Lea,
While your Mac Pro is capable enough, it is limited by the software transfer protocols of the Firewire. The whole process of converting the image data to "packets" of data that then are moved at a fast, but unfortunately limited, transfer rate and then converted back to image data puts a "damper" on how fast this can be done. Most of us are old enough to remember hearing about governors on cars (even if none of us had it) to limit their top speed. That is a crude picture of what the Firewire is doing to your transfers.
Stephen
From: Lea Murphy <lea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2019 8:55 AM
Subject: file transfer question
Hello all.
I use the full line of Canon 5D cameras…original, 2, 3 and 4.
My most frequently used bodies are the 5DM3 which is 22.3 MP, the 5DM4 is 30.4 MP.
While it’s a nice difference in megapixels it isn’t ginormous, but downloading images from the 5DM4 to my computer (using firewire 800 on a Mac Pro running High Sierra with 32 gigs of RAM) takes ages. I’m using Lexar Pro compact flash cards (UDMA 7, 800x). My hard drive has over a terrabyte of available space on it.
Is this slow process of downloading normal when using these larger megapixel cameras?
Is there a link in my system that can be changed to speed file transfers up?
Thanks for any insight you can offer,
Lea
