The data in the tables below was derived from the time it took to transfer about 225MB of Nikon D1X JPEG and NEF files to the internal hard drive of a 2003 model Dual 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 desktop Mac running OS X 10.2.6 (except for the Powerbook tests, which were conducted with a 15" G4/1GHz and the same operating system version). Each transfer was performed twice and the results averaged.
All data has been converted to Kilobytes/second (K/sec). Highest throughput for each CompactFlash card is in bold. For comparison purposes, note that the highest throughput we measured with the USB 1.1 Microtech Zio! was 674K/sec.
| Brand and Model |
Addonics FireWire Mini DigiDrive |
Lexar Media FireWire CF Digital Film Reader |
Microtech FireWire CameraMate |
| Delkin Devices PRO 512MB |
4295K/sec |
3077K/sec |
4214K/sec |
| IBM Microdrive 1GB |
3369K/sec |
3139K/sec |
3375K/sec |
| Kingston Memory 512MB |
3767K/sec |
2969K/sec |
3313K/sec |
| Lexar Media 512MB 24X |
3879K/sec |
2624K/sec |
3752K/sec |
| Lexar Media 512MB 40X Write Acceleration |
3690K/sec |
2520K/sec |
3611K/sec |
| Microtech 512MB |
3471K/sec |
2798K/sec |
3082K/sec |
| Sandisk "standard" 512MB |
1410K/sec |
2005K/sec |
1383K/sec |
| Sandisk "original" Ultra 512MB |
1809K/sec |
2795K/sec |
1739K/sec |
| SimpleTech 512MB |
2614K/sec |
2394K/sec |
2555K/sec |
| SimpleTech PRO X 512MB |
3335K/sec |
2751K/sec |
3227K/sec |
| Transcend 512MB 30X |
3537K/sec |
2816K/sec |
3104K/sec |
| Average1 |
3198K/sec |
2717K/sec |
3032K/sec |
| Brand and Model |
Powerbook 15" G4/1GHz |
Sandisk Ultra ImageMate |
| Delkin Devices PRO 512MB |
see 2 below |
3634K/sec |
| IBM Microdrive 1GB |
see 2 below |
3347K/sec |
| Kingston Memory 512MB |
see 2 below |
3415K/sec |
| Lexar Media 512MB 24X |
see 2 below |
3237K/sec |
| Lexar Media 512MB 40X Write Acceleration |
see 2 below |
3143K/sec |
| Microtech 512MB |
see 2 below |
3071K/sec |
| Sandisk "standard" 512MB |
see 2 below |
1368K/sec |
| Sandisk "original" Ultra 512MB |
see 2 below |
1642K/sec |
| SimpleTech 512MB |
see 2 below |
2463K/sec |
| SimpleTech PRO X 512MB |
see 2 below |
2940K/sec |
| Transcend 512MB 30X |
see 2 below |
3358K/sec |
| Average1 |
see 2 below |
2874K/sec |
(1) An average of the throughput of the eleven CompactFlash cards tested.
(2) Throughput ranged from about 1200K - 1600K/second. Apparent operating system bugs in OS X 10.2.6, however, made us uncomfortable with reporting specific results, given that the Powerbook G4 15" PC Card slot has been rendered almost entirely unusable as a CompactFlash card reader since OS X 10.2. See the detailed description of the problems we encountered on the Card Readers in this Report page. |
If maximum transfer speed is your primary consideration, the Addonics FireWire Mini DigiDrive is the clear winner, with the Microtech FireWire CameraMate close behind. Sandisk card owners will spot one noteworthy exception: the Lexar FireWire CF Digital Film Reader clocked the fastest results for both the standard and Ultra series models.
Note: Spot checking of the results with a Powerbook G4/800 revealed only a slight drop in throughput across the board, making it likely that the FireWire ports of most modern desktop and laptop Macs will allow card reader performance roughly comparable to that of the Dual 1.25GHz test mule.
Update, November 5, 2003: We've done additional spot-checking with later versions of the Mac operating system. Up to OS X 10.2.8, the results are comparable to the numbers reported on this page. OS X 10.3 features under-the-hood changes that bring about a dramatic speed boost in card-to-computer transfer rates on the Mac.
