Compact Flash - best performance

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cheeta05r

Gawd
Joined
Oct 7, 2001
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I am going to get a digital camera (Canon Powershot S400) and I am looking at Compact Flash for it. I want to get 512MB and I am looking for the best ram.

I have looked at these:

$135 - Transcend 512MB
Speed: Maximum Host Data Transfer Rate: 16.6M byte/sec

$143 - Sandisk 512MB Ultra II 512MB
Speed: Write 9MB/S , Read 10MB/S

What I really want is high transfer speeds. The Canon S400 only uses USB so will I be limited? USB only transfers at 12Mbits/s (1.5MBYTES/s).

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I believe, and many will agree, that Sandisk sucks. Their reliability and performance are both questionable.
 
I have a 256MB Sandisk Ultra card, and though it works, it has not really lived up to my performance expectations. The Transcend looks pretty good. Another brand to look at might be RiData (Ritek). Check this article out (though it hasn't been updated in a while):

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/
 
for camera like yours - you wont notice much different in rated performance between the CF cards. There was a link somewhere on the cf card speed test- you just have to find it.
 
Originally posted by wolfio
for camera like yours - you wont notice much different in rated performance between the CF cards. There was a link somewhere on the cf card speed test- you just have to find it.
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Actually my friend has the same camera and he had regular compact flash, but the stuff was horibly slow. So he got the Sandisk UltraII and that was better. I just wanted to see what else was out there, besides the Sandisk, especially after what Im hearing now.
 
well what i was trying to say is the difference in price between sandisk ultra II/sandisk extreme to lets say regular sandisk ultra or other brand like ritek is not worth it.
 
Ever heard the saying dont put all of your eggs in the same basket? If I was you I would break it up into smaller cards. Its a good deal in the sense of size for you dollar, but if you mess that thing up, your going to be kicking yourself.
 
I like my SanDiskUltra it is only a 256. I also have a Lexar 128 and, the 64 one that came with the camera. I use them all, just in case one dies a terrible death.
 
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DPReview has an article on CF cards.
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That article is OLD. Like over 2 years to be exact.

Basically today a 256bm card is gonna run you like $50 and a 512mb card is about $90-100. I would not buy a larger size just incase it fails. These prices are all for regular speed cards. Unless you have the attention span of a 3 year old or you need it (why?) dont buy high speed. I see no need for them.
 
Originally posted by Egg242
Unless you have the attention span of a 3 year old or you need it (why?) dont buy high speed. I see no need for them.
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My problem exactly.

Not in an offensive way, but your like someone who drives down the highway at 55mph (Illinois speed limit) when you could be doing 85mph. Sure we are going to get to same place, but its not going to take me nearlly as long.
 
Originally posted by cheeta05r
My problem exactly.

Not in an offensive way, but your like someone who drives down the highway at 55mph (Illinois speed limit) when you could be doing 85mph. Sure we are going to get to same place, but its not going to take me nearlly as long.
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It's all relative. If you're only going 2 miles the time you save by speeding is not worth the risk, ie the increased cost (almost twice as much) is not worth the minute amount of time you'll save.
 
Originally posted by CANiSLAYu
It's all relative. If you're only going 2 miles the time you save by speeding is not worth the risk, ie the increased cost (almost twice as much) is not worth the minute amount of time you'll save.
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Time is money. Depends on how valuable your time is.

Philosophical side track. oh well :D
 
If your time is so valuable that you're interested in saving 1-2 minutes a day (assuming you shoot every day) then what are you doing wasting time on photography in the first place?
 
i think it really depends on what your shooting, if your shooting high action sports, for a living then you might want the speed.

If your shooting snap shots then the extra speed isn't going to help, and you don't need it.
 
I just found out that I get discounts at Dell.com through my work... I can get a 256k compact flash card for 39.00, no shipping costs, no tax :) sweet :)
 
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