Compactflash -- Engadget

PhotoFast CR-7100 MicroSDHC adapter helps obsolete CF cards

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jun 26th 2009 at 10:16AM

That noise you hear is the sobering death rattle of the CompactFlash memory format. Allegiance to the now decidedly less than compact memory sticks seems to keep crumbling away bit by bit. The latest assault comes in the form of this here converter, capable of utilizing a MicroSDHC card in the high-end camera of your choice. The CR-7100 is available in Japan now for ¥2,980, or about 31 greenbacks. Here's hoping this agent of memory interoperability nirvana shows up in US and European markets sooner rather than later.

[Via Akihabara News]

Pretec 32GB SDXC, 666x CF card and 64GB ExpressCard SSD eyes-on

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 6th 2009 at 4:17PM

We first caught wind of SDXC back at CES, and just today Pretec announced the world's first SDXC card. Much to our pleasure, said card was on hand at the outfit's booth at CeBIT. Sadly, we were forced to photograph the one behind the glass bubble, as some incredibly evil individual managed to swipe the product sample from the outfit's booth last night (seriously, the Polizei are out for you!). Also on hand was a devilishly fast 666x CompactFlash card along with a mighty capacious 100GB CF card that hums along at 233x. Last, but certainly not least, was the 64GB ExpressCard SSD, which looked suspiciously like most every other ExpressCard we've ever seen. Unfortunately, these newcomers were so new that pricing information wasn't yet available, though all of the devices mentioned will be shipping this year. We'll keep you posted on further deets, but till then, feel free to meander around in the gallery below.

Gallery: Pretec 32GB SDXC, 666x CF card and 64GB ExpressCard SSD eyes-on

SanDisk, Toshiba hype up X3 and X4 flash tech

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Feb 11th 2009 at 12:36AM

We've been following the perambulations of SanDisk and Toshiba's joint efforts for quite some time now -- from their work with "3D" memory technology to their renegotiation after the Samsung buyout debacle -- and all that love resulted in two announcements today: first, the X4 tech that SanDisk acquired when it purchased Msystems in 2006 will be used, alongside the companies' 43nm manufacturing process, to develop 64GB Compact Flash cards as early as the first half of this year. Second, it looks like 32nm X3 MLC NAND is a go, meaning we should see some seriously jacked SDHC and microSD cards in the future. Yes, but will they ever learn to make this exciting?

[Via Electronista]

Read - X4 flash
Read - X3 flash

Pretec debuts CFast storage card, proclaims it world's smallest SATA SSD

by Donald Melanson, posted Jan 9th 2009 at 2:08PM

Pretec has already pushed standard CompactFlash cards pretty far, and it now looks to be branching out beyond the confines of the format, with it today announcing its new CompactFlash-sized (but apparently not CompactFlash-compatibile) CFast storage card. Helping the card earn that title is its use of a high-speed SATA interface, which boosts the maximum transfer speed to a blistering 375MB per second, or roughly 300% faster than the speediest CompactFlash card on the market today. In a bit of a twist to these usual announcements, Pretec says the the first 32GB cards are actually available starting today (albeit not directly to consumers), with some 64GB card promised to be following "soon."

TDK trots out industrial CompactFlash cards / SSDs

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 18th 2008 at 4:00PM

Not just everyone can get away with consumer-level kit, and if you plan on keeping that Counter-Strike server running for another four years without so much as a hiccup, you should probably look into some industrial-strength materials. To that end, we present to you a new pair from TDK: a U.DMA 6-compatible CompactFlash card and a line of PATA SSDs, both of which boast a maximum capacity of 16GB. Both lines combine the original GBDriver RA8 U.DMA 6-compatible NAND Flash memory controller with a high-frequency SLC NAND Flash memory module for read speeds of up to 50MB/sec and write speeds up to 30MB/sec. You'll also find an error correction function scalable to 15 bit/sector ECC to provide high data reliability -- remember, zero hiccups -- and a static wear leveling function to greatly increase the write life span. Sadly, no pricing figures are disclosed, but both crews should start shipping next month.

[Via SlashGear]

Synchrotech's CFMulti adapter brings Eye-Fi support to CF cameras

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 17th 2008 at 11:10AM

Been longing for Eye-Fi support in your Sony a350? Or any CompactFlash-lovin' camera, for that matter? Meet Synchrotech, your new best friend. The company famous for making incredibly useful adapters has just pumped out its latest stroke of genius, the CFMulti. As you'd expect, this card fits into traditional CF slots but enables Secure Digital cards to be read, including Eye-Fi's range of wireless SD cards. In addition to that, the device accepts standard SD / SDHC and MMC / MMC+ cards. You know you'd pay $28 for all that functionality in one tight package, right?

[Via MacsimumNews, thanks Robert]

SanDisk ships 16GB 300x Extreme IV CompactFlash card

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 23rd 2008 at 1:27PM

If you're jonesing for the quickest, most nimble CF card this planet has to offer, you'll be hard pressed to find one quicker and more nimble than this. Following up on Pretec's launch, SanDisk has started shipping its 16GB 300x (45MB/sec) Extreme IV CompactFlash card, which marks a 12.5% increase in speed and 50% boost in capacity compared to its predecessor. Oh, but then there's the $399.99 price tag. We know, right?

