Belkin has updated its website with information about the new and PTP-compliant cameras," runs on two AA batteries, and offers a place to stow the cable when not in use. Details on availability were not immediately available; the Digital Camera Link will not work with iPod minis.
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ah thats good timing. really didnt want tohave to take my iBook on holiday. and $90 would not be too much to pay for this. Could use it in conjunction with my friends 40gig ipod...
My 1st gen iPod can connect DIRECTLY to my firewire camcorder without an adaptor! So there!
(actually, I'm lying. I never tried it. But I've gotta push for SOME advantage here... it pisses me off that all new iPod thingys pretty much only work with 3G iPods.)
The problem with Belkin's first generation media reader is the incredibly slow tranfer speed. Belkin foolishly based their "average" memory card user at 128MB and USB 1.1.
With this 2nd generation reader, not only do you run down the batteries of the adaptor, but you'll also run down your camera's batteries. If you've ever dumped a 256MB or larger card with USB, it takes forever. Not a good situation where batteries and power sources for recharging them are limited.
Some kind of rechargable FireWire based card reader would make so much MORE sense. An iPod uses FireWire... 1 + 1 = ?
I have a Minds@Work Digital Wallet, which is essentially a battery or AC driven 10GB hard drive with a PC Card slot and PC Card adaptors that are compatible with several card formats. While this thing works well, compared to an iPod, it's a quite bulky, plus, I use it only when traveling without my PowerBook, so it sits unused 95% of the time. An iPod would be much more functional over all.
Do these Belkin people actually USE digital cameras? have they ever had to juggle batteries and worry about running low on power? Or hoped they could recharge all their batteries before the power generator gets shut off for the night? Apparently not.
I just got the old Belkin reader, and think it works fine. It takes about 6 mins to d/l my 256MB card, and at the end of a long day of shooting photos, this is just enough time to drink my first beer. Usually you aren't in a rush to d/l the photos to the iPod, so speed isn't critical. Battery life (4 x AAA) seems OK with the old model too.
My only compliant about the old model is that when you put the iPod on it's back on a flat surface, and the connect the reader along side it, the status light on the reader is facing down, so you can't actually see it ! You can twist the cable a little and fix this, but it seems strange to me. Perhaps I just got one where the assembly line put the cable on upside down.
Finally, as best as I can see, the only real changes in the new model are:
a) it uses different batteries
b) you can connect a camera to it, instead of just putting your card into it.
Perhaps there are some cameras this will help with; those with non removable memory or memory that didn't fit into the old reader. However for most of us, it will be easier to just put the memory into the reader, since this saves camera batteries, and is one less cable that needs to be carried around.
all cam coders need a big/heavy/ugly battery to run a "good old" tape.. would be cool to have an iPod as a HD to record direct on as SONY just started to do! :o)
away with this big and ugly DV or BETA block! Just a iDock and we could run around! ;o)
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2000
So....
... wouldn't it be neat to actually 'view' photos on an iPod(next generation)