11-24-2004, 04:00 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Sony To Sell... CF Microdrives?
"Rounding out its line of removable media, Sony Electronics is introducing the Sony Microdrive�, a one-inch removable hard disk drive that will meet the increasing storage needs of many portable digital devices such as digital cameras and PDAs. Designed to fit the Compact Flash+ Type II interface, Sony Microdrive offers a cost-effective solution for expanding consumer storage needs such as high-resolution digital photos and MPEG video. Microdrive also features a high-performance 97.9 Mbps data transfer rate to accommodate rapid shooting and moving picture data."
This is unusual on several levels. Does it mean that: a) Sony has either rapidly developed CF technology or actually rebranded a competitor's product; b) Sony has admitted that Memory Stick isn't the end-all, be-all; or both? I guess I should... welcome... Sony to the memory world for a change. Confusing! 8O
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11-24-2004, 04:38 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 481
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Re: Sony To Sell... CF Microdrives?
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Originally Posted by Janak Parekh
...Microdrive also features a high-performance 97.9 Mbps data transfer rate to accommodate rapid shooting and moving picture data.
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I just retired my Zip 750 used to backup my daily code for a couple of 1gig 80x CF cards from Lexar. I'm really happy with these - no spin up time. Click on the icon in Windows explorer and the directory structure expands instantly. I use this setup with a USB2 CF card reader from Sandisk. It's as fast as the zip drive (seems that way watching a copy), really small and compact and no power supply like the Zip drive. I used to use a Zip 250 which had no power supply but it became too small. Now I'm hooked on CF (I'm fooling around with SD but I think that there's more of a choice in CF since it's the card used most in cameras.
Anyway the real question is how do these microdrives compare to the above setup. I know you mentioned that it has a 97.9 Mbps data transfer rate but to me that's a little intangible. If I would use one of these drives in my reader how would this compare to my 1gig CF card or even a larger 4gig card? Does the drive always spin to give the transfer rates? What does it do to the battery life in the average camera?
Jeff-
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11-24-2004, 05:23 PM
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Oracle
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 880
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Well I guess all those polsters were right... SD has killed the CF card format...
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11-24-2004, 05:24 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,887
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Re: Sony To Sell... CF Microdrives?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Janak Parekh
This is unusual on several levels. Does it mean that: a) Sony has either rapidly developed CF technology or actually rebranded a competitor's product; b) Sony has admitted that Memory Stick isn't the end-all, be-all; or both? I guess I should... welcome... Sony to the memory world for a change. Confusing! 8O
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Not really.
All it means is that "there's gold in them hills". ;-)
You can't stuff a hard drive in a memory stick, after all.
(or much of anything useful.) :twisted:
And Sony has already been selling USB-based HD storage so its a small leap from that to selling a CF HD.
And, since Sony's Clie's have on occasion sported CF slots (albeit crippled ones) they do know it is a viable solution to adding mass storage to PDAs, which they still sell in Japan.
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11-24-2004, 05:34 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 143
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Let me see... 1GB Compact Flash card or SD Card for $70 (at Sam's Club, if anybody is interested), or 2GB Microdrive for $179... Naaah, I'd first buy 2 SD cards and save some battery.
M
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11-24-2004, 05:49 PM
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Editorial Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,411
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Mexico
Let me see... 1GB Compact Flash card or SD Card for $70 (at Sam's Club, if anybody is interested), or 2GB Microdrive for $179... Naaah, I'd first buy 2 SD cards and save some battery.
M
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Yes, but a 4G microdrive for $150 (Hitachi after rebate) and I have a pretty passable part time iPod.
__________________
Sometimes you are the anteater, sometimes you are the ant.
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11-24-2004, 06:50 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 481
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Re: Sony To Sell... CF Microdrives?
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Originally Posted by Felix Torres
...You can't stuff a hard drive in a memory stick, after all.
(or much of anything useful.) :twisted:
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Sony got stuck with their own stick. I think they built the CF card microdrive since they couldn't figure a way to make an oval HDD platter spin in the stick's case :roll: .
Would a 4gig CF microdrive perform better than a 4gig CF card? And does anyone know whos microdrive performs better in the real world?
Jeff-
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11-24-2004, 07:34 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 87
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It means nothing. They have a few cameras with CF cards, so why not rebrand hitachi's....... duh.
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11-24-2004, 09:34 PM
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Editorial Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,411
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Re: Sony To Sell... CF Microdrives?
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Originally Posted by lapchinj
Would a 4gig CF microdrive perform better than a 4gig CF card?
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Checked the price of a 4G CF card recently? Still a bit steep IMHO. I have no issues playing music and videos off of my microdrive, and that's what I got it for.
__________________
Sometimes you are the anteater, sometimes you are the ant.
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11-24-2004, 09:42 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 267
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I see this as a way for Sony to squeeze more cash from their prosumer camera purchasers, .i.e f828
Nothing more
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