Is this (2.2GB MD drive) any good

[xstrio]

http://www.vtec.co.uk/product/84_633.asp

i found this for sale will it work on a 300d, 10d or 20d and do you think it is any good as it seems really cheap

[defordphoto]

Even in the photo it looks poorly built. That's a micro-drive, not a CF card. Stick with the known brands.

[FlyingPete]

Run, run away, fast!

This looks like a rebadged Magistor, running your camera with no CF card will achieve the same ends, but cost alot less :twisted:

[CyberDyneSystems]

*thread title edited to indicate the actual subject of the post*

I'll also add my voice to the chorus..

Stay Away from ANY 2.2GB MicroDrive.. they are the work of the Devil.

The key is the 2.2GB size..

Any Hitachi or IBM MD is o-kay.. but the 2.2GBs are a real problem.

[Chenu]

Question: Just bought a Magicstor 2.2 GB microdrive for my new Digital Rebel (not XT). The screen reads Error 002. Does this automatically mean I have a faulty microdrive? I read in the post messages about the version of the 'frimware'; what is current? and how does one get the most recent vesrion uploaded! I am new at this folks!!

[defordphoto]

Question: Just bought a Magicstor 2.2 GB microdrive for my new Digital Rebel (not XT). The screen reads Error 002. Does this automatically mean I have a faulty microdrive? I read in the post messages about the version of the 'frimware'; what is current? and how does one get the most recent vesrion uploaded! I am new at this folks!!

Get your money back now. Those drives are crap.

[Jesper]

Question: Just bought a Magicstor 2.2 GB microdrive for my new Digital Rebel (not XT). The screen reads Error 002. Does this automatically mean I have a faulty microdrive? I read in the post messages about the version of the 'frimware'; what is current? and how does one get the most recent vesrion uploaded! I am new at this folks!!Many people have complained about Magicstor 2.2 GB microdrives before here. They just don't work well with many digital cameras. It's not a question of the firmware of your camera. The microdrive is just not compatible with most digital cameras. I wonder why these things are still being sold, as so many people have problems with them.

So go back to the store as soon as possible and exchange it for something that does work.

[Cadwell]

Question: Just bought a Magicstor 2.2 GB microdrive for my new Digital Rebel (not XT). The screen reads Error 002. Does this automatically mean I have a faulty microdrive? I read in the post messages about the version of the 'frimware'; what is current? and how does one get the most recent vesrion uploaded! I am new at this folks!!

Take the Magicstor THING (see, I'm being polite) back to where you bought it from and get a refund. Spend the refunded money on something else.

If you can't get a refund on the Magicstor drive, place it on the ground and jump up and down on it until it is squashed flat. Then pick it up and throw it as hard as you can into the nearest clump of bushes. Do not attempt to use it to store images on. (If you wish to be environmentaly friendly some other form of disposal is acceptable although ultimately less satisfying). Chalk the lost money down to experience.

Magicstor drives are the work of the devil and do not function correctly or reliably in Canon digital SLRs.

[Simon Spiers]

I have an old IBM 340 microdrive i bought a few years ago. It has been totaly reliable throughout ,but i will not be buying anouther.For a few more pounds/dollars get a well known solid state card like a Lexar of Sandisk.

[CyberDyneSystems]

The IBM and Hotachis are perfectly reliabel well made products..

... the 2.2GB cards on the other hand,. of any name, are all in fact the same product as the MagicStor,.. imported from Korea or Tawian.. they absolutely suck.

[bawbee]

I used a MagicStor 2.2GB card for some time on my old Fuji Finepix S602 with absolutely no problems.
The Magicstor website (www.gs-magicstor.com (http://www.gs-magicstor.com)) has a list of compatible cameras. I have been using it with my Digital Rebel for a few months, also without problems.
I recently saw a press release from Hitachi (http://www.tmcnet.com/scripts/print-page.aspx?PagePrint=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tmcnet.com%2F usubmit%2F2004%2Fdec%2F1104005.htm) which says that Hitachi has sued Magicstor "for infringement of multiple Hitachi GST's patents relating to hard disk drives."

[neil_r]

It is just the 2.2 GB that have problems. I have a couple of 2GB Hitachi and a couple of 1GB IBMs and have never had a problem. The IBMs have been going for nearly 3 years now.

(I am frantically touching wood now and hoping that I won't regret this post:confused: )

N

[CyberDyneSystems]

I used a MagicStor 2.2GB card for some time on my old Fuji Finepix S602 with absolutely no problems.
The Magicstor website (www.gs-magicstor.com (http://www.gs-magicstor.com)) has a list of compatible cameras. I have been using it with my Digital Rebel for a few months, also without problems.
I recently saw a press release from Hitachi (http://www.tmcnet.com/scripts/print-page.aspx?PagePrint=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tmcnet.com%2F usubmit%2F2004%2Fdec%2F1104005.htm) which says that Hitachi has sued Magicstor "for infringement of multiple Hitachi GST's patents relating to hard disk drives."

You are the ONE person in the two years since it was introduced that has posted anything positive about the MagicStor 2.2 drives on this forum.

This is no exageration.

I'd consider you to be a very lucky fellow indeed and hope that your luck holds out :) ;)

[bawbee]

I bought the card in June 2004 and can honestly say that it has been totally reliable. I do find that it has a slower response time than a standard CF card but the capacity is huge and it is very good value for money. I also have an IBM 512KB Microdrive and cannot detect any difference in performance between the two.

