Is there any alternative to the panasonic 5 card P2 reader? It seems fiendishly expensive for what it is. Currently, because we are cheap, we are just plugging firewire from camera to the macs, but putting the cards in them would be so much easier.

Welcome to the forum, Jeff. Currently there isn't any other device other than the P2 Drive that does it's job. My advice would be to keep using the camera as your connectivity if you can't justify the cost of a dedicated reader.

If you are on a MBP, the dual adapter EC/34 to PC CardBus slot works lickety split.

Thanks for the welcome. You confirmed my suspicion. It's interesting though. I don't need to edit off cards, and I don't need five at a time. One offload at a time and I'd be set.

Is there any alternative to the panasonic 5 card P2 reader? It seems fiendishly expensive for what it is. Currently, because we are cheap, we are just plugging firewire from camera to the macs, but putting the cards in them would be so much easier.

Hi Jeff, You could use the Duel Systems adapter to Xpress card adapter. www.duel-systems.com

Best,

Jan

There's no expresscard on the Mac Pro's though. As near as I can tell it's just for laptops with expresscard. We have a PC laptop we use in the field, but this would be for dumping P2 files direct to the Mac's when we're shooting in and around the building.

We stretched our budget as far as we could to get the HPX500, but now that we're trying to buy 'pro' level accessories we're fainting on a daily basis. We don't even dare to dream of that spiffy field monitor.

One company has indicated an intent to provide a PC CardBus PCI-X slotted reader for the MacPro.

Nothing yet however.

I looked around but nothing was available, so I bought AJ-PCD20.
Its 5 slot makes it easy to mount everything I shot and directly browse everything and transfer the ones I need. Of course you can also copy everything you shot without swapping the cards and can'be be done unattended. Those are big advantages over one slot card reader like Duel adapter. Duel adapter works good for its own intended use (wish it has no cable), though. So, I use both.

network your laptop to the Mac Pro and mount a drive on the Mac from the laptop and dump that way. Then you don't need the camera.

You could also pick up a used P2 Store and use it as a card reader. Or a cheap Windows laptop, connected via network to your Mac desktop.