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  • #16
    Re: Flash Memory cards

    Prices have been dropping on CompactFlash cards, picked up a PNY 512Mbyte card from CompUSA this week, was on sale for $30.

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    • #17
      Re: Flash Memory cards

      I get the strangest feeling that CompactFlash is disappearing as a media format. I'm having more and more trouble finding them, particularly under familiar brands, and a lot of online retailers report them as discontinued outright.

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      • #18
        Re: Flash Memory cards

        This is going to be real bad for owners of several Canon cameras like the original Digital Rebel 300. I guess I better stock up on Compact Flash cards.
        I'm still here. Are you?

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        • #19
          Re: Flash Memory cards

          I could agree about the lower capcity cards, I doubt it you can find 32Mbyte or 64Mbyte CompactFlash card nowadays, but the 256Mbyte or higher are still available.

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          • #20
            Re: Flash Memory cards

            The growing popularity of high-capacity microdrives (in the CF form factor) will probably be the saving grace of the format, such as it is. Newer pro cameras have CF slots with the full expectation that you're not going to slip a 256MB flash chip in there, but instead a 4GB IBM microdrive.

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            • #21
              Re: Flash Memory cards

              Like I mentioned earlier, I'd avoid microdrives at all costs. Anyway, most photogs use 2 or 4 GB CF cards. I prefer 1 GB as the largest. I use a Canon 20D and 1D MarkII which create 8 megapixel files. Depending on the ISO I'm shooting at I can get about 250 - 320 images per card (shooting JPEG FINE - I rarely, if ever, shoot RAW). Interestingly enough, the 1D has two slots - one for a CF card (still industry standard, and will be for the forseeable future), and one for one of those SmartMedia things. I only use the CF slot, though.

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              • #22
                Re: Flash Memory cards

                Originally posted by helen
                Prices have been dropping on CompactFlash cards, picked up a PNY 512Mbyte card from CompUSA this week, was on sale for $30.
                Mahalo for the heads-up on this....gonna go check it out and get me one if they have any left....
                Lovena

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                • #23
                  Re: Flash Memory cards

                  I bought a 1GB SanDisk compact flash card at Comp USA yesterday. They're selling these for $79.99. They seem to have a pretty good supply of compact flash cards in their showcase. There were some of the $29.99 512MB cards there too.
                  I'm still here. Are you?

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                  • #24
                    Re: Flash Memory cards

                    Originally posted by dick
                    I prefer 1 GB as the largest. I use a Canon 20D and 1D MarkII which create 8 megapixel files. Depending on the ISO I'm shooting at I can get about 250 - 320 images per card (shooting JPEG FINE - I rarely, if ever, shoot RAW).
                    I think one of the advantages of using a smaller card (and just like anything else) is the fact that if your card should unexpectedly crash, you don't lose as much data as a larger one. Of course smaller cards mean you have to carry more of them around.

                    I agree about the RAW format. Nice pictures, but those take up a lot of space... not to mention I usually have to dumb them down to JPG anyway if I want to use them. A high-res JPG can be used as is, dumbed down smaller or converted to TIFF.
                    I'm still here. Are you?

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                    • #25
                      Re: Flash Memory cards

                      I prefer the SD cards over the Compact Flash cards.
                      1) They're more compact than CF cards
                      2) Less contacts to to get dirty

                      Yes those contacts are exposed but typically only when not in use. Those contacts are easier to clean than CF cards and provide a greater contact area than pins. Electronics being my hobby as well as a career, SD contacts are superior to pin contacts as found in CF cards.

                      And I've seen SD cards that pivot to create USB 2.0 contacts within the same dimensions as a typical SD card. So no thumbdrive needed for those computers that have no SD card slot.
                      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Flash Memory cards

                        Mahalo for the heads-up! Got myself the 512MB for $30 at the local CompUSA. I'm all set now for my trip to Oahu next week. Have a 1GB CF and that holds 285 images. The 512MG holds 142 images so I'm all set.
                        Lovena

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                        • #27
                          Re: Flash Memory cards

                          Originally posted by craigwatanabe
                          I prefer the SD cards over the Compact Flash cards.
                          Most people are locked into the memory card format they have depending on the camera they are using. Like for my Canon 300D Rebel, the only card it takes is Compact Flash and the microdrive derivative of that format. The newer 350D takes SD now. Of course money for this kind of high end cameras don't grow on trees... and this is the low end of the high end too.

                          My Sony cameras both use only Sony's memory stick card format. They are the only manufacturers who use that format. Luckily Sony cameras are quite popular so unlike the Betamax, their memory stick is not going away very soon.

                          I also noticed that Fuji's newest camera the S9000 uses Compact Flash. It was just introduced yesterday according to dpreview.com.

                          So if camera manufacturers are introducing new gear using Compact Flash who is to say that this format is going the way of the Betamax?

                          Of course consumers could always look into the memory card format before they buy a camera, but I think most people don't. They buy the camera and the memory card format is an afterthought.

                          Good thing I have a SanDisk 8 card USB reader connected to my Mac. I can take any memory card and read it into the computer. Those are pretty good and sell for around $35.
                          I'm still here. Are you?

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                          • #28
                            Re: Flash Memory cards

                            I have several CF devices, so I also hope it's not going anywhere soon. I was just saying that there was definitely a period quite recently where availability seemed very low. Maybe there was another fire at another obscure chip factory in Southeast Asia?

                            CF was my favorite format for a while, since it seemed so sturdy and easy to understand. The exposed contacts of SD were a worry, too. But, I too came to learn that pins aren't all that great, and at least you can clean a contact like the one on an SD card.

                            xD cards, though? Those are scary. You could lose hundreds of photos if your cat swallows it!

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                            • #29
                              Re: Flash Memory cards

                              Originally posted by pzarquon
                              xD cards, though? Those are scary. You could lose hundreds of photos if your cat swallows it!
                              Yes, they are. Of course if the cat ate them, you can always wait for your pictures and the card to come out of the other end of the cat.
                              I'm still here. Are you?

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                              • #30
                                Re: Flash Memory cards

                                Like a poloroid or hemorroid

                                I'm one for simplicity and the few contacts on an SD card means fewer bad connections than a CF card and that means less data transfer failure. The problem with CF's pin slots are the fact that they are many little wells in which dust can accumulate and with Hawaii's humidity, this dust can turn into insulation as it fills the pin holes up plus the male pins on the camera can eventually get bent and so much for your camera's contacts.
                                Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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