Customer Reviews
Getting FireWire on Laptop. 
2008-06-26
PARTS, and PATCHES.
Belkin F5U513 PCMCIA/CardBus-to-FireWire Notebook External Powered Adapter
Belkin AC adapter requirements:
Voltage: 12V DC
Current: 1.6 Amps, can be rounded up to 2 Amps
Plug Size: OD=3.8mm ID=1.3mm. OD=Outer Diameter, ID=Inner Diameter
Plug Polarity: Center positive
Adapter available at LCDPayless, email them specs. Many Universal Adapters have OD=5.5, ID=2.5.
Speed Concerns:
SanDisk Extreme IV CF 40MByte/sec <=> FireWire-400 50MByte/sec, FireWire-800 100MBytes/sec <=> PCMCIA CardBus Type-II Burst Mode 133MByte/S
Note** 8 Bits = 1 Byte
Slow Firewire transfers
SYMPTOMS
After you update your computer to Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), the performance of your 1394a or 1394b FireWire devices may be greatly decreased. A digital camera that uses S400 speed is an example of such a device.
CAUSE
This problem occurs if you connect a 1394a or 1394b FireWire device to a 1394b port. This problem occurs because Windows XP SP2 changes 1394b ports to S100 speed when you upgrade.
FIX
KB885222 or SP3
The San Disk Extreme IV bundle offered exceptionally high card-to-computer transfer rates, and now photographers are able to take advantage of the incredible write speeds these cards offer with the D300, and Nikon D3 that support the higher transfer rates of UDMA-enabled Compact Flash cards.
Beware Dell Laptop Users -- XP 
2008-05-09
Updated Entry: 5/14/08
this reader will not work with PCs/LAPTOP that has the 4pin connector.
4 pin is the really small 1394 port and is not powered. the reader will not be recognized by Windows. If you don't have 6 pin or 9 pin ports don't buy it, use USB 2.0 instead. you will get the same speed results.
Thanks
If you use a Windows PC with Firewire 4 PIN which is the small connector, you need to purchase an additional cable. the item description on Amazon did not "enumerate" the PINs and when you wait for it and receive it, you're a bit disappointed for not being able to use the reader. you can purchase a cable 1394b 9pin to 1394 4 pin from Fry's for $8.00
so Have not used the reader for 2 days now because of this!!! stupid design from Sandisk
ps: wanted to change my star rating from 3 to 1 but you can't edit that.
Fast fast fast 2008-04-24
I use this on my mac, and the speed is amazing! I am using the Firewire 800 connection. It has been very reliable, and blazingly fast. Even with a 4 gig card. I have seen no better!
Extremely Fast. Love it. 2008-03-02
Before I bought the card reader, I used to plug my Canon Xti directly to my computer using the USB cord that came with it. Transfering a full 2GB of RAW images took about 40 minutes. Yes, this was a problem since while your images are being transfered, you can't use your camera. So I decided to buy this firewire reader and upgrade my card to the 4GB extreme IV. I just came back from a full day of shooting and just dumped 434 RAW images on my computer in just 3 minutes. Thats 3.8 GB in 3 minutes! This is amazing since it used to take what felt like forever. I am very pleased with this reader and card. Five Stars.
Beware could be problematic with PCs, works well on Macs 
2008-02-13
Sandisk say compatable with PC(including Vista) and Mac. I have both at home, worked flawlessly with the MAC, extremely fast. My Dell PC does not recognize it. I also bought a firewire card for my Vaio laptop, same story, Vaio does not recognize it. Took it to Circuit City, their tech support tried it on 3 different PCs on the floor, did not work.
A Must for RAW and wedding photographers 2008-01-06
SanDisk Extreme IV CompactFlash 4GB Card with FireWire Reader Bundle combines a high-performance flash card and card reader. The card is designed to meet the needs of serious photographers out in the field. Together, they have brand, speed, size, and price features that differentiates them from other competitor's offerings. These products are for the maximum value and experience for the professional photographer. Data recovery software ensures that photos are always there, even when deleted accidentally Includes travel case to keep your memory cards organized Reader includes two extended FireWire cables Lifetime limited warranty
Sandisk&4 GB combo 2007-12-25
All I can say is, this is exactly what I wanted/needed. A lot of
storage for photos and fast transfer rate. Match this up with a
1394b interface card and it flies.
Love it! 2007-12-18
I'm thrilled I bought this product. It's fast and is easy to use with my MacBook Pro.
Windows XP SP2 user READ THIS 
2007-12-02
If you use Windows XP SP2 and want to take full advantage of this amazing Sandisk product, you need to read the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 885222. It explains how Firewire was crippled by SP2 and provides a patch to correct the problem. I hope this helps you!
FAST 2007-11-21
This combo is FAST. From my Macbook Pro w/ 7200rpm 160GB drive, I got the following speeds:
read: 37.0MB/sec FW400, 38.0MB/sec FW800
write: 33.1MB/sec FW400, 34.0MB/sec FW800
So as you can see, almost no improvement between FW800 and FW400, but does it matter? That's the fastest read/write I've seen from a CF card and reader.
