CF vs SD cards

Dave_W

The Dude
Is there any real reason a D800 shooter would prefer a CF card over an SD card? I've a ton of very fast SD cards from owning a D7000 but my CF cards date back to my D70s, which I'm sure are far too slow for the D800. In addition, the CF cards tend to be +2x the price of SD cards. I realize that the bulk of D800 owners are former D700 owners and the CF storage is a "legacy" addition (according to Nikon) so is there any reason I should belly up for the more expensive CF cards over SD cards short of just having a second card available?
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
The real reason if you have a ton of CF cards, I always envy the SD card folks. I think the CF cards had a speed advantage over the SD cards initially but that's old news. I've wondered if you open up a CF if there isn't a SD card in there.
 
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I don't have the option with my D3100 but I thought it was any interesting question so Google to the rescue. I found as many different answers as there were hits with Google. So as with any other thing Use what works best for you. If the SD does what you need it to and you have them.....Save your money because you will need it for the next attack of NAS
 

matt10nick

New member
DP Review shows that in the D800, the top San Disk compact flash just out performs the San Disk SD cards. The difference might even be more pronounced with Lexar. Their top of the line CF cards are rated at 150 MB/s where their SDs are only at 90 MB/s. Those Lexar numbers are read speed though, the difference might not hold true though writes. Personally, I'm lucky. My cards are so old that no matter what I use, CF or SD, I'll have to buy new cards when I get a new camera.

Nikon D800 Review: Digital Photography Review.
Lexar® Professional 1000x CompactFlash® Card | Lexar
Lexar® Professional 600x SDXC
 

fotojack

Senior Member
Advantages....disadvantages. I don't know........doesn't make any difference to me, as long as they both do what they're supposed to do. And I don't really care about how fast the write speed is, or read speed. I'm not in that much of a hurry for it to bother me. Maybe it's because I'm the patient type. :) My D40 takes SD.......my D200 takes CF. The fastest CF card I have is a Lexar 4GB Platinum II 80X. Works just fine. Never had a problem with it. I'll keep using it till it self distructs! :)

Also, I like the fact that the CF cards are thicker and therefor more robust; less prone to bending damage. Easier to see, too. ;)
 

gqtuazon

Gear Head
CF has faster transfer rate. You will see the difference in clearing the buffer much faster especially if you shoot at a higher (but slow compared to D7000) fps. File transfer is also much faster compared to SD cards. My now whimpy 8gb CF cards can only shoot around 90 - 100 shots using raw plus jpg.

In anticipation for the D800, I now have a 400x 64 gb CF card & two 8gb cards; one -128gb 133x sd, one - 32gb 133x and two 16gb cards. All are either made by Lexar or Sansdisk.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Thanks, I would like to pick one up so as to have a second card in the camera. Having gotten so use to the D7000 and the 2 SD cards that I'm having a problem with an empty memory slot. It just looks so lonely... :eek:
 

stmv

Senior Member
also, take a look at the manual, there is a maximum transfer rate of the D800, which beyound that point, just a waste of money buying the faster CF card. Have to take a look, but think it is around 90 M/sec. might be wrong, but the message is the same, check the spec, and don't waste money on buying cards faster, but just buy the largest card, for the cheapest price at close to the camera spec transfer rate.
 
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