Today the Walmart lady told me CF memory is being phased out

[lucyanna girl]

This lady works in the photo dept. and usually seems fairly knowledgeable but this time I think she is wrong, at least I hope so since we made up our minds today to go ahead and order Sarah a Canon 7D for graduation.

I was checking to see if they carry CF memory at our local store. She told me I need to find some and stock up if I need it because she just found out it will not be made much longer because the newer cameras will not use CF.

Surely she is wrong?

Penny

 

[wildeflowers]

I haven't heard that.

Every single DSLR our business owns takes CF cards. Every other pro I know uses boatloads of CF cards. If they discontinued CF cards, it will be years before they are actually phased out because there is such high demand for them.

Did she perhaps mean Wal Mart itself was phasing them out of the stores? Just another reason not to shop there.

 

[disneyboy2003]

At least for Canon, the entry-level dSLRs only use SD / SDHC cards. Starting in 2008, the Canon Rebel XSi was the first of the Canons to switch from CF cards to SD/SDHC cards. Actually, I think *all* the entry-level dSLRs from all the different manufacturers are using SD / SDHC cards. So in a way, the Walmart employee is partially correct.

However, for Canon dSLRs, once you go even 1 step above entry-level dSLRs, it's all CF cards from there. And all the professional-level dSLRs from all the manufacturers all use CF cards. Even Sony's α900 (their professional-level dSLR at $2699) uses both CF and Memory Stick Duo cards.

CF cards are gonna be around for quite a while...at least in the foreseeable future (not including Walmart).

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Is CF a superior form of memory? If all the manufacturers use them in all their models above entry level there has to be a reason for it! Why are they better?

 

[photo_chick]

Walmart associates do not know anything. They have no training in the photo department beyond the basic operation of their equipment, and even that is a stretch for some associates.They don't even know what they will be carrying in their stores next week because the warehouses make that decision for them. I know, I used to be one.

Now... the entry level DSLR's have been switching over to SD cards, but the more professional DSLR's still use CF cards and I don't see that changing anytime in the next couple years.

Edited to add... it should be noted here that Walmart only carries entry level DSLR's in their stores, most stores only having Canon and Nikon at most. That may be what gave the associate that impression. And I wouldn't buy your CF cards from Walmart anyway. I've never seen them carry high speed cards adn that is what you will need with the 7D unless you want a busy signal often. Check out newegg.com or someplace like that for cards.

 

[disneyboy2003]

Is CF a superior form of memory? If all the manufacturers use them in all their models above entry level there has to be a reason for it! Why are they better?

There are probably several reasons why higher-end cameras use CF cards vs SD cards.

1. Legacy. If you're a professional photographer with a higher-end camera, you've probably been using CF cards for many many years. So your camera bag is likely full of CF cards. Although memory is pretty cheap these days, switching from a stack-full of CF cards to a stack-full of SD cards isn't an insignificant expense.

On the other hand, someone who's buying an entry-level dSLR probably hasn't made a prior huge investment in CF cards. And if they've had a point-and-shoot camera in the past, they might already have SD cards lying around. For these reasons, it's okay for an entry-level dSLR to use SD cards.


2. More rugged. CF cards are larger (the size of a matchbook) and are pretty rugged. SD cards are smaller (the size of a postage stamp) and feel less rugged. To me, I feel like I can bend and break an SD card pretty easily. I can also lose an SD card pretty easily too. If I stuck an SD card in a pocket, it's easy for me to overlook during a "patdown" right before laundry time.

CF cards feel more firm & rugged and can take quite a beating. They're also easier to find during the pre-laundry patdown. Or, if I'm shooting and want to switch memory cards, I can find my spare CF card easier in my pocket and probably less likely to lose compared to a tiny SD card. If you're shooting for an assignment or as a profession, you can't afford to lose your memory card.


3. CF cards have faster maximum speeds. I'm not sure if you'll notice this in regular day-to-day shooting, but CF cards can go as fast as 600x (90 MB/sec advertised, 30-50 MB/sec in real life). I use 300x CF cards (45MB/sec advertised, 23-35 MB/sec in real life). If your camera can take advantage of these faster speeds, then it's an advantage when you shoot in burst mode, like for sports photography.

I believe Lexar's & SanDisk's fastest SD cards are 133x (15 MB/sec advertised speed).


4. SD cards keep changing. Remember owning an SD card (not SDHC)? The maximum size of those SD cards was 2GB or 4GB. And then SDHC cards came out, and their maximum size is 32GB. Unfortunately, you can't use these SDHC cards with your older cameras because those cameras won't recognize SDHC. And a new version of SD cards is becoming more commonplace: the SDXC. Will your camera today recognize tomorrow's SDXC cards?

CF cards are and have been pretty standard. The CF cards you buy today actually work in yesterday's cameras.


I think these are some of the major (and minor) reasons that higher-level cameras continue to use CF cards. Of course, I'm no expert in memory cards, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[rtphokie]

WalMart is only going to cary what they can sell.

WalMart probably sells most of their memory cards to new camera owners. So they are going to focus on the format that new consumer models use. Existing consumer model owners probably dont buy that many new cards and pros tend to buy online and buy higher performance/quality cards than what is sold at WalMart.

 

[GrillMouster]

She's wrong. Practically every week a company announces an upcoming CF card with faster read/write speeds and higher capacity. In fact, just a couple of months ago the CompactFlash Association announced a new CF5.0 specification enabling 48-bit support and a max capacity of 144 petabytes (1 PB = 1000 terabytes). Not that such a card will actually be manufactured, but the new specification makes it possible. A 144 PB CF card would be able to store all the written works by mankind since the beginning of recorded history in all languages three times over. With so much effort going into the CF standard, I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon.

It's possible that CF cards are being phased out of her Wal-Mart store. Although Wal-Mart does sell higher-end electronics (including pro DSLRs, which accept CF cards) online, their brick & mortar stores usually only carry point & shoot cameras through "beginner" DSLRs. The reason "beginner" DSLRs often accept SD cards is because SD cards are what consumers interested in "upgrading" from a point-and-shoot would already have in stock.

 

[Iwant2BAprincess]

I miss my CF cards My xt to them and they seemed so much faster. I never got busy signals with them but with the SDHC and my T1i it happens regularly

 

[trickiwoo]

Around where I live it's VERY difficult to find CF cards in stores. So I just buy mine online. There's better deals online anyway.

 

[ssanders79]

As long as you can still buy floppy discs I would not worry about stocking up on CF cards.

 

[jajomo0118]

WalMart is only going to cary what they can sell.

WalMart probably sells most of their memory cards to new camera owners. So they are going to focus on the format that new consumer models use. Existing consumer model owners probably dont buy that many new cards and pros tend to buy online and buy higher performance/quality cards than what is sold at WalMart.

This is true..Walmart is reducing all departments it what they carry. They are stream lining the stores with only the most popular items. Since P&S sales and SD cards are their biggest inventory I would imagine that's why they are discontinuing CF at the stores.

 

[saturndb]

As long as you can still buy floppy discs I would not worry about stocking up on CF cards.