Valder Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 http://tinyurl.com/6h5hcNow that I have my Canon 20D I was looking at those digital wallets, but remembered seeing this awhile ago. Would be a great excuse to upgrade the 600 to the 900 or NH1.Any feedback would be appreciated on tranfer time from Compact Flash cards and how long the batteries actually last. (of course using rechargeables is what I would be using)Valder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobS Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 The transfer is not fast. It can take several minutes to fill an MD80 disc. If you are transferring several hundred meg to a 1Gig disc you could be waiting 10-12 minutes. The battery life is about what Sony claims (about 20 discs) but I have not tried it with rechargeables yet. Energizer also has some AAA lithum batteries that may extend the life.It is convient and I have had no problems using it. It is also nice to be able to transfer any common flash media to the MD.The file structure on the disc after you do the transfer looks just like what you have in your camera. The directory names are also the same that digital cameras use. Must use the software from a digital camera to carry out the transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin42 Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 How exactly does this work? Does it copy each new flash card to a new folder it creates on the MD? (the instructions imply that but don't specifically state it). I am really tempted to get one but am worried about what happens if I re-transfer the same card, would it overwrite files?Say, I take 50 pictures on a memory card. Then transfer to MD. It creates a folder "CARD0001". Then I take 25 more pictures (for a total of 75 on the same card). Does it make a second folder (CARD0002) with 75 total pictures, or does it re-transfer the same 75 into the CARD0001 folder? (does that make sense?)My concern is if I switch cards in my camera the numbering scheme doesn't always stay the same (but the folders in the card must have the same names due to the way the camera works). So I may have 2 cards with the pictures P0A00001.JPG on it. I wouldn't want to overwrite, so I hope it makes a new folder for each transfer whether or not it thinks it transferred already.Can you do any sort of maintenance (Deleting folders, etc) on the HiMD unit itself? (so you wouldn't even need to touch a computer until returning home) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobS Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 I have not transferred files from flash used in a camera. When I transfer files though, it gives it a directory name like that used on my Sony digital camera. I would think it would give another name for more files. I will try it later today and post results.As for file maintence, their is none. One button on the unit that says "copy". The HiMD unit is just a drive to copy to. No changes in what your HiMD unit can do. It will just ignore the non ATRAC files. When you hook the 2 together you see "PC-MD" in the display just like you would if you hooked it to a PC.Again, I will try multiple transfers later today and report on the results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROMBUSTERS Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 id also be interested in this if someone could give more info about transfering files from an SD memory card (i.e. for a digital camera). It is also a concern of mine if it overwrites files because they are named the same that defeates the purpose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valder Posted January 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 Sounds like the tranfer time is a bit too long for my use. I would be uploading 3MB JPEGs or RAW images from my 1 GB CF. Valder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobS Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 I copied from 4 flash cards. When done I looked at the MD. Each card had its own directory, named MCMDxxx, with xxx being sequencial numbers 001-004. Under each of these directories were the files and directories that were on the flash card. So it does not look like their is a problem with overwrites.Each copy does the whole card. If the MD cannot hold the entire card (however many meg that may be) it will not copy any. That is, if the card has 60 meg of data, the MD must have 60 meg free or nothing will be copied. This is because the unit is very simple, only a copy button and nothing else. That is also why it is fairly inexpensive. Since the transfer is over the USB port, I would expect the MD is powered from the card reader. The manual does not mention this at all but it would seem reasonable since the MD is powered by the USB port when it is hooked to a PCAgain, it is not fast, just convienent. You push a button, come back several minutes later, and the copy is done. You can then use the flash card for something else.It supports most common flash card types, including SD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin42 Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 Thank you very much for the information! It definitely looks like something I need to get before my next vacation (Well, that assumes I HAVE a "next vacation" )... Does it support xD cards natively? Or does it need an adapter? (I only ask as I've seen some conflicting details) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobS Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 The instructions indicate that xD cards are supported natively. The only adaptors it mentions are for MS Duo and miniSD. You can find the instructions online to review them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisDyson Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 (edited) Aren't the picture files, as stored on the camera each numbered individually anyways? Much like a counter on a traditional camera, each picture is numbered in sequence is it not? Therefore, how would they write over each other when transferred... they all have different names. Or is there something I am missing? Edited January 26, 2005 by ChrisDyson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin42 Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 Aren't the picture files, as stored on the camera each numbered individually anyways? Much like a counter on a traditional camera, each picture is numbered in sequence is it not? Therefore, how would they write over each other when transferred... they all have different names. Or is there something I am missing?←It depends on your camera. In mine, if I change the memory card, the sequence for the day resets. Granted, it's a cheap camera, but it's an issue if I am out taking pictures, have to switch cards, and start over again.If I were on vacation, I'd want the memory card reader as a sort of "backup" (in case anything happened to the camera while being out and about), as well as possibly being able to erase pictures if I were to [gasp horror!] run out of space, so I was concerned about how trustworthy of copy the card reader makes. (since you have no way to verify the pictures are really there since you can't see the directories or anything) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algood Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 And what about microdrives? Are they supported? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaxius Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Does anyone know where I can buy one of these in the UK. I've done a fair bit of searching and can only find US outlets so far.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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