8 GB microdrives in 1Ds MkII

Piotr Naskrecki · Jul 18, 2006

I am off to the field again, and since my laptop died during the last trip and is still at Sony's repair shop I will be going without one. I will bring with me two (or three) Nixvue storage devices, but I also want to get a few extra microdrives or CF cards so that I don't need to recycle cards and thus maintain an additional copy of my photos. I just spotted the new 8 GB Seagate microdrives, and wonder if they are actually compatible with the 1D MkII-series. I have not had any problems with 4 GB microdrives, but did have some issues with 2 GB CF cards. I would be grateful to hear from somebody who has first hand experience with 8 GB drives or CF cards, and 1D MkII-series cameras.

Piotr
--
http://www.insectphotography.com

Nill Toulme · Jul 18, 2006

There were numerous reports of the earlier Seagates not playing well in cameras. I'd be cautious. I've had excellent luck with the Hitachi 6GB MD's though, in both my Mark II's and my 20D.

Nill
~~
http://www.toulme.net

Ron van Elst · Jul 18, 2006

I would never 'gamble' on something else than solid state... As the name suggests, microdrives have spinning harddrives in them. You know what harddrives can do... You've guest it right:

FAIL !!!

I would think twice....

Regards,

Ron van Elst
The Netherlands

Nill Toulme · Jul 18, 2006

Ah geez, here we go again... solid state cards fail too. I've lost images to solid state cards, but never lost one to a microdrive... and I've put about 200,000 frames thru various IBM and Hitachi MD's vs. maybe 50,000 on solid state cards.

Nill
~~
http://www.toulme.net

CEREC · Jul 18, 2006

I have used the 4 gb and 6 gb microdrives and never had a problem. I have also used Sandisk 8 gb Ultra II and works great.

Although I have never had a problem with microdrives, the moving parts and the extra battery drain are negatives. With the cost of traditional CF cards down so low I would also think twice.

I ordered and should recieve tomorrow a Ridata 8 gb CF for $189.00. You can order from http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com or http://www.newegg.com .

Just my thoughts.
Jim

Nill Toulme · Jul 18, 2006

Dang — your card is already down to $169 at MDD. That's an amazing deal. Good thing storage just keeps getting cheaper and cheaper since we keep needing more and more of it! ;-)

Nill
~~
http://www.toulme.net

blankj · Jul 18, 2006

Wow! Thanks for pointing that out....I also noticed some good pricing on 4GB SD cards. Will the 1DMk2 work with these? (Max. I've used is 1GB SD and 4GB MicroDrive).

-John

Ken Phillips · Jul 18, 2006

--

http://www.ahomls.com/photo.htm
Voted Best of the City 2004 by Cincinnati Magazine
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Piotr Naskrecki · Jul 18, 2006

Thank you all for the info.

BTW, I definitely do not want to start a thread on which one is better, microdrives or CF. However, in my 10 experience with digital SLR's (yes, I bought the first one in 1996 - Nikon DCS-420) the only cards that failed on me beyond any hope of recovery were solid state. I had some intermittent problems with microdrives, but I was always able to recover the images. On the other hand, $170 for an 8 GB CF card sounds awfully tempting.
P.
--
http://www.insectphotography.com

Nill Toulme · Jul 18, 2006

John, don't buy a 4GB SD card yet. The Mark II's won't format them, there's a new SDHC spec just emerging (and cards just starting to ship), and Canon has promised a firmware update to address all that when the time is right. Stick with 2GB and under for now.

Nill
~~
http://www.toulme.net

Tim Updegrove · Jul 18, 2006

At MDD, both the Ridata 8gb 80x and 150x are the same price at $169. Is the 150x a price mistake?

CEREC said:
I ordered and should recieve tomorrow a Ridata 8 gb CF for $189.00.
You can order from http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com or http://www.newegg.com .

Vip Samarakoon · Jul 18, 2006

I've been using the 8GB Seagate CF microdrive in my 1DmkII for almost a year now. The combination has been across 4 continents with weather extremes ranging from -20 celcius to 45 celcius with upto 90% humidity and neither camera or the CF card have ever missed a beat in several thousand actuations.

Of course the transfer rate is slightly slower than a solid state, however bang-for-buck in terms of storage is terrific.

Wild Tiger · Jul 18, 2006

I am using 8 GB Seagate Microdrive with my 1D Mark II. I don't have any compatibility issues. I guess if it is compatible with my 1D II then it should also be compatible with your 1DSII.

blankj · Jul 19, 2006

Thats what I thought.

-John

Morihei · Jul 19, 2006

How do you get your images from your CF card into the micro drive? I'm completely new at this process, thanks>

Mike

Ron van Elst · Jul 19, 2006

Hey Mike,

The Microdrive is a REPLACEMENT for the CF card. It's not some kind of add-on.

Instead of sticking the CF card in your camera you stick in the Microdrive. It acts the same as any CF card. Images are directly recorded on the Microdrive.

Hope this helps clarify things...

Regards,

Ron van Elst

Morihei · Jul 19, 2006

Thanks, I didnt know about this. Im looking for portable storage for when I go on vacation.

Mike

jerryk · Jul 19, 2006

The Epson P-2000 is used by some people. I am sure there are also newer units.

--
jerryk.smugmug.com

Morihei · Jul 19, 2006

Thanks, I'll check it out.

sjprg · Jul 19, 2006

I can't speak for the 1DS MKII, but I've been using the Seagate 8Gbs in my 5D since Oct. 2005 with no problems at all.
--
Paul
http://www.pbase.com/sjprg

8 GB microdrives in 1Ds MkII

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