Digital Camera accessories

[sandbox]

I’ve recently purchased an Olympus D-550 zoom and need some advice on media cards, smartmedia readers, and battery chargers.

I have read that if I buy Olympus Brand Smartmedia Cards (any size) I can use the camera in Panavision, but I don’t know why it would be exclusive to that brand.

I have a Compact Disk (ops) reader built into a firewire hard drive, is there an attachment  that would work with that reader?

Any advise would be welcomed!  
 
 [ 05-07-2003, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: sandbox ]

[Randy]

The Olympus branded cards have some kind of file burned onto them to make them work in panovision I think. My old Olympus (replaced with a Nikon 4300) worked fine with other cards except for that feature which I did not use much.

USB 6in1 multicard readers have really dropped in price, don't think you can use any kind of adapter that I am aware of.

I bought a Kodak battery charger that would charge all 4 batteries by just plugging it into the wall (and a 2nd set is a must)

[Bill]

Sb,
on battery chargers I've been happy with my MH C204 charger I bought many moons ago from power X.
Had to hunt for the bookmark on their site because I haven't dealt with them in as many moons.
It appears they've grown some with new-and-improved chargers let alone branching out.
Pros and cons with my C204.
It gets (((HOT))) when four batteries are finished charging. The batteries are so hot you can't touch them for a couple of minutes. I see by their site,they addressed that issue.
Small enough that you can put it in one of the pockets of a camera bag BUT the transformer is the normal bulky type ... thus another pocket.
I've found that carrying extra charged batteries in those pockets work much better.
Their batteries [back then anyways] leave much to be desired.

"I have read that if I buy Olympus Brand Smartmedia Cards (any size) I can use the camera in Panavision, but I don’t know why it would be exclusive to that brand."
I've been out of the loop for too long to answer that one yet I recall reading that also.?.
Do know 64mb cards are just about right for my liking. A little extra room/space .. just in case.
Guess 128s and up are ok if you're going to Disneyland for a day or two but man that's a lot of pics to download. <gr>

Readers a cheap these days. I have just the run-of-the-mill 'sandisk' reader and bought an extra when they had a sale at frys once. Still haven't used the extra. Original keeps on ticking.

[sandbox]

Hey Randy,

Is this likely?

“ "Be Careful Writing To 128SM Card"   Mason on 27-Sep-2002 11:12:15 am
Using a SmartDisk Universal Reader (R/W) Device, I copied some photos to a 128MB SM Card. The card then became unusable in my Olympus D-40, as well as my Olumpus C2000Z. Probably a bug in the device driver for the SmartDisk Universal Reader (Model 6IN1USB) but I'm posting this just to warn people to be careful. Not every component is compatible.”

http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-15664...472-418-6036273

Will this Smartdisk reader work OK?

Hey Bill, I was looking at this charger although it did seem a bit much?

Thanks

[Randy]

Sandbox

I have never written any files to any of my camera cards beside the one's the camera creates, I think that is the poster's problem.
Your documentation should tell you how big a card the camera will take.
I also always use the camera to erase and format the cards and have never had any problems.

Randy

[Xairbusdriver]

These folks have just about any kind of battery and charger you can think of: Thomas Distributing[url]

I got a MH204F charger and 8 bateries over a year ago and have had absolutely no problems with it. Think I saw the 240 model there also.

Found a ZiO! card reader at inCOMPUSA for $21 with a $20 rebate coupon. Coudn'y be any simpler: insert card, 'disk' pops up on the desktop, transfer to hard disk, trash files, command-y, remove card. I think the last time I formatted the card (64k) was when I got the camera.

Jim C.

[Bill]

Looks like your choice on a charger is the same as mine and Abd SB.
Only I got mine without a car charger.

 
 
 [ 05-08-2003, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: Bill ]

[sandbox]

Thanks Randy, I just didn’t want to get into a trick bag before I understood how to use the camera.  

Hey Jim, thanks for the link, I’m not hooked on any # or brand, Bill made a point on heat, which is something I wouldn’t have expected from a AA charger, and I see the point is made on Newer Models, so I’ll look into something that is heat sensitive I guess? How the heat range on your charger? The Zio looks good too!

[Highmac]

I use the Uniross dual charger - it's fast and works off either domestic mains or car cigar lighter socket. (At time of writing their site seems to be down - getting a 'not found' message). Instructions do warn that batteries do get hot and advise leaving them in charger for at least 15 minutes after switching off.
On cards, I have two 64MBs and the 8MB that came with the Minolta Dimage 1500EX camera, plus Zio! card reader.
As Randy suggests, don't format the card on your desktop - Minolta warns that the card can be damaged that way.
Oh, and when you download through the reader, DO make sure you create a new folder on the desktop, not on the card, before you "move" the pictures, take the card out and format it...      .
Petra, on another thread, pointed to dpreview which seems a great source of info for digital photographers

[Thomas S. England]

When you are moving the digital files to your computer, copy them, don't move them. Always try to have at least two full versions of the files available. That can be on your hard drive, on a Cd, still on the cards, on an external drive...

And do your formatting in the camera. Very important.

You may find this of use, it's a primer on digital photography which I prepared:

http://englandphoto.com/Digitalprimer

[Bill]

SB,I just create a folder on the DT>rename it whatever>insert the card into the reader and copy to that created folder. From there you can do your thing.

Always use the camera to erase/reformulate [if you want to] the pics on the card.

I normally clear the cards pics after I have copies and 'make sure' the copies are in good shape.
You can stash a copy for later on and work with a second copy.
Don't know if I'm supposed ta reformulate the card each and every time but I don't. Just every once in a while. Works for me.

[sandbox]

Thanks folks, lots of info to digest......... OK, I’ve almost covered all the bases with accessories, (well maybe not tripods)    what about batteries? Is there a big difference between a 2100 v 2200?
There is a range from Ni-MH750mAh to Ni-MH 2200mAh that I could see, and I would expect a noticeable difference between the two extremes, but is there really a time or energy difference in the upper two rungs of the energizer bunny latter? Is there a quality battery and one to stay clear of?

Thanks.....

[Highmac]

I find the last batch I bought, 1700s, are usable longer than the originals, so I guess the 2200s should be the best....