Info About the AJ-PCD2GPJ Card reader

R

Richter Video Equipment

Well-known member
[FONT=&quot]I had a few questions before buying and wanted to give others more info now that I have one:
Speed:
On a fast computer it averaged 29.9 MB/s on both 16 and 32 gb cards. R or E didn't make a difference since USB seems to be the bottleneck. I will re run on my less powerful laptop without usb mouse and kb.

(Computer has I7-950, 12 gigs of ram, USB Keyboard and mouse, and a storage raid capable of 400+MB/s)

Connection:
2 usb 2.0 ports (really panny, you need 2). Even on a high powered bus both ports are required. Even worse, it is 2 separate cables, not like external hd's with 2 port on one cable. Also, the cables are white. Why would they include white cables for a black reader.

Single slot instead of dual slot:
A dual slot would be nice, but the USB seems to be the bottle neck on this. If you tried offloading 2 at once it would probably take twice as long.

Rugged:
Seems pretty solid even without the cover flap.

Driver:
Came with driver disk, but it seems it works without installing any drivers. (I will try and see if speed improves.)

Summery:
340 bucks is a lot, but its much cheaper then the 1000+ p2 readers. If recording HD, the offload time on your camera is almost as much as record time, if not more. Operational hours will go up while using the cam as a card reader. This device doesn't have a fast enough interface to make it great, although it is a good tool for reducing wear an hours on the camera. i'd recommend buying one, just don't expect it to be the best p2 solution.

-Cody
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Hi Cody,

yes it's a cheap fix, for those of us that can't justify any of the more expensive offerings from Pana, it could be improved, but panasonic in their wisdom have made it like it is, "a cheap fix" for the bottom end users.
I have one and I find it no faster than using the camera for off loads to what ever HDD set up. But it's a cheap fix, so i'm happy, and yes it saves wear n tear on the cam/s.

For me, (and i've said it before) I'd love a second slot as a back up, Faster off loads, and a slot flap for protection, BUT, that just my opinion.
Panasonic designers must know these improvements are not needed on their cheapest reader solution.
overall i'm happy but wish it had been supplied many years ago.

Cheers
Tom
olinevideo.com.au
 
Hi Cody,

To me , what a second slot would be ideal for is as a "back up slot" just in case something damages the pins of one slot, I've seen many trashed PC card reader slots over the years. (that's showing my age)
To use both slots for for off load would be useless, just too slow.
an extra slot would not add much more than a few lousy dollars to the final cost of the reader.
My old SPX800 has five slots, those slots may be worth more than the rest of the camera ?.

USB3, nar, not gunna happen in the foreseeable future in the "Budget" priced reader product, be happy it just works and is available.
if you wanted faster and more slots wait for the pana 3 slot / USB 3 option to come onto the market, OH, and pay over six times extra for those features.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/archive/index.php/t-239858.html
(The AJ-PCD30 P2 will be available this summer at a suggested list price of $2,255. )

Cheers
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au
 
Last edited:
isn't 3.0 just bigger wire and bigger resisters? does it really cost alot more for 3.0? WD external drives come in both 2.0 and 3.0...the 3.0 arnt much more..maybe 10 bucks
 
Not having any USB3 equipment I can't answer that. But i do have a Thunderbolt port on my new MBP that would be nice for Pana to make a reader that connects and dumps at the speeds Apples Thunderbolt advertises.
No Doubt in a period of time it will be relegated to the techno Junk heap.

Cheers
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au
 
I think the benefit of a second slot (or more than 2) is to be able to work with clips spanned over multiple cards without having to copy them to the HD first.
 
ullanta said:
I think the benefit of a second slot (or more than 2) is to be able to work with clips spanned over multiple cards without having to copy them to the HD first.
Click to expand...
Yea, I would never edit direct off the cards, why at at a 30MB/S transfer speed when you can edit at 300+ with a raid. Also most of my cards are E and I dont want to build up the rewirtes.
 
Depending on the types of projects you're editing, and turnaround time, it can be very useful. But also, for us FCP users who have to re-wrap to Quicktime, you can save a step of transferring all cards pertinent to spanned clips before Log&Transferring...
 
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