When sports photojournalists from tallahassee.com contacted Synchrotech for a specialized solution to improve their RAW DSLR photograph ingestion work-flow, we had to be creative. The photographers had the following requirements for a solution: it had to fully utilize the speeds of the latest UDMA CompactFlash memory cards, it had to ingest at least two UDMA CompactFlash cards at once, it couldn't require an external power source, it had to work with Camera Bits' Photo Mechanic software, and it had to work with Apple's MacBook Pro.
Meeting any one of those prerequisites was no problem, but meeting all those requirements was a tall order. The UDMA speed requirements were no problem; both Synchrotech's CFFire800 Pro and CFExpressPro+ CompactFlash readers work with the fastest UDMA CompactFlash memory cards. The MacBook Pro features both a FireWire 800 port and an ExpressCard slot, making either product compatible. Unfortunately, only the CFFire800 Pro works with Photo Mechanic software. This presented another problem: the MacBook Pro only provides a single FireWire 800 port; adding more FireWire 800 ports via the ExpressCard would require an external power supply to power the CFFire800 Pro readers.
While our CFFire800 Pro uses FireWire bus power, we knew it draws less than 500mA, while the MacBook Pro provides just under 1A of current while running on batteries. One product we offer, Unibrain's extremely portable FireRepeater 800, splits source current between two ports. With that in mind we set out to test two CFFire800 Pro readers with FireRepeater 800 to see if it provided enough power off a single FireWire 800 port to enable both CompactFlash readers; we found it worked flawlessly.
When we informed the tallahassee.com photographers of our findings, they were elated. Since they already had an investment in SanDisk's Extreme FireWire 800 CompactFlash readers, they purchased and tested the FireRepeater 800 to dual reader configuration and had the same success. They are now deploying this solution at their location shoots.
Synchrotech is proud to offer our innovative UDMA CompactFlash ingestion solution as a bundle package to photographers requiring the fastest turnaround on their work-flows. While the Sandisk reader combination is also available, it is a UDMA Mode 4 device; the CFFire800 Pro is UDMA Mode 6 capable.
BNDL-FW8CF-012) CFFire800 Pro FireWire 800 to CompactFlash Drive Read-Writers
1) FireWire 800 IEEE1394b 9pin to 9pin Cable UB 1M/3.3F
1) Unibrain FireRepeater 800 FireWire 800 IEEE 1394b Repeater Hub 3 Port
All for $206, save $10 off items purchased separately. Requires a powered FireWire 800 9-pin port.
BNDL-FW8CF-022) SanDisk Extreme FireWire 400/800 to CompactFlash Read-Writers
1) FireWire 800 IEEE1394b 9pin to 9pin Cable UB 1M/3.3F
1) Unibrain FireRepeater 800 FireWire 800 IEEE 1394b Repeater Hub 3 Port
All for $242, save $10 off items purchased separately. Requires a powered FireWire 800 9-pin port.
$10 off CFFire800 Pro FireWire 800 to UDMA CompactFlash Drive Read-Writer using coupon code 1254340654, exclusive of other offers, expires 10/31/2009. The first UDMA Mode 6 (ULTRA ATA/133) device on the market, CFFire800 Pro is capable of taking full advantage of today's highest speed CompactFlash Cards, with throughput to spare for future CF advancement. CFFire800 is a must for pro photographers and other demanding users of high speed CompactFlash memory cards. CFFire800 Pro FireWire 800 boasts incredible read speeds of up to 43MBs with Lexar's new UDMA 300X and 39MBs with SanDisk's Extreme IV CompactFlash cards. Requiring no drivers on supported Macintosh or Windows systems, CFFire800 plugs into 9-pin FireWire 800 (1394b) ports and utilizes bus power for excellent portability.
