CompactFlash CF - 3600 rpm - 128 KB Buffer - MPN: MD4GBBP
Strengths: Huge capacity, fast, quiet
Weakness: None so far
I bought the Hitachi 4 gb microdrive as the primary storage unit for a Canon 350D Digital Rebel XT. I purchased from Ewave, one of Pricegrabbers' partner sellers. The price was $160, far less than at anywhere else including Dell.com with a rebate, and much less than any CF cards at 4gb capacity.
My primary concern was reliability. I'd much rather buy 2 1 GB hi-speed CF cards like the Lexar or whatever that will reliably hold my picture data instead of the Microdrive. However, after reading various reviews I just could not pass up the GB/$ value that a microdrive represents.
The package came in brand-new, extremely difficult to open, shoplifter-proof packaging. Which was great since I got it shipped from an online vendor. After forcibly extracting the contents, while ensuring the safety of those contents, I had the microdive contained within a little plastic case. Absolutely amazing that there's a little spinning disc in this tiny flat piece of plastic.
After carefully inserting it into the camera, the drive light flashed for a second, then 999 appears on the "remaining pictures" indicator. Yeah, baby, there's more than a thousand pictures just waiting to be taken, this at fine, large JPG resolution. Maybe a few less if I was shooting in RAW mode, but the way that I just shoot all kinds of random crap, I don't usually need all the data in RAW format and I can usually do the fixing up that I need to with Picasa2. Nothing will help poorly focused shots.
Anyway, I highly recommend getting one of these. The 4 GB drive fit at my end of the price/value curve, but the 6 GB drive and possibly larger capacities are also out there.
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TopStrengths: High quality, quite, excellent transfer rates, economical.
Weakness: Greater power consumption. Needs a tab, groove or ridge to make removal easier.
I must say that I am impressed with the quality of this device. This is my 3rd microdrive the previous 2 coming from another manufacturer. The Hitachi is so quite you cannot tell it is running. It comes pre formatted with the FAT 32 file system, which is a good ideal for a drive this large.
The read and write speed are excellent and the unit functions flawlessly. I use it in a PPC and other units have caused the PPC to lock up particularly when transferring data from SD to CF and vice a versa.
While the drive consumes a lot more power than the standard SD and CF flash cards it still does better than the previous units I've purchased. I've counteracted this problem with an extended battery in the PPC and external power sources when applicable. If there is anything that could be improved on in the design of this product it would have to be the addition of a tab or groove to extract it from the device your using it, so I've done what others have done and made my own with a piece of cellophane tape.
I would recommend this product to anyone desiring a large capacity reliable quality engineered device.
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TopStrengths: Fast; Reliable; Huge Storage
Weakness: None
The microdrive is fantastic. Even shooting raw I can't fill this card up. If it makes any noise I can't hear it. I never have to wait for the microdrive to finish writing before taking another picture. There has never been a hint of drive failure, either in my camera or in my computer 7 in 1. Highly recommended.
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TopStrengths: 4 GB capacity
Have been using this drive in a Canon Rebel XT Digital SLR for past 2 mos - in 'action' mode can take as many shots @ 3 per sec as I want (avg 1MB/shot) - have never had the microdrive bog down. 100% reliable to date - liked it so much bought a 2nd onetonight @ my local Circuit City. One caveat - the instructions that come with the drive are quite specific about the microdrive being a delicate electronic device - maybe not as sturdy as a standard CF card but I've not had any problems so far.
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TopStrengths: Huge storage capacity.
Weakness: Not compatable with most (if not all) small scale digital cameras.
I happened to come across this while purchasing the Fuji Film S3 Pro. This was noted to be incompattable with the S2 and tons of cameras I looked at didn't support it. Most cameras just have the small flash card slots. However, I've taken several hundred pictures at a high resolution and still have space for over 2,000 more. The two biggest issues with digital cameras that I see are battery consumption/costs and storage. This drive solves the storage issue without a single complaint from me, though I happen to have a camera that accepts it.
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TopStrengths: High capacity and very reasonable price
Weakness: none
Although this drive might not be as fast as the newest Sandisk Extreme III, it is the better buy because of its large memory. It works wonderfully with my Canon EOS 20D. I highly recommend this product.
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TopStrengths: HUGE MEMORY CAPACITY TO MONEY RATIO.
Weakness: MOVING PARTS MEANS THAT WE DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG THE DRIVE MAY LAST AS OPPOSED TO THE NON STATIC MEMORY OF A COMPACT FLASH CARD.
