1GB Transcend Ultra 30X Fast Professional Compact Flash Card (1 Viewer)

I saw this ad and I wondered if anyone has used these cards and do you see any real difference in speed?




1GB Transcend Ultra 30X Fast Professional Compact Flash Card in Retail pack!
5 year warrantee card, small plastic case and sealed retail packaging.
Use to Store Digital Files for Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Palm Devices, Laptop Computers and Many Other Applications.
This is the highest quality Compact Flash Card on the market.
Compatible with all products that accept Compact Flash.
This product is about 500% faster than most Olympus, Sandisk, and Lexar Compact Flash.
Benefits:
-Your camera will be ready to take the next picture up to 500% faster than it does with most Compact Flash.



http://store.yahoo.com/insidecomputer/1gbul30xtrco.html

Looks good but out of my price league.

Sorry, I should directed you here.

\ http://store.yahoo.com/insidecomputer/compactflash.html

Yeah, the 1 gig is more then I need, but the 512 for $140 doesn't look too bad. (It's about the same price I paid for my 256 six months ago)

I was really interested in their claims that it was so much faster then the Sandisk I'm using. Would a Nikon 4500 actually cycle more quickly. Their prices are about the same as Fry's (big chain retail) here in the states.

I'd rather get a smaller chip and spend the extra money on getting a 20 gig portable HD like TheTripper.

http://store.yahoo.com/insidecomputer/20tripusb20p.html

I am new to this game so I don't know about reducing times between shots on the 4500. I would be keen on this as it annoys me very much when using the Lexar (12x) and Sandisks. Do you know what speed the Sandisks are?

Hi Chuck,

Transcend has a very solid reputation. I have two (maybe three) transcend cards, never had any problems. Since you live in the USA, they do have a USA presence, which some cards do not (such as Ridata), so there is the possibility of having problems if something goes wrong with the card.

As far as speed, it would depend on which camera you have. If you have something such as the Canon D60 or Nikon N100, then you will definitely see a difference in speed. (Though Lexar has been reviewed as the fastest card, but we are discussing nanoseconds here.) If you have what is considered an "older" camera, then odds are you will not see much, if any, difference at all. They cannot take advantage of those faster speeds since they are technologically inferior to the newer cameras.

However, for that price you cannot beat it. I did take a quick look on mydigitaldiscount and they have it for $10 less with a very reasonable shipping fee. I bought my last card (a 512 mb Transcend 30X) from them and would highly recommend them. My order must have got the right flight, it arrived the day after I purchased it! (being that I am not far from you and they are back east, that is quite impressive).

However, one thing for you to think about. Getting that big of a card means you are putting all of your eggs (uh, photos) in one basket. If you fill up that card and the card fails, you have lost all of your photos (though there are some photo recovery programs out there, you better hope it works with your specific problem). I know people who refuse to go over 256 or 512 mb per card so that they do not risk losing all of their photos. You need to know that this is not a common occurence, but it is something which happens. Just think if you have been out shooting (photos) the whole day. You have about 600 photos on your card (unless you have a higher mp camera) and your card has failed and is completely unrecoverable. Something to think about.

Thanks for the great information Brian!

No idea.

What bothers me though is that the Nikon 4500 is basically a small computer. Even if the memory chip is that much faster, the hardware/software in the camera may not be able to utilize the increased speed.

I think I'll get the 256 chip. I need a backup anyway, but was torn between getting it online or just get another Sandisk locally for about the same price. I'll come back when I see the results.

Andrew,

Sandisks are little workhorses. Usually just as reliable as the next. HOWEVER, they are cheaper (in price) because they use a cheaper chip. Among the reliables, Sandisk is the among the slowest, if not THE slowest. Even with the "high-end" "Ultra" line of the Sandisk, they cannot match the speed of the better cards. Though they are definitely an improvement in speed over the regular Sandisk.

I am not familar with card reading/writing on the 4500 so cannot help you there. Andy Bright may very well be able to do so. You might want to drop him a PM.

And thanks bcurrie. You pretty much confirmed my thoughts. 130 odd shots looked like a lot at first but with continuous shooting mode and the completely different attitude I have about shooting digital pictures compared to film, I go through that many every morning. The 512 does look good, but two 256s would cost the same and be safer like you say. Plus one of those battery operated HDs would be worth forty 512s, though reliability might not be as good.

I'm planning some long trips soon and I just need more memory.

Great informtion here, thanks guys. I'm in the market for a new card and had nver heard of Transcend before reading here.
Chuck, you really burn a card on a daily basis!
More power to you, you'll need it! ;0) ....bob

Thanks for the eludication of Sandisks Brian.

I often take over a hundred shots in a day. I usually shoot in continuous mode, so every time things look good to go, I get 5 shots. 133 shots only amounts to about 20 odd opportunities. Of that, only about one in ten are any good. Often the last frame or two shows an empty tree branch. When I get down to my last 10 or 15 shots I either get more conservative or start erasing. If I were gone for the weekend, I'd definitely want my laptop along to download frames periodically. Part of this is due to the time lag of the shutter, part is due to the feeling that film is free. I have much more time to spend downloading and deleting compared to the amount of time I have to shoot pictures in good lighting. If my camera could shoot 10 continuous frames, I probably would. My dream camera can shoot 30 frames at 3 to 5 frames/sec.

I also take landscapes and panoramas. I can burn an afternoon and only get 20

Great info in this discussion. Stuff I didn't know after 2 yrs. with compact flash camera. I got and IBM Microdrive early on for an extended trip as CF Cards were small capacity in the beginning. Only the 340meg microdrive was out then so guess which size I bought! I was actually very happy with the IBM md. though a bit power hungry you know. But then I got a 128mb Sandisk at Costco and was highly disappointed at how very much slower it was than my microdrive! Go figure.
I do want to look for the best place to post that Costco has fantastic digital photo print prices and self upload on a countertop reader that prints your receipt and you can come back in 1-2 hrs for your prints. 5x7 @ $0.69; 8x12 @ $1.99; and whopping big 11x 14 for only $2.99 !! I do find they blow out my highlights so I have to make preprints at their 4x6 size for $0.19 ea until I do the Photoshop to the desired result. As they told me, "We're not a custom lab." And for the prices I'm not complainin'. -Steve B