Microdrives and Photography

Microdrives are small hard disks, usually 1-inch in size, which fit in compact flash type II slots. They are capable of storing over 4GB of data, which makes them bigger than flash disks and accounts for their larger power consumption. Professional photographers take advantage of microdrives’ large storage capacity, as they can store high-resolution, excellent quality photographs.

An advantage of using microdrives is that they are better equipped to cope with a power loss while still in the process of writing. Flash storage involves rearranging data to ensure the equal sharing of its write life, making it vulnerable to power loss if power loss is suddenly discontinued.

Unfortunately there are also disadvantages to using microdrives. They are slower than advanced CompactFlash cards, running at only 4-6 megabytes per second. Photographers can experience problems due to the slower rate of operation when they shoot a number of large images rapidly. In practice they are supposed to be robust and reliable devices. However, they can be sensitive to physical shock and temperature fluctuations. Their sensitivity to physical damage renders them vulnerable and they tend not to survive falls of more than 1.2 metres. CompactFlash cards can survive falls from tall buildings, and still function as normal.

Sony’s microdrive meets the expanding needs of photographers for high-resolution digital photos and MPEG videos. It also has an increased operating speed of 97.9 Mbps, which does away with the problems experienced when taking pictures in quick succession. Sony microdrives are available in two sizes, 2GB and 4GB. They are also compatible with computers that have Windows ME, 2000 or XP, provided a PC card type II slot is present.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies have created 4GB microdrive with a data transfer rate that’s 70% faster than previous generations. In addition to its increased speed, the new microdrive also has the distinction of being the world’s smallest hard disk drive. It weighs only 16 grams and is the size of a matchbook. It’s advertised as being ideal for high-resolution digital photos and video, MP3 music and electronic games. Digital cameras must be able to support an FAT32 file system in order to use the microdrive.

Microdrives are constantly being updated and improved by many of the major international technological companies. Their disadvantages are being negated and their advantages increased at a quicker rate. At the moment photography is the only profession to really benefit from the use of microdrives. But with the steady advancements being made, it’s only a matter of time before more careers take advantage of this growing technology.

Recommended sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdrive

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0411/04112301sony_microdrives.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0308/03082601hitachi2gb4gbmdrive.asp