advice needed on Compact Flash CF

Kho King · 24th January 2003

So many brand out there...how to choose? Are all CF at same speed?

How about microdrive?

Planning to buy one...either 256MB or 512MB...what's the roughly price? Which shop sell the lowest price?

ivor · 24th January 2003

I personally would not recommend MicroDrive for the below reasons...

1. The 'safety' of the pictures taken are very important... Mishandling or accidentally dropped the MD would render the MD faulty... thus lost all your pictures...

2. MD has known to be unreliable... (Of course, within the 1 year of warranty period, you are safe, but what are you going to do on the 367 days of usage and it failed...

The est price are ,

256MB CF - around $140
512MB CF - around $285

mylau · 24th January 2003

Dun buy the microdrive. I've been through the agony of losing data on my harddisk before. The feeling is terrible. Don't take the risk.

chngpe01 · 24th January 2003

"How about microdrive"

It depends on how much memory you want viz-a-viz your budget. For me I take all my pics in RAW, hence I have to balance my budget with the risk involved - I be more careful when using microdrive, that's all.

Because I shoot in RAW (80 pics/gb), I use about 3 gb for each outing - I just snap without any concern and can experiment with all sorts of settings - no good just dump it later. Already with 2 micro dirve and 2 x 256mb CF and 1 x 512 mb CF, it cost more than a thousand $. (1 MD abt $380, another MD $280 - bought 2nd hand, 512 CF $285. 2 x 256mb CF $150) - imagine if it is all CF??? cannot afford leh.

Of course MD has its inherent risks - there is a penalty - if luck runs out - so far touch wood, its holding out ok for me

(penny wise pound foolish - I dunno ??)

Cheers

cyrilng · 25th January 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Kho King
So many brand out there...how to choose? Are all CF at same speed?

How about microdrive?

Planning to buy one...either 256MB or 512MB...what's the roughly price? Which shop sell the lowest price?

Not all CF are the same. They come in different speeds like 4x, 16x, 20x, 25x, 30x. Reputable brands include Ridata & Transcend.

For the MicroDrive, you've seen the pros & cons as stated above. Another down-side to MDs is that they consume more power than CFs because of the internal motor.

Alan Photo at SLS is one of the good shops to buy CF but must bargain a bit to get the best deal sometimes also. Prices as above.

adamis · 30th January 2003

prices from AP
256MB Ridata - $140
256MB Ultra Per 25x Transcend - $150

prices from CP
256MB Sandisk - $135
256MB Hagiwara - $135

b.t.w. I bought 256MB Ultra Per 25x Transcend @ $148 after some negotiating... from AP..

shawntim · 30th January 2003

If I don't drop the MD, it won't exactly spoil rite? But will it spoil if I keep it in my camera and shake the camera alot? etc running shots, chasing after subjects etc etc.. will it risk crashing the MD?

What about cold weather? will MD function in cold weather? assuming the camera's working in cold weather.

30th January 2003

FYI, I bought a 256 Ridata CF card at AP for $135

ivor · 30th January 2003

Correct me if I am wrong, MD is like harddisk for the computer, just that is relatively small in size. Does the harddisk installed in the computer spoilt...??

On the other hand CF is a type of EEPROM chip.

Quote:

Originally posted by shawntim
If I don't drop the MD, it won't exactly spoil rite? But will it spoil if I keep it in my camera and shake the camera alot? etc running shots, chasing after subjects etc etc.. will it risk crashing the MD?

What about cold weather? will MD function in cold weather? assuming the camera's working in cold weather.

edwinh · 30th January 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by cyrilng

Not all CF are the same. They come in different speeds like 4x, 16x, 20x, 25x, 30x. Reputable brands include Ridata & Transcend.

One minor comment, if your camera is not a DSLR like D60, D100, EOS1D, F1Dx, your won't appreciate the different speed in taking pictures. So prosumer cams like G2/3 will be pretty maxed out on writing before maxing out the CF write capability.

Data reading to your computer will have a greater influence by the speed.

shawntim · 30th January 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by shawntim
If I don't drop the MD, it won't exactly spoil rite? But will it spoil if I keep it in my camera and shake the camera alot? etc running shots, chasing after subjects etc etc.. will it risk crashing the MD?

Quote:

Originally posted by ivor
Correct me if I am wrong, MD is like harddisk for the computer, just that is relatively small in size. Does the harddisk installed in the computer spoilt...??

yar, but do you run around carrying your CPU?

looks like you missed the later part of the post.

I'm asking about shaking when the MD is in the camera.

Java_Guru · 30th January 2003

The MD is acutally very reliable. It stays in my D60 nearly all the time. Transfers to PC are done by digital cable. This way actually improves reliability considerably.

The only way to damage the MD is to drop the camera. I have never hear nor seen anyone who has dropped a camera and killed an MD before.

mpenza · 30th January 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by edwinh

One minor comment, if your camera is not a DSLR like D60, D100, EOS1D, F1Dx, your won't appreciate the different speed in taking pictures. So prosumer cams like G2/3 will be pretty maxed out on writing before maxing out the CF write capability.

