CF-to-SATA hardware interface for RAW recording (fork)

[anchoricex]

As a 5dmkiii owner.... this is fine with me

[Danne]

COuld it actually mean 50fps 1920x1080?

[squig]

I have 2 Toshiba 1066x cards, they're no faster than the Lexar 1000x. Toshiba's marketing is all hype not surprisingly.

[nightvision04]

I have 2 Toshiba 1066x cards, they're no faster than the Lexar 1000x. Toshiba's marketing is all hype not surprisingly.

I can second that. It's a great card, but it's not close to the 150 Mbps write that they claim.

[Grunf]

There is a lot of dreaming on here... so I'm going to dream a little too!

The solution for this isn't going to be a simple CF to SSD adapter.  Someone needs to design a CF/SSD hybrid comprised of a CF card that has only a giant buffer memory that is then sent via some cable externally to an SSD.

The whole point is to get the fastest possible write speed to open up more features... like 3.6K recording.

Theoretical max speed is 167 MB/sec, no matter what you connect to CF slot. Thus, you can use any resolution ML supports, but if it doesn't fit in 167MB/sec (probably little lower), it won't work.

[albert-e]

I can second that. It's a great card, but it's not close to the 150 Mbps write that they claim.

There must be valid claim to this "EXCERIA PRo CF" line of CF, maybe Canon is not yet compliant to CompactFlash Association (CFA) standard CompactFlash Specification Revision 6.1.? Another firmware update in the future or expanded hack from ML experts?

[5D3shooter]

Don't believe any claims of 150MB/s... it all ends up being 80-100MB/s...

Hoodman steel does this too

[Grunf]

COuld it actually mean 50fps 1920x1080?

No. 24fps tops out at 93MB/sec. As max data rate for CF interface is 167MB/sec, you will never ever be able to record more than roughly 40fps in 1920p, no matter how fast storage you use.

[Danne]

Ok, so the bottleneck here is the camera? Can it even go pass 100mb limit? Anybody know?

[albert-e]

Ok, so the bottleneck here is the camera? Can it even go pass 100mb limit? Anybody know?

A new camera design with a minimum of 100Mb/s recording that uses SSD's maximum transfer rate up to 500Mb/s read/write or a thunderbolt "like" design for the extreme user. In short, BLACKMAGIC, RED camera's.

The writing is on the wall, raw video.

[albert-e]

it is possbile, but i ask to address these aspect:
a) the ATA protocol is just a subset of the CF standard.
b) IDE/SATA drives implement only that subset.
c) canon uses the CIS and FCR structures which are not part of ATA

-> dumb adapter will not work without software hacks

This information I gathered about the CIS.  It is very rare to find a CF card slot implemented as anything other than a hardwired True-IDE device. You can't access the CIS unless the slot is wired as a PCMCIA-type implementation. There's no reason to look at the CIS for a flash disk card; it's only useful for I/O type cards. So, Canon cameras are what, memory mapped I/O cards?

In some situations, you can however use the ATA Identify command to get some vendor information about the card. There's a command hdparm -I (or -Istdout for the raw data) to see what this will give you in a system but not from USB attached device.

To prove the specification I will perform a elementary tests(like in the past);I'll connect a CF microdrive to my Canon 50D,7D, and see if the camera recognizes the card. In theory , this test setup should work. I'll get a microdrive first. I don't care about the transfer rate at the moment, 16Mb/s. We'll see.

To be continued...

[Fender]

Hey Guys,

I just got word back from china, and my guy found those CF adapters, but he wrote me asking:

"OK, I able find one in china.
I want confirm you need.
It's IDE host to CF disk?
CF host to IDE disk?
CF host to SATA disk?
IDE host to SATA disk?
Just tell me you want ,clearly."

Which one do we need guys?

Besides the adaptor,  whe would need a Fast SSD with exactly the dimensions of a Batery LP6 , just to place it  inside the grip, conected to the adaptor  by a external conector

[swrightgfx]

Sheesh getting carried away a bit, Why even discuss mass production, when it's not even confirmed that it's possible to work yet?

