Congratulations Alex Vincent, March 2024 PFRE Photographer of the Month! The theme this month was "Kitchen". Alex Vincent - #906 Yvonne Raaijmakers - #909 Peter Wingfield - #902 Here's what Alex has to say: Thank you for the award of Photographer of th ...
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Due to the ability of compact flashcards to effectively store photos and footage in digital cameras, there is a significant increase in popularity. As a photographer, your goal is to get the best compact flash card. Below is all you may need to know about compact flash cards.
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The nightmare of every photographer is a memory card failure when shooting scenes. In this review, I focus on the best compact flash card that might serve you without failure.
The Lexar Professional 256GB is excellent for professional videographers and photographers who need bigger space to store the large files, making it the best overall on my list.
Coming with a whopping 256GB capacity, it allows you to shoot photos and footage for extended periods without the need to transfer or frequently change cards, even when shooting in the RAW format.
The video performance is better than other cards like the SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB because of VPG-65 (video performance guarantee), with the video format write speed constantly above 65MB/s.
It comes with impressive write and read speeds, 155MB/s and 160MB/s, respectively, ensuring a smooth workflow. It's a UDMA 7 category compact flash card, allowing you to recover your files using the image rescue software if you accidentally lose them.
It also has a background compatibility with UHS-I and Class 10 devices, unlike the Delkin 128GB. However, the card's speed is sometimes affected on devices that don't have V60 and UHS-II support, which is its biggest downside.
Although the image rescue software helps recover the lost files, there is no guarantee of recovering the lost files, and so you need to take care of your files.
The SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB is a great compact flash card that will allow you to shoot over 3000 images in multiple sessions. Typically, it enables you to take five or six RAW shots even before the camera begins to buffer, something that you won’t see in other cards like the Delkin 128GB.
For video formats, it has excellent video data writing speed of around 65MB/s, ensuring effortless workflow. It features a read speed of 160MB/s, a top write speed of 150MB/s, and a minimum of 65MB/s, appealing speeds for real estate photographers.
Besides, it's optimized for 4K recording, with constant high-speed RAW shooting, impressive for videography. Although it has a high capacity, sometimes it crashes when shooting videos, which is its biggest downside.
It features an RTV silicone coating for vibration protection and a jewel case that further improves its protection.
Like the Lexar Professional 256GB, it’s appealing to videographers due to the VPG-65 certification cover with a UDMA 7 rating. The transfer speed is quite good if you want to quickly transfer the footage or photos and continue shooting.
The SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB is a high-quality compact flash card that will allow you to capture up to 2560 RAW files, with an average of 25MB per file. The write and read speed are also adequate for everyday
It means that you can shoot around two images every second apart before the buffering begins. However, this speed is not that appealing compared to that of the Lexar Professional 64GB.
Coming with a UDMA 7 rating, it's a great compact flash card for mid-range DSLRs, with the fast write speed significantly minimizing the lag between consecutive shots. Besides, it allows you to shoot footage in full HD.
If you opt to shoot using the JPEG format, you can even capture more files than when using the memory-consuming RAW files. Although the capacity is much less than the Delkin 128GB, the better transfer speed will allow you to transfer files into a different location and continue shooting.
However, the transfer speeds considerably reduce when transferring large files, which might inconvenience you.
If you want speed, consider the Lexar Professional 64GB high-capacity card. It's ideal for videographers and photographers who handle extensive shooting tasks.
It has an excellent read speed of around 300MB/s, the best on my list, allowing your camera to buffer optimally. Besides, the write speed is better than that of the Lexar 1066 x 256GB, going up to 275MB/s, allowing you to shoot 11 images in a second without buffering.
Like the SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB, the 64GB capacity is perfect for everyday videography and
It uses the UHS-II bus to support the sophisticated DSLR functionalities, including rapid shooting, continuous shutter bursts, and JPEG captures. It performs well in videography, including 3D, 4K, and 1080 pixels full HD.
Featuring the V90 speed class rating, its video format capturing speed can't reduce below 90MB/s. This compact flash card can withstand extreme temperatures, allowing you to shoot even in desert conditions.
The Delkin 128GB combines reliability and industrial strength with fast performance, making it ideal for professional photographers and videographers on the go.
Like the SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB, Delkin 128GB comes with a big storage capacity of 128GB, allowing you to shoot for extended periods without the need to free up space. It suits well for full HD video captures at high frame rates and 3D, 4K, JPEG, and RAW captures.
