The XD/SMC SmartMedia Solution

SmartMedia is no more. Thankfully, an adapter is available to enable use of cheap and available xD cards.

Your ability to benefit from the adapter will depend entirely on the type of equipment you have. SmartMedia was used in literally thousands of products. The adapter will only fit if there is about 1¼ inch of extra room for the extended part. (the extended part is also thicker)

If your device includes a door or cover for the insertion slot, you may have to modify the door or remove it entirely.

A further problem: Some products will also include a sensor to determine if the door or cover is closed. The sensor is designed to prevent corrupted data by preventing removal of the card while data is being recorded. Even if you can defeat the sensor, you will need to use extra caution so that the card is not removed while the device is operating.

This article describes the modification needed for Olympus cameras. It may give you some ideas for other devices too.

I use the adapter in my bench camera. The features of my Olympus C-4040 are so well suited to my need that I've nursed the original camera back from near death dozens of ways. When the tripod fell and broke the case, it was super-glue and tape. When the LCD went out, I just connected it to a TV (and realized I should have used it that way all along) The remote zoom and shutter feature is so handy, I will never give it up.

Now that SmartMedia is scarce, the availibility of this adapter means my 4040 is all set for even more life. I've always used the SM cards as a sort of manual filing system, using a different card organized by product or customer, then using a reader at the computer to distribute photos as needed. Using the adapter(s) has enabled me to increase my inventory of cards and save time for these 'batches' runs.

My 4040 remains on the tripod and is powered by an AC adapter. It's a more or less permanent application of the camera so I removed the cover door entirely and placed a permanent shunt on the sensor. This type of fix may not be as suitable for users who need portability, but, because the card is so easy to grab, for me, it's even more convenient than the original design!