Those who innovate are typically subject to costs. The motive for those seeking solutions to this problem through business (myself included) is not necessarily for financial gain, but merely to use business as a method and driver for the solution(s) we seek. The path one takes does not matter (with some moral constraints), as the goal is mutual.

From my end, I have hit a brick wall with the manufacturer I was dealing with in China. I am not sure if they have hit a bottleneck and are simply stalling answers to my requests or whether they don't see value in the project. Here's hoping.

How is everyone else travelling with this?

[HAMMERTOWN]

I was in the market for a new camera and I am picking up a mint 50d(Getting a really good deal on it) with 3000 actuations just because of this site.  I want to thank you guys so much for all the research and hard work you have put into this project.  I will be donating for sure.

[Fender]

Any update about the CF slot- SATA slot investigations?

[MRozier]

Hi there, ld love to know how developments are going too.  I'm about to pull the trigger on a few cf cards so it'd be really handy to know how everyone's  hard work is panning out? I'd obviously love to support one of you guys in your ssd cause, but I'm thinking that the cf card route may be the only way to go that's on the horizon? Many thanks for all your time and efforts I've followed this thread daily since its inception. 

[anchoricex]

Any new developments?

[hirethestache]

My team has the prototype cf/zif mod built, we're just waiting on parts from china to power.

[MRozier]

Hey Hirethestache!
That sounds really promising, forgive the questions but I'm just trying to make as educated as decision as is possible.  Have you any idea of a timeframe for when you imagine your prototype may go into production? And do you know if its a massive add on requiring external power etc. or would it be something battery grip sized for example that doesn't add too much extra weight.  Again apologies for the questions, it just sounds like you've gotten the furthest so far, which is such promising news that I'm wondering whether to not go the cf card route at all and to wait for the ssd route instead if that's something that's not too far away.  I imagine there are many more in the same boat

[hirethestache]

Unfortunately I do not have a timeframe. I do not have the engineering expertise, I am only financing this project to two well experienced engineers I hired to tackle the job. As far as implementation, it will have to be powered. My device specifically would mount off-camera, similar to a monitor/field recorder, or directly to the hotshoe.

[anchoricex]

Unfortunately I do not have a timeframe. I do not have the engineering expertise, I am only financing this project to two well experienced engineers I hired to tackle the job. As far as implementation, it will have to be powered. My device specifically would mount off-camera, similar to a monitor/field recorder, or directly to the hotshoe.

Maybe mount underneath the camera (utilize the tripod plate hole) and have another threaded hole on the bottom for actual tripod plate use? Or is the device going to be powered by the camera hot shoe ?




Anyone else out here still working on developments or have most of these hit a wall ?

[SDX]

mounting underneath the camera is very unpractical for everyone working with advanced rigs. Focus-pullers and matte-boxes wouldn't fit properly. A system utilizing the hot-shoe or something that would fit on a standardized rail-system would be of more use.

[hirethestache]

MY design calls for a mult-mountable unit, able to attach to a hot/cold shoe or rails.

[meauounji]

mounting underneath the camera is very unpractical for everyone working with advanced rigs. Focus-pullers and matte-boxes wouldn't fit properly. A system utilizing the hot-shoe or something that would fit on a standardized rail-system would be of more use.

What if the design incorporated a 15mm rod mount to begin with?

Correct 15mm rod height is actually somewhere in the a battery grip's space, not underneath it, so if this custom "grip" already included a good tripod mount (at least two 1/4" 20) and already has a rod mount in front, RED Epic style, then that would work out great for rigging. Better yet, build in a small-ish shoulder pad behind the tripod mount ENG/Alexa style and you have a near complete rig in one unit.

[Novosibirets]

I do not know whether this is rarely an adapter. Found in Novosibirsk proposal for ~$10 (4 pcs). It makes sense to buy with the prospect of SSD?



IDE2CF-B1 Espada < FG-IDE2UCF3-A-01-CT21> IDE-> CF Переходник / адаптер для подключения Compact Flash устройств к IDE контроллеру.