I'd like to buy a digital camera but I have a problem.
My video editing system was bought from DVC in 1998 and consists of a dv300 setup which works OK.
But here's the rub: the USB functions are disabled. Although I can enable them in theory, I was told by the DVC sevice department that USB facilities are normally disabled where a DV300 card is installed because of potential problems. Any attempt to enable them would be my responsibility.
So if I buy a digital camera what alternatives for transfer are available in my sort of setup that do not entail an interminable wait for large files?
I would very much appreciate guidance from the experts out there.
David
unfortunately, the news isn't that good.
unless you have a motherboard which supports an add on memory card reader, which I doubt considering what you have already, the two options are serial transfer or a floppy adapter.
The floppy adapter should be slightly faster than serial, but either way, USB is the fastest.
Gordo
Gordo, thanks for the information.
I suspected as much.
Bearing in mind I was hoping to go for a 5MP camera like the Dimage 7i, is the floppy adapter a practical alternative, in your opinion?
Just how slow would it be?
Unfortunately, I can't afford to change computers, or by an additional one at the moment.
David
I've got a floppy adaptor for my Olympus C3030. It runs at about half the speed of USB, making it very slow for a 128M card. I wouldn't recommend it. Even USB isn't really fast enough for these bigger cards, but it's a lot more convenient than the serial port connection that's the only alternative. At least, with USB, I can use a card reader (which seems to be about 4 times quicker than using the camera connected via USB), and my serial port's occupied with other things.
Alan, thanks for your comments.
It appears I have only the floppy adapter option open to me.
I'll see if I can get a demo and make a decision then whether it's worth getting a digital camera bearing in mind the computer equipment I have available.
David
I just did a google (UK) search . There appear to be firewire smart media card readers now. Would they be of any use?
http://www.berridgemail.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=124
[This message has been edited by Slipperman (edited 19 June 2002).]
Originally posted by Slipperman:
[B]I just did a google (UK) search . There appear to be firewire smart media card readers now. Would they be of any use?
[Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it.
You say that DVC recommended the USB be left disabled due to conflicts, was that in 1998 or have you asked again recently?
In 1998 USB was a relatively new development, with many teething troubles. Driver aand BIOS Updates for USB, Motherboard and the DV300 itself may well have been sorted by now so I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
If you have the facilities, a proper system backup and methodical approach to enabling USB could be the way to go.
trev
Originally posted by Trevor Page:
[B]You say that DVC recommended the USB be left disabled due to conflicts, was that in 1998 or have you asked again recently?In 1998 USB was a relatively new development, with many teething troubles. Driver aand BIOS Updates for USB, Motherboard and the DV300 itself may well have been sorted by now so I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
If you have the facilities, a proper system backup and methodical approach to enabling USB could be the way to go.
Trevor
my apologies for the long delay.You were quite right. I had been convinced by another DV300 user that it was possible to successfully use USB.
I did precisely what you suggested:
A system backup and methodical approach did the trick. I now have my Minolta Dimage 7i happily up and downloading via USB.
As long as I take the card out of the reader, DV300 & Prem 6, so far and fingers crossed appear to work as ever they did.Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread.