[GarethW]

Can anybody tell me what's the difference between an XD 'M' card and an XD 'H' card? I have bought a Fuji F31fd camera and was wondering which was the best card to use with this camera?

Thanks

Gareth

[NoSpringChicken]

Good question. I've got one of each for my F30 and haven't noticed any difference in use. I would be interested to see what answers you get.

Edit. There's some information about it on the Fujifilm website but it didn't mean much to me!
"The 'M' stands for MLC (Multi Level Cell) a new high density flash memory technology, the H stands for high performance with these cards offering potentially higher read/write speeds."
Ron

[Grumbledook]

All I know is to check that your camera is combatible with 'm', 'h' or either.

[NoSpringChicken]

Originally Posted by Grumbledook

All I know is to check that your camera is combatible with 'm', 'h' or either.

The Fuji F31fd is compatible with both types according to their website. It sounds as if the type H cards can support higher write speeds but are only available up to 1GB whereas you can get 2GB type M cards.

Ron

[Grumbledook]

Useful info, I have a Fuji S9600 fixed lens jobby and it says to use the 'M' cards only.

[GarethW]

Thanks for the replys everyone. Spring Chicken has both types of card and has not noticed any difference between the two. So I will base my choice on price. Many thanks Gareth

[NoSpringChicken]

Originally Posted by GarethW

Thanks for the replys everyone. Spring Chicken has both types of card and has not noticed any difference between the two. So I will base my choice on price. Many thanks Gareth

Just to confuse things even more, I have checked the packaging for my cards which are both genuine Fuji products. One is Type H and the other is Type M/H. Make of that what you will.

Ron

[Paul Corfield]

Personally I'd go for the Type H and I got the 1GB Type H card for my F31fd. The Type H are theoretically up to 3 times faster at writing data than the early standard XD card and it is slightly quicker than the Type M card by 1.5 MB/s which is why you don't see much difference between M and H but it's enough to make me go for the quicker Type H. 6 million pixel photos on the F31fd average around 3mb so you wouldn't notice much difference in the write speeds between the two cards but it could make a slight difference if you were using continuous mode and saving 3 images at a time. Type M and Type H also use different methods of encoding but in some cameras both are compatible because both cards have identical operating specifications. I got my Fuji 1GB Type H from www.mx2.co.uk for £14.99, free postage. The Type M was £12.99 so not much difference in price between the two.

Paul.

[GarethW]

Thanks for your comprehensive reply Paul. Ive already bought 2 512 mb Sandisk Olympus XD m cards for £22 which I can take back if I find a better deal. There is a shortage of 1MB cards on the net and the well known retailers are charging the earth.Gareth

[rozinante]

With my previous Fuji A340 I had to update the cameras firmware to get it to use H type cards. A painless opperation should any one else need to do it.

[NoSpringChicken]

Originally Posted by GarethW

Thanks for your comprehensive reply Paul. Ive already bought 2 512 mb Sandisk Olympus XD m cards for £22 which I can take back if I find a better deal. There is a shortage of 1MB cards on the net and the well known retailers are charging the earth.Gareth

I don't know if it's too late now but Amazon are advertising Fuji 1GB Type H cards for £16.99 or Fuji 2GB cards for £21.85 (the caption says Type H but the picture shows Type M).

The prices seem to have increased quite a bit recently. My 1GB Fuji cards were each under £10 when I bought them from Amazon.

Ron

[Birdingben]

Originally Posted by NoSpringChicken

I don't know if it's too late now but Amazon are advertising Fuji 1GB Type H cards for £16.99 or Fuji 2GB cards for £21.85 (the caption says Type H but the picture shows Type M).

The prices seem to have increased quite a bit recently. My 1GB Fuji cards were each under £10 when I bought them from Amazon.

Ron

Ha, don't forget to factor in the £5.50 or £4.50 P&P charge respectively - they're not supplied direct from Amazon !

Prices have probably gone up due to the time of year - suddenly everyone realises they need extra memory for their holiday/vacation photos

[NoSpringChicken]

Originally Posted by Birdingben

Ha, don't forget to factor in the £5.50 or £4.50 P&P charge respectively - they're not supplied direct from Amazon !

Prices have probably gone up due to the time of year - suddenly everyone realises they need extra memory for their holiday/vacation photos

Good point. It looks as if Gareth's purchase price of £22 for 1GB is quite competitive if that includes any delivery charges.

It appears as if mine were a bargain. That's a pleasant change!

Ron

[GarethW]

Hello Ron,
Sorry for not replying sooner but Ive been on Holy Island. Bens right its £5.47 for p+p. Its a rip off, how do they justify that sort of money for such a small item? Gareth

[Paul Corfield]

Maybe wait until www.mx2.co.uk get them back in stock. £15 and free postage. Got my Fuji 1gb Type H from there a couple of weeks back so hopefully they will have some more soon. All the cheapest places seem to be waiting for stock on the 1gb cards.

Paul.

[Birdingben]

Originally Posted by Birdingben

Ha, don't forget to factor in the £5.50 or £4.50 P&P charge respectively - they're not supplied direct from Amazon !

Prices have probably gone up due to the time of year - suddenly everyone realises they need extra memory for their holiday/vacation photos

Further to the above, I ordered a 1GB card from Amazon & received it very promptly from the seller, Emartbuy.
Was not so impressed that despite charging £5.50 P&P the postage element was a 'large' first class stamp! What's that - 48p these days?
Bit surprised that although the XD card looks to be an original Fujifilm, the packaging is San Disk.