Broke down and bought a microdrive. at DVinfo.net

Jeff Donald · October 15th, 2004, 05:53 PM

I've used microdrives in the past, mostly in the early days digital. I had a 340 MB drive when the largest CF cards were 16 MB and 32 MB. It made a big difference having that kind of reserve capacity. I never had a drive failure, but I was always extra careful when handling the drives. I gave them up over time as CF cards grew in size. I was in Ritz camera recently and saw they had the Hitachi 4 GB cards for $249 with a $50 mail-in rebate. I couldn't resist.

After shooting with it for over a week, I really enjoy the freedom of having a total capacity exceeding 450 Raw files. I'm still using CF cards for critical work for clients. But if the microdrives prove reliable, I'll phase it in as my primary storage medium.

Robert Mann Z. · October 16th, 2004, 12:56 AM

what cam do you use...do you notice lag

Jeff Donald · October 16th, 2004, 06:37 AM

I use the 20D and I notice no lag at all. It's actually faster than all my other cards as most are several years old or more. In fact on that camera the 4GB microdrive is rated very high by Rob Galbraith. When I looked at replacing my aging CF card collection the Microdrive became very attractive.

Bernard Diaz · October 16th, 2004, 05:10 PM

Please keep us informed as to how the microdrive holds up.
I went out and bought a 1 gb CF for 149 at best buy. Ouch!

Tommy Haupfear · October 17th, 2004, 06:56 AM

Quote:

I went out and bought a 1 gb CF for 149 at best buy. Ouch!

Double ouch! Buy.com has a 1GB CF card for $55 after rebate and a good many more under $80 with no rebates. Prices have been steadily coming down but of course you're not going to get a 4GB CF card for the price Jeff paid for his 4GB microdrive.

Tommy Haupfear · October 17th, 2004, 07:16 AM

Wow, I might have to go the way of microdrive myself. I see that BananaPC has the 4GB Hitachi for $155 with free shipping after the $50 rebate. They seem to have an above average rating on resellerratings.com.

Charles Papert · October 17th, 2004, 11:51 AM

Hmm, wasn't it just yesterday that people were ripping open Mini iPods to salvage the 4gb microdrive because it was cheaper that way...? Falling prices of media and drives, just unbelievable.

I just bought a 500 gb FW drive to back up all of my video media (after losing an internal drive, I realized I was just courting fate). $450 delivered. This time next year, that would buy me a terabyte...

Jeff Donald · October 17th, 2004, 12:55 PM

Media prices have really tumbled this year, despite rising petroleum costs. I bought a 200GB drive for around $80 after all the rebates, coupons etc. Mine was internal, but still I see 200GB FW drives for around $150. I like to remind people that around 10 years ago I bought two 9GB SCSI drives for my Avid Media Composer for around $3500 each. If you could even buy a 9GB drive today, what would it be, maybe $10 to $15. Compare the old SCSI drive to the 4GB microdrives and it is just amazing.

Ken Tanaka · October 17th, 2004, 05:20 PM

The free-falling price/capacity ratio for both solid-state and conventional storage devices over the past 10 years, and particularly the past 5 years, has been absolutely breathtaking. But it has really taken a toll on the profitability of manufacturers such as Western Digital and SanDisk. It seems ironic that such a successful industry segment cannot seem to sustain financial health.

October 15th, 2004, 05:53 PM	#1
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Broke down and bought a microdrive. I've used microdrives in the past, mostly in the early days digital. I had a 340 MB drive when the largest CF cards were 16 MB and 32 MB. It made a big difference having that kind of reserve capacity. I never had a drive failure, but I was always extra careful when handling the drives. I gave them up over time as CF cards grew in size. I was in Ritz camera recently and saw they had the Hitachi 4 GB cards for $249 with a $50 mail-in rebate. I couldn't resist. After shooting with it for over a week, I really enjoy the freedom of having a total capacity exceeding 450 Raw files. I'm still using CF cards for critical work for clients. But if the microdrives prove reliable, I'll phase it in as my primary storage medium. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

October 16th, 2004, 06:37 AM	#3
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I use the 20D and I notice no lag at all. It's actually faster than all my other cards as most are several years old or more. In fact on that camera the 4GB microdrive is rated very high by Rob Galbraith. When I looked at replacing my aging CF card collection the Microdrive became very attractive. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

October 17th, 2004, 11:51 AM	#7
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Hmm, wasn't it just yesterday that people were ripping open Mini iPods to salvage the 4gb microdrive because it was cheaper that way...? Falling prices of media and drives, just unbelievable. I just bought a 500 gb FW drive to back up all of my video media (after losing an internal drive, I realized I was just courting fate). $450 delivered. This time next year, that would buy me a terabyte... __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

October 17th, 2004, 12:55 PM	#8
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Media prices have really tumbled this year, despite rising petroleum costs. I bought a 200GB drive for around $80 after all the rebates, coupons etc. Mine was internal, but still I see 200GB FW drives for around $150. I like to remind people that around 10 years ago I bought two 9GB SCSI drives for my Avid Media Composer for around $3500 each. If you could even buy a 9GB drive today, what would it be, maybe $10 to $15. Compare the old SCSI drive to the 4GB microdrives and it is just amazing. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

October 17th, 2004, 05:20 PM	#9
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	The free-falling price/capacity ratio for both solid-state and conventional storage devices over the past 10 years, and particularly the past 5 years, has been absolutely breathtaking. But it has really taken a toll on the profitability of manufacturers such as Western Digital and SanDisk. It seems ironic that such a successful industry segment cannot seem to sustain financial health. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

October 16th, 2004, 12:56 AM	#2
Robert Mann Z. Skyonic New York Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NYC Posts: 614	what cam do you use...do you notice lag

October 16th, 2004, 05:10 PM	#4
Bernard Diaz Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 151	Please keep us informed as to how the microdrive holds up. I went out and bought a 1 gb CF for 149 at best buy. Ouch!

October 17th, 2004, 07:16 AM	#6
Tommy Haupfear Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 1,415	Wow, I might have to go the way of microdrive myself. I see that BananaPC has the 4GB Hitachi for $155 with free shipping after the $50 rebate. They seem to have an above average rating on resellerratings.com.