[FlyingPete]

I bought the card in June 2004 and can honestly say that it has been totally reliable. I do find that it has a slower response time than a standard CF card but the capacity is huge and it is very good value for money. I also have an IBM 512KB Microdrive and cannot detect any difference in performance between the two.

Well that makes two, what camera are you using it in?

[DionM]

I'll chime in saying I never had any problems with the 2.2GB magicstor drive I played with a while ago when I bought one, and neither has the guy I sold it to (in his Fuji camera).

[CyberDyneSystems]

O-kay.. we have three good 2.2 MagicStors.. that is really impressive.. however I do note that two of you have specified that they work in Fuji cameras.

This being a Canon forum. we are more concerned with there performance in Canon cameras.

FYI,. the experiences of members of this forum.. including tests I performed myself,. were instrumental in having at least one vendor (ComputerGeeks.com where I purchased my "test samples") post a warning on there site stating that these cards were not compatible with the EOS 10D and Digital Rebel 300D.
This was a little over a year ago. The compatibility issue with Canon SLR's not withstanding,. the internet is also flooded with stories of lost data in other cameras.

[DionM]

O-kay.. we have three good 2.2 MagicStors.. that is really impressive.. however I do note that two of you have specified that they work in Fuji cameras.

This being a Canon forum. we are more concerned with there performance in Canon cameras.



You are quite correct. But perhaps people should be more specific in their statements, in that there is an incompatability between Magicstor drives and Canon cameras, not in general a blemish against Magicstor.

It is akin to rubbishing all Sigma lenses when the reverse-engineered Sigma firmware does not work with the newer Canon bodies - when in fact Sigma does make some good glass, but sometimes it doesn't work with Canon.

Reading between the lines about the Hitachi vs Magicstor issue, it appears Magicstor has done some industrial espionage or reverse engineering to gets it MD to work - no different to Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc (none of which, I believe, have ever bought the design rights from Canon).

The issue of lost data applies to any media - MD (from anyone) or CF.

Personally I would not use a MD because of the use my cameras get, but I can see the benefits in it for some users who are more careful with their equipment.

[pradeep1]

You are quite correct. But perhaps people should be more specific in their statements, in that there is an incompatability between Magicstor drives and Canon cameras, not in general a blemish against Magicstor.

It is akin to rubbishing all Sigma lenses when the reverse-engineered Sigma firmware does not work with the newer Canon bodies - when in fact Sigma does make some good glass, but sometimes it doesn't work with Canon.

Reading between the lines about the Hitachi vs Magicstor issue, it appears Magicstor has done some industrial espionage or reverse engineering to gets it MD to work - no different to Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc (none of which, I believe, have ever bought the design rights from Canon).

The issue of lost data applies to any media - MD (from anyone) or CF.

Personally I would not use a MD because of the use my cameras get, but I can see the benefits in it for some users who are more careful with their equipment.

It is not only an issue incompatibility, but also an issue of poor quality. The Magicstor drives are known to give problems in other brands of cameras - most problems are akin to the drive just dying it seems from reading others' experiences with this drive. If you value your images, why take the risk of putting it on these drives?

[CyberDyneSystems]

You are quite correct. But perhaps people should be more specific in their statements, in that there is an incompatibility between Magicstor drives and Canon cameras, not in general a blemish against Magicstor.
It's both. Really.

Again.. there is a compatibility issue,. but they also have very poor reliability in general. No one should be using these if they value there Images. The odds are stacked too far against you.

[MarkH]

3 people have said they are happy. But even if there is a 90% failure rate, there will be a few happy customers, it proves nothing!

My advice would be to pay the difference and get a Sandisk 2GB CF card, the chance of failure would be many times lower.

[Chenu]

Forum Readers,
Thank you for the education and sincere assistance on MD. Returned my 2.2Gb MagicStor for a refund, have now a conventional flsh storage media on my Canon Digital Rebel.
Chenu

[Minky]

Folks,

I purchased a D300 about a year ago and a 2.2Gb Magistor drive. I have problems with it (suprise suprise) so I did searches on teh internet and came across this fantastic website that I have just joined. Anyway.....

Like it or lump it I am stuck with a Magistor 2.2 GB CF+ drive. The problems I have is when it writes to a particular segment of the disk it bombs out wirth "Errror 2" and I have to restart the 300D and I can continue to shoot without any problems. I get teh same problem when I try to down load an image on that same segment of disk.

If I erase\format the disk in the camera I only end up with a few MB of usable space and the rest is unsuable, and end up fidgeting abuot with it to recognice the remaining disk. So now I usually delete pictures ratehr than formating the disk.

Are there any 300D users with the Magistor with some good advice!

[Cadwell]

Ummm.... I'm going to have to be blunt about this. The best thing you can do with that Magicstor drive is throw it away. A long way away.

[Minky]

Ummm.... I'm going to have to be blunt about this. The best thing you can do with that Magicstor drive is throw it away. A long way away.

I would love to, but i am unlikely to spend £50-£100 on a replacement, especially when we are expecting our first child this September. So unfortuately I have to put up with it! :oops:

[Canonfanatic]

I bought a Magicstor 2.2.gig drive from 7Day Shop a while ago. It worked fine for a short time, then I noticed a few images I thought I had taken were not there on the card. A few weeks later the card refused to work at all, so I returned it to the supplier for a refund. I notice that they no longer offer these cards for sale!
I have had a 1 gig IBM Microdrive for about two years now and it has performed perfectly. However, now that solid state cards are more affordable I have bought several of those instead.