Help-Compact vs microdrive

[rfot]

Hi, I need help for purchase the 1st card to my new s2pro.
I prefer 1gb but i don´t no is the best (secure and fast),
microdrive or compact flash??
Thanks in advanced.

[Iain]

I have used an IBM 1Gb microdrive since I got my S2. I have had no problems. I see that you can get them in the UK for £179. Mine cost £250!


Iain

[Swampy]

Originally posted by rfot
Hi, I need help for purchase the 1st card to my new s2pro.
I prefer 1gb but i don´t no is the best (secure and fast),
microdrive or compact flash??
Thanks in advanced.

Depends on what you're going to be doing in my opinion. Remember, the Microdrive uses more power and is slower than the compact flash. you do get twice as much storage for less money though. I'm seeing the Sandisk 512mb CF for around 120 bucks US and the 1gb Microdrive for around 199 bucks.

I believe the CF is faster, and being this small, they're both easy to drop. I'd rather drop my CF than a Microdrive if I had to drop it. Another point that has been discussed here is that it's not always good to keep all your eggs in one basket. 1gb microdrive will hold about 215 full sized jpg's. If it breaks, you lose them all where if you had 2 512mb CF's, you break one, you lose half. One thing that happened to me, speaking of taking more power...I was shooting some junt test shots and my AA's died in the middle of writting to my CF. When I brought the card up again, it was empty. All my shots were lost. Will this happen with a Microdrive? I don't know.

My preference is the CF and wouldn't even look at a Microdrive unless I was going to shoot a lot of TIF's.

Bryan

[rfot]

Thanks!
Iain and swampy101
I Think purchase the CF LEXAR 1GB ($329.95)
It´s for shooting in RAW or TIFF.
It´s a good choice?
Thanks a lot.

[Swampy]

Originally posted by rfot
Thanks!
Iain and swampy101
I Think purchase the CF LEXAR 1GB ($329.95)
It´s for shooting in RAW or TIFF.
It´s a good choice?
Thanks a lot.

Make sure that where ever you buy it from has a good return policy. I don't think anyone here has tried the 1gb Lexar CF yet. Would be good to know if it works since I'm saving for one of those myself. :)

Should work fine though. Lots of Lexar users here including myself and I haven't had any problems with mine.

Bryan

[rfot]

I think purchase from: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class

I Have purchase the s2pro for the best price i found $1,649
from: http://www.amphotoworld.com/product.asp?id=fjfps2
(maybe help someone)

Thanks.

[Ron Green]

If it's too good to be true, it usually is.
Check out what some other customers have said about these guys......

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1988.html

[rfot]

Originally posted by Ron Green
If it's too good to be true, it usually is.
Check out what some other customers have said about these guys......

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1988.html

Who!!!
I think i'm going cancel the order for the camera s2pro and purchase from another web site.
Suggestions for web site secure?
Thanks everyone...

[Wichita Wayne]

Take the camera with you and try the cards before you buy. If the store won't let you try them first then find a different store. The S2pro is made to be compatable with the microdrives only, and some CF cards do not work. The Lexar CF units have been troublesome as reported in Gary Fongs forum:

http://digitalphotographers.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=9196015511&f=8426003031&m=1656017112&r=2036000032#2036000032

I use both a 512 MB CF card (don't remember who made it) and a 1 GB Microdrive. Both work great, but I had to try more than one brand of CF card when I purchased the thing to get one that worked.

[rfot]

Hi,
About the s2pro i think take the risk and not canceled the payment.

About the CF it´s better purchase the 512 Lexar + 1GB IBM and not the 1GB Lexar.

Thanks all People.

[Wichita Wayne]

I have no reason why I purchased the 512 MB CF card and a 1 GB Microdrive. I bought the card when I purchased the camera. It is a Promaster card. Several weeks later I was in CompUSA and saw the IBM Microdrive on the shelf and just bought the thing. I guess I figured that I needed more than one storage device so I could rotate them at weddings and such. I was a little concerned that I could only get 38 RAW files on the 512 MB CF, but I have a lot of the SmartMedia cards that I could also use to switch back and forth. The S2pro also works fine with the SM cards, they just don't hold much. I have been really happy with both devices, but if I get another one I will probably buy another Microdrive. Again, I have no particular reason for that decision. That is just what I would probably do.

[rfot]

Thanks again.

[ali]

I would rather pay more for my photographic equipment from a local store than buying online. I am very happy with my 1GB MD. I have borrowed lots of smaller CF and SM cards of different specs but found no noticeable difference in speed. So it comes down to capacity for me. I will buy the 4GB MD from Hitachi once it is available at the end of this year. As far as dropping the MD; I try to never remove it and only use 1394 downloading. You can learn a lot about MD’s here: http://www.steves-digicams.com/microdrive.html

[teski]

One thing to think about is that the S2 only supports FAT16 which means that if you throw a 4GB MD in there, it'll only be able to read and use 2GB of it. The newer cameras (and by new I mean the Canon 10D) will support FAT32 which will allow you to go over 2GB. Something to think about before you throw down your $$$ this fall.

Teski

[Swampy]

Originally posted by teski
One thing to think about is that the S2 only supports FAT16 which means that if you throw a 4GB MD in there, it'll only be able to read and use 2GB of it.

Teski's right... But again, I don't like having everything in one place myself. Think about 800 jpgs on one CF. What if that thing blew up? What if you had the problem I had a while ago where the batteries died during a write and I lost all the pictures on the card? I'm happy with the 512mb cards with 104 pics on each one. When the 1gb cards come down, I'll grab some of those and still have a few 512gb cards. I'll use the 1gb cards for the RAF's and the 512gb cards for the jpg's.

That will get me 84 RAF's on the 1gb cards and 104 jpg's on the 512mb cards. Totally acceptable to me. How hard is it to have 1 or 2 extra cards with you on a trip in your pocket? Considering the size of the S2, I would think that it's not even a factor. Heck, create some velcro pouch that's sewn into your camera strap to hold a couple of cards! Don't forget the shotgun shells on the camera strap if you're going to a third world coutry too. :P

[Andre]

Originally posted by teski
One thing to think about is that the S2 only supports FAT16 which means that if you throw a 4GB MD in there, it'll only be able to read and use 2GB of it. The newer cameras (and by new I mean the Canon 10D) will support FAT32 which will allow you to go over 2GB. Something to think about before you throw down your $$$ this fall.

Teski

I wonder if it could be partitioned into two logical 2GB drives...? If so, could the S2 use both?

[teski]

...That wouldn't work. How would the S2 understand 2 partitions? There's no software in the camera that would be able to select one partition or the other. Good idea though! :)

Teski

[twinastir]

I bought my S2 with a 1GB Microdrive. It works fine except when I am shooting out of my little aircraft. The Microdrive seems to be quite sensitive against vibrations. Therefore I had to buy a 512MB CF which I use for aerial pictures. I have the feeling that the S2 is much faster with the Microdrive than with CF.

Regards Thomas

[Tom V]

When I got my S2, I used my 32mb Lexar CF card that I had been using in my Nikon 990. A few days later, I bought a 1 GB IBM MicroDrive. A few weeks later, I went to a camera store and tried a Delkin 512mb card. It would not initialize. The salesman said he uses them in his D1 without trouble. I tried a Lexar 512 and it worked fine. I bought the Lexar.

I haven't had a malfunction with any of the cards. I prefer the CF cards because they are ready instantly, whereas the Drive card takes a few seconds to be operational.

I posted a post long ago about my experience with the 2 cards at a Formula One race:

http://www.s2pro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152