If you’ve been eyeing the Apple Camera Connection Kit (suggested retail: P1,390) for your iPad 2 but have been holding off for some reason, there are third party alternatives on the market.

Capdase has two of those alternatives, namely the CDAPIPAD-D101 and CDAPIPAD-D201. The 101 has 2 slots while the 201 has 3 slots. Logical, yes? Whoever named these products needs to be slapped across the face with a dead fish.

Both models offer JPEG and RAW transfer, just like the original Apple Camera Connection Kit does.

The D101 takes the smaller cards, like SD, MicroSD, and MMC. It costs P1,950.

The larger D201 model is essentially the same thing but has an extra slot for CF format cards. This costs P2,450.

I tried a very informal head-to-head comparison between the D101 and the Apple Kit’s SD card adapter. I popped in a 4GB PQI class 4 SDHC containing a test sample of about 150MB of photos. Then I timed how long it took to import them completely into my iPad 2.

The Apple adapter transferred the 150MB worth of shots in a bit over 2 minutes.

The Capdase started off slow. Then it seemed to pick up speed. I found myself cheering it on. Go Capdase go! It came in around six seconds faster than the Apple. We have a winner.

Based on this, neither adapter was particularly fast. But the speedier Capdase should show more of an overall advantage when the time comes to dump large cards.

To be fair the Apple gives you more versatility by also offering a USB port. This means you can transfer from any USB-equipped camera, regardless of memory format.

On the other hand, if you intend to be doing a lot of photo dumps, the added speed of the Capdase might be worth the extra cost to you. If you carry a smartphone that uses MicroSD (my Samsung Galaxy S2, for instance), you can also plug the card into the Capdase without need for a physical adapter.

The choice is yours.

Pros:

• Transfers photos faster than the Apple Camera Connection Kit.
• Both models accept smartphone-friendly MicroSD cards without an adapter.
• D201 model can accept CF cards

Cons:

• Pricier than the Apple Camera Connection Kit.
• You can’t connect anything via USB cable.
• Confusingly named.

Vic

Vic spends entirely too much on gadgets. So rather than try and kick the habit, he decided to become the Reviews Editor of Technoodling. Now, he has a perfectly good excuse. It's not an addiction: it's a job. His favorite noodle: Pappardelle.

email: vic@technoodling.netwebsite: http://www.technoodling.net