On 24 May 2005 at 19:54, Tom C wrote:

> I guess that's where I differ.  I'm betting it won't fail and that if it 
> did, it's just as likely that it would fail on the 1st shot or the 50th, as on
> the 280th (the number of raw shots I figure I can store).

OK, my card is usually at least at a GB before I pull it out, usually two.

> Actually I'm betting that were it to fail, only a small percentage of the 
> shots would have been keepers to begin with. :)

Har, that I can't help you with.

> I go against the grain a little maybe.  I almost never remove the CF from 
> the camera and I transfer the images using the USB cable.  About the only 
> time I switch cards is if one fills up and I'm not near the PC.  My handling 
> of
> the storage device itself is pretty minimal.

Have you got the *ist D or DS? I find dragging 4GB off the *ist D using the USB 
cable is worse than poking yourself in the eye with a stick (well maybe not 
quite). My PC has a card reader so I pop the card out and read it at full USB2 
speed, I'm always popping my cards in and out of the camera and often in less 
than optimal conditions in the field hence my concern regarding MD robustness.

> That certainly may be true.  I factor in the risks that exist if I were 
> shooting film most of the time, not the least of which in my case has been
> losing exposed rolls, having a jam occur, having the pressure plate roller
> scratch the film, having the lab lose the film, or inadvertently opening the
> back.

I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with these type of problems so often 
these days. If I do shoot film it's either B&W which I process or 120 slide 
which I get D&D processed and stipulate "no cut". For my practical experience 
with digital image making (over 20k shots) I expect that the chance of damage 
or failure is at least two orders of magnitude better than film for the same 
number of exposures.

> Not trying to convert you Rob... just a little good natured discussion.  If 
> MD's
> and CF were the same price I'd go with the CF, no doubt about it, but for half
> the price I'll take my chances with a microdrive.

No problems, the way that you intend to use it I can't see any insurmountable 
hurdles but I've been there and I'm just keen to cite the reasons why I gave it 
up as a bad idea. IMO the more discussion the more ammo other people have to 
help decide if it's the right thing for them too.

Cheers,


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998

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