Although its 90MB/s maximum read and write speed is less appealing than the one in the Lexar Professional 64GB, it comes with a V30 speed class rating, ensuring the speed won't drop below 30MB/s.
Besides, the speed ensures you can transfer the files swiftly from the card to the computer and resume your shooting tasks.
The speed eliminates the random stopping of the frames, ensuring the files are safely written on the card. It features a rugged design to withstand impacts up to 45 pounds impact, making it reliable and virtually unbreakable.
Typically, it's around three times stronger than a standard compact flash card. It’s capable of withstanding temperatures from -13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit, virtually usable in any weather condition.
When taking pictures or recording videos, the compact flash card is your primary storage device before transferring your files to the computer or sharing them with a mobile phone.
You can use the following features to identify a compact flash card that is compatible with your camera, and that can suit your storage needs. Moreover, the table below breaks down the key features that can affect the overall performance and usability of the compact flash card.
| Flashes | Camera flash | Guide Number | Product Dimensions (Inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nikon SB-5000 | Slave | 34.5m/113ft | 2.87 x 5.39 x 4.07 |
| Nikon SB-700 | Mount | 92° at ISO 100 | 4.1 x 2.8 x 5 |
| Yongnuo YN560 IV | Slave | 190° at ISO 100 | 2.36 x 7.48 x 3.07 |
| Nikon SB-600 | Built-in | ISO 200 at 35mm zoom | 2.7 x 3.5 x 4.9 |
| Godox TT685N | Built-in | 190 at ISO 100 | 2.36 x 2.95 x 7.48 |
Usually, you don't want a compact flash card that will run out of storage space after taking several RAW images or recording a short clip of a 4K or 1080p video. In compact flash cards, the storage capacity is indicated in GB or TB.
Considering that a RAW image can have a file size of 20 to 40 MB depending on the sensor size and megapixels of the camera, you need to estimate the number of images you plan to take before transferring to the computer or external storage. This gives you a clue on the best storage capacity to go for.
For instance, if you are taking photos the whole day and transferring them to another storage device at the end of the day, consider getting a compact flash card with a higher storage capacity, such as the Lexar Professional 256GB.
Write speed refers to the speed at which the compact flash card can receive and save the image data. The write speed is an important feature to consider as it determines how fast the card can save the images.
For instance, if you are shooting RAW images using the burst mode, the card should be able to save continuously. If the card is unable to save at high speed, it will buffer, reducing the overall shooting speed. The same applies when shooting videos using a high resolution, such as 4K.
As a result, if you are taking RAW images using the continuous shooting mode, consider going for a compact flash card with a high write speed, such as the Lexar Professional 64GB.
Read speed refers to the speed at which the compact flash card can retrieve the data and display it on the camera screen on command. In most compact flash cards, the read speed is higher than the write speed.
If you are shooting a large collection of photos and there are chances the compact flash card will run out of storage space and require you to transfer some files to relieve space, consider going for one with a higher read speed, such as the Lexar Professional 64GB.
The last thing you might want is to take your photos and videos only to lose the files because the compact flash card is corrupted. In most cases, it's not possible to recover the files once the card is corrupted, and the only logical option is to format the card and start afresh.
The best way to avoid such a scenario is to get a memory card with a reputation for reliability, such as the SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB. For example, this card can withstand shock, moisture, extreme temperatures, and x-rays without losing data.
Normally, Compact Flash Cards are durable and more than twice the speed of SD cards. This is because compact flash cards are non-volatile, making them non-destructible even when there are power surges, such as when using a faulty computer power supply. The SD cards are less durable because they tend to be destroyed by power problems in the computer.
Yes, the Compact Flash cards are still used to store data in a wider variety of computing devices. Nowadays, Compact Flash is used as a portable memory card in high-end digital video and photo cameras such as the Nikon, Sony, and Canon cameras.
For a modern compact flash such as the Lexar Professional 64GB, the speed is high, up to 300 MB/s read speed and 275 MB/s write speed. This requires a USB 3.0 data transfer rate as a direct connection to the device motherboard has a limited speed because the IDE to Compact flash card does not have ATA cable support.
As a photographer, keep in mind the device compatibility and limitations with the flashcard. You may be wondering which compact flash card will fit you best. Although flashcards vary in speed and capacity, any of the above flashcards will serve you right.
