I assume there is no image quality drop(lose) when transferring all this data to zip disc......but has anything ever corrupted and been lost in a transfer??? What about saving panoramic shots (a function at least on Olympus cameras) and then trying to download them to print??
Hi Scott,
All the device really does is copy the JPG file to the zip disk, so there is no data loss. I have never had any file corruption from a file transfer, even when using the less than ideal power on a boat. I also have an adaptor for a cigarette lighter so I can use it in my car. I would add that the zip disks are magnectic media, so are prone to loss over time, and can be damaged. I have not had one fail on me yet, but I do copy the files as soon as I'm home just to be safe.
I have never used the panoramic shot function on my camera, but I believe it just saves a JPG on your Smart Media card, so should be copied over just fine. I do not know how it would be displayed on the TV, but I think it would be "letterboxed" like watching a widescreen DVD on a standard TV.
What kind of download time do you see once your at home and start transferring to CD??? The same or longer than the normal transfer from the camera. (Can/do you use a USB cable for transfer from 250 zip disc to CD-R)
I do use the USB cable to copy the files to my PC when I'm home. This is pretty fast, and likely is faster than the "burn" speed on my CD burner, but I remember the days when disk controllers couldn't keep up, so I copy the files to my hard drive first, and then burn 2 zip disks worth to one CD ( about 500 Mb ). This also allows my organize the shots into folders with dates and meaningfull names, so I can find them later.
Can you read and play a smartmedia card without first downloading it to a zip disc??
No, not on your TV, they have to be loaded to disk first. And, I should point out that the "copy" function of just copying your files from smart media to zip disk is pretty fast ( just a minute or so ), but the first time you turn on the "fotoshow" software to look at the pictures on a TV, it takes about 5 minutes to go through the files, catogorize them, create thumbnails, etc., on the disk. It displays a file coundown on the TV while it is doing this. The copy function works slick between dives, but when I want to check the pictures later, I turn the unit on, and then go grab a bite to eat or something. It may not actually take 5 minutes, but it seems like a long time in relation to the file copy. This only happens the first time you use the zip disk after loading photos on it. Every time after that, they are already catagorized.
I personally would much rather use this than lug around the lap top...we all ready have too much other stuff that is necessary for our adventures. I take it you need 110V to run the thing....no portable power.
Yes, the unit comes with a 110 Volt power adaptor, and you can get a 12 Volt DC adaptor for a cigarette lighter.
What is funny, is that I do always take 2 128 Mb cards with me, but have never used the second one. One card holds a lot of pictures and I have never actually run out of room.
Most of the digital photographers I have talked to just use several cards. I think this is actually less expensive, but I like to be able to look at ( and show off ) my pictures!
Boydski
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