, until I figured it all out.
IF YOU ARE USING WINDOWS YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST ADD A 1394b card to your system! I have never seen a PC motherboard with one of those ports, so I guess that may have also contributed to my ignorance of the difference. The card I ordered was the Syba Low Profile that had 2x1394b and 1x1394a port on it (Cheap - under $25). Then you MUST install drivers for it (not very PnP, though it will still function very slowly). I am using Win 7 64-bit, and I used the Vista 64 Drivers included on the disk and they worked well. Later my son destroyed the disk in my paper shredder, so when I reinstalled Windows 7 64-bit, I downloaded the drivers from Unibrain (v 5.7) and they worked just as well.
My speeds now are as follows - My "60 MB/s" CF cards download at a nice hasty 55 MB/S average - The BIGGER surprise is my "30 MB/s" CF cards download at close to 40 MB/s.
I rate this product at 3 stars mainly because of the difficulties of getting it to work correctly. If Sandisk stated on the description that a Windows user would most likely need to purchase a separate PCIe firewire card to get it to function "to it's potential" - it would save many the hassles, and give a better name for the product (and better reviews!). I assume after reading all the negative reviews on this, that the average PC user doesnt know the difference between 1394a and 1394b. Myself included (before purchase).
Live and learn!
Customer Review: Used as a solid state firewire drive
Summary: 4 Stars
I use multiple computers in multiple locations. Some of them don't have USB2 ports, but do have Firewire 400. I hate noise, carry everything for my laptop in one bag, and sometimes need to connect up to a computer where there's no accessible external power. So, what are my alternatives for carrying high volume storage that can be connected to all the computers I use? For speed, it has to be Firewire. An external Firewire disk drive would have high capacity (something like 120GB minimum these days?), but they're NOISY, bulky and require external power. And, I'd have to carry an extra bag everywhere. The Sandisk Extreme Firewire "reader", on the other hand, is tiny, needs no external power and is SILENT. It's the perfect choice for me. The total cost is a lot more per gigabyte than the disk drive, but less than the other alternative, the new Solid State Drives (SSDs), because I paid for the reader only once. Thereafter, the total storage is only as limited as my pocketbook. Just swap cards in/out of the reader as needed.
I gave this reader a 4 instead of 5 because it could use 2 changes. First and foremost, in addition to the current Firewire 800 port, it should have a Firewire 400 4-pin connection like the one found on many digital video cameras. If I leave behind the 400 to 800 adapter cable, the reader is useless. Cables to connect computers to Firewire 4-pin ports are ubiquitous. I could easily borrow one. Second, it would be nice if the reader ran at 50MB/s (Firewire 400 rated max), instead of the current 40MB/s. Then, it could make full use of 300X CF cards.
Those quibbles aside, it's a wonderful device to use as a portable external Firewire drive, and, of course, to load pictures from a camera, if you need to do that occasionally. :-)
Customer Review: Great Little Card Reader
Summary: 5 Stars
The card reader that I had been using was working perfectly well until I upgraded my Mac Pro OS to Snow Leopard. I learned the hard way that I would have to purchase a new reader as Lexar was not providing any updates. I refused to buy from them again so I went with this SanDisk Extreme FireWire Reader. I love it. It supports firewire 800/400 and is every bit as fast, if not faster than my Lexar. Everyone shooting RAW appreciates the need for speed.
In case it should help anyone I might mention, by way of confessing my own ignorance, I learned that my three year old Mac Pro does indeed have two correct ports for this reader. My old reader used the (400) firewire port that is shaped a bit like an arrow. I learned the more square-shaped port at the bottom of my tower was actually an additional (800) firewire port and was exactly what I needed for the optimum use of the SanDisk Extreme FireWire Reader. I offer this very non-technological description as I could no more count those little pins than see Horton's Who on the thistle.
One thing I do miss about my old Lexar is the dust cover it had for the opening. The SanDisk does not have one. That said, it's a small tradeoff for a reader that performs so well. I also love that is lays flat on my glass tabletop and has a thin rubber pad on the bottom so it stays put. It is no larger than the palm of my hand making it quite portable. For me, this reader is a very good bang for the buck.
Customer Review: Proceed w/ caution for PCs
Summary: 1 Stars
I wanted to upgrade from my USB reader to this reader to get the higher transfer speed. But this product has been very frustrating in terms of getting it to work.
The key issue is connectivity. The reader has a 9-pin Sonet connector, and requires power through the 1394 cable. The device comes with two cables (one 9-pin to 9-pin; one 9-pin to 6-pin). However most PC laptops feature only a 4-pin connector. After buying a 9-pin to 4-pin cable, it still didn't work. 4-pin connectors don't feed power, so the reader remains dead. Also the 4-pin connectors are only Firewire 400, so it won't provide the full speed advantage. Next I found a Firewire 800 express card for my laptop. Thought that would solve it. Wrong - the card works, but it requires an external power supply to feed power to the reader. That was purchase #3 and way past doubling the original price.
Once past all those hurdles, it works like a charm on my Vista laptop. Copying from a SanDisk Extreme IV card I achieved actual transfer rates of 25MB/s, which is nice. 1.2GB of photos downloaded in less than a minute!
All that information is not very clear upfront for the reader or the card.
The reader would be much better if it came with its own power supply. Though, requiring its own power makes it less usable for a mobile user.