Customer Reviews

Delkin Devices DDEXP34-CF-2 ExpressCard Compact Flash Adapter

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Beware if you are thinking about this device for use with the new unibody MacBook Pros. Even after installing the driver, it causes KPs on my unibody MacBook Pro. I called Delkin support about 3 weeks ago about the issue and they said that it was common and they are working on a new driver to support the new MBPs chipsets, but to date the driver hasn't come out, and I haven't been able to get through to their support after my first call. Until they fix the issue I wouldn't recommend this device.

I have used this device during photo shoots only to have it crash my computer over and over. There is no end to the frustration. This is the CF-2 version of this card. Avoid.

Installed drivers from the Delkin site; crashes my MBP about 50% of the time. I can't believe Delkin still offers this for sale. Useless.

Same as the others. I had an updated driver after speaking with Delkin, but it still crashes my macbook pro every time I remove the card.

I bought this ExpressCard reader because I wanted one that would work in my Lenovo S10e (ExpressCard 34 slot) and T61 (ExpressCard 54/34 slot). After speaking with Delkin several times and reloading their Windows XP drivers a few times. I was able to get it to read my Sandisk Extreme IV cards at a decent speed only a few times. Most of the time, it runs very slow. Sometimes slower than my old (several years old) USB 2.0 Belkin card reader.

I really hope Delkin fixes their driver. It seems to be a driver issue. Unless this is a rebranded eBay generic, then I'll be totally pissed, since they charge several times more than the eBay generic.


UPDATED 2010-Feb-22: goto Delkin's website (http://www.delkin.com/drivers/) and download the new drivers (which I think is really an old driver) which works better. My Lenovo S10e is now able to get consistent faster transfers (I have it configured for "Performance", an option that you select when you install the driver). In this setting you must "safely remove" the ExpressCard before removing the CF card.

Caused a severe enough crash on my new MBP that I had to reinstall the OS. Fortunately I am fanatical about backup, but this is unacceptable. Their customer service is also very poor. See how that works Delkin? Bad customer service = bad review on Amazon that thousands will read.

I only give it 3 stars because when it's working properly, it does what it's supposed to do, and does it FAST! The problem is that it is the only thing that has created a system level kernal panic crash of my MacBook Pro in the last 2 years. There is a very specific sequence you have to use when using this card. I have not used it a lot yet, but it seems that you have to put the expresscard in the computer w/o the CF card in it. Then insert the CF card in the reader, being careful not to eject the reader from the slot while doing this. If you have the card in the reader before putting the reader in the computer, it will not work. I pulled the card out and re-inserted it and it crashed my computer. NOT COOL! It did not come with any driver installers or make any suggestions to do so. I'm going to continue to look online to see if there are any.

As of right now, I have to say go with a FW or USB reader until the bugs are worked out. It may simply be a driver issue. I don't know enough about these things to be sure.

PS. Mine does not look like the one in the pic. Instead of the white piece on the end, it's black.

This is the first time I have ever rated a product a 1. It says it supports OS X but what it doesn't say is that it does not support 10.6.x versions. So if you have a new or even new-ish MacBook pro you are stuck. The OS recognizes that an expresscard is in the slot in that it displays the icon, it knows it is a disk adapter, it and lets you power the card down for removal, but that's it. It does not recognize the CF card at all. It tried the driver from the website (which claims only support to 10.5.x) and it works the same.

So why the "1"? Because I wrote to Delkin TWICE using their on-site support email. Twice I got the friendly email saying they had received my message and would get back to me. They never did.

It's one thing to abandon your users, it's completely another to just blow them off. In fact, this card is not even listed on their site as a current product so I am not completely sure what it is doing here...

My review of this product should be read along side my review of the SIIG Expresscard Reader Compact Flash Reader Writer. I purchased both at the same time from Amazon. My primary use will be in a Lenovo T60 with an Expresscard 54 slot but I also have a Lenovo S10 netbook that has an Expresscard 34 slot. I had high hopes for the Delkin as the only device I needed because a 34 card will fit in a 54 slot but not the other way around. The Delkin is also one of the only devices of this type that clearly states it uses the PCI-e interface and not the USB 2.0 part of the Expresscard standard.

I tested the Delkin against the SIIG and as a bencgmark my trusty Sandisk Imagemate CF reader (standard external USB 2.0 CF reader). My tests were completed on a Lenovo T60 running Windows XP with two data packages, one 100Mb and then pair of folders with 1Gb total made up of smaller files inside. It was my intention to simulate a typical transfer of files from a digital camera, which will be the main way I will use the adpater in the real world. In each case I timed how long the transfer to and from a Sandisk Extreme IV 4 Gb CF card. The times I got were very surprising!

From
100Mb
Sandisk - 6 seconds
SIIG - 2.5 seconds
Delkin - 3 seconds

1Gb
Sandisk - 1 minute 1 seconds
SIIG - 45 seconds
Delkin - 20 minutes (!)

To
100Mb
Sandisk - 7 seconds
SIIG - 6 seconds
Delkin - 1 minute 49 seconds (!)

1Gb
Sandisk - 53 seconds
SIIG - 38 seconds
Delkin - UNTESTED (it was readily apparent from the 100Mb test that this was going to be absurdly long)

When I purchased both the Delkin and the SIIG I was hedging my bets as I really expected better of the Delkin but was leary of the price tag. A "brand name" product with clearly stated performance benefits vs. a no name product (the SIIG); the winner should have been the Delkin but based on my testing it clearly wasn't.

The Delkin doesn't feel any better built than the SIIG (see my review of it for more details). Personally I think the Delkin looks almost exactly the same as the true no-name options on eBay. On my Lenovo the Delkin sticks out of the Express54 slot by a good 1/2 inch ON TOP of the CF card section. You really can't leave the Delkin in the machine as other reviewers already noted. Slotting a card into the Delkin is easy but doesn't feel very solid as really isn't much support for the CF card. Changing cards is easy but requires removing the Delkin from the Expresscard slot. Note I stop all devices in Windows before removing them so a remount is always going to be required with this method. I feel it's better to remount than loose data, YMMV. The Delkin also mounts as a dual slot device in Windows meaning you have to stop two things if you miss the actual controller (I suspect that the Delkin is built on the same controller as the Sonnet dual slot reader).

So to sum up if you have to have a brand name product and don't care for performance or the price tag get the Delkin. It doesn't live up to it's claims. If you just want something that works get the SIIG.