xD Picture Card or Compact Flash, which is faster/better?

Empty V · Nov 26, 2007

So I just got a new camera(Fuji S9100) that accepts both CF Cards and xD cards. No housing for it yet but thought I would ask this question here anyways. I've read that the xD picture cards write faster than the CF cards. Does anyone know about this because the CF Cards are available with much higher storage capacities than the xD Picture Cards. I'm doubt I'll get a housing for this camera but thought many would benefit from the knowledge derived from the thread. That is if anyone knows the answer.

Thanks!

Billy

ScubaJW · Nov 27, 2007

xD memory cards are unbelievably faster and much better than compact flash cards based on xD's quality of pictures. If you care about the quality of the pictures, then get xD cards. xD is more expensive than CF, but well worth it. My camera requires xD and my older cameras required SD, CF and etc... I can see that xD is best by far in my opinion.

padiscubapro · Nov 27, 2007

ScubaJW:
xD memory cards are unbelievably faster and much better than compact flash cards based on xD's quality of pictures. If you care about the quality of the pictures, then get xD cards. xD is more expensive than CF, but well worth it. My camera requires xD and my older cameras required SD, CF and etc... I can see that xD is best by far in my opinion.

BS

the card has nothing to do with picture quality.. The quality and amount of compression do.. If you want the best quality you shoot RAW... cant get better than that..

Second the higher grade CF cards are MUCH faster than xd cards.. Look at any camera that can take both - like Olympus E series.. Anyone who shoots alot chooses the CF cards..
BTW the bulk write speeds on the Olympus e series cameras are some of the fastest in the industry..

jeraldjcook · Nov 27, 2007

Sorry, but compact flash trumps all in pure speed.

Comparison of memory cards - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

xD isn't even close.

All memory cards are digital, so the quality of the images are all the same. Different cards and different brands are of better quality, but that goes to reliability, not image quality.

xD-Picture Card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CompactFlash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"CompactFlash cards are considered the main form of flash storage for almost all professional photographic needs. All major camera brands such as Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus and Sony use this form of flash storage in almost all their 'Pro Cameras'. In comparison to other card formats, CompactFlash has remained the longest and most consistent performer (in terms of industry standards). CF cards are also considered far more rugged and durable to many "in the field" photographic shocks, impacts and accidents. CompactFlash cards are capable of withstanding more physical damage in comparison to other, flimsier designs. Recently a CompactFlash card was found to be still working after spending two years in a camera submerged in shallow water[6]"

That about sums it up.

ScubaJW · Nov 27, 2007

padiscubapro:
BS

the card has nothing to do with picture quality.. The quality and amount of compression do.. If you want the best quality you shoot RAW... cant get better than that..

Second the higher grade CF cards are MUCH faster than xd cards.. Look at any camera that can take both - like Olympus E series.. Anyone who shoots alot chooses the CF cards..
BTW the bulk write speeds on the Olympus e series cameras are some of the fastest in the industry..

Thanks for your "kind" post. I was saying about the speed of between photos and of course, the quality of pictures look better. I notice that my xD is faster than my older cameras (with CF, etc) with better pictures. How is that possible? I am just speaking from my experiences.

ScubaJW · Nov 27, 2007

jeraldjcook:
Sorry, but compact flash trumps all in pure speed.

Comparison of memory cards - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

xD isn't even close.

All memory cards are digital, so the quality of the images are all the same. Different cards and different brands are of better quality, but that goes to reliability, not image quality.

xD-Picture Card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CompactFlash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"CompactFlash cards are considered the main form of flash storage for almost all professional photographic needs. All major camera brands such as Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus and Sony use this form of flash storage in almost all their 'Pro Cameras'. In comparison to other card formats, CompactFlash has remained the longest and most consistent performer (in terms of industry standards). CF cards are also considered far more rugged and durable to many "in the field" photographic shocks, impacts and accidents. CompactFlash cards are capable of withstanding more physical damage in comparison to other, flimsier designs. Recently a CompactFlash card was found to be still working after spending two years in a camera submerged in shallow water[6]"

That about sums it up.

I understand that crystal clear, thanks for the explanation; however, I was speaking from my experiences. Of course, I am no tech geek.

jeraldjcook · Nov 27, 2007

ScubaJW:
I was saying about the speed of between photos and of course, the quality of pictures look better. I notice that my xD is faster than my older cameras (with CF, etc) with better pictures. How is that possible?

The easy answer is the photos look better because you bought a newer camera.

. All joking aside, all memory cards have set transfer speed, and that transfer speed is increasing at a phenomenal rate. It could just be that you CF card was a very slow card, while your xD was a newer, faster card. But given the current batch of cards, CF cards are 9x faster than xD. At 133 MB/s, CF cards are faster than your camera could possibly write, but the card will download faster to your computer.

Edit: I hope my joke came through alright, and I don't think padiscubapro meant any offense either, but when your anecdotal evidence is contrary to empirical evidence you going to get a strong response pointing it out.

ScubaJW · Nov 27, 2007

jeraldjcook:
The easy answer is the photos look better because you bought a newer camera. . All joking aside, all memory cards have set transfer speed, and that transfer speed is increasing at a phenomenal rate. It could just be that you CF card was a very slow card, while your xD was a newer, faster card. But given the current batch of cards, CF cards are 9x faster than xD. At 133 MB/s, CF cards are faster than your camera could possibly write, but the card will download faster to your computer.

That is a quite possibly that I had a slower CF card, but unfortunately, it's not with me right now to figure it out the issue here. Thanks for the clarification. :14:

Larry C · Nov 27, 2007

Another factor is the write speed of the camera. It may be that your old camera that used CF cards had a slow processor. I've been quite disappointed in the write speed of the XD cards. On my Olympus SP-350, even the high speed "H" card takes about 5-6 seconds to write a RAW file. My earlier "M" type cards took as long as 11 seconds. Camera buffer size may be an issue as well. Some DSLR's will keep several RAW shots in the buffer as you shoot continuously, while P & S cameras have to take the time to write the file to the card before you can shoot again.

Halthron · Nov 27, 2007

I've used a "high-speed" xD card on a new Olympus camera and a CF card on a new Canon. The xD is the ONLY thing I dislike about the Oly. The Oly is a nice camera except that the xD really stinks when it comes to file transfer times. I've compared the xD to an SD card (two point & shoot cameras with same MP size, yes, I have too many camera.) and the older P&S using the SD was also faster by far.

CF has more options when it comes to speed. Get the best one you can afford and it will undoubtedly be better than the best xD.

xD Picture Card or Compact Flash, which is faster/better?

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