Lexar USB CompactFlash (CF) Memory Card Reader, Purple, RW016, Bulk - New

by Lexar

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• ASIN: B000068EEM
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 5, 2002

Product Description

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Microsoft Windows 98SE (requires drivers)/2000/Me/XP Mac OS X 10.1 or Mac OS 8.6 or greater Available USB Port 5MB Hard Disk Space

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No complaints!, February 21, 2003

By 

S. Brand "sandra807" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lexar USB CompactFlash (CF) Memory Card Reader, Purple, RW016, Bulk - New (Personal Computers)

I bought this little card reader for using a compact flash card that came with my first digital camera. At first, I had been loading directly from the camera into a software program which places the photos in an on-screen album. That process seemed too slow; and I really didn't want everything in an album. The reader is so much faster and easier. You put the card in the reader's slot, plug the USB cord into the computer, and an icon of a disk appears on screen. Click on the icon, and in the window that opens there are several folders. A couple of the folders have items in them that seem to be informational or for functionality, and which I leave untouched, but other folders are created for storing your photos when you use your camera. Click on these folders to display a window full of small images of your photos, (you can click on them to enlarge them). It is easy to remove any of them to the trash if I don't like them, or to move them into other folders on my hard drive, a disk, an album, or wherever I want to store them. Or I can immediately open them with a photo imaging program, (I usually use Photoshop Elements).

When I got this little gadget, it immediately made the process of loading my photos onto the computer much better for me. I've had it for several months, and it's been completely reliable.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This little thing is a workhorse, May 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Lexar USB CompactFlash (CF) Memory Card Reader, Purple, RW016, Bulk - New (Personal Computers)

I can't understand why some card readers cost literally 3-4 times the price. I've used this with Windows 98 and with Windows XP. You pretty much just plug it in and it works. I can't believe I used to connect my digital camera to the PC to download photos! This is so much easier (not to mention easier on my expensive camera).

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works as Good as It Looks, August 17, 2004

By 

C. T. Mikesell (near Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lexar USB CompactFlash (CF) Memory Card Reader, Purple, RW016, Bulk - New (Personal Computers)

My Dazzle-brand Compact Flash (CF) card reader died the other day, and I had to transfer about a hundred photos directly from my camera to computer via a serial cable (the camera's USB cable went missing years ago, prompting the purchase of the Dazzle card reader in the first place). A couple hours and a reboot or two later, the pictures were safely transferred. First thing the next morning I went out and got this Lexar card reader (mainly because it was the only brand CF reader the store stocked, rather than a decision to go specifically with Lexar or avoid Dazzle). Being able to transfer a hundred photos in minutes instead of hours (not to mention being able to transfer directly to my serial-portless PowerBook) is a joy.

I'm very pleased with the Lexar model. It works; it has the same translucent purple casing as the two Lexar JumpDrives I already own; and the transparent cabling is a nice touch - it looks like it should glow while in use, but sadly it does not.

The only potential downside to this model is that the circuit board is not shielded inside the casing. If the CF card should get inserted at the wrong angle or you take the card reader to the beach (or anywhere bits of sand or dirt are likely to find their way into inconvenient places), it seems the internal components of the card reader could be damaged fairly easily.

Still, it gets the job done, and a heck of a lot quicker than some alternatives. If you have the choice of this model or one with better-secured innards, you might feel more comfortable with the other model or brand. By taking reasonable care with it, though, I expect I won't have to endure a serial cable-based file dump until another few years have passed.