Compact Flash I, II, II Which one?!?!

I just bought a Canon A95 as it was highly recommended here in CPF. I like it because it used the same type media as my old digital camera. But now as I look through the Net, I find that there is so many different types? Compact Flash = I, II, II, Extreme, 35X, blah, blah, blah.... Are they all compatable with my camera? Is the difference in the read/write speeds? I'm lost!

H E L P! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

I don't know about the A95, but Compact Flash (CF) I is thiner then CF II. So the slot needs to be a little thicker. Your manual should say if it is compatible with CF II. Also most CF II cards are mini hard drives rather then true flash memory.

As for Extreme, 40X, 12X, etc. the only difference is speed. But, in reality from the tests I have seen as 40X card is not twice as fast as a 20X card. You can find fast cards at good prices, see below.

Canon has been very good with compatibility, so I imagine any card would work (except maybe CF II, and that is maybe.)

Here is an increadible deal - http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10338980&dcaid=1688

512meg for $35, and the card is about 53x rated. (I haven't seen tests on the speed though, but shold be good.)

CF II cards are not mini harddrives... just the opposite, there are microdrives that are CF II sized. I've heard these drives tend to be slower than CF memory.
Check this out slightly older article out:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/

T

tech, I don't think I understand your comment. I am saying that a microdrive is a mini hard drive. And that microdrives that are CF II sized are sold as Compact Flash Type II cards.

Microdrives tend to be cheaper then regular CF, if figuring cost per megabyte. Of course the latest greatest sizes would be an exception to this. Also the very biggest sizes of CF tend to be microdrives. Microdrives do tend to be slower, and have a larger danger of failing due to shock (dropping it), and due to mechanical failure.

BTW - dpreview and stevesdigicams are two good sites for reviews about cameras. dpreview tends more towards the professional side, or pro-am side, Steves, vice versa.

Hope this helps.

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tech said:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/



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Nice article.

Thanks guys.

Now what's a Micro Drive /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/Christo_pull_hair.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

From techweb.com

techencyclopedia
techweb
Results found for: Microdrive

Microdrive

An ultra-miniature hard disk from IBM that was introduced in 1998. Using a single platter the size of an American quarter that holds up to 5GB and using one or two GMR heads, the Microdrive is built into a Type II CompactFlash form factor. The tiny elements inside a drive of this size is quite an advantage. For example, since the actuator has 50 times less inertia than one in a larger drive, it can ramp up to full speed in half a second. As a result, the drive can stop spinning when data are not being accessed, which conserves power in handheld devices. See actuator and CompactFlash.

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Or in other words, there are two type of CF cards. Memory and micro hard drive.

Darkcobra,

I have an A95, and it only takes type I compact flash, meaning no micro-drives/CF II. I bought a San Disk 1GB (40x I believe?) compact flash card for about $90 or so, at my local photography store, and I have been very happy with it.

Thanks for the info guys... I saw a deal at Best Buy where Sandisk 256Mb cards were $39.99 with a $15.00 rebate = $24.99. So I bought 3 (256)cards. I like having a lot of smaller cards rather than 1 big card. Lose 1 card on vaction, you might still have 2 cards that still has pictures /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

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Darkcobra said:
Thanks for the info guys... I saw a deal at Best Buy where Sandisk 256Mb cards were $39.99 with a $15.00 rebate = $24.99. So I bought 3 (256)cards. I like having a lot of smaller cards rather than 1 big card. Lose 1 card on vaction, you might still have 2 cards that still has pictures /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

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You could have one big card that stays in the camera & won't get lost but then you might lose the camera... or you might the other 2 cards...or what if those 2 other card were empty... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif ok, nvm... it's late here... I need sleep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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flashlight said:
You could have one big card that stays in the camera & won't get lost but then you might lose the camera... or you might the other 2 cards...or what if those 2 other card were empty... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif ok, nvm... it's late here... I need sleep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Yes, it can get into a never ending cycle of scenarios /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif