Lightroom 4.1 doesn't detect CF card via Firewire 800 port

[LawrenceBraunstein]

Greetings,

My first post (...though I’ve been an admirer ‘from afar’ for quite some time!).  I recently began using a Firewire 800 Card Reader (Delock) to transfer photos into Lightroom (my early 2009 Mac Pro offers nothing faster).  Though happy with the speed boost compared to USB 2.0, I am a bit disappointed with the fact that now Lightroom is neither able to detect the CF card and concomitantly open the import dialog, nor eject the card after import is completed.  This was never a problem while transferring photos via the USB port.  Is there a way of coaxing Lightroom back into recognizing a CF card even if the data is being transferred via the Firewire 800 port?  After years of using the ‘show import dialog when a memory card is detected’ option I’ve become spoiled.

Many thanks in advance!

Larry

[CatOne]

Does the OS detect the card?  i.e. do you see it in Finder?

I suspect the problem is the cable or something else, because Lightroom should see it if the OS sees it.  If the OS can't see it, then Lightroom won't either.

[LawrenceBraunstein]

Thank you for replying!

Sorry, I should have mentioned this. Yes, the CF card/card reader is detected by Finder. If I click on 'Import' in LR, the import dialog also shows the card and its contents correctly. You see, it's not that I'm unable to import my photos via the Firewire 800 port, it's simply the auto detect/eject option that doesn't seem to work as it had (when the card reader is hooked up to a USB 2.0 port). I tried using another cable. Unfortunately the results were the same! Nevertheless, hearing from you that it should work is encouraging. Perhaps the card reader is the culprit. 

[John Caldwell]

I'm finding the same behavior, but not consistently so. This is case with both a FW800 Lexar reader, and also a Lexar brand Express Card slot CF reader. In both cases, though, I can Import Photos and navigate to the card's image folder. LR4.1, OSX 10.7.

John Caldwell

[once2work]

I've the same problem after upgrade to LR4.1, I've "tick" the open LR when detect a card. While I plug-in an card, it never open like the LR3.

[rogan]

I don't know why but the Mac mounts a card using the delock FireWire reader as a hard drive and not a cf card(look at the icon in the finder) you can still use it but auto detect will not work. You have to manually "import photos".  May add a whole 3 seconds to your workflow

[pluton]

I don't know why but the Mac mounts a card using the delock FireWire reader as a hard drive and not a cf card(look at the icon in the finder) you can still use it but auto detect will not work. You have to manually "import photos".  May add a whole 3 seconds to your workflow

The new delock reader apparently uses a different chip/board than the discontinued FW800 card readers of days gone by.  See:http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11673-12298
Also, I have had my old Sandisk FW800 CF card reader interfered with by other devices in the FW800 daisy chain, including a Bluray reader/writer and , on another occasion, a pair of defective Glyph® brand HDDs.  The solution was to take the offending device out of the loop except when specifically needed.

[LawrenceBraunstein]

Thanks for the additional information!

Yes, you’re quite right.  Mac mounts the Delock card reader as a hard drive. Not that it’s all that inconvenient (with practice, maybe I can reduce those “3 seconds” to about 2 1/2), I was simply hoping to find a solution. As far as Rob Galbraith’s article is concerned, I know it well. It was the impetus for me to switch to a FW 800 card reader in the first place. Living in Germany, it’s no problem to order, and the initial driver problems for Macs running OS X 10.7 (Lion) have long been resolved.

Regards,

Larry

[Rendezvous]

I have a sort of similar issue. The camera I have uses an SD card. I insert it into the side of my MacBook and nothing happens in Lightroom. Finder sees the card and mounts it no problem. Lightroom will import from it no problem - as long as I open the import dialogue box manually. Why isn't it auto detected for import?

[maxgruzen]

Same prolem. Thought it was just me. I just open LR4 manualy befoe I import