I noticed several folks that had a bad experience with CF card compatiblity, especially in terms of expected vs actual performance. You should check out the digital storage review section on dpreview.com, where they test the raw read/write speed (using a firewire card interface), the speed in high-end digital SLR type cameras, and representative point-and-shoot digicams.
It turns out that some high-speed CF cards are a poor match for digicams, and will actually perform worse than ones that are appropriately speed-matched to the device. For instance, I've had very good performance with Lexar 12x 128 MB CF cards with my Nikon Coolpix 4500. It comes packed with an 8x Lexar 'starter' card, and test results on dpreview.com with the Coolpix 995, which is very similar bear this out. Faster cards for that camera would be a waste of money, and might not even perform as well.
On the other hand, I've ordered Simpletech 512 MB cards to go with my new Canon EOS Digital Rebel SLR, because if you go to Canon's site and look at their recommended storage media, they sell Simpletech cards. There is a definite reason for this. If you check out dpreview.com, you will see that Simpletech, among others, scored very well when married to such 'pro-sumer' or pro digital SLR's. The Lexar and Sandisk CFs (two very well-known brands) fared poorly, by comparison.
So, if your camera came with a 'starter' card, find out the speed and manufacturer of that card, and buy some more just like it, or maybe a bit faster and more than likely more storage. If your camera didn't include a card, check out the camera maker's web site to see what they sell, or pester them to tell you what they tested the camera with.
Unless you have a camera that shoots RAW photos (if you don't know what that means, you don't have one, and probably don't care), then you should always shoot in JPEG Fine at the highest (or possibly 3:2) resolution. Digital storage is cheap, and life's too short to shoot in 640x480, and wish you hadn't, the one time you want to make an 8x10 enlargement. Once you figure out the average size of JPEG file produced for typical shots, then get a couple of like-manufactured CF cards sized for about two rolls of film (about 64 shots). For the 4 MP Nikon Coolpix 4500, that comes to about a 128 MB card (a far cry from the 16 MB 'starter' card they include). With one card in the camera, and a spare card in your pocket, you are set for a day's worth of shooting (unless you are a button-happy picture-shootin' maniac -in that case, get a battery-operated USB drive with media slots, like the Xs-Drive-II to store your shots on, instead of buying a ton of CF cards).
I'm now back for another 512 MB card. I've had no problems or complaints with the first one in my Digital Rebel. I'm currently using it with a Lexar USB 2.0 Multi-Card Reader, RW018 Rev. B on an ASUS P4B533-E motherboard-based system (has six USB 2.0 ports, and two firewire). Works like a charm, after I found out that you don't need to load the Win2K drivers supplied with the reader, if you have a recent service pack on the system. Otherwise, the two sets of drivers clobber each other.
I bought this CompactFlash card to go with my Canon S50 digital camera. It was a good price and there was a rebate on it too.
This is a Type I card, which means it is SMALLER and thinner than a Type II card, and Type I is the most popular. The card is plenty fast in my Canon and I even heard that the Canon brand card that comes with the camera is made by SimpleTech. I have had zero problems with this card.
Buy SimpleTech STI-CF/512 512MB CompactFlash Card Now
I read the other reviews warning about the unreliability of this product, but decided to take my chances because the price was so low, and because I generally have good luck with consumer electronics. I tend to be pretty careful, and you never know whether some of the other reviewers were just sloppy, or dropped their CF card in the bathtub.
My camera is a PowerShot S45, with which both SimpleTech and Amazon claim the STI-CF/512 is compatible -and it was, for the first one or two hundred shots. (Canon is less helpful, only recommending the IBM 1GB microdrive by name, which I thought was overkill.)
Of course, it failed at about the worst time: while I was on vacation in London, where everything is expensive. I did not lose any of the 31 pictures I had already taken, but attempting to shoot more resulted in the message "CF Card Error". Having been forewarned, I brought a backup card (a SanDisk which has lasted more than two years without a single problem), but that was only 64MB.
Reformatting the card does not help, and it exhibits the same problems plugged directly into my laptop's PC Card slot with an adapter. The card is now practically worthless, and of course, I threw out the packaging after a few weeks of problem-free operation, so I'm stuck with it.
Before you decide to roll the dice and buy this turkey, consider the cost of being stuck far away from home without adequate camera media. Had I to do it all over again, I would buy two SanDisk 256MB cards instead, which would be about the same price.
Read Best Reviews of SimpleTech STI-CF/512 512MB CompactFlash Card Here
I purchased this 512Mb card to replace the dinky 32Mb card that came with my Canon A80. I decided on a SimpleTech card for two reasons: it's what Canon sells at their accessories site and, more importantly, it was cheaper than the others.
It works fine. Haven't filled the card entirely yet, but I just snapped about 100 pictures in succession with no problem. It even appears to store images slightly faster than the Canon Flashcard that came with the camera. Looks like about 247 pictures will fit on the card at the camera's highest resolution (4Megapixel, 2272x1704 JPG's in superfine mode).
Want SimpleTech STI-CF/512 512MB CompactFlash Card Discount?
I bought this card for my Canon S400, as it was listed as one of the accessaries for that camera (got lazy that day). We've taken no more than 200 shots when we started getting image slots marked as "incompatible jpeg format" all over.
I went on the SimpleTech webpage. One can't just send an email to them--one has to fill out a form and give out home phone# etc, and the FAQ (which one has to dig for) doesn't seem to have an answer.
I've thrown out the package, so I guess I can't return it. How annoying.
I will never buy another SimpleTech product again.
Memory works flawlessly on rev5 asa5505. The cost of this memory is far more than third party offerings. However, the guaranteed compatibility and assurance that no boot, reload, or other issues will occur far outweigh the cost.
