Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader
- No Longer Available
The Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire-800 CompactFlash Card Reader is a high-performance reader with a stackable design that allows for concurrent downloads from multiple cards.
Fully compatible with both UDMA CompactFlash (CF) and standard CF cards, the reader provides versatility and the ability to leverage blazing-fast UDMA card speeds when paired with the Lexar Professional UDMA 300x memory card.
The Professional UDMA reader is designed to help professional photographers and advanced photo enthusiasts maximize their post-production workflow speed, and are ideal for use with high-speed cards.
- High-Speed Data Transfer
- The Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire-800 Reader supports the FireWire-800 interface with data transfer rates of up to 800Mb/sec - twice as fast as traditional FireWire-400. When paired with a blazing-fast Lexar Professional UDMA card, the reader is performance optimized to deliver blazing fast read/write speed from the card.
- Rugged Design
- The Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire-800 CompactFlash Card Reader has a black housing with textured rubber accents that Resists scratching and is more stable when inserting a CF card.
- Stackable
- Easily and neatly stack and connect up to four readers for simultaneous CF card downloads of large photo sessions.
- LED Indicators
-
The LED indicator lights up when the reader is active making it easy to tell when the files are done writing.
Note: This card reader uses a 9-pin FireWire-800 (IEEE1394b) interface and is not compatible with the 6-pin FireWire/FireWire-400 (IEEE1394/IEEE1394a) or 4-Pin iLink port.
| Compatible Memory Cards | CompactFlash Card (Type I & II) |
| Computer Interface | FireWire-800 |
| Data Transfer Rate | Up to 800Mb/sec |
| Video Output | No |
| Remote Control | No |
| Power Requirements | Powered via FireWire Interface |
| System & Software Requirements |
Computers with one available FireWire-800 port Note: This card reader uses a 9-pin FireWire-800 (IEEE1394b) interface and is not compatible with the 6-pin FireWire/FireWire-400 (IEEE1394/IEEE1394a) or 4-Pin iLink port. |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 194 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
92%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Fast transfer (160)
- Lightweight (105)
- Reliable (104)
- Excellent interface (79)
- Durable dock (68)
Cons
- Short cable (13)
- Poor interface (8)
- Difficult setup (7)
- Heavy / bulky (5)
- Slow connection (4)
Best Uses
- Image transfer (139)
- Digital photography (105)
- Digital capture (39)
- Viewing images (23)
- Image storage (15)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Professional (121), Semi-professional (42), Enthusiast (29)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (34)
Most Liked Positive Review
A FAST CF card reader!
I upgraded my cards and card readers to Lexar UDMA gear and it has made a wonderful stress-reducing change to my halftime wire filing. I am a professional photographer who has a heavy finger on...Read complete review
I upgraded my cards and card readers to Lexar UDMA gear and it has made a wonderful stress-reducing change to my halftime wire filing. I am a professional photographer who has a heavy finger on the shutter release and being able to download about a GB/min with the Firewire 800 reader is *SWEET*!
Another great feature is the ability to stack and synchronize up to four readers together into one Firewire 800 port on my Macintosh laptop. I shoot multiple cameras during sports and significant news events and that fast non-fumbling-around-with-multiple-card-swaps downloading helps more than I thought it would when I ordered the readers.
I also notice increased data transfer speeds even with non-UDMA cards, so I love these things!
There are two minor and one potentially major problem with this reader. First -- the biggie -- your computer must have a Firewire 800 port. Most Macintoshes do, but fewer PCs do, and finding PC laptops with Firewire 800 may be tricky or impossible.
Buying this product in the USB 2 configuration will not take advantage of the UDMA data transfer speed.
Also, these are (1)bulky and (2)heavy card readers with stiff cables, so they take up more space in my laptop bag -- trades well worth any minor inconvenience thanks to the improved performance.
Buy these things while the rebates are in place if you can. However, if you shoot for a deadline-driven organization where five minutes can be a L-O-N-G time, buy them even without a rebate.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
underwhelming
I'm starting to wonder if this is the same product I bought after reading all the good reviews.
Sure, its fast, if you can ever get the card to mount. By the ...Read complete review
I'm starting to wonder if this is the same product I bought after reading all the good reviews.
Sure, its fast, if you can ever get the card to mount. By the time I fiddle around with getting the CF card seated just perfectly and the disc mounts on my Mac, I could have moved a dozen cards worth of images to my computer with my older, yet more reliable, Lexar Firewire 400 reader.
I hate to slam a product, been using Lexar cards and readers for years of newspaper work, but this one is, IMHO, a dog. Sorry Lexar.
If I hadn't already thrown way the packaging, it would have been returned to B&H. My fault on that one.
REVIEWS
Reviewed by 194 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-20
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Pros
- Fast Transfer
Cons
- Difficult Setup
Best Uses
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Initial experience was very bad: sluggish reads (~15MB/s, slower than USB2) and frequent read failures. Then I changed the driver for the FW800 adapter card, using the TI (Unibrain) drivers instead of the Microsoft generic drivers. Now it works like a charm and transfers are blazing fast. Getting 75MB/s with my Transcend 32GB 400x card and 55MB/s with Kingston Elite Pro 32GB 133x. But with my older Kingston Elite Pro 16GB 133x is still around 35MB/s, like with USB2.
