P2 reader for Mac Pro

jchan0806

jchan0806

Active member
I want to get a PCMCIA drive to offload my P2 cards to my Mac Pro. Can someone recommend one? Thanks!
 
to my knowledge there is no off the shelf P2 compatible, internal PCMCIA interface for the mac. there is somebody here who rigged one that sits on top of the machine...
 
Wouldn't the PCD35 work? That can be mounted internally.
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heck yeah! and for nearly as much as the macpro itself costs : )

but no. it cant be mounted internally in a mac without cutting holes in the case or maybe accessing your mac from behind...
 
There really is nothing reasonable besides a silly little usb adaptor Panasonic dohicky. that's so 2006 Panasonic. It's like buying razorblades and not selling a shaver to go with it. P2 is dead, just ask the folks at Duel Adaptor. I'll be switching to Red as soon as the new products come out. CF cards have better support and cheaper input devices than P2.
 
pkendall said:
P2 is dead, just ask the folks at Duel Adaptor.
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Im sure p2 has slowed in the prosumer market with the advent AVCHD, DSLR rigs etc. Which was Duel Adaptors market share in this area. But I highly doubt there's been any slowdown in the professional market place.
 
pkendall said:
There really is nothing reasonable besides a silly little usb adaptor Panasonic dohicky. that's so 2006 Panasonic. It's like buying razorblades and not selling a shaver to go with it. P2 is dead, just ask the folks at Duel Adaptor. I'll be switching to Red as soon as the new products come out. CF cards have better support and cheaper input devices than P2.
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If the new products are Scarlet, when do you anticipate a shipping product?

It's been at least two years since that product was announced.

As to p2 being dead, I have to disagree.

All it is is a storage medium. A pretty darn good one.

True, pc card bus slots are going away, but the price of p2 is so cheap historically, it certainly makes sense to a lot of entities.
 
pkendall said:
P2 is dead, just ask the folks at Duel Adaptor.
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That's ridiculous.

The Duel Adapter is dead because Apple took away the ExpressCard slot from practically every laptop they make. Duel can't compete in the Windows marketplace because there are $25 adapters that work better, so the only sales they could get were from the Apple laptops, and Apple not only took the slot away, they also changed the OS and made the Duel incompatible on the MBPs that DID have the slot.

P2 continues to grow rapidly. But the Duel is dead. And no longer necessary anyway, seeing as there's now a modestly-priced USB adapter anyway.
 
Longtime Apple computer user and IT supporter's perspective: I for one won't miss the Duel Adapter. It worked when it worked, but what a nasty device and connectivity scheme. That cable was too long and too stiff and perpetually threatened to dislodge the flaky at best connection Express Card offered with it's inherently insecure sort-of click mounting system. The drivers were obviously an issue. Duel, Panasonic and Apple all dropped that ball frequently. And then Apple literally pulled the plug to bring about the death knell of the Duel.

I believe Apple is deleting Express Card because at the end of the day it's a horrible connection and they know it- I'm quite sure their tech support ears burned many long hours over problems with the Express Card port which is by its very design not as positive a connection as the old PCMCIA slots were. Hanging anything off of it with leverage was asking for disaster. Complete system freezes due to a simple click or lack thereof are NOT a good thing. Being extremely meticulous did allow it to work as long as no one bumped it or failed to adhere to the rigid sequence of actions it required.... meh. Danger, Will Robinson.

Good riddance to the Duel and the Express Card slot too... once Apple offers a suitable replacement in speed for the Express Card slot's offerings, that is. Apple users either have the 17" battlestar with its Express Card slot today, or wait for vaporware LightPeak, Firewire 10,000,000 or even just USB3. Me, I went the other direction and picked up a 13" MacBook Pro and the new USB P2 reader. Its light for field use and surprisingly fast. And the glossy screen is a guilty pleasure.

What I'm hoping for and reasonably expecting is that now that Panasonic has a shipping P2 USB2 reader at a digestible price point, they will logically make a faster flavor in due time with USB3 once there is market saturation. That would pretty much be just right. Of course I wish this one were USB3, but I think it will be pretty easy for them to make an upgraded model in the not too distant future...
 
Barry_Green said:
That's ridiculous.

The Duel Adapter is dead because Apple took away the ExpressCard slot from practically every laptop they make. Duel can't compete in the Windows marketplace because there are $25 adapters that work better, so the only sales they could get were from the Apple laptops, and Apple not only took the slot away, they also changed the OS and made the Duel incompatible on the MBPs that DID have the slot.
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I agree with Barry's ridiculous statement.

As to the duel adapter and Apple - I never had a fluid experience with the DA or the whole ExpressCard interface.

Simply, the product was flakey and squirrelly. It was more voodoo to get it to work than science.

What we needed from day 1 was an inexpensive (read sub $500.00) p2 card reader from the company who sells p2 cards -- hmmmm. :)

Some said :) it couldn't be done. But wa la.

It was and now the world is right.
 
glad I found this tread i was about to buy a duel adapter but now I see they hardly work and don't work with snow leopard. Looks Like I'll still be using the camera for offload, which is lame but I guess that is just the way it is.
Also I was wondering if anyone is using anything else other than FCP to log and transfer. I just am looking for a viewer in the field. I hear Shotput Pro is a decent option. any others?
 
Barry_Green said:
Wouldn't the PCD35 work? That can be mounted internally.
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Barry, sorry to throw this thread OT, but how is one going to mount a 5 1/4 device in a MacPro with their custom fitted DUAL DVD reader flip doors, yea on PC with an open 5 1/4 drive slot sure, MacPro and G5 cases do not have such a luxury without taking a dremel to it. :-(.
 
Funny how someone, who dosen't read some well info threads, and posts the same old question and then POW !, we all go thru the same stuff. seems like every so often we need to hit ourselves over the head with a hammer on this reader issue.
if your on Windows there's plenty (very Cheap) options, that's what Pana designed/built P2 on.
If your on Mac, your choices are very limited....
OIO from sonnet is Macpro compatible, not fast transfers though.
Panasonic USB (yet to be released) is better value , but only single slot... thanks to helmut for the test info, pity Pana didn't do it...

Finally, if you want a P2 reader for "next to nothing", May I suggest ,Make it yourself, that's your cheapest option... I did, and have plenty readers of all descriptions laying about....a P2 reader never changes, but the OS sofware does, that is the "ball breaker" especially on the Mac....

Cheers
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au
 
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DJDecay said:
Barry, sorry to throw this thread OT, but how is one going to mount a 5 1/4 device in a MacPro with their custom fitted DUAL DVD reader flip doors, yea on PC with an open 5 1/4 drive slot sure, MacPro and G5 cases do not have such a luxury without taking a dremel to it. :-(.
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You've got to be kidding...
 
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