The Sports Photo Guy

ImageMate All-in-One

SanDisk’s new ImageMate All-in-One reader has great looks, but does this UDMA USB 2.0 upgrade we’ve been waiting for deliver the performance we expect?  I also look at Delkin’s new Reader-38 UDMA USB reader.

SanDisk’s flashy new ImageMate reader with its low-profile magnetic stand looks cool, but it turned in a mediocre 23 MB/sec average transfer rate with my standard test group of a dozen UDMA-enabled cards from various manufacturers.  At $30, unless you’re looking for a fashion accessory, there are much better choices out there.

Delkin’s Reader-38 edged out the SanDisk with a 24 MB/sec average transfer rate, keeping it in the pack of competent USB readers.  At $20, though, it is on the expensive side of this group.

Our reigning USB speed champ, the Lexar Professional Dual-Slot reader, is now just $20 after a mail-in rebate and averaged 26 MB/sec in our tests.  Here’s how all of the tested readers stack up, with the two discussed in this article in bold:

Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader ($20) – 26 MB/sec
Hama Card Reader Writer 35-in-1 ($15) – 24 MB/sec
Omniflash Uno! USB 2.0 CF Reader ($17) – 24 MB/sec
Delkin Reader-38 ($20) – 24 MB/sec
Kingston USB 2.0 Hi-Speed 19-in-1 Reader ($15) – 23 MB/sec
SanDisk ImageMate All-in-One ($30) – 23 MB/sec
Hoodman RAW USB 2.0 UDMA Reader ($40) – 22 MB/sec
ATP Pro Max Card Reader USB 2.0 ($12) – 21 MB/sec
Delkin ImageRouter ($100) – 20 MB/sec