iPad Camera Connector Kit

Are there any electronics gurus here that can tell me why I'd need to buy a $39 CAD Apple camera connector kit to plug my CF card reader into an iPad instead of using a $5 USB B to USB A - M/F cable adapter?

http://www.newegg.ca …_-12-200-414CVF-_-Product

I'm hoping I can plug the cable that comes with the iPad into the female connection of a plug like the one I linked to and then plug the male connection directly into my Sandisk CF card reader.

Will this work?

You need to thoroughly investigate this situation of iOS 4.2 cutting power output...
http://thenextweb.com …ad-camera-connection-kit/
http://www.newsminutes​.com …ing-camera-connector.html

http://store.apple.com​/us/product/MC531ZM/A
"Written by HS from Metz Dec 23, 2010 .I'm a real user of mac product in my personnal and professionnal area. I've bought today the camera connector kit and i would like to say that my camera is not supported by the adapter.
Neither the camera nor a simple usb card, plugged threw the adapter, works.
Got a problem of a "usb powered" (switch 100 mA to 20mA)
I've learned that this feature has been restricted since the update of Ios 4.2, and it's really a shame to sell a product that restricts all the items bought for the ipad.
I will not recommend the camera connector kit until Apple update the ipad firmware to re-initialize the 100 mA USB port."

And these folks are certainly complaining about actually experiencing the issue. http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=37302

Thanks Wilt, this is good information.

Looks like I'll be taking the iPad with my Sandisk CF reader to my local store and trying one out before buying. From the threads you provided links to it "might" work, depending on how much juice it needs.

There must be a lot of pretty PO'd users right now

Corporate version of "Load gun, shoot self in a55" it seems.

Wilt wrote in post #11531372
You need to thoroughly investigate this situation of iOS 4.2 cutting power output...
http://thenextweb.com …ad-camera-connection-kit/
http://www.newsminutes​.com …ing-camera-connector.html

http://store.apple.com​/us/product/MC531ZM/A
"Written by HS from Metz Dec 23, 2010 .I'm a real user of mac product in my personnal and professionnal area. I've bought today the camera connector kit and i would like to say that my camera is not supported by the adapter.
Neither the camera nor a simple usb card, plugged threw the adapter, works.
Got a problem of a "usb powered" (switch 100 mA to 20mA)
I've learned that this feature has been restricted since the update of Ios 4.2, and it's really a shame to sell a product that restricts all the items bought for the ipad.
I will not recommend the camera connector kit until Apple update the ipad firmware to re-initialize the 100 mA USB port."

And these folks are certainly complaining about actually experiencing the issue. http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=37302

Thanks, Wilt. That explains why one day (after upgrading to 4.2), I was not able to plug my card reader into the iPad and load images via the USB connector when I swore I had done it multiple times previously. I sure hope they get that issue resolved soon.

I had this problem before the update to ios4
My solution has been to either use the sd card bit, or plug the camera in via the USB connector.
My 1dmk3 seems to work fine this way.
Also - if your cameras supports adding voice recording to the images these show up as a (wav+jpg) tag in the iPad import app
If you just want to import one or two images - this is the way to do it, tag them as you shoot

the power has definitely been limited down. probably because the previous was able to let other devices be powered i.e. keyboards and stuff. u will need to run either thru the sd card slot or thru usb that has its own power source like a camera that is on.

Well, just tried one and no matter what you do it won't work with a basic single card Sandisk Imagemate CF card reader. "The connected USB device requires too much power".

O well ... a major loss of capability with the iOS 4.2 upgrade, however:

- Apple's SD card reader works fine
- Importing RAWs with the USB camera connector and a cable direct to my D700 works

Good enough for me until Apple corrects the faux pas they made with the last OS upgrade, so I bought the kit.

That's what you get for investing in Fat Apple. They want money on every product & accessory ever made for it.

