1GB Hitichi Microdrive VS 2.2GB Magicstor

[andrew1]

I have herad pro & con re: Micro Drives & in particular the 2.2 Magicstor.
Does anyone know of any compatability issue with either microdrive in the 10D or Rebel Digital?

Thanks

Andrew

[CanonUser]

DO NOT use the Magicstor MD with either the 10D & D-Rebel. It's nothing but bad news! The IBM/Hitachi drive is compatible with both cameras.
Get a Sandisk Ultra II, you won't regret the decision.

Regards,
Alan

[CyberDyneSystems]

lol,.

CanonUser and I BOTH have first hand experience with the 2.2 Magicstor.... :(

DON"T GET THAT DRIVE!

I also concur that as the cost of CF cards is now similar to that of a Microdrive.. it makes more sense to get a 1 gig CF Card than a microdrive. They have no moving parts and are far less susceptable to damage.

[FlyWoody3]

Andrew1,

I don't think you are getting all the facts on MicroDrive's verus solid state CF cards:

1. Shock - when you look at the shock ratings on the MicroDrives you find that they are extremely durable. Only in rare circumstances could you damage the drive. You would have to be really trying to do damage.

2. Write Speed - microdrives still have the fastest write speeds which allows for your camera to save pictures faster to the CF card.

I made the mistake of buying SanDisk Ultra CF cards. Wish I hadn't.

Here's a great review on all major CF cards:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/

Don

[CyberDyneSystems]

FlyWoody,

"Facts" and ratings/reports are not neccesarly synonimous

The 10D is not very happy with MicroDrives in general. In fact the latest firmware patch for the 10D tries to address some of the compatibility issues.

This is not to say that all MDs are bad,. nor that all MDs will not function in a 10D

...but the MagicStor IS a piece of junk that DOES not function properly in the 10D....

In fact,. although the Computer Geeks (who sell the MagicStor) were a little reluctant to list the Magicstor as "Incompatible" with the 10D once they had several returned.... they did however NOT include the 10D in a list of cameras that are compatible...

(in fact there were so many incompatibilties that the list they are posting of compatible cameras is the shorter list.)

SHOCK: On the whole CF cards can take more beating than a MicroDrive. I know people who have lost an MD from a drop at wais height. (one of my CF cards survived being dropped about 12 feet, bounce off a rock and landed in the water. It still works)

SPEED: I have seen this as well in test results (that MD drives can write faster than most CF cards) I have not tested an IBM/Hitachi MD drive in the 10D myself, but I can tell you the MagicStor was MUCH slower than even the standard CF cards I own (write time from buffer to card)

SANDISK: I do not recomend Sandisk cards either.
They seem to have the highest instance of failure (based solely on my readings on this and a few other forums) I conceed however this could merely be a phenomena based on percentages. Sandisk also seems to be one of the most avaqilble popular cards. They may have the same failure rate as any other card.. just more of them out there.


The advantages of the one gig microdrive have however passed. When the Microdrive was introduced.. it was less than a third the cost of a 1 gig CF card.

Now that they are priced within $10-$15.00 of eachother.. there advantage is unclear.

Some of us bought the MagicStor 2gig because it was 2 gigs for the price of one. That was the advantage. But THEY DO NOT WORK in the Canon 10D. I only assume the same is true of the 300D as the two cameras share so many electronics.

[CyberDyneSystems]

P.S.

I love the Dpreview link you provide.
It has a lot of great info. And it too does show the IBM MD as a very fast card.

The fastest "rated" CF cards in the test are "16X" of course the test illustrates that the ratings are pretty much baloney.. (on the 1D a Viking "standard" 128 CF "dusted" a number of faster rated cards.. and the microdrive... it was a Viking 512 I droped in the lake!)

The most recent cards in the test are circa 2002 with the bulk of them 2003. This is before the 30X and 40X rated cards were introduced.

It would be interesting to see of any of these actually perform as advertised.

//note the Sandisk was the slowest :(

[defordphoto]

I have been using two IBM 1g MDs with my 10D and have had zero issues. I still have yet to do a major shoot after the firmware update so I can't be witness to what changes have been made. They have both operated flawlessly and are about a year old.

[kidMike]

There is a definite problem with the MagicStor 2.2 MD and the Canon Digital Rebel. I bought them both, and am seriously P.O.'d! The MD works fine when you put it in; turn on the cam, it spins up to check capacity, take photos and it spins up and down to read and write.

The problem comes in when you turn the Rebel OFF! The drive spins up and continues to spin until your battery is dead!

I wrote to Canon and MagicStor, Canon's response was (in essence) "too bad". MagicStor hasn't responded.

Sucks.

kM

[Belmondo]

I’m sure Canon doesn’t feel that micro-drive compatibility issues are their problem, especially if there's at least one brand available that works properly. If Canon felt you needed a micro-drive, they’d sell it to you with their name on it (and charge double its value). At least it would work, though.

Bear in mind…..Canon isn’t re-chipping their cameras or offering firmware updates so that Sigma lenses will work on them.

I seem to recall an apt saying: something about Mohammed and mountains. It escapes me right now.

Tom