P2 card external adapter/receiver for a mac?

[jesse]

Is there an external adapter/receiver for a Mac power book (without a PCMCIA slot) that will take the P2 cards using firewire or USB?

Duel systems is making one but it will release this june: MacBook Pro PCMCIA->ExpressCard adapter
http://www.duel-systems.com/about/newsArticle.aspx?id=3
I spoke to Duel systems tech and they mentioned that there may be some technology that exists overseas.

I called Panasonic tech support and they said no adapters exist at this time. Instead, they directed me to the $2500 AJ-PCD10 drive:
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webap...mId=72037&modelNo=AJ-PCD10&surfModel=AJ-PCD10

I know you can connect the camera to a laptop via firewire, but its more time consuming while shooting. Are there any other inexpensive adapter type solutions in the meantime?

 

[Barry_Green]

There is no such thing as an inexpensive PCMCIA 32-bit adapter via USB or Firewire. The P2 Store can work as a passthru device, so if you were considering a P2 Store for any other reason, this would be a nice double usage for it.

 

[jesse]

Duel Systems however has an external adapter in development, priced somewhere around $100, to release sometime in June. It will fit into the new Mac/Intel PCM/CIA express slot. The latest mac's PCMCIA express slot does not take the P2 cards. I just spoke with the GM and there is also talk of developing a version that would plug directly into a firewire port. But its just in discussion, could be a while.

As far as the drive recommendation I assume you were describing the P2 drive priced at $2500:
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=94262&modelNo=AJ-PCS060G&surfModel=AJ-PCS060G

What do you think the pro's cons are purchasing the P2 reader drive vs. the Focus Enhancement drive (link in previous thread) that can record between 3 and 6 hrs of video and priced between $1000 and $2000? This way couldn't you record for longer without stopping for P2 offloading (depending on the size of your cards? I have two 4gig = 8min of HD DVCPro.

I may just plan to mount from camera to laptop for now and these product issues resolve.