Why Pentax dumped the aging CF card

On Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:07:04 -0700, RichA wrote:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...645d-1st.shtml

The 645D features a double SD slot, this came a bit as a surprise for
shooters used to CF cards in other high end camera. What are the reasons
for this choice?

Here also, we decided for SD by considering several factors.
First, we believe that SD has more potential as a long term storage
standard than CF that is sort of reaching the end of its life cycle as a
technology.

Besides, keeping the body of the 645D as compact and light as
possible was high on our list of priorities and the SD cards are
obviously smaller.

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers would be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to handle CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.



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On 10-03-27 7:19 , Neil Ellwood wrote:

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers would be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to handle CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.

When some claims are made (bent pin) in advertising, it is a fear tactic
aimed at the inexperienced. I used to have the same concern over CF and
it's turned out to be a non-issue.

Watch advertising (of all kinds) closely and you will see a lot of it
based on selling to people's fears rather than needs.


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On 2010-03-27 08:53:29 -0700, Alan Browne
said:

On 10-03-27 7:19 , Neil Ellwood wrote:

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers would be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to handle CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.

When some claims are made (bent pin) in advertising, it is a fear
tactic aimed at the inexperienced. I used to have the same concern
over CF and it's turned out to be a non-issue.

Watch advertising (of all kinds) closely and you will see a lot of it
based on selling to people's fears rather than needs.

FUD. The great Microsoft tactic.


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Regards,

Savageduck

On 10-03-27 11:55 , Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-03-27 08:53:29 -0700, Alan Browne
said:

Watch advertising (of all kinds) closely and you will see a lot of it
based on selling to people's fears rather than needs.

FUD. The great Microsoft tactic.

I was thinking more about automobile and pharmaceutical advertising.

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gmail originated posts are filtered due to spam.

On 3/27/2010 7:19 AM, Neil Ellwood wrote:
On Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:07:04 -0700, RichA wrote:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...645d-1st.shtml

The 645D features a double SD slot, this came a bit as a surprise for
shooters used to CF cards in other high end camera. What are the reasons
for this choice?

Here also, we decided for SD by considering several factors.
First, we believe that SD has more potential as a long term storage
standard than CF that is sort of reaching the end of its life cycle as a
technology.

Besides, keeping the body of the 645D as compact and light as
possible was high on our list of priorities and the SD cards are
obviously smaller.

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers would be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to handle CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.



True, but CF does seem to be going obsolete. Laptops (not sure about
desktops) don't come with CF readers built in. That's not of much
concern, but is an indication of the falling popularity of this format.
For me it's not good since I have a number of CF cards.

On 10-03-27 13:00 , Dave Cohen wrote:


True, but CF does seem to be going obsolete. Laptops (not sure about
desktops) don't come with CF readers built in. That's not of much
concern, but is an indication of the falling popularity of this format.
For me it's not good since I have a number of CF cards.

Readers are cheap. I hate dragging them around, however.

Is there a cable or slot adaptor that does CF to SD (or USB) only?
Better, FireWire.

Fumble-banana-fingers me prefers CF to the smaller cards. I wish, at
least that I could find the smaller cards in dayglo yellow or orange.

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gmail originated posts are filtered due to spam.

On 2010-03-27 10:15:34 -0700, Alan Browne
said:

On 10-03-27 13:00 , Dave Cohen wrote:


True, but CF does seem to be going obsolete. Laptops (not sure about
desktops) don't come with CF readers built in. That's not of much
concern, but is an indication of the falling popularity of this format.
For me it's not good since I have a number of CF cards.

Readers are cheap. I hate dragging them around, however.

Is there a cable or slot adaptor that does CF to SD (or USB) only?
Better, FireWire.

Fumble-banana-fingers me prefers CF to the smaller cards. I wish, at
least that I could find the smaller cards in dayglo yellow or orange.

