Are you pissed off about CF cards being phased out too???!!

[vtohthree]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I guess the closest thing is video since I referring to digital camera's, particularly the Canon A-series. Has anyone noticed how more and more Canon camera's no longer use CF cards? One by one they are phasing it out and moving into SD cards.

This pisses me off. Ok, I'll say, gee wow, its amazing that they can fit that much in that tiny SD card, but is it really necessary? I have some very strong opinions against SD cards being in digital cameras(nothing wrong with the format, just I prefer CF any day).

here are some:
*CF cards have more potential for larger capacities due to their larger physical volume
*CF cards are more cost efficient per MB over SD cards(esp looking at CFII format)
*CF cards are arguably more physically durable than SD cards(not openly exposed contacts or near paper thin thickness)

I had some more, but it's late now and I can't think of them now. BUT, as you can see, the CF format is not TOO large physically to be a hinderance, and that plays an ADVANTAGE, imo, it makes it more durable, more potential for capacity growth(harder to cram 8+gigabytes on the tiny SD card), and more easy to manufacture, thus sparring costs.

I can understand SD cards being in ultra-ultra-ultra compact digital camera's, but a full bodied or nicely gripped camera has no excuse.

I am UTTERLY dissappointed that the Canon IS2 switched to SD format, and even more so that the IS3 follows the new trend, not to mention ALL the new mainstream Canon A-series(my once favorite). I'd love to stick in a huge and cost effective CF card into one of those nice cameras and shoot away!

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I hope to revive the CF card back into Digital camera's! If you agree with me, give me a shout out! And help me fight! I wrote Canon several complaint letters and they are really good about responding. If I can get a petition or enough of you guys out there to spread this fight, we can get canon's attention!!!!

 

[vtohthree]

ah crap, I already noticed my missing words in the sentences, forgive me, haha, it's really late and I wanted to post this before I went to bed. I'll edit the mistakes later.

 

[imported_goku]

Yea I really like using my CF cards but because the technology dates back to like 1995, the companies just want to phase it out. They still use CF cards in the higher end cameras though so..

 

[vtohthree]

Originally posted by: goku
Yea I really like using my CF cards but because the technology dates back to like 1995, the companies just want to phase it out. They still use CF cards in the higher end cameras though so..

You're right, but thats the thing, even if it is old...there's nothing wrong with it of the current(that I know of), and it seems performance is equal as well, whenever Sandisk releases a new version of the Extreme series flash media, they both equal out for data transfer speeds.

With CFII, you can make your device have a mini hard drive, for example, my PDA serves me as an Ipod/video player, for only $100 more I get the 5gig CFII, and it only gets cheaper.. I remember I saw a 4 gig CF I card(solid state) for under $200, that's decent, and if it still had growing demand, I'm sure CF I cards would only get bigger and cheaper, and definately at a faster rate than SD media could ever touch.

Darn industry movement...where's the market control? the consumer's voice? let's flex out muscles haha...(that is if you agree =P)

 

[imported_goku]

I flex my "spending muscles" by trying to buy products using the same media format, only decies I have that support SD is my cellphone (MINI SD) and video camera, too many media formats is a BAD thing.

 

[Golgatha]

*CF cards have more potential for larger capacities due to their larger physical volume
*CF cards are more cost efficient per MB over SD cards(esp looking at CFII format)
*CF cards are arguably more physically durable than SD cards(not openly exposed contacts or near paper thin thickness)

2GB or 4GB not enough for your digital camera? CF has like 40pins to bend over internally that have to line up to those 40 holes on the media, which can get clogged with dust, etc. Those open contacts on SD are physically a much wider surface to make electrical contact to and the internal connection is smaller and cheaper to manufacture. The hard drive CF format drives are pretty much only good for large, professional digital SLRs IMO. Nice and fast for those 12MP stills taken with a steadied camera attached to a tripod. I don't want mechanical stuff that small in my point and shoot digital camera. I suppose another selling point of SD over CF is that PDAs can share the memory cards back and forth. Normally PDA manufacturers choose SD over CF due to space concerns. Finally, the SD format can take mini-SD (used in cell phones, etc.) cards through the use of a simple adapter.

Now why we went from MMC to SD, I'll never know (DRM) .

 

[darkswordsman17]

Personally, I'm glad that they're doing this.

Less formats is better.

Also, SD is so much smaller.

With how quickly they're upping the capacity of it, I don't really see a downside to migrating to SD for most portable devices (digicams, PDAs, etc.).

 

[vtohthree]

"The hard drive CF format drives are pretty much only good for large, professional digital SLRs IMO. Nice and fast for those 12MP stills taken with a steadied camera attached to a tripod. I don't want mechanical stuff that small in my point and shoot digital camera. I suppose another selling point of SD over CF is that PDAs can share the memory cards back and forth. Normally PDA manufacturers choose SD over CF due to space concerns."

Me niether I wouldn't really want or need that much in a point and shoot(maybe an IS2 with unlimited video capturing abilities it would be nice in), but it was an arguing point of how versatile the CF format was because of its size(not that its huge, just big enough to cram a spindle platter).

I don't know about most PDA's only supporting SD because the big players of PPC's seem to support CCF, key word "PPC"(Dell and HP especially), not Palm's, never have. Although the lifedrive mind as well, it's so thick and huge with just a 4gig internal hard drive, again I could get further with swapping in and out a CFII card for relatively cheap, and it would be even cheaper if they kept pursuing it.

 

[RelaxTheMind]

kind of how they phased out agp 8x when it never really saw its potential...sata150 as well... would be cool if Floppy disks had a "real" replacement as a standard.

 

[nitromullet]

I thought you were mad about ATI getting rid of CrossFire cards (not that they are)... I guess there is more to the Video forum than just gaming cards. I'm not even sure what type of card my camera uses.

 

[aka1nas]

CF also has the advantage of being pin-compatible with PCMCIA (the pins are just closer together than a PCMCIA card). That is why the adapters are so cheap as they don't require any logic. It's also much easier to adapt CF to IDE for use in hobbyist projects.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: vtohthree


I am UTTERLY dissappointed that the Canon IS2 switched to SD format, and even more so that the IS3 follows the new trend, not to mention ALL the new mainstream Canon A-series(my once favorite). I'd love to stick in a huge and cost effective CF card into one of those nice cameras and shoot away!

I agree with you 100%. I currently own an S1 IS and 5GB CF Type II microdrive, which works quite well for shooting a lot of video (or a lot of pictures over a period of several days). I don't think it's yet economical to buy that much storage in SD format, and it's not as if the S-series are small cameras anyway. But I want the S3 later this year, so I guess I've got no choice. :roll:

 

[vtohthree]

Nooo, but you can have a choice, at least let the maker know how you feel. I believe if Canon get's enough complaint letters, and even a good petition(one that is enough to spank them), then they will at least seriously consider dual support in their upcoming camera's.

I've written two letters already and recieved an actual response, and I know there are a lot of others out there who aren't too happy with this change either.

 

[vtohthree]

sorry, I'm only bumping this so people can see the letter.


Dear XXXXX:

Thank you for contacting Canon product support. We value you as a Canon
customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you. We apologize for
any disappointment with regards to our new digital cameras using the SD
memory card technology.

Decisions are made by our engineers and product designers in Japan,
based on a number of factors. Consumer demand, technological
limitations, and customer feedback are all taken in to consideration.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with an exact reason why CF
cards are being phased out.

Your comments are noted and will be passed along to the appropriate
party.

Please feel free to contact us again if you have any other questions or
concerns.

Sincerely,

Angela
Technical Support Representative