Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter.

[bwana]

Anyone use the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter? I've got two CF card readers that I'd really prefer not to have to replace but they're firewire and as we all know Apple has abandoned that now.

The adapter isn't cheap (R489) but it's a darn sight cheaper than buying two new high speed Lexar CF readers…

 

[koffiejunkie]

The exchange rate is hurting, eh?

I actually have one on order (my local Apple store doesn't carry them anymore) since one of the drives I use for backup is FW800/USB2 and the MBA doesn't have FW either. So if you're not in too much of a hurry, I can let you know how that works.

Side note, when the FW800 card readers started disappearing off the market, I decided to buy a few extra. I stumbled upon DeLock (a German company) who had a FW800 reader in quite a compact package:

http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_91694/merkmale.html

It has a well built (the Sandisk and Lexar models feel cheap by comparison), and matches the performance of the Sandisk/Lexar models. It's worked brilliantly for the last three or so years. More recently, I bought their USB3 all-in-one reader:

http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_91704/merkmale.html

It's the same size, and performs very well. They have a dedicated USB3 CF card reader too.

 

[bwana]

Well the exchange rate isn't helping. Fortunately Dixon's at LHR honoured an aparently discounted reservation for the new MBP I bought and I managed to save £380 on it as compared to the UK Apple Store prices so I can afford a few peripherals.

 

[koffiejunkie]

I should have it in Tuesday - will let you know how it goes. I have a FW800 HDD enclosure that (with an SSD inside) will sustain 100MB/s transfer rates (800mbits, so maxing out the FW800 bus). It's a good test for any adapter!

Browsing DeLock's site, I see they also have an eSATA CF card reader. Wouldn't that be sweet! Too bad Thunderbolt-eSATA adapters are still so scarse, big and expensive. I have a USB3/eSATA adapter - it's just a calbe with some in-line circuitry (about the size of a USB flash drive). It kind of defeats the purpuse, being USB3, but at least it's marginally faster than USB2. Someone should really be selling the same thing for Thunderbolt.

 

[bwana]

Sod it - I'm picking one up in the morning - failing that I'm just going to get a USB3 one and suffer in silence.

It's only the CF readers that are Firewire so no train smash.

 

[koffiejunkie]

I'm not sure the USB3 ones would be much slower (if at all) than FW800. On my USB3/eSATA connector I get just over 100MB/s (to a 3.5 HDD). The real difference is going to be the CPU hit, but on your hardware that shouldn't hurt too much.

 

[bwana]

I'm not sure the USB3 ones would be much slower (if at all) than FW800. On my USB3/eSATA connector I get just over 100MB/s (to a 3.5 HDD). The real difference is going to be the CPU hit, but on your hardware that shouldn't hurt too much.

I'm not worried about the speed - my cards are 60MB/s and I'm not looking to upgrade those any time soon. As long as I get similar speeds to what I'm getting now via firewire I'll be happy.

 

[bwana]

It will do

 

[bwana]

With dual cards reading simultaneously it's also acceptable

 

[SauRoNZA]

What are you really asking Bwana?

 

[bwana]

What are you really asking Bwana?

I was asking if anyone who has the adapter could tell me if it worked well or not. I'd read the reviews and many of them claimed it had problems with bus powered devices.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I was asking if anyone who has the adapter could tell me if it worked well or not. I'd read the reviews and many of them claimed it had problems with bus powered devices.

Can't say I've specifically used it with card readers but I've had no issues using it with transferring data from older Firewire macbooks to new Thunderbolt ones.

 

[bwana]

Can't say I've specifically used it with card readers but I've had no issues using it with transferring data from older Firewire macbooks to new Thunderbolt ones.

Yeah, thinking back I wish I'd bought it sooner. Would have meant setting up the new machine would have been a lot faster.

 

[koffiejunkie]

I was asking if anyone who has the adapter could tell me if it worked well or not. I'd read the reviews and many of them claimed it had problems with bus powered devices.

That's probably for hard drives. Card readers use much less power than a spinny disc

Mine will be here this afternoon - will text with an external drive then.

 

[bwana]

At least using the adapter means I'm freeing up one the two available USB ports - though I will have to make a new hole in my sunshield for the thunderbolt port.

 

[koffiejunkie]

It helps that the new MBPs have two TB ports. Mine only has one, and I use it for the external screen (no HDMI either).

 

[bwana]

It helps that the new MBPs have two TB ports. Mine only has one, and I use it for the external screen (no HDMI either).

With the HDMI I've got no need for two thunderbolt ports - heck, if it wasnt for the adapter I bought I wouldn't have a need for even one of the ports!

A third USB port however, would have come in handy given the prevalence of peripherals - and my USB CD/DVD writer would have prefered it if they had put the two ports closer together.

 

[koffiejunkie]

With the HDMI I've got no need for two thunderbolt ports - heck, if it wasnt for the adapter I bought I wouldn't have a need for even one of the ports!

Problem is my MBP is the last model that didn't have USB3, which is a real ball ache, since it's the only way I can use my collection of external drives. With the exception of two FW800 ones, they're all USB2/eSATA, and on the old MBP (2007 or 2008 model, I forget which), I used an ExpressCard eSATA adapter. So now I have a Belkin TB dock, which gives me 3x USB3 ports along with the usual sound, network, FW800 and an extra TB port which the screen is plugged into.

I'm holding off until we can do 4K over TB before getting a new MBP. My current one can't even do 4K resolution - the displayport is too old a revision. Intel Skylake platform with have Display port 1.3, which will be able to drive 2x 4K monitors at 60Hz.

So 2016 should be the ear of a new MBP, exactly as I planned I hope Apple doesn't completely drop discrete graphics completely by then!

 

[bwana]

Problem is my MBP is the last model that didn't have USB3, which is a real ball ache, since it's the only way I can use my collection of external drives. With the exception of two FW800 ones, they're all USB2/eSATA, and on the old MBP (2007 or 2008 model, I forget which), I used an ExpressCard eSATA adapter. So now I have a Belkin TB dock, which gives me 3x USB3 ports along with the usual sound, network, FW800 and an extra TB port which the screen is plugged into.

I'm holding off until we can do 4K over TB before getting a new MBP. My current one can't even do 4K resolution - the displayport is too old a revision. Intel Skylake platform with have Display port 1.3, which will be able to drive 2x 4K monitors at 60Hz.

So 2016 should be the ear of a new MBP, exactly as I planned I hope Apple doesn't completely drop discrete graphics completely by then!

I must have had one from the same era - that's now the missus' problem. I've got a stack of USB3 drives that's a mile high though and another USB port would be handy. Pity it's not one of those customisations you can order.

I'm not worried about external screens - never have been, even with the 11/13" models I have. Now with the 15" retina it's even less of a concern.

Speaking of the screen - I took it to get calibrated yesterday and there was only the slightest of differences between the profile it shipped with and the one the Spyder created.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Speaking of the screen - I took it to get calibrated yesterday and there was only the slightest of differences between the profile it shipped with and the one the Spyder created.

Funny enough, it's Aperture that got me adding an external screen in the first place. Image browser on the laptop screen, full size/full screen image on the (bigger) external. But that's just convenience - I can use aperture perfectly fine with one screen. The thing that's got me looking at 4K displays is the video bug has kind of bit.

On my first holiday with the 7D, I took a few short video clips - 30 seconds or so. I didn't have any plan for it, I was more fooling around with the new feature on the camera. But looking at it after words, I really really enjoyed what it captured. My next camera will have 4K video, one way or another, so a 4K display is going to become necessary.