The Need for Speed is Real and on Steroids!
A few months ago, there was considerable discussion as to the speed difference of CompactFlash cards and whether that speed difference made any difference when taking pictures with a quality hi-resolution camera. Most notably was the faster speed claimed by Lexar and blown off by Sandisk as just "bragging rights". After much discussion the consensus was that the speed difference was so small as to not make any difference at all. Well I'm here to tell you it just ain't so Joe. Speed makes a VERY BIG DIFFERENCE!
I recently bought a Nikon 990 and an extra Sandisk 128 MB compactflash card. The camera comes with a Lexar 16 MB card.
Fist, I was rather disappointed with the Sandisk card I received. It came with no plastic cardholder to store the card when it was not in the camera. Such keeps the card free of dust, dirt and moisture. An important factor! The Lexar card that came with the camera came with a very nice little plastic case. Probably cost them all of 25 cents to make. But it makes a difference. Considering I paid $240 for the Sandisk card, they could at least have the class to provide such. Now I have to find one, order it, pay the postage. I am not a happy camper. But that is not the worst part by a long shot.
As I stated in my post yesterday, the highest resolution and size picture that can be taken on my Nikon 990 digital camera is a TIFF file format and is over 9MB in size. After the picture is taken, it takes 54 seconds to save that picture from the camera's cache memory to the 128MB Sandisk card! During this time another picture cannot be taken. This is writing to a blank and formatted card! To save the same size picture to the Lexar card only takes 28 seconds! So that means every time I take a hi-resolution picture, it is going to take an extra 26 seconds waiting before I can take another because I have a Sandisk card instead of a Lexar card. That's a lot of time for waisted opportunity for another good picture.
Consider this: Sandisk guarantees their card for 1 million re-writes. Swell! So that means that if I take 1 million full resolution pictures, I will wait 41 years (24 hours a day) waiting for the slow Sandisk card to write the picture from the camera cache. (19 more years that a Lexar card.) It's not the cache that is the problem, it is the slow Sandisk card. Two Sandisk cards and you're up to 82 years. An entire lifetime, 24 hours a day, just waiting for Sandisk! No wonder they feel secure with that guarantee. Their card is so slow, the customer will never live long enough to be able to wait long enough to collect even check the warrantee.
19 years! 19 Years is a hell of a lot more than just bragging rights! If Lexar had anyone halfway on the ball, they could have one hell of an advertising campaign. I can see the TV ad now. The thinker sits while the camera circles...."Nineteen years....Nineteen Years....That's how much time you will save if you buy a Lexar card instead of a Sandisk card over the life of the card.... How much is your time worth to you? Nineteen years....... Don't waste time, buy Lexar."
I have finally figured out how Ausdauer can spend so much time posting. He secretly owns a Lexar card. So he has an extra 19 years just to post. Well I have to go because I don't have one of those speedy Lexar cards and time is a wasting!
Does anybody want to buy my Sandisk 128 MB card?
Steve 667
Oh, no! Not ANOTHER learning experience! |
