Discussion
www.crucial.com/uk/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CT256MBC1&cat=Flash
£29.36 inc VAT + delivery
£29.36 inc VAT + delivery
It's a tradeoff between not havng to swap cards the whole time, and being protected if you have a failure.
I've never heard of a failure either, but I know that CF cards have a limited number or writes on them, and the format used on them (FAT32) is not actually very good as the file directory portion is constantly re-written.
I've never heard of a failure either, but I know that CF cards have a limited number or writes on them, and the format used on them (FAT32) is not actually very good as the file directory portion is constantly re-written.
The rewrite limit with quality cards is in the order of millions of times, and this in itself is certainly not likely to be an issue for any normal user. By the time the card is worn out because of too many rewrites, it will have been obsolete for decades.
The issue of larger cards being less reliable largely relates to those using microdrives, which was originally the only way to get 1GB and above. However, there are now solid state cards of 1Gb and above such as Sandisk Ultra II, and these should be fine. Microdrive based cards are much cheaper though.
As with anything, you get what you pay for and cheaper media will usually not perform as well as (or last as long as) better quality media. This shouldn't really come as a big surpise to anyone, but I wonder how many people will regret saving a few quid by buying a cheap spindle of CDRs or rewritable DVDs, when in years to come they find the discs are all unreadable.
The issue of larger cards being less reliable largely relates to those using microdrives, which was originally the only way to get 1GB and above. However, there are now solid state cards of 1Gb and above such as Sandisk Ultra II, and these should be fine. Microdrive based cards are much cheaper though.
As with anything, you get what you pay for and cheaper media will usually not perform as well as (or last as long as) better quality media. This shouldn't really come as a big surpise to anyone, but I wonder how many people will regret saving a few quid by buying a cheap spindle of CDRs or rewritable DVDs, when in years to come they find the discs are all unreadable.
steve-p said:
By the time the card is worn out because of too many rewrites, it will have been obsolete for decades.
The problem though is that there is a small section of the card which goes through a much higher number of writes than the sections which store your photos. Unfortunately, if this small section "wears out" then it will make the rest of the card unusable.
Definately agree about the cheap CD/DVDs, I'm nervous about the branded ones too.
pdV6 said:
www.crucial.com/uk/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CT256MBC1&cat=Flash
£29.36 inc VAT + delivery
But that appears to be bog standard (8X) memory, not 40x. That means slower writing and reading.
Slightly OTT but I've been advised against Microdrives (certainly for DP - OK for PDA's and alike) since they're read/write times are crap. Given that a 1GB CF card is now the same price as a 1GB microdrive (and I've seen CF cards cheaper too), CF cards seem to be the way forward.
I picked up another 1GB card about a month ago from www.dabs.com (Kingston) for under £100.
Steve
I picked up another 1GB card about a month ago from www.dabs.com (Kingston) for under £100.
Steve
dcw@pr said:
The problem though is that there is a small section of the card which goes through a much higher number of writes than the sections which store your photos. Unfortunately, if this small section "wears out" then it will make the rest of the card unusable.
I don't believe that's how compactflash works . . . IIRC compactflash has a mechanism that prevents burn out of a small region by constantly moving the position where files are written, even if it's the same file . . . this is completely transparent to the system using the card . . .
Of course, whether all manufacturers anti-ageing mechanisms are equal is another matter . . .
Fd
fergusd said:
I don't believe that's how compactflash works . . . IIRC compactflash has a mechanism that prevents burn out of a small region by constantly moving the position where files are written, even if it's the same file . . . this is completely transparent to the system using the card . . .
Of course, whether all manufacturers anti-ageing mechanisms are equal is another matter . . .
Fd
Surely it is up to the camera (or whatever is doing the writing) where the data is put?
dcw@pr said:
Surely it is up to the camera (or whatever is doing the writing) where the data is put?
No . . . It's entirely possible (and very common) for file systems on flash based devices to use an anti-aging algorythm . . . it's a layer between what the camera (in this case) sees and the actual flash devices . . .
In exactly the same way when you buy a flash device it may have errors on it (bits that cannot be written), but these are hidden by this intermediate layer . . .
Very common problem and well understood solution . . .
Fd
zetec said:
Q1. Anyone know of a better deal than this?
256mb 40x CF card: £30.12 inc vat & del
Where is that from??
www.Ebuyer.co.uk
£55.22 inc VAT for a 512mb
Link for 256mb
www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=701962230&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=51214
One of my Viking CF cards failed - the end of the card is corrupt and I can't take more than 100 images on a 256mb card. It's been used a bit, but not massively.
I personally go with 256mb cards and will probably look into getting another Lexar one shortly from www.mymemory.co.uk or similar.
I personally go with 256mb cards and will probably look into getting another Lexar one shortly from www.mymemory.co.uk or similar.
Ex-Biker said:
www.Ebuyer.co.uk
Its generally very difficult to beat EBuyer's prices on most things and personally I've never had a major problem with them, but plenty of people have less than complimentary stuff to say about 'em...
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