Speeding Up The 14n

i just replaced my failing 1 Gig IBM microdrive with a Lexar Media 32x Write Accelerated 1 Gig CF card and noticed a speed jump in my 14n's ability to write files. Its like adding extra buffer memory. The cards are selling at Mac Mall (PC Mall) for $259.99 U.S. Dollars right now. A number of camera stores are out of stock.

Richard

Not to be taken seriously ;-) A good CF memory can really speed things up and that is a blessing.

Richard Boyd said:

i just replaced my failing 1 Gig IBM microdrive with a Lexar Media
32x Write Accelerated 1 Gig CF card and noticed a speed jump in my
14n's ability to write files. Its like adding extra buffer memory.
The cards are selling at Mac Mall (PC Mall) for $259.99 U.S.
Dollars right now. A number of camera stores are out of stock.

Richard

Click to expand...

Based on Rob Galbraith's research out:,

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-6112

This card has been measured to have the fasted write speed of any CF cards or the Microdrive in the 14n. These tests also show how fast the 14n writes the huge amounts of data it produces.

I have been using these cards exclusively and keeping the microdrive for overflow if I need it. I think using these cards may help with battery life as well, given that nothing has to be kept spinning.

John

Matti J said:

Richard Boyd said:

i just replaced my failing 1 Gig IBM microdrive with a Lexar Media
32x Write Accelerated 1 Gig CF card and noticed a speed jump in my
14n's ability to write files. Its like adding extra buffer memory.
The cards are selling at Mac Mall (PC Mall) for $259.99 U.S.
Dollars right now. A number of camera stores are out of stock.

Richard

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

There is a feature in FW v4.2.x that lets you track write speed..
It is in the CF card menu...
(Make sure you have the LCD off for the fastest write speed when testing)..

-Jay

--
Jay Kelbley
-Eastman Kodak Company
[email protected]

The new firmware seems to make a big difference! I noted the reported speed in camera over a number of shots. With the Lexar 32x writing full size RAW files the 14n reports 4.3 megabytes per second transfer rate. This is significantly faster than the 3.1 meg reported by Galbraith a while back.

John

Jay Kelbley said:

There is a feature in FW v4.2.x that lets you track write speed..
It is in the CF card menu...
(Make sure you have the LCD off for the fastest write speed when
testing)..

-Jay

--
Jay Kelbley
-Eastman Kodak Company
[email protected]

Click to expand...

JHill said:

John

Jay Kelbley said:

There is a feature in FW v4.2.x that lets you track write speed..
It is in the CF card menu...
(Make sure you have the LCD off for the fastest write speed when
testing)..

-Jay

--
Jay Kelbley
-Eastman Kodak Company
[email protected]

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

-----------

What we really nead is a good 4-6 GIG drive,10 gig would be even better.

I was told by a fellow photograpger that some Picture Agencies are now staring to accept images in RAW.

The writing is on the wall gentlemen,the 1 GIG microdrive (etc) has had its day-anybody wants to say a few words.......

Regards

GR

-----------

George Richardson said:

The writing is on the wall gentlemen,the 1 GIG microdrive (etc) has
had its day-anybody wants to say a few words.......

Regards

GR

Click to expand...

I just got my 2Gb CF card yesterday. It flies!
--
Rob

I wanted to detail my Micro drive problem, in case someone else is having problems with theirs.

I did a shoot last week with models that greatly tested the Microdrive, which is two years old and was used almost every day. The card stalled in our card reader during download. We lost about 9 shots out of 50 on the 1 gig card. Monday, same problem after another big shoot of 60 shots. This time, I wrote down the missing file numbers, restarted the computer, and dragged over the missing shots, skipping over the stalled photo. That way, I saved every shot but one. I have also noticed that my card has been getting quite hot lately. So my days of a Microdrive user have ended.

As a side note, I did try the recover feature in the 14n, it was not able to fix the defective shot. Also, I got a low battery window message on both shoots and I'm not certain if the Microdrive card motor caused this by excessive drain. The heating of the card is suspicious.

