Compact Flash (CF) cards are the ideal storage medium if you're working with professional equipment.
Compact Flash (CF) cards are the ideal storage medium if you're working with professional equipment.
A Compact Flash (CF) card is a type of memory card introduced by SanDisk in 1994. Its higher storage speed and larger memory capacity in comparison to market forerunners saw this card type rapidly grow into an important storage medium for camera and computer use. Despite the advent of the SD card, CF cards are still very popular in professional DSLR cameras and HD filming equipment. The larger size of SD cards makes them less suitable for compact models.
Following the introduction of the Compact Flash card, two mainstream models followed that are still commonplace. Type I measures 3.3mm in thickness, and type II 5mm. The first type can be used in devices that are compatible with both; due to its thickness, type II can only be used in type II compatible devices. In particular, the latter is used in higher capacity cameras.
CF cards are available in different formats, up to a whopping 256GB. This not only makes them suitable for mirrorless or DSLR cameras, but also for Ultra HD video equipment. In addition to the favourable storage capacity, the transfer speed is another huge plus point of the Compact Flash card. Speeds of 50, or even 160 MB/s, are par for the course and show that this card type can still be immensely beneficial for use in your camera.