flash card formats

[ribitch]

So i picked up a 512MB xD card this week for my Fuji S 5000z. I love this format the more I use it. I have found that taking a picture in RAW mode (6.5MB image size), I have next to no wait time. The camera can take several pictures before the buffer fills up.

Anyways, I started to look for speeds of the current card formats that are out there. I have every type of farmat currently in use except for Sonys Memory sticks.

The more I use xD, the more I prefer it. I used to prefer CF cards, and had lots of concerns about switching to xD for my camera. How I have CF cards for my Nikon and Zaurus, SD for my Canon ZR60 and my Zaurus, smartmedia for a Rio 500, and MMC for an old Audiovox MP3 player. Most of my cards at this point are CF cards. I have the most storage in xD cards though (1 16MB, 1 128MB, and 1 512MB).

What does everyone else prefer. Also, is there any sort of chart comparing all formats including their read and write speeds, power consumption, and maximum potential capacity. Here are a few that I have found:

Memory Stick Pro
WRITE - 1.8MB/sec

xD
WRITE - 3MB/sec


Preferred formats:
1 - xD
2 - Compact Flash

[kimchicowboy]

are there any generic makers of xD yet? it's so darn expensive.

[ribitch]

Originally posted by kimchicowboy
are there any generic makers of xD yet? it's so darn expensive.

lexar and sandisk have licensed it. Prices are all about the same. I bought my 512MB card for 154 from bestbuy B&M. I couldnt find anyone else that cheap.

[ski]

for $199, you can get a 4GB CF card, can't beat that :)

I prefer CF and SD, mainly because the SD is interchangable between my PDA and digital camera, and possibly smartphone when they come down in price in 2-3 years :P

[kimchicowboy]

i've been reading up on the 4GB microdrive because i have two cousins, one with a digital rebel and the other with the sony 8 megapixel camera. apparently, creative has been soldering the drive making it really difficult to remove.

[ski]

This might go for under $300 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2989461362&category=50519)

Still a good deal for bytes per money.

[ribitch]

anyone know any write speeds?

microdrives are nice, but in the long run you still have moving parts.

How do they work in cameras? Are they always spinning, or are they like an iPod and only spinup when needed.

The downside to the microdrives is also battery life. Using a pair of 1600's, my camera lasted a whopping 5hr 31 minutes. the longest from any camera in this class at the time of this review:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms5000/page8.asp