Sony is now the only manufacturer of XQD memory cards

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Might be a good time to get a great deal on an XQD D5.

Couldn't come at a worse time for Nikon though...they don't need yet another reason for people to consider other brands right now.


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spb_stan

Senior Member
Few still cameras use the XQD card but pro video cameras are the main user of them, which is why Sony started making them since they have several high end video cameras that use them.
Someone will buy the rights from Lexar because it is pretty good technology that can transfer 1gigbit/second. Besides the pro video gear, their new A9 sports pro mirrorless has two XQD card slots. The format is not going to disappear since it has become a pro standard.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
Few still cameras use the XQD card but pro video cameras are the main user of them, which is why Sony started making them since they have several high end video cameras that use them.
Someone will buy the rights from Lexar because it is pretty good technology that can transfer 1gigbit/second. Besides the pro video gear, their new A9 sports pro mirrorless has two XQD card slots. The format is not going to disappear since it has become a pro standard.

I didn't know this. So the XQD is not going anywhere.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Besides the pro video gear, their new A9 sports pro mirrorless has two XQD card slots.

I was interested in this angle as I had not heard this either. According to B&H and Adorama though, this is incorrect. The new Alpha A9 still uses SD cards, not the XQD cards. From Sony's site (where I went to make sure the dealers weren't wrong), https://www.sony.com/electronics/interchangeable-lens-cameras/ilce-9/specifications :

[FONT=&quot]MEMORY CARD SLOT[/FONT]SLOT1:Slot for SD(UHS-I/II compliant) memory card, SLOT2:Multi slot for Memory Stick Duo/SD(UHS-I compliant) memory card

So maybe the pro video bodies use the format, but not the mirrorless cameras.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
I remembered the pre-release specs in the press release saying it has two XQD card slots. Maybe they did two versions, like the D5 but seeing a negative reaction from customers, released on the slower version.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Without completion, will Sony have any incentive to drive down the price or increase the performance of the XQD card? I think not. Which means, how long before the performance of the SD cards match the current XQD cards? Finally, lets us not forget that the title "Pro" has historically been connected to "expensive". Those that already need XQD cards, stock up now before the price increase. Those that are still on the fence about a D500 or D5, demand Nikon produce a two SD version.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
If Nikon does this, they will become the Barney Fife of the camera industry and shoot themselves in the foot :nightmare:

After a post from Pete and a look around the web i think my D500 is going to have the XQD card left in and used as in camera memory for back up (removed once a month to try and keep contacts clean) and the fastest SD card i can use as a primary card.
I dont think i will need to run the D500 at full belt.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Those that are still on the fence about a D500 or D5, demand Nikon produce a two SD version.

I don't see that as a realistic option. The D5 already has a dual CF version, where XQD is to replace CF. With the D810 being split SD and CF, I would anticipate a dual CF D500 before a dual SD variant.

Has any Nikon pro body ever been SD?



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Bikerbrent

Senior Member
I don't see that as a realistic option. The D5 already has a dual CF version, where XQD is to replace CF. With the D810 being split SD and CF, I would anticipate a dual CF D500 before a dual SD variant.
Has any Nikon pro body ever been SD?
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OK! A dual CF D500, D5 and D810 successor would be better than a system using dead or near dead XQD technology.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I'm sure everything will be fine. I mean we're all still using Sony Betamax and Sony Memory Stick, aren't we? Oh, and Sony SuperAudio CD and Sony UMD Video, right?!

So yeah... I'm confident XQD's future is on equally solid footing!
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
I'm sure everything will be fine. I mean we're all still using Sony Betamax and Sony Memory Stick, aren't we? Oh, and Sony SuperAudio CD and Sony UMD Video, right?!

So yeah... I'm confident XQD's future is on equally solid footing!

And of course, I am still using my Sony Palm pilot the Sony stopped supporting the day they stopped making them, Which was just a few weeks after I bought one.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
The card is not going away because another manufacturer will surely jump in to buy Lexar technology. A ready made market, even if limited to pros, and cheap to buy tech will attract lots of corporate interest. This card was not abandoned, but the entire consumer market. Another memory company will surely buy the rights. Maybe Samsung since they are a major raw memory foundry but most likely a Chinese company which buys up all tech it can find and are masters as production. If that happens,Sony will have very strong competition in that would drive prices down.
Has any viable technology not been grabbed by another company when one company exits a field? I can't think of one.
Remember when IBM abandoned personal computers and their laptops after losing lots of money. The decision was not even announced before a company in China bought the rights and had new higher feature models out, from a small company no one had heard of. Now people know it, Lenovo as the biggest seller of laptops in the world. They also hired more US employees in the US than IBM had in that division. They also bought the Intel server rights in 2014 and turned that into a profitable business that Intel was losing money in. Don't worry, if any market is there...there is...a smart aggressive Asian company will snap it up and make a success of it.
Heck, even abandoned vinyl record production facilities were snapped up when most thought it was dead but now outsell CD by a wide margin.

Until another maker comes in, the D500 and D5 might take a serious price hit so maybe I can buy one of each "worthless" cameras. Anyone want to sell me their D5 cheap now that it is worthless?
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Betamax was the standard for pro video production for many years. XQD is certainly not near death. The sky is not falling, Chicken Little. :)

I do think that XQD cards will remain pricey, but have you seen prices for CFast cards?
 
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