External PCMCIA Reader for MacBook

Neurodancer

Neurodancer

Well-known member
I just bought a MacBook Pro. To my surprise there is no pcmcia reader on the unit. First question is: Does P2 cards load directly into the pcmcia slot? and secondly, any recommendations on a small light weight external pcmcia reader?
 
There is no such thing yet; the only external P2 readers you can get are the Panasonic 5-slot $2500 unit (which isn't all that small or lightweight for portability purposes) or the P2 Store.

Duel-Systems is working on a MacBook Pro PCMCIA->ExpressCard adapter; no idea when it'll be ready but something is in the works.
 
Barry_Green said:
Duel-Systems is working on a MacBook Pro PCMCIA->ExpressCard adapter; no idea when it'll be ready but something is in the works.
Click to expand...
I asked Duel Systems about this. They said it should hit the market this summer.
 
I stuck the P2 card in my Win laptop. It read the card after I installed the P2 software. All the info shows up in a folder. The video file are MXF. There was nothing in my system that could play it. It looks like you should be able to just stick the card in a slot and have it transfer.
 
I transferred the contents of the P2 card to a usb storage device using a Win PC. I loaded the file from the usb storage device to my MacBook. I opened file in FCP without a hitch. This leads me to believe that any external pcmcia card reader will work on the Macbook.

This does not seem to jive with Barry's comments above. Can anyone clarify?
 
There is no such thing as a USB PCMCIA/CardBus 32 card reader. That's what people have beeen looking for, and it just doesn't exist (outside of Panasonic's $2500 five-slot reader, or their $1800 P2 Store).

The MacBook Pro has an ExpressCard slot on it, which is also not PCMCIA-compatible.

Eventually someone will make a PCMCIA/CardBus 32->to->ExpressCard adapter. When they do, you'll be able to offload P2 cards directly into the MacBook. Until then, you can't.
 
Barry, I hope your wrong on this one. I just ordered a usb pcmcia card reader. They also have a version that has 4 slots. I will have it in a couple of days and report on it.

LKink to Addonics: http://www.shopaddonics.com/Itemdesc.asp?CartId={01EVEREST8AD82A-9703-41CA-AA95-CED60F4F00DD}&ic=AEPUDDU
 
Ask about the return policy, because it will not work. I bought their one-slot version, and not only did it not work, but I couldn't get the card out of it. Ended up having to tear the thing apart to get the card out.
 
WELL here is another one.

WELL here is another one.

http://www.amtron.com/reader/uisdma2w.htm


Why would this reader not work? The question then is, is there actually a driver for the P2 cards for OSX. I've seen documentation on a site that says yes.

http://www.weva.com/cgi-bin/newsreader.pl?op=render&type=i&storyid=3187

Where it says this:

Which computers are compatible with P2?
P2 cards are compatible with computers with both Windows and Apple operating systems. Apple computers recognize the P2 card via the Final Cut Pro editing application from the P2 Drive, the P2 Store or the camera. The same sources work for the PC but additionally there is the PCMCIA slot on the PC, which will recognize the P2 card. Additionally there is a driver that will enable the PCMCIA slot on the Apple laptop to read the P2 card as well. A separate freeware application called P2 Viewer, supplied with the camera, is currently only available for Windows XP.

Is this vapor documentation or whishful thinking on my part?
 
The documentation is correct. OSX will work with the $2500 Panasonic P2 Drive or the $1800 P2 Store.

But no cheap USB adapter (like that Amtron) will work. None of those adapters support 32-bit CardBus cards.
 
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Barry_Green said:
The documentation is correct. OSX will work with the $2500 Panasonic P2 Drive or the $100 P2 Store.

But no cheap USB adapter (like that Amtron) will work. None of those adapters support 32-bit CardBus cards.
Click to expand...


I'm sure barry didn't mean to say $100 P2 Store. It cost much more than that.
 
I just spoke with tech support at Addonics. They said that it supports 32 bit card bus. He also said someone else bought the card for that purpose and it worked. I guess I will find out soon if this is wishfull thinking.
 
Well, that would not parallel my experience. I bought the 1-slot version and it decidedly did not work. But if you get it to work, please share your experience, as everyone's looking for an inexpensive card reader.
 
There is a driver that is included with your camera or can be downloaded. However, that has nothing to do with why these devices will not work. They operate as an ATA device as opposed to a PCI Peripheral device, such as a P2 card.

David
 
Spec-Comm said:
There is a driver that is included with your camera or can be downloaded. However, that has nothing to do with why these devices will not work. They operate as an ATA device as opposed to a PCI Peripheral device, such as a P2 card.

David
Click to expand...

Hi David,
The folks at Addonics say their card reader is 32 bit card bus capatable and will read P2. I won't know till I receive the reader.

How is the Cine Porta coming? I am interested in buying a couple of them.
 
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