I have been using my ZoomFloppy adapter to convert many of my 5 1/4 inch disks to .d64 format. Prior to ZoomFloppy, I had converted a few using a program on my Commodore equipment. This took some time per disk. However, once I was able to get the ZoomFloppy up and running, I was able to cruise through a significant part of my collection.
I did find out however, that if there is any type of software protection, the ZoomFloppy will not process the disk. It is claimed that there will be an upgrade to use the nibble feature with a 1571 drive, but until that is available, the only way to process those types of disks are using a parallel cable. Since I do not have access to one, I am not sure how this works.
Connecting the ZoomFloppy is quite straighforward. Simply connect a USB cable (you'll need one with a standard size connector on one end for the PC and a mini connector for the ZoomFloppy) to the ZoomFloppy and a standard serial cable for the 1541/71/81 (it is recommended to keep the drive off while connecting/disconnecting the drive).
I have mine connected to an XP box (windows) using CBMXfer (see Mac/Win utilities page for software) as the front-end. CBMXfer is a nice utility and I highly recommend it.
ZoomFloppy will not archive disks with copy protection. There is another way of accessing these disks. This is done via a serial cable (not the usb connection). I think it may be better to use Jim Drew's Supercard Pro for this type of work.
Overall, this is a great tool! I am quite satisfied with the results.