Cheap 4GB Hitachi Microdrive

[steve]

Originally Posted by PlatinumWeaver

Has anyone since tried this and found anything they'd like to share?
I have heard on different forums that the write speed of these drives is quite slow compared to others, is this the case? Would this matter in say, a 300D? or only in a full-blooded Pro camera where lots & lots of data is being written. ( longer continuous shooting modes )..

Any info would be grand...

Yes, the 4GB microdrive is a slow device compared to solid state flash memory or smaller capacity microdrives. If however, capacity is your main concern - like going on vacation - the 4GB drive is an excellent storage device.

-Steve

[NHL]

Steve

Technically theses newer 2G/4G devices are much faster than their older 1G cousins (or most solid state flashes)... of course it needs a camera with a correct interface to exploit theses improvements!

BTW it's even more rugged (ie shock resistant) as well (not that the old ones are not reliable already). 8)

[steve]

Well, specs are one thing but in actual use the 4GB drive is faster if you are burst or continuous recording but for most non-pro digicams it is a little slower as it has to spin up and then record the data. For single-shot use it's slower than flash media. The new 4GB drives are more rugged and capacity-wise they're certainly bigger. Dollar-wise they are great with a 4GB drive selling for $300 or so versus flash media at about 3 times that. A very good value at the sacrifice of a little speed

-Steve

[PlatinumWeaver]

Originally Posted by NHL

Can you order from Dell in Australia?

Theses MP3 manufacturers buy theses drives in large quantities and pass on the saving, whereas we the consumers buy in single's and with the packaging/distribution/advertising and warranty cost (taxes in other countries) etc... they quickly add up!

We can order from Dell here, but only from dell's Australian website, which does not seem to have anything greater than a 128mb muvo1, no muvo2's..

Originally Posted by Steve

Yes, the 4GB microdrive is a slow device compared to solid state flash memory or smaller capacity microdrives. If however, capacity is your main concern - like going on vacation - the 4GB drive is an excellent storage device.

I take this to mean that while there is a definately speed decrease, it is certainly not something that would prohibit someone from taking a shot, unless that shot was instantly after your first shot while the first shot was still moving from buffer to card.

Lemme know if I've gotten this backwards or anything.

[NHL]

I believe Steve is referring to low-end consumer cameras... In most prosumers or dSLR the camera's internal buffer can usually buffer up several shots while writing to slower flash cards (or the microdrives) so this 'slowness' after the first shot is usually masked away by the camera.

You rarely see this speed limitation in JPEG where the files are usually small enough for the camera's buffer to absorb. It's only on large RAW files where the buffer can rapidly fill up after several shots and where the speed of the media becomes critical... or when a sustained transfer rate become important.

FYI, there's a CF vs camera performance data base: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...?cid=6007-6112

[NHL]

BTW if anyone is interested in a 1G Microdrive with no dismantling involved:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...272609-5180041

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[PlatinumWeaver]

Oooh! And I know for certain that Amazon actually delivers here. The website you posted suggested that 300D users use a fast card because of the fact that it buffers stuff.. or so it seemed to me..

Good information though, thank you!

[NHL]

FYI

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=7647433
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=7633962

8)

[PlatinumWeaver]

Always there with the useful links, arncha?

Thanks heaps, of course.. now I dont know 'bout the 300D.. I'm the worst person ever when it comes to deciding on a product..

[NHL]

It works for the 300D too!

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=7627751

8) 8) 8)