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Messages - gzillarocks

#1
Quote from: kitor on September 09, 2020, 11:21:16 AM
Sorry, but you are wrong. Those SSDs depicted on photo have completely different pinout than CF, it's called 1.8 IDE. I had one of those on OQO 01+, and still own adapter that converts CF pinout so you can plug it to replace this kind of "CF connector" drive. Their connector is also slightly different so you can't just force CF card into 1.8 IDE (and 1.8 IDE drive is wider so you can't force it into CF)



Also, let me remind you all that CF standard has three types of operation, one of them is IDE emulation. There are cards that don't support IDE mode, CF readers/controllers also need to support this mode / talk ATA to card.

I think that Aperture Science still has the right idea, and I'm excited to see what he comes up with. I'm not an expert in electrical engineering or how these cards work, but I am asking a couple of people that I know about them so that maybe I can be of assistance.

Is there something you think can work, in terms of a device or adapter mechanism? If the camera believes that it is writing to a CF card and it's able to communicate with it, and then that data is processed back to an mSata or other interface SSD, it should theoretically work. It just has to be compatible with the process. Would you have an idea of how it could work? I can have a device made, but I'm not currently sure the best way to do it because of my own lack of knowledge about cards and the exact process in which they work.

p.s: I was talking to a person about the current CFast to mSATA drives that work on newer Canon cinema cameras, and he said the reason they struggled to find out how to get the CF to SSD drives working was because of writing protocols. - Couldn't that be remedied by having an adapting device that is actually supporting the proper IDE writing protocols and then sending the written data back on external storage?
#2
Quote from: Aperture Science on September 07, 2020, 06:51:12 PM
Few things need to clarify.
First, Canon 5Dmk3 (also include 5DS,5DSR,7D,5D2) are all using "Compact Flash" which is a type of SSD based on the IDE interface.
However Canon C200 uses "CFast 2.0" which is a type of SSD based on the SATA interface (which we used a lot on our computer nowadays)
In the same time, the socket they developed is also based on the SATA. As in the video send by gzillarocks, there is no chip set in between the socket and the mSATA.
The highest speed IDE socket can go is around 133m/s while SATA2.0 can support around 300m/s. Not to mention SATA3.0. SATA and IDE conversion need a chip set, not simply putting wires together. That is the reason why no one makes the adapter on the market since there is only a little demand on this. (Hey, professional cinema cameras are all have CF2.0 or even USB type-C installed :)

There is no Adapter on the market have the function we need, so we have to make our own :P
I am only an undergraduate freshman majors on EE, no experience on making the PCB.   But lets see how far we can get on this since I think it will work theoretically.


PS:Compact Flash can also being known as IDE 50(since there are 50 pins on it), I saw these kind of SSD before when my father was still using floppy. They have the exactly the same socket as compact flash do, just little bit longer and wider on the body. But people are not manufacture these drives anymore and because of the high selling price at that time, these kind of dives didn't sold a lot. So it is also hard to be finding in the second-hand market.


This is really great information to have! Aperture Science your work is incredible.

I have a question for everyone- I'm trying to help find a way to make an adapter work, but can someone confirm if Magic Lantern firmware bypasses any Canon specific recording (writing) protocols? I am talking to someone who has tried building one before for commerical use, but he believes that Canon has protocols that might prevent the adapter from working. Do we know if these protocols exist or what they are, and do we know if they are being bypassed or overrided by ML firmware?

  It makes sense to me that once a dummy CF card is put within the camera, even if it has an adapter leading to an external SSD, it should essentially 'trick' the camera into believing that it is recording to a normal CF card. Therefore, any protocols put in place to prevent recording to anything other than a CF Card should be bypassed anyway. But does someone have some insight into this issue, because if so I think we all might be getting close to finding a solution to external recording.
#3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqJXu4K1igg

Here is a really cool video breaking down the interior of a RED MAG storage device. I'm not entirely sure if this will be helpful, but I think it could be insightful for how they work. Maybe the idea can be applied in it's own way using MSATA for Canon cameras with Magic Lantern. 
#4
Hey Aperture Science- I'm really hoping that you can find a way to adapt from CF to SATA, or CF to MSATA, for cameras with Magic Lantern. I will definitely be following this forum to see how you progress! I did find this product online that works with a Canon c200, but I'm not sure if this device can work on a DSLR with Magic Lantern or not. Either way, I wanted to send you the product link so you can check it out and maybe it can be helpful to you: https://store.n.ki/products/solidpod  - The product is called SolidPod

CF cards are so much more expensive than SSD's, and I've found forums on here going back to 2013 with people trying to find a way to adapt from CF to SATA, but without a lot of luck. Hopefully with the newer MSATA, or NVME devices it might be easier to create an adapter that works for Canon cameras with magic lantern.

I would also check out what RED did with their MAG recording devices. It looks like they are using some type of adapter inside the housing- that might be useful to you too.

Let me know if there is anything I can help with, I will be following along for sure.