Wilt wrote in post #11531372
You need to thoroughly investigate this situation of iOS 4.2 cutting power output...
http://thenextweb.com …ad-camera-connection-kit/
http://www.newsminutes​.com …ing-camera-connector.html

http://store.apple.com​/us/product/MC531ZM/A
"Written by HS from Metz Dec 23, 2010 .I'm a real user of mac product in my personnal and professionnal area. I've bought today the camera connector kit and i would like to say that my camera is not supported by the adapter.
Neither the camera nor a simple usb card, plugged threw the adapter, works.
Got a problem of a "usb powered" (switch 100 mA to 20mA)
I've learned that this feature has been restricted since the update of Ios 4.2, and it's really a shame to sell a product that restricts all the items bought for the ipad.
I will not recommend the camera connector kit until Apple update the ipad firmware to re-initialize the 100 mA USB port."

And these folks are certainly complaining about actually experiencing the issue. http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=37302

Why is everyone so surprised when something like this happens? Apple is very proprietary about their products - this is no secret. If there's a work-around or hack to exploit the device for additional functionality you'd better believe they're going to lock it down. That's the way they are. Just as users will have their reasons to resent them for it, Apple havs its own reasons.

If directly connecting your camera via USB to the iPad camera kit doesn't work, get a refund/don't buy it. Does that suck? Of course it does. But it's not the end of the world.

Bob_A wrote in post #11531194
Are there any electronics gurus here that can tell me why I'd need to buy a $39 CAD Apple camera connector kit to plug my CF card reader into an iPad instead of using a $5 USB B to USB A - M/F cable adapter?

http://www.newegg.ca …_-12-200-414CVF-_-Product

I'm hoping I can plug the cable that comes with the iPad into the female connection of a plug like the one I linked to and then plug the male connection directly into my Sandisk CF card reader.

Will this work?

I may have a work around for you, but be warned I don't own an IPAD. If you have an externally powered USB hub use it to interface to your IPAD and connect the card reader to the external USB HUB. I have run in to similar situations where some PC mother boards do not follow the USB spec and would not provide enough power for a external device. The way I got around the problem was by using and externally powered USB HUB.

Hope this helps,

110yd

110yd wrote in post #11543322
I may have a work around for you, but be warned I don't own an IPAD. If you have an externally powered USB hub use it to interface to your IPAD and connect the card reader to the external USB HUB. I have run in to similar situations where some PC mother boards do not follow the USB spec and would not provide enough power for a external device. The way I got around the problem was by using and externally powered USB HUB.

Hope this helps,

110yd

That won't work with the iPad. I tried something similar the other day but to no avail.

I'm not sure, but I would think the two connectors that come with the Camera Connection Kit either provide USB host capability directly or interface through the dock connector to USB host capability built into the iPad.

That was the second accessory, after a case, that I bought for my iPad. At $29.00 I found it a good buy, since it provides an SD reader and a USB interface.

sportsshooter50 wrote in post #11545628
I'm not sure, but I would think the two connectors that come with the Camera Connection Kit either provide USB host capability directly or interface through the dock connector to USB host capability built into the iPad.

That was the second accessory, after a case, that I bought for my iPad. At $29.00 I found it a good buy, since it provides an SD reader and a USB interface.

As discussed above due to iOS 4.2 the iPad camera connector kit no longer works as a standard USB port as it will now only support devices that draw a maximum of 20mA. Card readers, USB keyboards and USB microphones no longer work.

The only way to get images from a camera is by leaving the card in the camera and connecting to the camera connector/iPad with a USB to mini USB cable. The bad thing is that it doesn't even work for some cameras, because some draw over 20 mA.

Another way to avoid the problem is to NOT upgrade to iOS 4.2. Apple ensured that won't happen though by giving a ton of upgrades with the latest released. Choices are to either cripple USB functionality or cripple your features.

I like the iPad (really fun toy), but now I remember why I stopped using Apple years ago. Looks like they haven't changed much.

If someone has an externally powered USB Hub that they can connect to the IPAD and then connect a card reader to the external hub, I would like to know if it works. It appears that the folks that designed the IPAD (or the cardreader) made a decision to do USB their way. I looked on the Apple site to see if they listed the USB current and it is not shown. I strongly suspect they not playing by the rules.

Regards,

110yd