EastGear was kind enough to replace my Lexar 1GB 80X (1st ed.) compactflash card (bought there in June) with the newer faster card! Thanks guys! The new card has an edge stamp number with the last 4 digits 'A4B6'. However, the new Lexar card looks the same as the old card.
Rob Galbraith has just confirmed that newer faster cards shipping from Lexar are identical in appearance to a Lexar 1GB 80X first edition: the front and rear labels are the same in all respects. The last 4 digits 'A4B6' probably are the unique identifier that signifies an 80X second edition Lexar CompacFlash card. Rob Galbraith uses the word 'probably' as this edge stamp has not been verified by Lexar.
Rob G. does say the cards with the last 4 digits 'A4B6' are significantly faster than the earlier (1st ed.) cards tested. My own quick speed test in a Canon 20D puts it at just below 5MB/sec when writing large/fine jpegs. If this speed is verified, it means the Lexar 80X will not be as fast as the Sandisk Extreme in the 20D. But at 5MB/sec....who really cares?
Rob Galbraith has just confirmed that newer faster cards shipping from Lexar are identical in appearance to a Lexar 1GB 80X first edition: the front and rear labels are the same in all respects. The last 4 digits 'A4B6' probably are the unique identifier that signifies an 80X second edition Lexar CompacFlash card. Rob Galbraith uses the word 'probably' as this edge stamp has not been verified by Lexar.
Rob G. does say the cards with the last 4 digits 'A4B6' are significantly faster than the earlier (1st ed.) cards tested. My own quick speed test in a Canon 20D puts it at just below 5MB/sec when writing large/fine jpegs. If this speed is verified, it means the Lexar 80X will not be as fast as the Sandisk Extreme in the 20D. But at 5MB/sec....who really cares?