The fastest and simplest way to deliver digital files straight to your computer is through a media card reader. This eliminates the need to hook your camera up to your Mac. Media card readers usually come in one of three flavors: CompactFlash (Type I and/or Type II), SmartMedia, or combo readers that accept both types of media. Macworld looked at combo readers and CompactFlash readers with different capabilities and compared them.
Both Kingston’s USB PC Card Reader and the MDCF-FW FireWire Compact Flash card reader from FireWire Depot read Type I/II Compact Flash media, thereby offering some versatility, but not as much as the combo readers.
Although FireWire is potentially much faster than USB, unless you have a camera that uses a super high resolution, digital camera and MP3 files are usually small enough to be well served by a USB connection and do not justify the extra cost for the speedier FireWire interface. For those looking for speed (if you plan on saving images in the TIFF format, for example) and are willing to pay for it, FireWire Depot’s MDCF-FW FireWire CompactFlash card reader delivers.
Company | Product | Mouse Rating | List Price | Contact | Pros | Cons |
Ratoc Systems | CF03U | ![]() | $69 | 408/955-9400, www.ratocsystems.com | Reads Type I Media | Not compatible with G4 AGP systems; doesn’t read Type II CompactFlash media; high price for limited features. |
VST Technologies | Flash Media Reader | ![]() | $70 | 978/635-8200, www.vsttech.com | Can mount CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards simultaneously. | None. |
FireWire Depot | MDCF-FW | ![]() | $129 | sales@firewiredepot.com , www.firewiredepot.com | Uses FireWire interface for faster file transfers. | Expensive. |
Kingston Technology | PC Card CF Reader | ![]() | $50
![]() | 877/546-4786, www.kingston.com | Inexpensive. | None. |
AVerMedia | AVerFotoMate | ![]() | $70 | 408/263-3828, www.aver.com | Includes a PCMCIA CompactFlash adapter for notebooks; reads both SmartMedia and CompactFlash. | PCMCIA card superflous for some users. |