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firewire card readers discontinued

N. Scott Trimble, Photographer

Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 1:39 PM on 11.24.10

->> Just checked with my camera store about getting a new reader, and it turns out Sandisk and Lexar have discontinued Firewire 800 readers to make way for USB 3.0.

So if you have a need, better start shaking the trees of Amazon or elsewhere now before they become scarce. I am mixed on this considering how disappointing usb 2.0 was and never lived up to its benchmarks. My other concern is if Apple doesn't come out with 3.0 enabled computers in the Spring, then they are setting themselves up for a steep blow, since the rumors of firewire 1600 now seem dead.

Thoughts?

Kirby Yau, Photographer, Assistant

	San Diego \| CA \| USA \| Posted: 1:47 PM on 11.24.10
	->> Thanks Scott for the info.

Andrew Nelles, Photographer

	Chicago \| IL \| usa \| Posted: 1:54 PM on 11.24.10
	->> I'm glad I finally bought one last week. The Lexar reader is so quick.

Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant

	Galveston & Houston \| TX \| US \| Posted: 1:57 PM on 11.24.10
	->> Thanks Scott. Sandisk still has their FW800 reader for sale on their own website at this point: http://tinyurl.com/3yfo85b

Chris Wilson, Student/Intern

	Bowling Green \| Ky. \| US \| Posted: 2:28 PM on 11.24.10
	->> From what I've been hearing, USB 3.0 is supposed to be at least 3x faster than FW800. Just what I've been hearing... who knows what it will actually be.

N. Scott Trimble, Photographer

Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 2:57 PM on 11.24.10

->> Update, the rumor from Apple is they aren't in a hurry for usb 3.0, as they are working with Intel on another interface called Lightpeak, which claims a theoretical 10gb/ps and up to 100gb/s by 2020.

That's all well and good, but if the card reader companies are only focused on 3.0, and firewire goes the way of the betamax, then what kind of doldrum will Apple be caught in if photographers want fast downloads and are stuck with usb 2.0 for the next year? Now, it is being rumored that Apple might be releasing spring computers with lightpeak, I just hope card readers aren't far behind!

Yamil Sued, Photographer, Photo Editor

	Peoria \| AZ \| USA \| Posted: 10:44 PM on 11.24.10
	->> FWIW, Hoodman has FW 800 readers in stock!! Y

Colin Hackley, Photographer

	Tallahassee \| FL \| USA \| Posted: 11:15 PM on 11.24.10
	->> Not to hijack this thread, but looking to alternatives for firewire 800 readers, has anyone used this eSata card reader from Addonics http://www.addonics.com/products/flash_memory_reader/AEPDDESU.asp on a mac? On paper it looks like a much faster way to go.

John Korduner, Photographer

	Baton Rouge \| LA \| United States \| Posted: 11:32 PM on 11.24.10
	->> My Sandisk firewire readers consistently die every 4-5 weeks and I'm sick of getting RMAs, so I'm looking forward to any new alternative.

Gerry Maceda, Photographer

	La Quinta \| CA \| \| Posted: 11:52 PM on 11.24.10
	->> Colin,I have not used an eSATA card reader but have used an eSATA hard drive dock. The problem with my eSATA hard dock is that I have to restart my system in order for the docked hard drive to get recognized. Hopefully, it is not the same with the Addonics card reader because that seems to be the faster way to go.

Colin Hackley, Photographer

Tallahassee | FL | USA | Posted: 1:03 AM on 11.25.10

->> Gerry, I haven't used that configuration but have used a eSATA adapter in my Mac Book Pro as a way to connect to a raid drive and been very happy with how quickly it is recognized (and transfers data).

However, I do use a Lexar reader in the same express card slot and have some problems from time-to-time with it crashing. Thankfully it's fairly rare. However, sometimes when plugging a card into that reader can take 30 seconds or so for it to be recognized which does sound similar to your problem. Fortunately, after recognizing the card it runs great.

Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer

Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 4:42 PM on 11.25.10

->> Colin,

I have the Addonics eSATA reader, but use it on my PC desktop. It's marginally faster than my FW800 readers but the limiting factor at those speeds is the card, not the reader. (Never mind that no one yet makes a decent FW800 interface for the PC yet.)

No reader can transfer files faster than the card that's in it. The theoretical maximum for FW800 is 100 MB/sec while the theoretical maximum for the Addonics (in eSATA mode) is 187.5 MB/sec. Stack that up against the theoretical maximum of 90 MB/sec for any CF card currently made and you see what the bottleneck is.

Real world, the Addonics on my system can hit about 70 MB/sec read with an Extreme Pro card. That's comparable to FW800 speeds but actually a bit slower than the fastest ExpressCard readers.