Card insertion is tricky, must push quite hard to get the card in. I'm always afraid to bend a pin.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
Cons
- Poor Interface
- Short Cable
- Slow Connection
Best Uses
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
wasn't sure it was any faster
never felt like my cards fit in it well, was always worried they were being damaged from poor interface
eject button was junk
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Durable Dock
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
- Lightweight
- Long Cable
- Reliable
Cons
- Two handed operation
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
- Viewing Images
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
I was just gonna come on here and have a little moan about this thing but now I see its discontinued, I recon I would be better off not moaning after all..
..however, my only complaint is how hard it is to get the card in and out of the unit considering a card reader 800 is about speed? Id live to be able to do this one handed like I can with other card readers..
Other then that its stellar, built well and c/w a few cables including a 6" option.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
Cons
- Poor Design
- Short Cable
Best Uses
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
The only problem is that it takes a lot of pressure to insert a card in the reader. But there's not a lot of alternatives to get firewire 800 speed.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Long Cable
Cons
Best Uses
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
A little bulky and pricy for what it does.
It comes with 2 FireWire cables: long and short.
Eject button not so effective.
Too bulky.
Looks cheap.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Durable Dock
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
- Lightweight
- Long Cable
- Reliable
Cons
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Super fast reader for the money and one of the few FW readers out there. Much needed for video shoots.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
- Lightweight
- Long Cable
- Reliable
Cons
- Lightweight-feels flimsy
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Fast and reliable. My only complaint would be that you have to push the card with a fair amount of force to correctly insert into the reader. There isn't a click or any other indication that the card is fully inserted (but a blue light does appear after a bit). Because of this I still feel as thought I need to be gentle with it in fear I might use too much force.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
- Lightweight
Cons
Best Uses
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
It was taking 2.5 hours to get a 8 Gig cf card downloaded with my usb reader... this takes less than 2 minuets ! (with f/w800 on a mac G5)
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
- Lightweight
- Reliable
Cons
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Much faster than using the mini USB connector to your camera.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Reliable
Cons
- Cost
Best Uses
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Much faster than USB card readers
Ability to daisy-chain other Firewire devices
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Fast Transfer
Cons
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
You can transfer your images to computer very fast. Good acessory to have
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
Cons
- Poor Design
- Slow Connection
Best Uses
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Not much faster than my old USB reader, and the lag time before it's ready to transfer feels more frustrating than the old slower transfer. Also surprised how hard you have to jam the card into the very very back of the reader before it turns on. But it works, so that's good.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Durable Dock
- Excellent Interface
- Fast Transfer
- Lightweight
- Long Cable
- Reliable
Cons
Best Uses
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
this is a great investment for any photographer ametuer or professional. The Lexar reader downloads so fast and when you have a client anxious to see their images the speed really comes in handy. and the fact thats its fire wire is a plus :) great product. i bought one a two years ago and i bought another one just because i like it so much. still have the second one in the box !
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Fast Transfer
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
We shoot a lot of video on the new DSLR cameras and often have a couple shoots a day so dumping cards ASAP is a must.
This card reader cut our transfer times in half and drastically helped our turnaround time and post workflow backlog.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Durable Dock
- Fast Transfer
- Reliable
Cons
- Card insertion difficult
Best Uses
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
I use this almost every day to upload that day's shots. The unit works and has been flawless. Has two Firewire 800 ports, so it can be part of a chain. (One ext. drive I have has only one port; it ends whatever chain it is part of.)
Only complaint is that I have to squeeze hard to get the card in. That means I have to lift the reader up and use two hands. Not sure if this is a design decision, a manufacturing flaw, or a sample exception.
Other than that it works well.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Lightweight
- Reliable
Cons
- Poor Interface
- Short Cable
- Slow Connection
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Not too fast! Could be better;
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Fast Transfer
Cons
- Bulky
- Feels Cheap
- Poor connection to CF
Best Uses
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
When I first received my card reader I didnt think it worked. I tried it on two computers and several different CF Cards. I would put a card in and no response. no light, nothing would mount. What i found is you REALLY have to push hard to get it to respond. Once it feels like it is in. push harder. The LED should turn blue and should work like normal. A super fast reader.
Pros
- Fast Transfer
Cons
- Difficult Setup
Best Uses
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
It is very fast at transferring images from card to computer but it is a little finicky. The card has to placed carefully into the slot or it will not be read. I actually thought it was broken and almost returned it. I hope that it is durable but I am not optimistic.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
- Digital Capture
- Digital Photography
- Image Transfer
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
Really fast...You dont need to buy fast cards.I use regular cards.4 gb takes 3 minutes to transfer.I always shoot raw format.Connect with firewire.My computer is 27 inch imac with core i7.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash Card Reader:
The reader worked OK for 4 months although it was hard sometimes to get the card to mount. Now I am assuming a pin must have come loose inside because all of my files are corrupt when read through this card reader. Went back to my old card reader and the files were just fine! Now its too late to return and I'm stuck with a piece of junk.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Displaying reviews 1-20
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- 9-pin to 9-pin FireWire Cable (1.0m)
- 9-pin to 9-pin FireWire Cable (18cm)
- Quick Start Guide
- 2-Year Limited Warranty
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