On 29/7/03 10:41 pm, "Karl Edmond" wrote:

> Having just joined this group and not having the time to read through all
> previous threads before putting pen to paper I thought there might be some
> interest in my observations regarding the difference in the transfer rates
> between two digital cameras from the same manufacturer and more importantly
> the lack of any reasonable speed from the more expensive system.

I have an interest in most things, and I'm sure we all have an interest in
most things digital, hence there being a list in the first place. However
comparing one ultra slow technology with another does not seem of much
importance to me. Do you see computer magazines comparing the speed of the
slowest computers, or car magazines comparing slow cars? When you have slow
things, you compare other features of those products. By all means compare
the slow speed of USB to Firewire or USB2, but informing us of the
differences between USB devices, seems a little irrelevant.

> As for using the IXUS as a card reader, yes kind of stupid I know and a
> little tongue in cheek, but unfortunately my two year old Sony Vaio which I
> use in the field doesn't support Firewire.

Does it support PC Card? You could either use this or a PC Card/Firewire
adaptor. Or, simply upgrade the laptop. A laptop with firewire connection
can be had for well under a grand. And for the savings in time, would be
well worth it.

> USB 1.1 supports 12Mbps so it's not simply a case of USB being slow but more
> the case that Canon don't provide an efficient process to utilise the
> available bandwidth.

Take it up with Canon  :-)   As I pointed out before. Most professionals
using digital SLR's do not use the USB connection, as there are far faster
alternatives, so the fact that it is slow or very slow, is of no consequence
to them. Hence probably why I've never seen it discussed before on any of
the pro digital forums.


> USB 2 has more available bandwidth than Firewire so should you use USB 2?

Don't be fooled, by available bandwidth. There are many sites that will
point to the fact that although USB2 is supposedly faster, real world tests
usually indicate that Firewire slaughters it.

Check out http://www.barefeats.com

> No, consider
> the maximum speed of the CF card. PC Card adaptor is certainly a worthwhile
> purchase but this can still only result in 6MBps max with a 40x CF card,
> which nonetheless is 4 times faster than the full rate of USB 1.1.

> My point is that the 10D is needlessly slow and even USB 1.1 can be easily
> pushed well beyond the 256KBps rate that the 10D achieves. And at full USB
> 1.1 rate 40MB download would take about 27 seconds.

USB is needlessly slow? Who cares  :-)  I use USB for slow things, like my
keyboard and mouse. For fast things I use USB2 or Firewire. Its that simple.

 
> I assumed this was a group for which discussions of interest were to be
> encouraged. I think maybe I'm in the wrong place.

That's for you to decide, I can't help you there. But check out

http://www.dpreview.com

they have forums on all manner of things. I'm sure there would be many there
that would be interested in your findings, as it caters for a more amateur
user, many of whom I'm sure cannot afford to upgrade their equipment in the
same way that a professional photographer can.

My recommendation stands. You're a professional photographer (or at least I
presume you are, since you are on this list) stop worrying over the lack of
performance of your 10d's USB connection and simply upgrade your equipment.
You need either Firewire, PC Card or USB2.
 
> I bow to your superior knowledge and experience and promise never to mention
> anything ever again without first ensuring that it's a topic that hasn't been
> mentioned some time in the past.

Oh great someone else to bow to me, join the queue I'm sure the others will
make room for you.

> This is sarcasm by the way.

Sarcasm? What's that?
 
> Damn right I'm annoyed.

I'm sorry that you're annoyed, my advice was good, perhaps the delivery of
the advice was a little harsh. Never mind, I'm sure others on the list won't
treat you so harshly. I'll try and be nicer in future.

Regards Paul
-- 
Paul Tansley
Fashion & Beauty Photography
London
+44 (0) 7973 669584
http://www.paultansley.com

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