Downloading compact flash card on Imac

Tim Kay · January 5th, 2010, 05:09 PM

Hi all,

So I have a 16gb (300x ) cf card plugged into my USB keyboard slot via a Sandisk card reader. Took about ~45mins to transfer all data (16gb). Is this avg ? Are there faster methods ? Will using the HDMI on the camera be faster ?

Thanks

Edward Carlson · January 5th, 2010, 06:29 PM

Plug the card reader into something that isn't your keyboard. Most keyboards use USB 1 only (no reason they need 2.0.) HDMI capture would be real time, so it may very well be faster, but you would need the hardware to allow you to do that.

Daniel Epstein · January 5th, 2010, 06:39 PM

Edward is correct that plugging into the keyboard might be a slower connection than the USB ports in the back. Not sure if you can connect any other way to the Imac. I don't know if there are any Firewire card readers

Edward Carlson · January 5th, 2010, 06:40 PM

Lexar does indeed make a FireWire card reader. I believe that other companies do too, and I've seen one before, but I can't remember who made it. Anyway: Lexar - Flash memory card readers - Pro CF Reader

Michael Rehfield · January 5th, 2010, 06:43 PM

I recently got the Sandisk Firewire CF card reader I've been using with both my new iMac and an old Mac G5.

SanDisk | Extreme FireWire CompactFlash Card | SDDRX4-CF-901

Blazing fast compared to the USB reader I'd previously been using, esp. via Firewire 800. 8 GBs of video takes about 5 min. Reader came with both Firewire 400 and 800 cables.

Tim Kay · January 5th, 2010, 10:51 PM

Well I would be trying out these new techniques sooner but learned an early and valuable lesson about how to destroy a CF card - eject from the computer without telling the Imac, otherwise you have, like me, a $100 mini-brick (luckily, still under warranty)

I'll try plugging from the back, if no improvement i'll get one of these readers.

Justin Baglo · January 6th, 2010, 03:33 AM

I've got a rocketfish udma card reader, called a rf-crswivel, and plugged into the back of my imac, or into my powered hub, I can rip my 16gb sandisk extreme III in under 15 minutes. The one time I tried to rip 16gb through my camera, the eos utility quit itself on me about 7 times over the course of the rip. Took an hour and a half altogether mostly because of that.

I wouldn't think it'd even transfer through your keyboard usb hole. Mine won't even let me use a usb thumb drive through the keyboard.

Keith Moreau · January 7th, 2010, 08:56 PM

I second the vote for the SanDisk Firewire reader for my Mac. I've gotten 50MB/second download speeds with it. However using a sdhc-CF adapter doesn't result in high sdhc transfer speeds, unfortunately.

Bill Pryor · January 8th, 2010, 08:53 AM

I have just an ordinary USB card reader and it only takes a few minutes to copy over a 16 gig card. I haven't timed it, but last time I went and got a cup of coffee and it was finished before I got back, maybe 3 minutes or so.

Tim Kay · January 9th, 2010, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Pryor

it was finished before I got back, maybe 3 minutes or so.

Sounds like USB 2.0
what reader do you use ?

Kin Lau · January 12th, 2010, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Pryor

I have just an ordinary USB card reader and it only takes a few minutes to copy over a 16 gig card. I haven't timed it, but last time I went and got a cup of coffee and it was finished before I got back, maybe 3 minutes or so.

At 30MB/s which is a very good speed, you'd finish copying 16gigs in about 9min's. To copy 16gigs in 3mins, you would need 3 times that or 90MB/s, highly unlikely.

Maybe your 16gig card wasn't full?

Tim Kay · January 12th, 2010, 11:20 PM

It was the keyboard -
I connected it to the back of the computer where there is proper voltage and speed and it transfer on par with what others are getting here. Sometimes the simplest things

January 5th, 2010, 05:09 PM	#1
Tim Kay Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: SF & LA Posts: 195	Downloading compact flash card on Imac - fastest way ? cf Hi all, So I have a 16gb (300x ) cf card plugged into my USB keyboard slot via a Sandisk card reader. Took about ~45mins to transfer all data (16gb). Is this avg ? Are there faster methods ? Will using the HDMI on the camera be faster ? Thanks __________________ Event Production Services \| Video Production San Francisco

January 5th, 2010, 06:43 PM	#5
Michael Rehfield Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York, New York Posts: 34	Firewire Card Reader I recently got the Sandisk Firewire CF card reader I've been using with both my new iMac and an old Mac G5. SanDisk \| Extreme FireWire CompactFlash Card \| SDDRX4-CF-901 Blazing fast compared to the USB reader I'd previously been using, esp. via Firewire 800. 8 GBs of video takes about 5 min. Reader came with both Firewire 400 and 800 cables.

January 5th, 2010, 10:51 PM	#6
Tim Kay Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: SF & LA Posts: 195	Well I would be trying out these new techniques sooner but learned an early and valuable lesson about how to destroy a CF card - eject from the computer without telling the Imac, otherwise you have, like me, a $100 mini-brick (luckily, still under warranty) I'll try plugging from the back, if no improvement i'll get one of these readers. __________________ Event Production Services \| Video Production San Francisco

January 12th, 2010, 11:20 PM	#12
Tim Kay Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: SF & LA Posts: 195	It was the keyboard - I connected it to the back of the computer where there is proper voltage and speed and it transfer on par with what others are getting here. Sometimes the simplest things __________________ Event Production Services \| Video Production San Francisco

January 5th, 2010, 06:29 PM	#2
Edward Carlson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Hollywood, CA, United States Posts: 807	Plug the card reader into something that isn't your keyboard. Most keyboards use USB 1 only (no reason they need 2.0.) HDMI capture would be real time, so it may very well be faster, but you would need the hardware to allow you to do that.

January 5th, 2010, 06:39 PM	#3
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	Edward is correct that plugging into the keyboard might be a slower connection than the USB ports in the back. Not sure if you can connect any other way to the Imac. I don't know if there are any Firewire card readers

January 5th, 2010, 06:40 PM	#4
Edward Carlson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Hollywood, CA, United States Posts: 807	Lexar does indeed make a FireWire card reader. I believe that other companies do too, and I've seen one before, but I can't remember who made it. Anyway: Lexar - Flash memory card readers - Pro CF Reader

January 6th, 2010, 03:33 AM	#7
Justin Baglo New Boot Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada Posts: 6	I've got a rocketfish udma card reader, called a rf-crswivel, and plugged into the back of my imac, or into my powered hub, I can rip my 16gb sandisk extreme III in under 15 minutes. The one time I tried to rip 16gb through my camera, the eos utility quit itself on me about 7 times over the course of the rip. Took an hour and a half altogether mostly because of that. I wouldn't think it'd even transfer through your keyboard usb hole. Mine won't even let me use a usb thumb drive through the keyboard.

January 7th, 2010, 08:56 PM	#8
Keith Moreau Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane, California Posts: 530	I second the vote for the SanDisk Firewire reader for my Mac. I've gotten 50MB/second download speeds with it. However using a sdhc-CF adapter doesn't result in high sdhc transfer speeds, unfortunately.

January 8th, 2010, 08:53 AM	#9
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	I have just an ordinary USB card reader and it only takes a few minutes to copy over a 16 gig card. I haven't timed it, but last time I went and got a cup of coffee and it was finished before I got back, maybe 3 minutes or so.