Flash card vs Microdrive

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Sealion -

I'm a big fan of solid state w/ the flash card vs the microdrive. For me, it's quite simple, drives have moving parts and can (and do) crash. They won't work as well in extreme heat or cold and basically, make me too nervous. Flash cards on the other hand have no moving parts and are solid state so the chance of something screwing up on them is much lower.

I use Viking cards these days. I have a 256m and 128. Amazon sells them for very reasonable prices and has a great return policy (30 days, no questions) if anything should not meet your expectations.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005AC8J/qx5-20

is the link for the 256 meg for $119. They also sell 128, 64, etc.... They're well reviewed and I haven't had a problem with them ever.

Good luck!

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

--My current camera: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005QJCU/qx5-20

you will find that many of us have had disasters with Microdrives. I just had my 1 gig replaced from IBM for a brand new one but I use it with caution.I also just purchased several solid state cards

Schwa said:

I'm a big fan of solid state w/ the flash card vs the microdrive.
For me, it's quite simple, drives have moving parts and can (and
do) crash. They won't work as well in extreme heat or cold and
basically, make me too nervous. Flash cards on the other hand have
no moving parts and are solid state so the chance of something
screwing up on them is much lower.

I use Viking cards these days. I have a 256m and 128. Amazon sells
them for very reasonable prices and has a great return policy (30
days, no questions) if anything should not meet your expectations.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005AC8J/qx5-20
is the link for the 256 meg for $119. They also sell 128, 64,
etc.... They're well reviewed and I haven't had a problem with them
ever.

Good luck!

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

--
My current camera:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005QJCU/qx5-20

Click to expand...

CF cards is solid state, no moving parts. MicroDrive has moving parts, it's just like the hard drive in your computer only much, much, smaller. If you drop a CF card, it probably be alright and will work again. If you drop a MicroDrive, it may not work. With the cost of CF cards going down in price each month, a 512MB CF card can be had for US$260 and a little lower in some places.

Stephen

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

As digital photographers we are always conscience of battery power. Microdrives use way more power then solid state devices do..

Microdrives are prone to damage when not handled correctly. They can not be banged around.. Compact Flash would have to be hit with a hammer before it stops working.

With the cost of Compact Flash coming down by the day it's only a matter of time for their price to be equal or better then the 1 gig microdrive from a cost per meg standpoint.

4 flash cards Vs 1 Microdrive... with 4 flash cards all your eggs are not in one basket..

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

--Frank B

Thank you for responding to my question.

FCs seem to be the unamimous winner. FCs it will be for me.

Frank Benvenuto said:

Microdrives are prone to damage when not handled correctly. They
can not be banged around.. Compact Flash would have to be hit with
a hammer before it stops working.

With the cost of Compact Flash coming down by the day it's only a
matter of time for their price to be equal or better then the 1 gig
microdrive from a cost per meg standpoint.

4 flash cards Vs 1 Microdrive... with 4 flash cards all your eggs
are not in one basket..

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

--
Frank B

Click to expand...

Definitely go w/ the FC's

I had a microdrive for my Canon s10. Good storage, but power eatting machine. Also, kind of slow I think compared to faster CF cards.

Sealion said:

FCs seem to be the unamimous winner. FCs it will be for me.

Frank Benvenuto said:

Microdrives are prone to damage when not handled correctly. They
can not be banged around.. Compact Flash would have to be hit with
a hammer before it stops working.

With the cost of Compact Flash coming down by the day it's only a
matter of time for their price to be equal or better then the 1 gig
microdrive from a cost per meg standpoint.

4 flash cards Vs 1 Microdrive... with 4 flash cards all your eggs
are not in one basket..

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

--
Frank B

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I have not received my 1gb Micrfo drive from Canon yet. However, as mentioned the microdrive is power hungry and less rugged. However, the MD is a awesome device and has allowed many pros to shoot many shoots with just one card!

Don't be supprised if the MD drops to $200 a gb in the near future! I bet when IBM's next generation of drives come out we will see lower power consumption!--Jeff Morris

Sealion,

I would'nt dismiss the microdrive completely, it has its place in your
equipment line-up. It offers more bang for the buck in its huge storage
capacity.

I used 2 microdrives in Switzerland last summer at altitudes in excess
of 10,000 ft and came back with 1000 photos. Both m/d's performed
flawlessly. I had taken some CF cards with me, because of the horror
stories re altitude failures of m/d's but the CF's were really just useful
for the extra storage ...

The operation relies on air pressure and at altitude, the lower pressure
can be detrimental, but on a cumulative basis ...

I have never had problems with either microdrive, one has been in use
since May 2000 ...

They do use more battery power, no question but where else can you
find such capacity ? ...

My experience has been only good but I can understand the comments
here re CF cards, all valid ...

Good Luck,
Keith

In defense of the microdrive and hoping I don't jinx my run of good fortune,the 1gig drive was the best option a year ago,crashed the mac a few times,other than that ,it's write times are twice that of my sandisks (128mb).Touch wood I've never dropped it.

Regarding storage - Perhaps mr Syd or Leurawave or jpeg 2000 can solve the upcoming problems with the new wave of 6mega + cams.

Sealion said:

FCs seem to be the unamimous winner. FCs it will be for me.

Frank Benvenuto said:

Microdrives are prone to damage when not handled correctly. They
can not be banged around.. Compact Flash would have to be hit with
a hammer before it stops working.

With the cost of Compact Flash coming down by the day it's only a
matter of time for their price to be equal or better then the 1 gig
microdrive from a cost per meg standpoint.

4 flash cards Vs 1 Microdrive... with 4 flash cards all your eggs
are not in one basket..

Sealion said:

Can someone detail the pro's & con's of purchasing/using additional
flash card(s) for storage vs a Smart drive? .. or perhaps direct me
to where this has already been dicussed. I searched here but came
up empty-handed.

I'm interested in bang-for-buck, ease-of-use, reliability, and
other pertinent info.

I'm interested a storage solution for a Canon G2 or S40.

Thx.

Click to expand...

--
Frank B

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--PRICKLESDAD