SD Replacing Compact Flash?

Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going the
way of Smart Media cards.

Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon Coolpix 2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.

I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

Comments?

LRH

Compact cams is moving to SD.
Pro level bodies still uses CF as I believe its easier for them to design
hi-capacity CFs than SD

Example .. with Canon 1D Mk II ... you can use either SD or CF .. no sweat.

=bob=

"Larry R Harrison Jr" wrote in message
...
Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going
the
way of Smart Media cards.

Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon Coolpix
2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon
Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume
manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going
SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.

I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

Comments?

LRH

"Larry R Harrison Jr" writes:

I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

CF is still the storage of choice for larger cameras like DSLRs, because
the cost is lower and the size per card is higher than SD. They're
likely to be available for a long time.

SD is popular for really small cameras, PDAs, cellphones, and things
where space matters more. With time, they'll probably drop in price per
byte to be comparable to CF. But I don't see one replacing the other.

Dave

Larry R Harrison Jr wrote:
Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going the
way of Smart Media cards.

Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon Coolpix 2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.

I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

Comments?

LRH



In the electronics business, the normal span of use before a given
technology is hopelessly out of date is quite short. One can buy a
toaster and expect to use it until it no longer works without any
significant improvements being made to the newest devices, other than
flashy cases. Not so for digital electronics devices. It's a fact of
life, and likely will be until long after I am dust. Kodak is doing the
same thing (moving to SD cards). You can keep the old camera, or move
with the tide.

In article , Ron Hunter
writes
Larry R Harrison Jr wrote:
Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going the
way of Smart Media cards.
Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon
Coolpix 2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.
I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume
manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.
I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers
would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.
Comments?
LRH

In the electronics business, the normal span of use before a given
technology is hopelessly out of date is quite short. One can buy a
toaster and expect to use it until it no longer works without any
significant improvements being made to the newest devices, other than
flashy cases. Not so for digital electronics devices. It's a fact of
life, and likely will be until long after I am dust. Kodak is doing
the same thing (moving to SD cards). You can keep the old camera, or
move with the tide.

Even if you can not buy new memory cards the camera and the cards you
have will work for a long time. Besides CF will remain until long after
they introduce SD size microdrivers for professional cameras.
--
Ian G8ILZ

In article , Ron Hunter
writes
Larry R Harrison Jr wrote:
Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going the
way of Smart Media cards.
Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon
Coolpix 2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.
I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume
manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.
I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers
would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.
Comments?
LRH

In the electronics business, the normal span of use before a given
technology is hopelessly out of date is quite short. One can buy a
toaster and expect to use it until it no longer works without any
significant improvements being made to the newest devices, other than
flashy cases. Not so for digital electronics devices. It's a fact of
life, and likely will be until long after I am dust. Kodak is doing
the same thing (moving to SD cards). You can keep the old camera, or
move with the tide.

Even if you can not buy new memory cards the camera and the cards you
have will work for a long time. Besides CF will remain until long after
they introduce SD size microdrivers for professional cameras.
--
Ian G8ILZ

Larry R Harrison Jr wrote:

Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going the
way of Smart Media cards.

Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon Coolpix 2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.

I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

I would bet that there will still be a healthy market for CF 5
years from now and possibly 10. When you spot a trend towards
less availability, then buy a few more cards and that should last
you the rest of your (or your cameras) life.

Don't sweat the small stuff.


--
-- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource:
-- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--

Larry R Harrison Jr wrote:
:
: I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
: just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
: would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
: don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
: 5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
: even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

I prefer to think of the media card as being "tied" to the camera. Don't
think of it as a card you'll be moving from camera to camera as you
upgrade - just think of the card as part of the camera itself. Get a new
camera = get a new card. Not really a huge expense in the scheme of
things.

Heck, the Sandisk Ultra II 512 meg SD card is only $80 at newegg.com.
That's not a lot of dough.

-Charles

--
Charles Robinson
Minneapolis, MN

http://www.visi.com/~charlesr

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:34:05 -0700, "Larry R Harrison Jr"
wrote:

Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going the
way of Smart Media cards.

Yes, SD is more compact but then, look at how compact the Nikon Coolpix 2100
and 3100 cameras were and they were Compact Flash. Ditto the Canon Powershot
A60, A70, A75 etc. Even the Powershot S410 is Compact Flash, and that is
one tiny camera; it's one of the "Digital IXUS" series of ultra-compacts
sort of like the "Digital Elph" series.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I'd just assume manufacturers
stick more with Compact Flash, but between all of Nikon's compacts going SD,
Pentax's new *ist DS D-SLR going SD and so on, it looks like Compact Flash
may be going the way of Smart Media cards.

I guess it shouldn't bother me, but frankly the more manufacturers would
just stick with one type of card and be done with it, the better things
would be. But then, maybe that's what they're doing in the way of SD, I
don't know. Maybe I'm just nervious because I've "invested" in a Coolpix
5700 which is Compact Flash and I don't want its media becoming obselete
even though eventually I guess the camera itself will be.

Comments?

LRH


I had a neighbor who complained that he could see no problem with
tube-type tires, and didn't see why the tire companies had to muck
things up with the (then) new tubless tires.
I'll bet he complained when radials came out, too. :-)

One of the reasons memory card makers are going to smaller cards is
specifically because they allow smaller cameras.
So why do larger cameras also use them? Because a lot of people want
to only use one type of card in their cameras.
Will CF cards become obsolete? Yes. Eventually. When? Maybe soon,
maybe later. ;-)

Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"

"Larry R Harrison Jr" wrote in message
...
Frankly, I have noticed so many cameras switching to Secure Digital (SD)
cards in place of Compact Flash I'm wondering if Compact Flash is going
the
way of Smart Media cards.

It seems to me that cameras and camcorders are converging into a single
machine that can capture both hi-res photos and video. The most convenient
way to record the video would be on flash memory cards, just like we do now
for video clips on our digicams. But if we're going to be using flash memory
to store video, we're going to need huge quantities of it, because 1 hour of
video takes up ALOT of memory space. And memory cost will need to drop alot,
too.

I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe CF will always be
able to hold many times the amount of memory an SD card can hold simply
because of CF's greater volume. So, if the market goes toward video storage
on CF memory like I think it will, we'll see CF cards around for a very long
time.