Pretec breaks records, banks with 100GB, 64GB, and ultra-fast 32GB CF cards

by Stephanie Patterson, posted Sep 23rd 2008 at 12:58AM

Remember the days when 64GB sounded huge for a CompactFlash card? Well, now you can pick up the world's largest CF: a 100GB Pretec 233x operating at a zippy 35MB/sec. And if that's not big enough for you, through some kind of crazy voodoo magic (aka Pretec Q-SATA) four 64GB cards can be transformed into a 256GB SATA drive -- assuming you have $1,596 burning a hole in your pocket. And if speed is your game, Pretec can outfit you with a 333x 32GB CF card running at a record-breaking 50MB/sec for merely $630 -- chump change, right?

[Via Business Wire]

SanDisk introduces 32GB Extreme III CompactFlash card

by Nilay Patel, posted Sep 11th 2008 at 8:01AM

SanDisk's 30MB/s Extreme III line of flash cards keeps growing -- the company just announced the 32GB Extreme III CompactFlash card for $299. Pretty steep, but if you're shooting high-speed RAW images or filming an HD masterpiece, we bet your ears just perked up. Out in October, we're told.

Nervian's CardReader Pro fits right in with PowerMac G5 / Mac Pro

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 5:53AM

As your never-ending quest to find peripherals specifically made to match beautifully with your PowerMac G5 / Mac Pro continues, we've one that'll surely shoot right to the top of your must-have list. Nervian's CardReader Pro slips just under the front handle of your tower, providing (almost) integrated card reader functionality without putting a damper on your rig's style. Better still, the USB 2.0 unit supports 52 different flavors of flash memory, ensuring that just about every card you toss in there will mount in short order. There's no word on how costly this will be when it ships in October, but those definitely interested can nab 15% off by signing up for details at the outfit's website.

[Thanks, choco]

A-DATA unveils speedy Turbo Series 350X CompactFlash cards

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 25th 2008 at 3:35PM

A-DATA's latest CompactFlash cards were designed to be looked at longingly by even the most demanding photographer, and while the average joe probably won't have the kit to appreciate just how speedy these things are, we'll do our best to explain. The Turbo Series CF 350X memory card features a read speed of 52MB/sec and a write speed of 47MB/sec, whereas Delkin's "world's fastest" model packs a sustained read / write rate of 45MB/sec. Regrettably, A-DATA isn't handing out pricing details just yet, but we do know they'll soon be available in 8GB and 16GB editions.

[Via Electronista]

Microdia beats Samsung to market with world's first 64GB CF card

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 6th 2008 at 8:19AM

At long last and a full year and a half after Samsung first touted a 64GB Compact Flash card, Microdia steps onto the scene with the world's first product. Almost. By the end of June, Microdia will begin shipping its 64GB XTRA ELITE CF card to the photog masses. The UDMA card brings a sustained read / write speed of 300x or 45MBps making it perfectly suited to high-burst rate DSLRs. Now if only we had a price to calculate the cost of our new 192GB SSD. Full press release after the break.

[Via PC Authority]

Continue reading Microdia beats Samsung to market with world's first 64GB CF card

Sans Digital's CS1T and CR2T turn CF cards into 2.5-inch enclosures

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted May 24th 2008 at 5:04PM

We've seen CF-SATA converters before, but what if you were to create a SATA shaped, sized, and interfaced enclosure and allow users to throw Compact Flash cards in there to make their own SSDs for more standard installs? Sans Digital's CS1T is a single-card Compact Flash CF to 2.5" SATA enclosure and the CR2T is a dual-card enclosure that uses RAID to support up to 64GB. Both utilize IDE and, when closed, look and act just like 2.5-inch HDDs for your various installation needs.

Video: Century's Compact Flash SSD SATA adapter reviewed

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 22nd 2008 at 3:18AM

Akihabara News managed to snap up Century's 3x Compact Flash adapter for review. As expected, the do-it-yourself SATA adapter aggregates a trio of CF cards and presents them as a single solid state disk to your computer in either RAID 0 (better capacity) or RAID 5 (better integrity) modes. The one caveat is this: the speed of the SSD is determined by the slowest CF in the mix. Regardless, this is without a doubt the most inexpensive way to create a quick and dirty SSD at about half the cost of an off-the-shelf, retail model. Check the action after the break.

Continue reading Video: Century's Compact Flash SSD SATA adapter reviewed

Century's SATA adapter supports 3 CF cards: cheap SSDs for all

by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 23rd 2008 at 4:24AM

While we patiently wait 18 to 24 months for the CFast CompactFlash cards to arrive, there's always this: the DIY Century Compact Flash to SATA adapter. We've seen these adapters before of course, but this is the first we recall supporting 3x cards. That's a quickie 96GB SSD for about $450 (plus $192.57 for the adapter plus shipping) given current on-line prices. Not bad when you consider the $1,000+ price tag for a smaller 64GB SSD. Better yet, performance should be rock solid based on earlier reviews. In stock with RAID 0 / 5 support starting May 1st.

[Via Akihabara News]