TECHNOLOGY IS MOVING SO QUICKLY. RELATIVELY SPEAKING, MICRODRIVES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. THERE IS NEWER TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL PROBABLY BE BETTER IF MONEY WAS NO OBJECT...THAT IS TO SAY THE HIGH SPEED COMPACT FLASH CARDS WITH NO MOVING PARTS. IF YOU DROP ONE OF THEM, PROBABLY NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO THE DATA. IF THE SAME THING HAPPENS (G-D FORBID) TO THE MICRODRIVE, YOU CAN LOSE YOUR DATA...SO WHAT IS THE BENEFIT...IT IS RELATIVELY CHEAP. BESTBUY WAS SELLING THESE ON SALE FOR $129 AT OUR LOCAL STORE. THE SAME 4GB IN A HIGH SPEED COMPACT FLASH MAY BE 2 TO 3 TIMES AS EXPENSIVE. ALSO, WHILE IT HAS NOT HAPPENED TO ME, I UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU ARE TAKING VIDEO, SOME HAVE COMPLAINED OF THE UNIT ACTUALLY HEATING UP AND STOPPING UNTIL IT COOLS DOWN. HAS NOT HAPPENED TO ME BUT IF IT DOES, I WILL AMEND THIS REVIEW. OVERALL THOUGH, IT IS A GOOD DEAL ON A PURELY CAPACITY TO COST RATIO. AS A FOLLOW-UP NOW AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS I CAN TELL THAT THE BOOT TIME SOMETIMES WHEN STARTING THE DIGITAL CAMERA MAY TAKE A FEW SECONDS UNTIL IT IS READY. OTHER TIMES, IT IS NOT AN ISSUE BUT STILL WORTH MENTIONING.
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TopI HAVE UPGRADED TO A 6GB MICRODRIVE. I BROUGHT THE 4GB DRIVE TO WORK AS A 'FLASH' DRIVE TO STORE FILES. WHILE SMALL FILES THE SPEED IS NEGLIGIBLE, LARGE TRANSFERS CAN TAKE HOURS. I BELIEVE THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN NOTICE THE 'SPEED' DIFFERENTIAL.
Strengths: Small, Large capacity
Weakness: Not compatible with everything manufacturer claims
This drive works well with compatible equipment. Extremely quiet and quick. I didnt see a difference between this drive and my 1GB flash card in terms of speed. Cant be the capacity to cost ratio either.
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TopStrengths: large capacity. reliable, and fast enough so that the camera never has to wait
Weakness: none really
this is an excellant card for my canon rebel xt 350D. there is never any lag during action shoots. i have tried keep taking pictures, and the camera never have to wait for the microdrive! although this is a hard drive, but as long you put it inside the camera all the time, i doubt that you would damage the disk at all. very good buy, and now i dont have to worry about running out of memory taking pictures. although it's true that quality is more important than quantity, but if you take 100 pictures, chances are, you'll get at least 5-10 good ones.
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TopStrengths: Cheap cost per gb in CF form
Weakness: None
Recently bought this to go with my Dell x51v PDA. I needed a CF compatible card to use for GPS mapping software, which takes >2gb. This fits the bill perfect for those needs and at a reasonable cost.
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TestSeek.com has collected 1 expert review for Hitachi MicroDrive 4GB and the rating is 60 of 100. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.
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...In conclusion, I would say that the microdrive does the job for me. It doubled my storage from 2GB to 4GB for about the same price. In practice, it works like a charm with the Canon 20D, so I would assume that it works well too with lower-end cameras. If you want to buy a high capacity flashcard, I would recommend considering the microdrives.
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Hitachi Microdrive
Strengths: The microdrive was as simple to install as the compact flash cards that I had been using with my EOS-10D.
Weakness: None noted.
This drive continues to do a fine job after several years of use under a variety of conditions. Well made product.
The 4GB microdrive works as advertised. Even if I put my ear right against my camera body when the camera is writing to the microdrive you can barely hear it. Since the drive has so much storage it is interesting to see that my camera's exposures remaining readout maxes out at 999. So, I will have to experiment to see approximately how many exposures I will get, on average, when I am shooting at 6.3 megapixels. My initial estimate is somewhere between 1,700 and 2,000. There is plenty of information on the web covering what cameras are compatible with the microdrive, battery drain concerns, and drive formatting options. Overall, a great value.
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