MagicStor 20 Gig Dig Wallet: Trash?

[Bobtrips]

[font color=\'#000000\']I don't quite understand your post.  Are you asking if Magicstor's hard drives are junk or if all microdrives are junk?

PHDs, digital wallets, don't use microdrives.  They use the same hard drives as do laptops.  Microdrives are small enough to fit directly into the CF slot in your camera.

As for the reliability of Magicstors - you might wish to visit the Storage and Media forum at  DPReview and do a search.  If people have been having problems they will pop up.[/font]

[Jonathan Wienke]

[font color=\'#000000\']MindStor is way different than MagiocStor. MagicStor is a Chinese company making Microdrive clones with a bad reputation for poor quality control. I'm not aware of any such reputation with MindStor products, although I think they went out of business a while back.[/font]

[joppa_gal]

[font color=\'#000000\']Thanks, everyone. I've done a few field tests and it's worked out fine. The battery tends to drain quickly, especially in the blazing sun (beach wedding) and I need to beeline for a power supply when I am indoors. Makes me want one of those car-generated power supplies featured in DVD #10 I believe (Michael's gadgets).

I just might try to pick up another one of these if I can find them for cheap.

Again, thanks for your help. *Note* Sorry about brushing off a semi-old topic of mine just for a thank you note.

Michelle[/font]

[Jonathan Wienke]

[font color=\'#000000\']On a roll, i can do an easy 5-10mb/day, especially now with the 1D-II. Try to get a 40mb or larger if you can. I'm going all the way to the current wall (80mb)[/font]

[font color=\'#000000\']I can burn 11 MB every time I press the shutter button. I think you meant GB, not MB.[/font]

[joppa_gal]

[font color=\'#000000\']I just got this through Ebay for 120$ and am using it for weddings and for an upcoming international trip- am I setting myself up for trouble? I just read on another post that the microdrives are junk. I could guess the same about the dig. wallets.

Thanks for the input, Michelle[/font]

[joppa_gal]

[font color=\'#000000\']Sorry if I misled- I mean specifically the brand MindStor: specifically the digital wallets they make.  was referring to the microdrive quote as to indicate the quality of the brand name by which they are made.[/font]

[Bobtrips]

[font color=\'#000000\']Mindstor is the second version of the original PHD company - Minds@Work (or Minds at Work, I forget) the company that made the Digital Wallet.

I traveled for a few months with a 6 gig DW and it was fine except for a slow battery drain problem.  The discharge was low enough that it didn't matter under normal circumstances.  On treks when I would be away from opportunities to charge for a few days I just unplugged the battery after using.

As far as I know the Mindstor was fine.  Mind@Work had a good idea by lacked the ability to carry through, IMO.  Their website was awful and they didn't quite have the business end together.  They had a huge jump on the rest of the market and blew it.

I'd run a few tests on your unit.  If it works OK now then I'd travel with it.  I'd also stop every week or two and burn some backup CDs.  Make two copies and mail one home.  It's a 'belt and suspenders' approach.[/font]

[dbarthel]

[font color=\'#000000\']20GB is awfully small for a backup device. I have a 30, and am sending it back to the manufacturer. On a roll, i can do an easy 5-10mb/day, especially now with the 1D-II. Try to get a 40mb or larger if you can. I'm going all the way to the current wall (80mb)[/font]