Plus the Addonics requires power from a USB port.

Chuck

Eric Canha, Photographer

	Brockton \| MA \| United States \| Posted: 5:01 PM on 11.25.10
	->> Gerry if you have a PC you should check your BIOS settings. Assuming that the SATA controller supports hot swapping all you have to do is change the settings in BIOS to enable the hot swapping.

Gerry Maceda, Photographer

	La Quinta \| CA \| \| Posted: 7:28 PM on 11.25.10
	->> Eric, I have a Mac Pro (eSATA controller is built-in the motherboard). Thanks for the advise.

Matthew Sauk, Photographer

	Sandy \| UT \| United States \| Posted: 9:52 PM on 11.25.10
	->> Are there USB 3.0 card readers yet?

Yamil Sued, Photographer, Photo Editor

	Peoria \| AZ \| USA \| Posted: 11:16 PM on 11.25.10
	->> Most importantly.. Are there any Macs with USB 3.0 out there yet??

N. Scott Trimble, Photographer

	Lake Oswego \| OR \| USA \| Posted: 1:36 AM on 11.26.10
	->> No, Yamil, and it seems Mac isn't interested for now in going that route either.

Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer

Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 12:36 PM on 11.26.10

->> Matthew,

I have a USB 3.0 "card reader" that I'm getting ready to test on a PC - at least, that's what the people at PhotoFast call it. It's really a small enclosure intended for permanent mounting of cards - it's external, but you have to "take it apart" to insert the CF card. Not sure how well this will work, but it's claimed to be "the first."

But again, the limiting feature right now are the cards - while USB 3.0 will be faster with current UDMA cards than USB 2.0 readers, it won't be much faster (if at all) than current FW800 and eSATA solutions.

Chuck

Matthew Sauk, Photographer

	Sandy \| UT \| United States \| Posted: 12:43 PM on 11.26.10
	->> Thanks Chuck, yeah the downloading of photos will always be limited to the actual card speed. I am kinda surprised that more usb 3.0 card readers have not hit the market. I am on a PC at this point and have two ports that are usb 3.0. Would love to put them to use :) I plan on getting an external HD for one of those slots.

Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant

	Galveston & Houston \| TX \| US \| Posted: 2:01 PM on 11.26.10
	->> From what I've read in numerous places, Intel is causing the big holdup in USB 3 adoption: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/11/usb_30_adoption_wont_happen_un...

James Broome, Photographer

	Tampa \| FL \| US \| Posted: 10:45 AM on 11.29.10
	->> That is probably true, Kevin, but it won't stop motherboard manufacturers from adding USB 3.0 to their Intel-ready motherboards. Let's hope more do than do not. http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/15/asus-sandy-bridge-motherboards-are-prett.../

N. Scott Trimble, Photographer

	Lake Oswego \| OR \| USA \| Posted: 11:09 AM on 11.29.10
	->> THe article is interesting in that it doesn't mention Lightpeak, which is where they seem to want to go. http://techresearch.intel.com/ProjectDetails.aspx?Id=143 And, Apple seems to want to go here too: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/26/exclusive-apple-dictated-light-peak-crea.../

Frank Niemeir, Photographer

	Woodstock \| GA \| usa \| Posted: 10:07 AM on 11.30.10
	->> http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/30/sandisk-sony-and-nikon-propose-500mb-per... "The trio have just officially proposed a new memory card format that switches from PATA to the PCI Express serial interface to achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second with a potential to extend maximum storage capacities beyond 2 terabytes."

Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer

	Lexington \| VA \| USA \| Posted: 11:54 AM on 12.27.10
	->> Disclaimer: no pecuniary interest in the link that follows. http://www.surpluscomputers.com/348236/lexar-professional-firewire-compactf... This shows "new" Lexar Firewire readers (the FW800, stackable, discontinued model) for just $12.99 each, but with only a 90-day warranty. Sounds more like a refurb; caveat emptor.

Stephen Brashear, Photographer, Assistant

	Seattle \| WA \| USA \| Posted: 12:40 PM on 12.27.10
	->> Chuck - I don't think this is the FW800 model. It may be the FW 800 picture, but the part number for the FW400 model, according to Rob Galbraith's site (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8462) and this Sportsshooter.com thread (http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=28331).

Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer

	Lexington \| VA \| USA \| Posted: 4:29 PM on 12.27.10
	->> In that case, I'd steer away. Had one of their FW 400's burn up on me.

Gavin Werbeloff, Photographer

	San Francisco \| CA \| USA \| Posted: 1:18 AM on 12.29.10
	->> RW024 is the old FW400 stackable Reader. The FW800 UDMA reader is RW034

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