The PC Card Adapter turns the CompactFlash into a PC Card. Simply insert the card into the adapter and it becomes a "plug and play" memory card compatible with any device with a PC Card slot.
1 No CF Type II support
I bought this to use with my Microdrive, but the reader is for Type I CF cards ONLY. other than that, it works just fine.
2 Great Single Media Type Adapter!
The adapter itself was not recognized in my laptop until I inserted a Compact Flash card into it. At that point both the adapter 'and' the card and it's contents were immediately recognized. Just be aware of that so that you don't mistakenly think the adapter isn't working when you insert it into your laptop (without a CF card). All is well with this product. I give it 5 stars without reservation.
3 Very worthwhile if you have a laptop
I use the PC Card adaptor to download pictures from my 4 megapixel camera to my IBM T30 laptop. The download speed is significantly faster using the adaptor vs. the USB cable supplied with the camera. I use a SanDisk Ultra II card, so the download speed benefit is magnified (vs. using the cable).
4 It works
When I received the card, I was able to put it in the PCMCIA slot of my PowerBook G4 (running Mac OS X 10.3.3, the best operating system known to humanity so far), insert a CompactFlash card into it, and began working with the photos immediately. The OS recognized it as containing photos and started up the iPhoto application for me.
The reason I give this item only four stars is because I need to physically remove the adapter card from my computer whenever I want to change to a different CompactFlash card. It would have been nice if SanDisk had either provided an ejection mechanism or maybe just make the CF slot a little shallower so that I could grip the CF card to pull it out.
However, that's a minor inconvenience. It works 100%.
5 Real plug and play reader
This real plug and play compact flash card reader is a must for every laptop owner. Any laptop has a PCMCIA slot, and every laptop nowadays comes with a modem , LAN , built in, so you use the PCMCIA slot for nothing, but the reader.
I usually keeps it plugged in the laptop, and take a backup for my critical files on it. With a 512 MB card, it really takes a lot, and provides me with peace of mind with an online , reliable and fast backup.
With technology, the storage capacity doubles every 12 months , and the MB/$ drops by half every 9 month. Soon, you will be able to buy a 10 GB compact flash card for the price of 512 MB nowadays. And, still , you will use the same reader !!
6 Great CardReader. Great Price
This will be a short review. I have not had the product long, but in the time I have had it, this card reads the images so quickly and I think faster than a USB 1.0 port. Amazingly inexpensive too. Excellent buy if you have a laptop.
7 Great for transferring photos to your laptop, but ...
The SanDisk CompactFlash PC Card Adapter is a quick and easy way to transfer photos from your type I CompactFlash memory cards to laptops and other PCs with PC Card slots. The memory card simply shows up as a hard drive, allowing direct access to copy, move, and delete photos much more quickly than with the typical USB interface provided with today's digital cameras.
My only caution with these adapters is that they seem a bit delicate in terms of electronics; always be sure to stop the card services on your PC for the device before removing it from your computer, or the adapter could go "bye-bye." I've gone through two in two years (on multiple PCs) due to simply ejecting the card--upon next use, the adapter failed to work. PC Card standards supposedly allow for hot swapping, but something in these cards simply doesn't like being handled that way.
8 I have used this product for 3 years...
I have used it with Windows ME and Windows 2000. I have downloaded thousands of pictures through it from several different brands of CompactFlash memory cards.
I have never experienced even one problem with it.
It is small and light and requires no software to operate.
9 Works on Macintosh even with iPhoto!
Don't let the PC in PC card fool you into thinking this is only for PC compatible computers. This card will work on a Macintosh with a PC card slot. I inserted this into a Titanium PowerBook G4. No special drivers are needed. Mac OS X has drivers already built-in.
Next I took a few photos using a Canon PowerShot S230. Then I took out the compact flash card and then inserted it into the SanDisk card while the SanDisk was already inserted into my Macintosh. In a second the Macintosh recognized that memory was inserted and furthermore it recognized that it contained photographs and it auto launched iPhoto. Then iPhoto automatically turned itself into import mode, just as if I used the normal USB cable from the camera to the Macintosh!
The advantage of using the SanDisk card as opposed to using the standard USB cable approach that comes with the camera is that you no longer have a cable to remember to carry and worry about losing. Now when you're on travel, just bring your camera and your laptop and leave the SanDisk card permanantly inside your computer. Forget about your USB cable.
I give it 4 stars. If only the SanDisk card had a built in an internal compact flash card ejector button and a titanium metallic grill then I would have given it 5 stars, but I guess that's asking a bit too much. On a sleek Titanium G4 leaving it in detracts slightly from the aesthetic clean lines of the side view by leaving an open slot where there once was this nice metallic grill.
10 Works as advertised
SanDisk knows CompactFlash (CF). They invented the format. As expected, SanDisk's CompactFlash PC Card Adapter works with all the CF cards out there. And it works under various operating systems, including Microsoft Windows XP and Apple "Jaguar" Mac OS X.
Made off of stainless steel, it is ruggedly made, too.
Just one complaint: like all the adapters I looked at, SanDisk lacks an eject button. It would be nice if I can eject the CF card without ejecting the SanDisk adapter as well. But for the money, I can't really complain.
Pros:
- Flawless compatibility with all CF cards and various operating systems
- Ruggedly built
Cons:
- No eject button
- Supports only CF (does not support other formats such as Ultra CF, SD/MMC, MemoryStick)
11 works under Linux
Very easy to set up under Linux if you have PCMCIA support enabled in the kernel. Once auto-detected and the ide-cs module is loaded (enable it under the IDE section in the kernel configuration) you can mount it like any other drive. Probably the easiest way to transfer data from a digital camera.
12 Great for its purpose and value
This this device is limited compared to some readers but is perfect for those of us that want to down/upload compact flash with the camera or PDA and the Laptop. I bought this after I used a friends to transfer a program. It has its own driver built into the unit so you do not need to waste any time with a floppy disk or CD and after two seconds it was usable. This reader is a great value compared to some memory stick type drives.
