Ok, super stupid mistake Im completely guilty of. If you don’t have one of these, its time to order one…TODAY. Don’t let my mistake be yours as well.
Ive known about them and I’ve been meaning to get one of these for a while and no matter how many convenient reasons I can think of for not getting one sooner, all that matters is I havent until today. In the past Ive been using an extremely compact USB 2.0 reader which fits very nicely in my camera bag (The Firewire 800 readers are too big and bulky, which they are- but who cares!?!?! They are soooo worth it).
When we were at the JC workshop, Bill Blakey let me use his, what typically takes about an hour, took 6 minutes!
First you are probably wondering what a Firewire Port is…There are 2 types, the much faster 800 and the slower 400. Most Macs have the 800, but if you are unsure, make absolutely certain you have it on your computer before buying a reader.
The above image is what they look like~
Next you need the card reader, The Lexar Firewire 800 reader has been around for a while and is PROVEN. (You can even stack them on top of each other to download multiple cards at a time). I know a ton of photographers that have and use these and everyone that has one swears by it. If you have an FW 800 port and don’t have one of these bad boys & are sick of waiting for your images to load- order this now:
Lexar Firewire 800 Card Reader
The one major drawback of the Lexar 800 is that it only works on Firewire 800. 
I found Delkin Version that runs both 400 and 800, which I have a need for if Im downloading assets to an external HD connected to an 800 port. A word of caution though, I haven’t tested this, so I am unsure on how good it is. From the reviews Ive read, it looks good:
Lexar Firewire 800 Card Reader
I ended up purchasing both and will test them both out.
I was told by a little birdy "firewire" as a standard is being phased out even by the FW standard pushers over @ apple…
Thanks for the heads up, but these guys are so FREAKING fast at downloading images they will pay for themselves in time savings in just a few times of using them. If FW is phased out fine, but for now, you just have to trust me on this one…GET ONE!!
Look to see eSATA connections taking over. The speeds blow away firewire.
I purchased a Firewire800 cord to free up my usb ports for something else. The firewire cord was faulty. Not impressed with the wiring. Device (1TB Drive) works great and I am sure I just have a bad one but a $18-25 Cord is not a throw away cord. Went back to usb. I will be interested in seeing the next generation cord.
Something I would like to play with is the Epson P-5000. 🙂
Wish I had one of these today! Took 1573 pics at a slalom race event and it took forever to upload them. And it wasn’t even by USB, I used the built in card slot.
I tested both of these out. The Lexar seems a little faster, better built and has a stacking option.