With my Macbook Pro I use a Sonnet Pro Dual CF adaptor Expresscard/34.
http://www.sonnettech.com/PRODUCT/pr...express34.html

For those who advocate those "little" cards there is:
http://www.sonnettech.com/PRODUCT/me...writere34.html
--
Regards,

Savageduck

"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...
On 10-03-27 7:19 , Neil Ellwood wrote:

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers would
be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to handle
CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.

When some claims are made (bent pin) in advertising, it is a fear tactic
aimed at the inexperienced. I used to have the same concern over CF and
it's turned out to be a non-issue.

Watch advertising (of all kinds) closely and you will see a lot of it
based on selling to people's fears rather than needs.



LOL, no it is probably because some people have bent pins, just like lots of
people lose SD cards because they are so small, personally I have never done
either one.

Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-03-27 08:53:29 -0700, Alan Browne
said:

On 10-03-27 7:19 , Neil Ellwood wrote:

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers
would be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to
handle CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.

When some claims are made (bent pin) in advertising, it is a fear
tactic aimed at the inexperienced. I used to have the same concern
over CF and it's turned out to be a non-issue.

Watch advertising (of all kinds) closely and you will see a lot of it
based on selling to people's fears rather than needs.

FUD. The great Microsoft tactic.


Predates M$ by many years. I first heard it before there was such a
thing as M$, applied to IBM's tactics in warning people away from third
party peripherals, but it might go back much further.
Allen

Alan Browne wrote:
On 10-03-27 7:19 , Neil Ellwood wrote:

Finally, we heard complains from several photographers about
bended pin issues with CF cards that, considering the main target usage
of the camera, we wanted to avoid also.

This sounds like advertising speak. The apparent target customers
would be
advanced and professional photographers who already know how to
handle CF
cards. Advertising folk never seem to know anything about their target
audiences.

When some claims are made (bent pin) in advertising, it is a fear tactic
aimed at the inexperienced. I used to have the same concern over CF and
it's turned out to be a non-issue.
Up until about a year ago, I was working in a large camera
retail store, and it most definitely wasn't a non-issue.

It seemed that almost every week, we'd have customers (often
professionals) bringing in high-end Nikons and Canons with
bent pins. Neither Nikon or Canon would fix them under
warranty, average repair bill for a Canon was about $300 and
about $500 for a Nikon. Considering the relatively small
number of high-end pro cameras we sold, we saw a hell of a
lot of them come back with bent pins. Oddly enough, back in
the day when Canon used CF on their whole range, and we sold
huge volumes of the low end CF cameras, we saw more (actual
#'s, not just %) of the high-end cameras coming in. Perhaps
surprising, given that the owner of a $5k camera is normally
a professional, vs some of the red-necks that bought the
$1.5k cameras. But then perhaps the professional saw his $5k
camera as just a tool and treated it that way, whereas the
redneck treasured the 350D because it was hard-earned.

On a percentage sold basis, Nikon would have been far and
away the worst. I reckon it probably would have been about 1
in 2 CF Nikons came back with bent pins, some multiple times.

Not pretty when you have a professional customer ring you
late on a saturday afternoon because they are shooting a
wedding and their 2 week old D3 has failed, "no I don't have
another to give you straight away because they are like
hen's teeth and there was a 3 week wait on yours remember",
and then having to tell them that it would be away for about
a month, Nikon don't cover them under warranty and that will
be about $500 thank you very much for purchasing Nikon.

Saw more than the odd Sony with the problem too, but Sony
would usually do it under warranty. Oddly enough I don't
recall ever having an Olympus come back, but then we only
sold a small handfull of them.

Strangely enough though, we never had customers return CF
readers, although I think it is more to do with them being
used in the relatively peaceful environment of the office vs
out in the field, and maybe also to do with the fact they
were only $20 rather than $x000, so customers didn't bother
trying to get them replaced on warranty.

Watch advertising (of all kinds) closely and you will see a lot of it
based on selling to people's fears rather than needs.
I see the bent pin issue as a real problem, not FUD.




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