CF card reader - What to look for? Which one?

[LegMaker]

When buying a CF card reader, is there anything special to look for? Performance? What are some good brands/models?
Thanks,

[CyberDyneSystems]

Most people get the Lexar and Sandisk Ultra readers in either USB2 or Forewire for added speed....

I got this one about two months back;

http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=GS-G2

Half the price of the lexar,. USB2 so it is faster than my cards can go... seems to work fine. (MUCH MUCH FASTER than my old USB1 reader)

If your PC is equiped with USB2 this or any USB2 reader would be a good choice.

Like wise if you allready have Firewire,.. then you should get the Lexar or another firewire reader.

[msvirick]

I just made my choice from the price point of view.
I have a sandisk and it has worked fine for me (1Gig Card =$234)

[Dale]

LegMaker wrote:
When buying a CF card reader, is there anything special to look for? Performance? What are some good brands/models?
Thanks,
I have a Sandisk USB 2.0 reader and have had no problems with it. USB 2.0 is very fast compared to USB 1.

[realkuhl]

On my Mac I use a Lexar Firewire reader. It doesn't have USB 2.0 so Firewire is the only way to go. I used to have a printer with a card reader in it, but USB is SLOOOW with 512MB of data. Firewire is a snap and it was pretty affordable. Not free, but it's worked perfectly.

-John Lehmkuhl

[Andy_T]

If you're using a notebook, you might also look at a PCMCIA adapter.

These are available in CF1 (most models) and CF2 (some, e.g. Pretec) form factor. You just put the CF card into the adapter and put it into your Laptop's PCMCIA slot. No cables lying around and about as fast as it gets.
US$ 10 - 25.

Regards,
Andy

[CyberDyneSystems]

Good point Andy,.. I have one of these in my laptop as well.

Theoretical transfer rates on a 32bit cardbus slot would surpass even firewire!!!! (of course no crads are that fast! )

[dtrayers]

If your going to invest in a PCMCIA reader for a laptop I highly recommend the Delkin Cardbus32 reader:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20331

and so does Micheal Reichmann:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/aska32.shtml

It's $46.99 at amazon.com