Richard

It sounds to me like your drive is wearing out. Hard drives usually fail slowly with symptoms like you describe here. If you can mount the drive on a PC or a laptop do a "surface level disk check on it" you are likely to find bad sectors. This process will typically lock them out but it is best to consider this card used and get a new one or better yet a high capacity CF card like the Lexar 32x.

John

Richard Boyd said:

I wanted to detail my Micro drive problem, in case someone else is
having problems with theirs.
I did a shoot last week with models that greatly tested the
Microdrive, which is two years old and was used almost every day.
The card stalled in our card reader during download. We lost about
9 shots out of 50 on the 1 gig card. Monday, same problem after
another big shoot of 60 shots. This time, I wrote down the missing
file numbers, restarted the computer, and dragged over the missing
shots, skipping over the stalled photo. That way, I saved every
shot but one. I have also noticed that my card has been getting
quite hot lately. So my days of a Microdrive user have ended.

As a side note, I did try the recover feature in the 14n, it was
not able to fix the defective shot. Also, I got a low battery
window message on both shoots and I'm not certain if the Microdrive
card motor caused this by excessive drain. The heating of the card
is suspicious.

Richard

Click to expand...

Richard Boyd said:

I wanted to detail my Micro drive problem, in case someone else is
having problems with theirs.
I did a shoot last week with models that greatly tested the
Microdrive, which is two years old and was used almost every day.
The card stalled in our card reader during download. We lost about
9 shots out of 50 on the 1 gig card. Monday, same problem after
another big shoot of 60 shots. This time, I wrote down the missing
file numbers, restarted the computer, and dragged over the missing
shots, skipping over the stalled photo. That way, I saved every
shot but one. I have also noticed that my card has been getting
quite hot lately. So my days of a Microdrive user have ended.

As a side note, I did try the recover feature in the 14n, it was
not able to fix the defective shot. Also, I got a low battery
window message on both shoots and I'm not certain if the Microdrive
card motor caused this by excessive drain. The heating of the card
is suspicious.

Richard

Click to expand...

-----------------

Anybody had any experience with

http://www.digitalcamerabattery.com

My problem is that I tend to have everything switched when using my camera-as I like to keep my eye on everything.

ALSO what about

http://www.crown-digital.co.uk/ishop/883/shop214.html

See HOODS and SHADES

Are they just gimmics ?

Anybody ever used one?

Regards

GR

JHill wrote:
Clip
or better yet a high capacity CF card like

jhill said:

the Lexar 32x.

Click to expand...

BTW - even thought the 2Gb card says 32x in the adverts, it arrived as a 40x.

--
Rob

Richard Boyd said:

i just replaced my failing 1 Gig IBM microdrive with a Lexar Media
32x Write Accelerated 1 Gig CF card and noticed a speed jump in my
14n's ability to write files. Its like adding extra buffer memory.
The cards are selling at Mac Mall (PC Mall) for $259.99 U.S.
Dollars right now. A number of camera stores are out of stock.

Richard

Click to expand...

In less than 3 weeks I have already crashed two new 1 GB IBM microdrives using the DCS 14n. I don't know what to make of that! Bad luck with these microdrives or perhaps something else! Any thoughts on the matter?

While recognizing that the 14n has limitations, within the context of the very short experience I have had using it, the potential of the 14n keeps on impressing me; especially while using it in a studio (control) environment!

JM

Richard Boyd said:

I wanted to detail my Micro drive problem, in case someone else is
having problems with theirs.
I did a shoot last week with models that greatly tested the
Microdrive, which is two years old and was used almost every day.
The card stalled in our card reader during download. We lost about
9 shots out of 50 on the 1 gig card. Monday, same problem after
another big shoot of 60 shots. This time, I wrote down the missing
file numbers, restarted the computer, and dragged over the missing
shots, skipping over the stalled photo. That way, I saved every
shot but one. I have also noticed that my card has been getting
quite hot lately. So my days of a Microdrive user have ended.