Data reading to your computer will have a greater influence by the speed.

it does matter for some prosumer cameras like Fuji S602Z... http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/F602/F62A7.HTM

This really calls for a separate section all its own, as the results were so varied, and therefore interesting. As I mentioned above, the S602 Zoom is definitely a camera that can take advantage of fast memory cards.

Jed · 30th January 2003

Sorry, but it's a myth that you have to drop an MD to ruin it. Your 3.5" HDD in your PC can develop bad sectors just sitting there. Anything that has moving parts in it can fail at anytime. I for one have had an MD fail without dropping the camera, or the MD. Within the space of 5 minutes use without my subjecting it to any abuse. And I know people who have had similar experiences and have given up on MDs. Once burnt, twice shy. Of course if it's never happened to you then it's fine.

I don't know what camera chngpe01 has, but it's obviously an expensive camera to get only 80 pics on a 1Gb drive (12Mb approx each). In which case, if you're going to fork out all that money for such an expensive camera, then you should go sort yourself out flash cards as well. While the analogy isn't perfect, it's like buying an EOS 1v and only ever shooting brand x ISO 100 cheap film before you can't afford anything better.

Prices of flash cards have dropped to an extent where they are only about 20-30% more expensive. They are also faster than MDs, and it's always wiser to split your cards up anyway.

24th January 2003	#1
Kho King Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,799	advice needed on Compact Flash CF So many brand out there...how to choose? Are all CF at same speed? How about microdrive? Planning to buy one...either 256MB or 512MB...what's the roughly price? Which shop sell the lowest price? __________________ KOH KHO KING http://ShaShinKi.com ~ Malaysia Online Camera Shop! :cool:

24th January 2003	#2
ivor Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: SINGAPOUR Posts: 1,905	I personally would not recommend MicroDrive for the below reasons... 1. The 'safety' of the pictures taken are very important... Mishandling or accidentally dropped the MD would render the MD faulty... thus lost all your pictures... 2. MD has known to be unreliable... (Of course, within the 1 year of warranty period, you are safe, but what are you going to do on the 367 days of usage and it failed... The est price are , 256MB CF - around $140 512MB CF - around $285

24th January 2003	#3
mylau Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,801	Dun buy the microdrive. I've been through the agony of losing data on my harddisk before. The feeling is terrible. Don't take the risk.

24th January 2003	#4
chngpe01 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 7,479	"How about microdrive" It depends on how much memory you want viz-a-viz your budget. For me I take all my pics in RAW, hence I have to balance my budget with the risk involved - I be more careful when using microdrive, that's all. Because I shoot in RAW (80 pics/gb), I use about 3 gb for each outing - I just snap without any concern and can experiment with all sorts of settings - no good just dump it later. Already with 2 micro dirve and 2 x 256mb CF and 1 x 512 mb CF, it cost more than a thousand $. (1 MD abt $380, another MD $280 - bought 2nd hand, 512 CF $285. 2 x 256mb CF $150) - imagine if it is all CF??? cannot afford leh. Of course MD has its inherent risks - there is a penalty - if luck runs out - so far touch wood, its holding out ok for me (penny wise pound foolish - I dunno ??) Cheers

30th January 2003	#6
adamis New Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 33	prices from AP 256MB Ridata - $140 256MB Ultra Per 25x Transcend - $150 prices from CP 256MB Sandisk - $135 256MB Hagiwara - $135 b.t.w. I bought 256MB Ultra Per 25x Transcend @ $148 after some negotiating... from AP..

30th January 2003	#7
shawntim Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 472	If I don't drop the MD, it won't exactly spoil rite? But will it spoil if I keep it in my camera and shake the camera alot? etc running shots, chasing after subjects etc etc.. will it risk crashing the MD? What about cold weather? will MD function in cold weather? assuming the camera's working in cold weather.

30th January 2003	#8
qhelix Guests Posts: n/a	FYI, I bought a 256 Ridata CF card at AP for $135

30th January 2003	#12
Java_Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 785	The MD is acutally very reliable. It stays in my D60 nearly all the time. Transfers to PC are done by digital cable. This way actually improves reliability considerably. The only way to damage the MD is to drop the camera. I have never hear nor seen anyone who has dropped a camera and killed an MD before.

30th January 2003	#14
Jed Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,081	Sorry, but it's a myth that you have to drop an MD to ruin it. Your 3.5" HDD in your PC can develop bad sectors just sitting there. Anything that has moving parts in it can fail at anytime. I for one have had an MD fail without dropping the camera, or the MD. Within the space of 5 minutes use without my subjecting it to any abuse. And I know people who have had similar experiences and have given up on MDs. Once burnt, twice shy. Of course if it's never happened to you then it's fine. I don't know what camera chngpe01 has, but it's obviously an expensive camera to get only 80 pics on a 1Gb drive (12Mb approx each). In which case, if you're going to fork out all that money for such an expensive camera, then you should go sort yourself out flash cards as well. While the analogy isn't perfect, it's like buying an EOS 1v and only ever shooting brand x ISO 100 cheap film before you can't afford anything better. Prices of flash cards have dropped to an extent where they are only about 20-30% more expensive. They are also faster than MDs, and it's always wiser to split your cards up anyway.