Customer Reviews

Delkin Devices READER-24 FireWire Reader and Writer for CompactFlash

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

 

 

I'd been meaning to get a compact flash reader as an accessory for my 3 year old Canon ELPH S110 which uploads pictures quite slowly over the standard USB 1.1 interface and has been known to power down mid-upload. Being a Mac user, I wanted to get a FireWire adaptor and not spend too much money, so I searched Amazon and found this device.

So far, it's been about what I expected. I insert my card into the device, plug the device into an open FireWire port on my PowerBook G4, iPhoto launches and I click a button to start the upload.

Here are some sample upload times for 150 phots of around 0.8 MB each:
Direct camera to computer connection with USB 1.1
PowerBook G4 12": 7 minutes 8 seconds
PowerMac G4 667 Mhz: 9 minutes 6 seconds

Using Delkin Firewire Reader:
PowerBook G4 12": 4 minutes 25 seconds
PowerMac G4 667 Mhz: 3 minutes 29 seconds

So, as you can see, the device is significantly if not spectacularly faster than a direct USB connection.

I've used the device with both a SanDisk Ultra II 256MB card and a SiliconTech 128MB card with no apparent difficulties. Despite being much newer, the SanDisk card doesn't appear to be significantly faster than the older card.

Lets face it folks, USB is not universal. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't, or sometimes almost, but not always.

I've tried over six USB 1.1 and 2.0 CF card readers, on different PC's and operating systems ... none to my satisfaction ... read errors, function device drivers not found, won't "eject" or dismount properly, etc, etc.

The first time I pluged in the Delkin Devices READER-24 FireWire Reader - it worked!!! No special drivers needed either.

I just received this product. After opening the package, I plugged it into my Macintosh PowerBook G4 computer's FireWire port. It immediately displayed the Compact Flash card as a removable drive. Reading and writing were exceptionally fast (as expected for FireWire 400). The device required absolutely no configuration whatsoever in order to function correctly.

Except for the fact that it only reads/writes to Compact Flash media (some readers have multiple format capability so I only gave this one 4/5 stars), it's an outstanding device. It comes with its own FireWire cables, so this saves a few dollars.

If you've been downloading pictures with USB 1.1, this device is well worth the money, given the time and frustration you'll save yourself. Plus, you can upload new firmware such as the hack to unlock some Digital Rebel features (http://satinfo.narod.ru/en/index.html).

-Dan W

Everything was nice for a month or so, but then without any warning it stopped working. It might be a good idea to disconnect the reader from the PC when reader is not in use.

Reader is slower than I expected. Sometimes when I insert the flash card nothing happens. If I disconnect it and then reconnect it works. I am quite disappointed in this product.

This card reader is a must have if you have a digital camera with high mega pixels (takes large pictures). I can transfer 256 MB to my hard disk in just over 1 minute. It seems to go about 4 MBytes / second on my PowerBook G4, where as the USB 1.1 (in Digital Rebel) went about 0.1-0.2 MBytes / second with my SanDisk 256 MB card (not ultra). It used to take me half an hour to transfer the entire card.

This saves the battery in my digital camera, and it saves me time, lots of time. Deffinitely worth the money if you do a lot of shooting. It comes with the 6 pin to 6 pin firewire cable.

After much Amazon perusing, I decided to pick this reader to use with my Powerbook and Digital Rebel. So far it has worked great. The Firewire means very speedy downloads while I can just switch CF cards in my camera and keep shooting. I definitely recommend getting this if you're working with large photo files and OS X.

My reader worked great twice. The third time I used it the pin in the middle bent over and I contacted Delkin customer service and they said "The 5 year warranty is for factory defects only." If a product only works twice what good is a factory warranty.

I believe my experience with Delkin may be helpful to those trying to decide which manufacturer to choose.

I'm not specifically offering a review of the Delkin Firewire Reader/Writer itself since I purchased the Delkin USB 2.0 Reader/Writer. (My camera uses SD...and at the time I found this Amazon.com site I was considering a camera that uses Compact Flash.)

However, my experience with Delkin may be helpful to those trying to decide between Delkin and other manufacturers.

I found their customer service was absolutely OUTSTANDING...better than any I've experienced.

There was a delay in receiving the Delkin Reader. When I contacted the Delkin representative, she IMMEDIATELY responded...to first identify the cause (shipping error). She then sent out a new product that very day. You could tell that the Delkin representative was genuinely concerned that there had been ANY delay.

I received it a few days later. I've had it several weeks...and it's worked perfectly.

I was informed that I should contact them if any problems arose.

In summary, I'm not comparing the relative merits of a USB 2.0 READER/WRITER versus the FireWire Reader/Writer. I believe that has to be an individual decision.)

However, if you're trying to decide between other manufacturers and Delkin...in my own experience Delkin has gone the extra mile in standing behind their transaction.

And they seemed genuinely concerned that their reader/writer met the requirements that I described relating to my equipment (camera/computer/and project. needs..rather than trying to push their product.

Quite frankly, it was very refreshing!