Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 10

Prism & Memplug CF or SM?

I know that this subject has been gone over to death. But I wanted to know if anyone using a Prism with the CF Memplug found the battery drain to be too much to make it useful. I just got a Prism and noticed that the battery drain much faster than I thought. I want to add a 128 MB card and keep it in the Visor all the time. I could go CF or SM . But I am worried that the battery drain with CF will be too great. Is anyone using a 128Mb CF card with a Prism? How has it worked?


Thanks

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 229

I'm currently using a 64mb cf with the memplug. The battery seems to drain a little faster than b4 but it doesnt bother me b/c I dont realy go on long trips away from my cradle. The cf sits flush in the module. I believe the sm sticks out the slightest bit from the module... not sure if this has been changed with recent models. You cna always look forward to purchasing up to a 1gig cf media (dont know whatr you would do with all that memory on a visor but it's good to know that its there). My parents own a digicam that uses ccf so i can just pop the cf into my visor after taking pictures and look at them.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posts: 73

Smartmedia the way to go

The sm plug sits flush as well and I really haven't noticed an increase in battery drain when I use the module. I have used CF cards in the past and now the I am using sm cards, I wouldn't go back. The sm card is not much larger than a postage card while the cf card is about the size of a matchbook. While I don't think you can get a 1gig sm card, a 128mb or 256mb sm card should suffice.

I just wish I could find a decent carrying case for my sm cards that I use with the Prism and my Olympus C2100 dig. camera.

Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 15

I had a CF Memplug and sold it because of the battery drain. Since then I have learned that some models of CF cards will go into a "sleep" mode reducing power drain and others will not. I suspect that mine would not. I believe I read that Sandisk CF cards will "sleep". If I try Memplug at a later date, I'll surely go the SM route.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Titusville, Fl --- AKA: Star City USA
Posts: 27

quote:

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Originally posted by scromer
If I try Memplug at a later date, I'll surely go the SM route.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 15

Power drain would be the driving reason for me to go with SM. My CF Memplug worked great, but it sucked the batteries especially if you were backing up to the CF card.

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 229

It realy depends on the user, if you already own something that uses cf or sm then get the memplug to match. If your looking for massive amounts of spce then get cf if your happy with 128 and lower ge the sm. The both cost the same nowadays. 64mb for about 50 and 35 on sale. The cf tends to heat up after using programs off of it for awhile. But its not scortching hot. I own a sandisk cf media and dont realy see a big difference in battery drain with and with out it.

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Don't Worry It's Human Nature To Point Out The Obvious

Registered: Nov 2001
Location:
Posts: 33

It's up to you!!!

Every one has posted good reasons for both technologies. I have and still do use both cards. I only have the CF Memplug though, and my brother has the SM Memplug. We did this intentionally to compare.
Cf and SM are both flash memory devices but work differently. I have several digital cameras and MP3 players, some of them use CF and some SM so I have a lot of experience with both. The CF cards are better technology and more durable then SM. That may make some of you SM fans out there upset, but it's just the truth. One of the things that I really like about CF is that the device that writes to it is actually on the card. The advantage to sm is that they are a little lighter, smaller and less power hungry. If the visor is the only thing that will see your Flash Card or you have other devices that use SM then you will be safe going with SM as long as you don't go over 128. Me and my brother compared our to modules, they pretty much work the same except the CF module seems to work faster then the SM. Then on the other hand I have a little bit of a battery drain, where as my brother didn't notice. The battery drain isn't really noticeable and I probably would not have noticed if I wasn't looking for it. The way I discover my battery drain was to let my Prism sit for a couple of days with out the module ( the visor still loose some of its charge) and then again with the module. On Visor there was only a 3% difference. The only problem there is all CF cards are not equal, so cf cards can reportedly (even though I haven't seen it with 5 different brands) take up to 1000 times more power then SM, it is true that they use more power then SM, but how much more depends on the maker of the card, so if you choose CF, choose wisely.

Also keep in mind, if have a laptop and will be using a PCMCIA adaptor, the cf option will be cheaper, cause like I stated earlier the writing device is on the card as where for a Smartmedia Card it will be more expensive the the adaptor requires that the writing device be equipped inside.
I don't know if there is a difference in Desktop readers/writers.

For more and better info you should go to the memplug user group on yahoo. They have comparisons of the too cards as well as a short list of the power drainage of some CF Cards

Sorry, didn't mean to make this post that long, I hope it was useful for you.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 10

best CF Card

Thansk for the info. I think I will go with Cf (cuase I have a reader for it) What is the best card? Which uses the least power?


Thanks

GB

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 832

Re: Smartmedia the way to go

quote:

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Originally posted by coppertop


I just wish I could find a decent carrying case for my sm cards that I use with the Prism and my Olympus C2100 dig. camera.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

Re: best CF Card

quote:

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Originally posted by Gblyth
I think I will go with Cf (cuase I have a reader for it) What is the best card? Which uses the least power?

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location:
Posts: 33

SanDisk

quote:

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SanDisk cards are the ones mentioned the most as being high quality cards. That's what I use.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 10

Sandisk are the best quality but use the MOST power? Is that true? Wouldn't they use the least?

GB

Registered: Nov 2001
Location:
Posts: 33

I know out of all the Cards I have the SanDisk did not draw much power at all. I going to check into it on the memplug group though. I'll let you know what I find.

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Last edited by In Living Color on 01-04-2002 at 05:29 PM

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 137

I use the Memplug CF simply because I have a digital camera that uses CF.

Before you buy CF memory, make sure that it's compatible with the Memplug. Memplug does post a list of compatible CF cards....apparently they are NOT all the same.

http://www.memplug.com/CFList.htm


The Memplug Yahoo Group has some interesting polls as well. There's one on using CF vs SM....it does not explain why people choose which kind. As of today here are the results:

Compact Flash 88 45.60%
SmartMedia 95 49.22%
Both 10 5.18%
It's pretty close!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/memplug/polls

Check it out...it's a great forum!

Mike

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