As a side note, I did try the recover feature in the 14n, it was
not able to fix the defective shot. Also, I got a low battery
window message on both shoots and I'm not certain if the Microdrive
card motor caused this by excessive drain. The heating of the card
is suspicious.

Richard

Click to expand...

--
JM

Now that Lexar has fast, cheap 1, 2, and 4 (not so cheap!) Gig solid state cards, the Microdrives are showing weakness. They are being overtaxed by the large volume of info the 14n generates. I suspect the units are over heating, mine sure got hot during a model shoot, where I did 60 or so shots in 20 minutes. I walked around the studio shooting 35 frames in 5 or six minutes yesterday, and my new Lexar 32X 1 Gig card kept up easier, and was cool when I removed it. Also, I didn't get the warning that the battery was low "unable to save picture" that I was getting with the Microdrive card. Of course, my IBM card may be having motor problems.

Richard

Hey, George- You remember those Quantum batteries they sold in the 80's for Vivitar flashes? You hung it on your belt, and you could get a ton of flashes off of it, plus it had LCD's that indicated remaining life.

If those worked, these should too, if they meet the manufacture's specs. If voltage and milliamps match up, you're cool. Just don't step in any puddles barefoot...

Richard

Jean-Michel, please describe exactly how you handle the microdrives. Do you hold them by the edges or flat side, carry case or not, etc, etc.

newsposter said:

Jean-Michel, please describe exactly how you handle the
microdrives. Do you hold them by the edges or flat side, carry
case or not, etc, etc.

Click to expand...

I handled the IBM microdrives by the sides and have been very careful about it. Like others in this forum, I have noticed that the microdrives become unusually hot to the touch after usage. After both crashes, the microdrives made a weak but high pitch beeping noise and a warning from the 14n indicated that the microdrives were defective. I try reformatting them but the three computers I tried couldn't even recognize them.

I alerted Kodak technical support of that matter and we decided that for the time being we would "wait and see" how another IBM microdrive replacement will perform.

I had also a long discussion with Hitachi technical support (this company recently brought out the microdrives business from IBM) and was told that they never had within one month 2 defective microdrives returned from the same user. Luckily for me, Hitachi will honored the warranty. This is good policy but now I don't know what to do. I'm afraid that the IBM microdrive will again crash and that this time I will have to eat-up my $300 investment and spend another $300+ buying a 1GB from Lexar.

If others experience the same difficulty as mine in the next few months, this could potentially become a big problem for the 14n. Especially in view of the fact that this 1GB IBM microdrive is one of the few 1Gb microdrives tested and recommended by Kodak.

But believe it or not, beside those problems, I still love the 14n and the great Kodak software that supports it.
JM

Don't forget the Lexar 1 Gig 32x WA cards are $259.99 (unadvertised) at Mac Mall and in stock as of last week. The Write Acceleration is supported by Kodak in most DCS cameras, and it does seem to make the 14n much more responsive under heavy shooting, and they draw no power from the camera battery.
Richard

...the 32x is being replaced by 40x almost immediately, so you can find closeout deals on 32x.

I don't have a 14n (am watching the posts here to see when the software mods bring it around to the applications that I shoot in...) but the WA cards completely transform the Nikon digital SLRs. It's a convenience with the 6mp cams, it's got to feel like a necessity with a 14mp.

Richard Boyd said:

i just replaced my failing 1 Gig IBM microdrive with a Lexar Media
32x Write Accelerated 1 Gig CF card and noticed a speed jump in my
14n's ability to write files. Its like adding extra buffer memory.
The cards are selling at Mac Mall (PC Mall) for $259.99 U.S.
Dollars right now. A number of camera stores are out of stock.

Richard

Click to expand...

--
Ed

Make pictures, don't take them - it leaves more for others.

http://www.onemountainphoto.com