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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Enviable problem, how to download 8gb card ASAP
Robert Leverton, Photographer
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Ellicott City | MD | USA | Posted: 8:56 PM on 06.16.05 |
->> I know that many people would like to have this problem. But, I have a couple 8gb cards and when I shoot an all day event I never have to change cards. Yet, when it comes time to download images it can take 40-60 minutes to download a full card. Obviously this is not indicative of the 8gb card but the amount of data (2 x 4gb cards would take the same amount of time).
Currently, I use a USB 2.0 multi-card reader. Is there a faster option? |
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Chris Williams, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Rancho Cucamonga | CA | USA | Posted: 8:59 PM on 06.16.05 |
->> Just a question, since you have a USB 2.0 card reader, you do have it plugged into a USB 2.0 port correct? My times for downloading a full 1 Gig card double or more when it's not on the proper port. I'm just trying to narrow down the options.
Chris |
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Robert Leverton, Photographer
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Ellicott City | MD | USA | Posted: 9:25 PM on 06.16.05 |
->> Yep, it's in a 2.0 port.
Cheers,
Bob |
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Bruce Twitchell, Photographer, Assistant
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Lewiston | ID | USA | Posted: 9:51 PM on 06.16.05 |
| ->> what speed are the cards? If the speed of the card is slow itself you could be downloading through a firewire 800 and it wouldn't make a difference. |
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Thomas Oed, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 10:00 PM on 06.16.05 |
->> You're right Bob, I DO wish I had your problems! ; )
If you're connected to a laptop, you could try one of the Cardbus PCMCIA readers... Delkin, I think makes the one I have. Seems to be quite a bit faster than the other options.
Another alternative would be to get one of the various portable hard drive systems out there... I use the SmartDisk FlashTrax. Not that it would speed up your download times any, but effectively it could improve your workflow. When you fill up your first card, you stick it in the unit and start the D/L right there in the field while you keep shooting, and you could begin your second D/L on the drive home. Then, you get back to your home or office, plug the drive into your computer, and access your photos that way.
Hope that helps...
-Thomas- |
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Brendan Smialowski, Photographer
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Washington | DC | United States | Posted: 10:15 PM on 06.16.05 |
| ->> Shoot less. |
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Alan Look, Photographer
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Bloomington | IL | United States | Posted: 10:30 PM on 06.16.05 |
->> I also use a PCMCIA adapter. It's more convenient for me with my laptop and it seems to be faster - although I've never done a time test.
Ont thing that has sped up my Window XP laptop is to set the performance to "best performance" instead of "best look" The speed difference was quite noticeable. To do this, go to Start:Control Panel: System (classic mode). Select the Advanced tab, then click the performance Settings button. Beware, the total look of your desktop will change as well.
Not sure if that will help with your unload time, but it may be worth a try. |
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Jason Jenkins, Photographer
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Las Vegas | NV | USA | Posted: 11:37 PM on 06.16.05 |
->> I'll jump on the PCMCIA Card Bus adapter band wagon also.
I use it all the time to the point that even when I am home and need to download, I'll set up the laptop and download to it before trying my USB reader on my desktop. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 11:47 PM on 06.16.05 |
| ->> Multiple card readers. I'd been warned in the past that that just divides the clock speed and still takes the same amount of time to download, but I've actually never seen that happen yet when downloading two readers on the laptop. (Thre and four sort of make it slow down but it's still faster) than doing them seperately. |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 3:38 AM on 06.17.05 |
| ->> How do you get one 8GB card into multiple readers? Just curious. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 3:42 AM on 06.17.05 |
->> Cut it in to little pieces. Duh.
I could have swore I read something totally different. Somehow I interpreted it as 8 gigs worth of cards. |
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Seh Suan Ngoh, Photographer
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Mark J. Rebilas, Photographer
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 8:33 AM on 06.17.05 |
->> I don't care what anyone says about USB 2.0 being comparable to Firewire in speed. I have tried usb 2.0 and my firewire reader is much faster on my Powerbook. This is the one I use and it works really quick. I can dump a full gig of imagery in under 3 minutes.
http://www.lexar.com/readers/firewire.html |
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Michael Myers, Photographer
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Miami Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 9:03 AM on 06.17.05 |
->> The "Smartdisk" option is certainly best, especially if you have more than one card. You've got two. As Thomas said, when you finish with the first card, just plug it into the Smartdisk, which will automatically copy over everything on the card. When you get home, connect the USB cable from the Smartdisk to your computer, and start working. Your computer will see the Smartdisk as just another drive - you can copy to your hard drive (probably the best option), or work on the Smartdisk.
As a side benefit, your images are now on BOTH the memory card AND on the Smartdisk, so if your card goes kerflooey, you don't lose all your work. |
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Michael J. Treola, Photographer
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Neptune | NJ | USA | Posted: 9:41 AM on 06.17.05 |
->> My office would never allow us to shoot on a card so large for the simple reason if the images corrupt or if you lose the single card you shot all day on you're screwed.
Why don't you shoot a little and carry a laptop and dump files when you need to. This way files are safe and there are no delays when it comes to editing.
(BTW - I can't imagine shooting a full 8 gigs in a day. That sounds like a nightmare edit.)
Tree |
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Neal Vaughan, Photographer
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St. Joseph | MI | USA | Posted: 11:00 AM on 06.17.05 |
| ->> 8GB is going to take some time no matter what interface you are using, but the PCMCIA 32 bit readers seem to be the fastest. |
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Jim Colburn, Photographer
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 11:35 AM on 06.17.05 |
->> "I use a USB 2.0 multi-card reader. Is there a faster option?"
A Lexar firewire cf reader works twice as fast reading things into my powerbbok than a USB 2.0 reader does into the same machine (using a USB 2.0 port). |
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David Hudson, Photographer
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Redondo Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 12:56 PM on 06.17.05 |
->> As some others have suggested, perhaps part of the issue is adjusting your workflow?
Maybe you can chimp and make in camera selects while you're shooting? That way, you can lock the files in camera, and use Photo Mechanic to download only the locked images. Thus, you can download the images you'll need to edit first (should be less than the full 8GB of the card hopefully!), and then download all the rest later when you have a bit more time. Good luck! |
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