Customer Reviews

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

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

 

 

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.

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).

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.

Yes! This small thing is a perfect reader of compact flash cards. When I got it I was really amazed by the small size --- just a little bigger than a flash card. This is really good for traveling when space in the backpack is limited. This just adds a new drive to the computer that can read compact flash cards --- forget about aquiring pictures from cameras! I don't need to worry about installing the messy software of different cameras to my computer, as far as all the cameras take pictures with compact flash card.

Bought this because I needed a reader for my large 8GB and 32GB CF cards for my Canon 5d Mark II. This reader is crazy slow - it takes about half an hour to transfer 1 gb.

DO NOT BUY unless you have unyielding patience. For my needs, while traveling I need a reader that I can quickly upload to my laptop without losing a lot of battery power. With this reader, a full 32 GB card would take over 10 hours! Be sure to buy something that is USB 2.0!

Does the job, good price. I used it as a backup card reader whilst traveling extensively overseas. Worked fine every time. You *do* have to keep it protected from dirt and debris though (small sealable sandwich bag is sufficient).

I am a photo student and I only wanted a simple card reader to take raw images from a compact flash card into my computer. My school has a lexar card reader so I thought this would be good as well, but this seemed to be not the case.

At first, all seemed well. I inserted the card and the folder came up instantly. I then tried to copy less than 100 raw files into my computer, which is actually less than usual. Usually, it takes about a minute or so, never more than 5. However, it says that it will take 45 minutes! Right at this moment I am STILL uploading the files, and I have 25 minutes to go.

If it is meant to take raw files from a CF card, then it is way to slow and completely inefficient. After I am done uploading the files, eventually, I will return it and buy a better card reader.

Stay away from this card! Holy crap, this thing is slow! I did read the reviews before I purchased, and I must say, to the 4&5-star reviewers--what were you thinking? I rely on Amazon reviews to make good purchasing decisions, and since this card reader was cheap, with a 4-star rating, and only one bad review, I gave it a shot. Huge waste of money. Like the other reviewer said, it takes a half hour (at least) to transfer a gig. I have a Macbook Pro, so the issue is not the computer, it's this card. Plus I shoot in RAW so for me, that means I'm not transferring a ton of photos at a time, but *am* transferring a lot of data...so with this reader, I have to go cook dinner or do homework, just to wait out the transfer time. Really annoying! Maybe if you're just transferring a few photos off a point and click digi cam, this reader would be great--but not for a professional photographer.

UPDATE: 5/30/10

Just spent the day hiking and taking photos, and guess what? Came home, excited to see all my pictures, put my card into the reader, and plugged it in - it's totally broken. Won't read the card at all. I've probably used the thing less than a dozen times. What a piece of complete garbage.