Customer Reviews

Seagate 4 GB CompactFlash Photo Hard Drive ST64022C-RK

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

 

 

This applies to the 8GB version of this card, but I cannot imagine trusting the 4GB version either.

I have had this item (the 8GB version) for approximately 90 days. I have used it to take about 500 photos in that time. I just took a handful of photos and removed the card to open them in photoshop, and the card started clicking and clicking and it cannot be recognized in Windows. I put it in another card reader. Same. I changed computers: same. I put it back in the camera (a Nikon D70) and received the CHA error, which means the card isn't functioning.

I recommend avoiding this product. It is NOT sturdy enough to trust your images to it. I have three Sandisk CF cards (Two 1GB Ultra II and a 1GB Extreme) that while are smaller in capacity, have never given me a bit of trouble (and they read & write faster as well).

I can't believe I lost so many images. I never should have trusted a miniature hard drive to be sturdy. I treated this thing like it was made of gossamer strands and it still died on me.

Don't trust it. If I could give it lower than one star I would.

Works like a charm on my Canon EOS-20D. You need to be careful about the firmware version though. 2.0.2 is mine. 2.0.3 seems to have performance issues but the drive will still work. Seagate has a list of cameras and firmware versions they tested with here:

http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/faq/photo_camera_comp.html

In terms of performance, this drive keeps up with the Kingston Elite Pro 1Gb card I have so overall pretty good value. A tad slower than the Sandisk Ultra IIs but then you get what you pay for. You can find my findings here:

http://www.webaperture.com/articles/lib/rev/sg_cf_0601

This CF is not being read by my Canon Digital Rebel XT.

Like everyone else, I had firmware problems with this drive and my Canon 20D. Not only did Seagate take care of it, but they replaced it with an 8 GB drive instead of a 4. Now that I have compatible firmware, this card is fast and works great. It is not quite as fast as a regular flash card, but unless you are taking multiple action type pictures in a row you will never notice the difference. A must for any heavy user of digital photography. Great product and support from Seagate.

Despite the negative review feedback I tried this Photo Drive.

It produces card errors in 2 listed cameras and does not work via an approved CF card reader with Windows XP.

With XP it produces constant clicking-seeking noises and is not recognized.

With this drive and the 8GB version you need the 3.02 drive FW.

Canon changed something in 2.0.3 that made this drive work extremely slow.

Seagate has stepped up to the bat, since Canon fails to acknowledge the change.

If you contact Seagate, they have FW 3.02 that corrects what 2.0.3 broke.

I have both of these drives and the Canon 20D, highly recommend these over the slower Hitachi MicroDrives.

It was OK while it lasted, other than my PDA (Dell Axim x51v) having to be restarted every now and then to recognize the drive. It stopped working after 20 months. With Flash drives so cheap now, I would avoid this type of drive.

I thought it seemed like a really cool idea, making a mini hard drive (this item actually has moving parts inside it) and while I wasn't expecting it to be as fast as some of the professional grade CF flash cards, I expected at least for it to be reliable.

I can't say that I find this item to be reliable. I do not trust it. This card has erratic speed, erratic performance, and sometimes seems to get stuck like you are working on an old Windows computer or something. it just spins and spins and take a few minutes (yes, minutes) to finish doing whatever it is that it's doing before it is ready again. Also, one time I had to take it to a local photo lab to get pictures from it since my computer would not connect to it using every program and means at my disposal.

I now know why I got such a great deal on eBay for this! Again, the only use I have for this now is an extreme last resort. It hasn't technically failed yet or lost any of my pictures, but I fully expect it will given some time. I am basing this on the erratic and slow performance I have seen so far. Just a bunch of hassle. I will likely resell this on eBay and cut my losses. I meant to give this one star by the way but now I can't correct it. 1/5 stars is my intended rating. Do not buy this. listen to us on this.

took 850 shots in spain. then card fails. am unable to retrieve any images. seagate says: "too bad."

grrr..

Just has been using it for over 2 days now and works fine in the Olympus E500 ( I have the latest firmware). The first time I switched on the camera with the card, it said card error. So went to the menu and formatted the card and it took care of it. It Works great now.

I think first time formatting is must for any card to work with the device that the card is in.

I will come back and update as I gain more experience about the write speed. I just think that this card is great at this price point.