What's the fastest CF-cardreader I can get for an iMac?

[DK-Lach]

Hi

I'm in the process of buying a new iMac for videoediting for my work. Our camera shoots on Compact Flash-cards, and I therefore need a external cardreader. Speed is of the essence! So what is the fastest reader i can hook up to an iMac?

I've found this one (http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/2041611/art/lexar/rw034-266-udma-firewire-8.html): A FireWire800 reader.

Is this the best option?
Any other suggestions?

[Dorian Gray]

It's about the same speed as the SanDisk Extreme FireWire 800 reader, which I think is just about the only other choice. I'd go with the one you can more easily find.

[DK-Lach]

Thanx...

I guess there isn't that many alternatives. FW800 is the fastest interface on the iMac.
Would have been nice if Apple added USB 3.0 on the latest revision... :|

[chucker]

Are there even controllers for CF readers that would support a bandwidth exceeding 800 Mbit/sec?

[Dorian Gray]

Would have been nice if Apple added USB 3.0 on the latest revision... :|
It would. On the other hand few CompactFlash cards support sustained read speeds much faster than FireWire 800. So for your application, a faster interface wouldn't help much (unless you're reading from multiple cards simultaneously over one port). On that note, I suppose you've noticed the Lexar can be daisy-chained?

Here's (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/reader_report_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-9392) Rob Galbraith's CF card reader roundup, which you might find useful. And here's a blog post (http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/2010-07-blog.html#_20100726SanDisk) on the topic from Lloyd Chambers, photo geek extraordinaire. More details here (http://diglloyd.com/articles/Recommended/card-reader.html).