With my recent purchase of a Canon Digital Rebel, traditional film has been replaced by more versatile media: Flash Memory. Since the camera does not come with any, I chose the Lexar 40X 256MB and here is why ...

Table of Contents:
1. Summary
2. Digital Camera Use
3. Speed: 40X
4. Write Protection
5. Jumpshot Reader
6. Software
7. Compact Flash Primer

Note: For a faster card and comparison data be sure to read about the SanDisk Ultra II compact flash.


Straight to the point ...

Let me just summarize that the LEXAR media proved to be reliable and well within expectations of a CF Type I card. The capacity of 256 MByte and speed of 40x (6 MByte/sec) are well suited to meet demanding requirements. So far I had no issues whatsoever.

And now let me explain what all that means in detail ...


Use with Digital Rebel At first blush it is quite clear that digital requires more investment to get started than traditional film cameras. Based on my Canon Digital Rebel, 256 MByte of memory are roughly equivalent to a 36 exposure film (when using maximum quality) or twice that when using JPEG with the least compression). Once increasing compression and reducing resolution, the comparison becomes sort of unfair since the quality simply does not compare. Sure, it's more pictures, but one pays the price.
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Speed: Though Lexar just introduced 80X Compact Flash memory, the 40X is still the top speed for Spec 1.0 cards and frankly more than most devices can use anyway. (6 MByte/sec.) With the use of Write Accelleration (WA) technology (a Lexar invention), the interface is pretty much maxed out. However, WA has to be supported by the camera etc. in order to gain 23% speed increase (to a total of 8 MByte/sec). All this is only relevant for in-camera use and USB 2.0 readers. (CF spec. 2.x = 16 MByte/sec max, USB 2.0 = 60 MByte/sec max.)
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Write Protection: Unlike a memory stick, the CF card does not provide a switch (or other means) to globally write protect the data and prevent unintended data loss. However, I have this feature in my Sony Handheld Computer, and I must admit to have never used it anyway. On the other hand, some cameras (like the Digital Rebel) allow to selectively protect files on the media from deletion (exception: Format).
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Jumpshot Reader: Lexar includes a USB 1.1 reader card reader in this package which allows to read Type I and Type II cards that are USB enabled. (It's not a full CF reader and non-USB memory cannot be read.) In comparison to the integrated reader in my EPSON Photo Stylus 825, the Jumpshot works about the same. Both are restricted by USB 1.1 specs which allow for a maximum transfer rate of only 1.5 MByte/sec. Hence, it still takes several seconds to download one 6.3 MegaPixel picture to the computer. Unfortunately I have currently no USB 2.0 Reader available to try out full download speed which should be at right around 6 MByte/sec (4x).
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Software: It's just memory and since I am using WindowsXP, it doesn't need any driver either. However the card comes with a set of useful tools for data recovery (i.e. restore deleted files). Unfortunately, I followed standard procedure and formated before first use. Hence, I never had a chance to try the tools. Lexar offers only online updates which require the original software to be pre-installed.

Included tools:
- Image Recovery
- Card Test
- Format Card
- Secure Erase
- Card Information
- Card Update (firmware)

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Compact Flash Primer:

Much of the information below has been taken from the standards body ... http://www.compactflash.org/

CF Type I: "At 43mm (1.7") x 36mm (1.4") x 3.3mm (0.13"), the CF Type I card's thickness is less than one-half of a current PCMCIA Type II card. It is actually one-fourth the volume of a PCMCIA card. Compared to a 68-pin PCMCIA card, a CF card has 50 pins but still conforms to ATA specs. It can be easily slipped into a passive 68-pin PCMCIA Type II to CF Type I adapter that fully meets PCMCIA electrical and mechanical interface specifications."

CF Type II: "At 43mm (1.7") x 36mm (1.4") x 5mm (0.19"), the CF Type II card's thickness is equal to a current PCMCIA Type II card. It is actually less than one-half the volume of a PCMCIA card. Compared to a 68-pin PCMCIA card, a CF card has 50 pins but still conforms to ATA specs. It can be easily slipped into a passive 68-pin PCMCIA Type II to CF Type II adapter that fully meets PCMCIA electrical and mechanical interface specifications."

"The only difference between CF Type I and CF Type II cards is the card thickness. CF Type I is 3.3 mm thick and CF Type II cards are 5mm thick. A CF Type I card will operate in a CF Type I or CF Type II slot. A CF Type II card will only fit in a CF Type II slot. The electrical interfaces are identical. CompactFlash is available in both CF Type I and CF Type II cards, though predominantly in CF Type I cards. The Microdrive is a CF+ Type II card."

"CompactFlash cards are designed with flash technology, a nonvolatile storage solution that does not require a battery to retain data indefinitely. The CompactFlash card specification version 2.0 supports data rates up to 16MB/sec and capacities up to 137GB."

For clarification, Compact Flash is classified by 2 parameters, and they are easy enough to confuse ...
1. Formfactor = Type I / Type II
2. Interface = Specification 1.0 / 2.0 (8MB/s vs. 16MB/s)

"CompactFlash storage products are solid state, meaning they contain no moving parts, and provide users with much greater protection of their data than conventional magnetic disk drives. They are five to ten times more rugged (shock: 2,000 G = drop from 10 ft or 3 m) and more reliable than disk drives including CF+ Type II microdrives (175 G). CF cards consume only five percent of the power required by small disk drives. (i.e. microdrives)"

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Recommended: Yes