Memory Cards, Part 1: CompactFlash From 8GB To 64GB
Professionals rely on high-speed CompactFlash cards. Today we're looking at a handful of different options from Lexar, Samsung, SanDisk, Silicon Power, and Transcend with capacities up to 64GB and speeds up to 600x (as high as 90 MB/s)
Benchmark Results: Throughput
The fastest CF card comes from Silicon Image, delivering more than 90 MB/s—a new record. Most of the other cards follow closely behind, including Transcend and Lexar. Samsung was clearly slower, and SanDisk struggled in reads.
Lexar and SanDisk dominate by maintaining the highest minimum write transfer rates. These numbers are key if you want to sustain continuous raw photo shooting for more than a few seconds. Lexar, Silicon Power, and Transcend provide better maximum and average results, but the minumum write transfer rates sometimes suffer, especially for Silicon Power.
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