I just got a new laptop for slideshows at weddings and it has an express card slot, I am at such a loss for what kinda of compact flash card adapter to purchase. Does anyone here have one that they would reccomend??
or just a great and FAST card reader... THANKS so much!

express card... is that mac or PC?

either way, any internal adapter type reader is SLOW.

get a firewire 400 or 800 card reader, they're faster than anything around... of course your copy speeds will greatly depend on what cards you use.

+1 i've had and internal adaptor before and it was super slow. definitely get a firewire or usb adapter.

Here's one which has been reviewed in a few places. I have a different brand and it's been great. Until I got my new computer, my copy speed was much faster on my laptop than my desktop with an internal card reader.

As I recall, the Express Card slot readers are supposed to be pretty quick because they plug directly into the motherboard (or something) instead of USB. Don't quote me on that one though because I don't remember for sure.

An older review on the Delkin reader.

ah express card. yeah, that must be faster than PCMCIA (which I had experience with back in my PC days) after all, it is on a mac!

delkin is also known for making really nice card readers. however, this looks like it operates closer to USB 2.0 speeds, which isn't quite as fast as firewire 400 or firewire 800... like the Sandisk UDMA Card Reader that I use... of course combined with UDMA cards.

Either way, I'm sure that will work fine. USB 2.0 isn't terribly slow, but it can be painfully slow once you've used a fast reader. Either way it just depends on your personal preference. Best of luck!

Express card readers top out at a theoretical max of 2.5Gb/s. Way way above that of firewire. There are two "lanes" one pci express with the 2.5Gb/s and one usb2.0 spec 480Mb/s lane. Express card readers like the Delkin ExpressCard 54 card is listed as "over 30 MB/s (equivalent to 240Mb/s)" they list the bottom limit because it is really only limited by the speed of the card and the bus on the motherboard of the laptop. Expresscard 54 has better heat dissapation and can withstand the higher transfer speed. With a UDMA card you should be able to "take it to the max" as they say.

Figure out if you have an express card 54 capable slot. Since you're using windows it only makes sense to go with the express card one, firewire on windows doesn't perform like it does on mac, especially if you don't have a 6-pin (big) firewire connector.

Bryce, not to crash your party, but what I said was in reference to the actual review of the reader:

"It's not the very fastest reader of the numerous ones we've tested for the CF/SD Performance Database, but it's more than quick enough to be seriously considered by the photographer using a MacBook Pro or a non-Apple laptop with an ExpressCard slot. In fact, it's roughly the same in card-to-computer transfer speed to one of today's better USB 2.0 readers. This is no surprise, since the ExpressCard 34 adapter operates in USB 2.0 mode inside the ExpressCard slot."

ExpressCard 34 is the only kind that works in apple laptops... I didn't see anywhere where the OP said she was using a windows machine. Either way, it would be a nice to have a bit more info as to what platform she's using and what kind of internal cards can actually be added to it.

That being said, I'd still vie for a faster option like a FW 400/800 reader, being as she also expressed interest in "just a great and FAST card reader"

Sorry man, but you're getting a bit mixed up with some things.

1) Expresscard 34 tops out at 480Mbp/s same as USB2.0 (Most cases because of heat generated some of the esata expresscard34 cards advertise 2.5Gbp/s speed)

2)ExpressCard 54 tops out at 2.5Gbp/s at the bus. There isn't a card made today that can fill those speeds. The limiter becomes the card.

3)The review you're reading is for an expresscard34 adapter which will top out at USB 2.0 speeds.

4)ExpressCard34 is NOT mac only. Mac's just don't let you use anything other than 34 sized cards. Most windows notebooks that accept expresscard accept 34/54 sizes. I did a quick look and haven't found any that are limited to 34 only like the mac's.

5)Delkin states on its website that the EC34 reader will only go to about usb2.0 speeds. The 54 reader only has a lower limit not an upper. The heat generated is too much for the 34 to be able to handle.


And if she's a mac user I'll eat my hat. She got a new "laptop for slideshows" if she were a mac user it would be "I GOT MY NEW MAC TODAY!!!!!!!" Most pc users don't have that sort of pride in their gear.

LOL... Word!

Thats exactly what I was referring to, Mike. Bryce, you got me there!

It's true. I'm certainly not going to deny that!

I have two of the Delkin express card readers. Of course I have macbook pros so thats why I have them... there are NO OTHER readers with that kind of speed. Seriously... if you have an extreme IV card you want to take advantage of it and your camera sure as hell aint gonna unless it's a markIII or D3.


Plus I like to show Bryce why he needs a Mac!