Digital camera memory card selector

CompactFlash

Once king of the flash memory hill, CompactFlash (CF) has since lost ground to Secure Digital (SD) in the point-and-shoot arena, though it's still ubiquitous in digital SLRs. But CF still has a lot of room for increased speed; for instance, Revision 3 of the CF specification ups the maximum transfer rate of the onboard controller to 66MB per second from the 16MB per second implemented in today's cards. And because of their larger design, manufacturers can ramp up capacity of CF cards faster than that of their tiny SD and xD-Picture Card competition.

Product	Rated write speed (1X = 150KB per second)	Available capacities (part number)	The scoop
SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash	133X	1GB (SDCFX3-1024-901) Check prices 2GB (SDCFX3-2048-901) Check prices 4GB (SDCFX3-4096-901) Check prices	The current flagship of SanDisk's flash-media lineup not to mention the fastest CompactFlash cards available, these should be your choice if you're planning on capturing large, uncompressed images or a long series of continuous shots. SanDisk's Extreme media family is also vibration-tested and subjected to extreme temperatures, ranging from -13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
Kingston Ultimate CompactFlash	100X	1GB (CF/1GB-U) Check prices 2GB (CF/2GB-U) Check prices 4GB (CF/4GB-U) Check prices	Kingston offers a nice middle ground between the 80X and the 133X options for those who don't have a dSLR and want to save $30 to $50 on a card.
Corsair 80X CompactFlash card	80X	256MB (CMFCF80-256) Check prices 512MB (CMFCF80-512) Check prices 1GB (CMFCF80-1GB) Check prices	Though still quite speedy and more than adequate in most photographic situations, Corsair's 80X card will likely lag behind the Extreme III a bit if you're doing a lot of TIFF or raw shooting. Plus, Corsair's excellent reputation as a high-speed system-memory company gives it a little extra street cred.
Lexar Professional Series 80X WA CompactFlash card	80X	512MB (CF512-80-380) Check prices 1GB (CF1GB-80-380) Check prices 2GB (CF2GB-80-380) Check prices 4GB (CF4GB-80-380E) Check prices	If you've got a compatible camera, Lexar claims Write Acceleration can significantly increase write speed, making the WA cards exceed their rated speed. Check Lexar's site for a list of cameras that support the technology.
Delkin eFilm Pro CompactFlash card	63X	128MB (DDCFPRO1-128) Check prices 256MB (DDCFPRO1-256) Check prices 512MB (DDCFPRO1-512) Check prices 640MB (DDCFPRO1-640) Check prices 1GB (DDCFPRO1-1GB) Check prices 2GB (DDCFPRO1-2GB) Check prices 4GB (DDCFPRO1-4GB) Check prices	Despite its Pro moniker, this card is really better suited for high-resolution enthusiast cameras. You probably won't notice much of a difference between it and its 60X competitors, though.
SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash card	60X	512MB (SDCFX-512-786) Check prices 1GB (SDCFX-1024-786) Check prices 2GB (SDCFX-2048-786) Check prices	SanDisk's Extreme line has been superceded by the Extreme III, but you can still find them all over the Web. This card's 60X speed makes it perfect for cameras that take compressed JPG images--anything not TIFF or raw--and its lower prices match those of the high-resolution snapshot cameras that would benefit.
SanDisk Ultra II CompactFlash card	60X	256MB (SDCFH-256-901) Check prices 512MB (SDCFH-512-901) Check prices 1GB (SDCFH-1024-901) Check prices 2GB (SDCFH-2048-901) Check prices 4GB (SDCFH-4096-901) Check prices 8GB (SDCFH-8192-901) Check prices	Though SanDisk markets the Ultra II as the high-speed alternative to its "built-tough" Extreme line, Ultra II cards actually match the speed of their Extreme counterparts. So unless you're venturing on an extreme vacation, buy whichever's cheapest.
Kingston Elite Pro CompactFlash card	53X	128MB (CF/128-S) Check prices 256MB (CF/256-S) Check prices 512MB (CF/512-S) Check prices 1GB (CF/1024-S) Check prices 2GB (CF/2GB-S) Check prices 4GB (CF/4GB-S) Check prices	Practically speaking, you'll likely notice the difference between the Elite Pro's 53X speed and its 60X competitors only when shooting in burst mode on a camera that has a small image buffer (or none at all), where differences in speed aggregate as you take more shots. Note that the 4GB card is a slightly slower 45X, a difference of about 830KB per second.
Delkin eFilm CompactFlash card	45X	32MB (DDCFFLS2-032) Check prices 64MB (DDCFFLS2-064) Check prices 128MB (DDCFFLS2-128) Check prices 256MB (DDCFFLS2-256) Check prices 512MB (DDCFFLS2-512) Check prices 1GB (DDCFFLS2-1GB) Check prices 2GB (DDCFFLS2-2GB) Check prices	To Delkin's credit, its standard eFilm CompactFlash card isn't substantially slower than the higher-end eFilm Pro. And for an entry-level 4-megapixel or a fast 5-megapixel camera, it could be a decent bet at the right price.
Lexar Professional Series 40X WA CompactFlash card (formerly Lexar High Speed 40X WA CompactFlash card)	40X	256MB (CF256-40-380) Check prices 512MB (CF512-40-380) Check prices 1GB (CF1GB-40-380) Check prices 4GB (CFB4GB-40-380) Check prices 8GB (CFB8GB-40-380) Check prices	If you've got a compatible camera, Lexar claims Write Acceleration can significantly increase write speed, making the WA cards exceed their rated speed. Check Lexar's site for a list of cameras that support the technology. Is a 40X WA card faster than, say, a 60X non-WA card in a WA-supporting camera? Sometimes.
Corsair 40X CompactFlash card	40X	256MB (CMFCF40-256) Check prices 512MB (CMFCF40-512) Check prices 1GB (CMFCF40-1GB) Check prices 2GB (CMFCF40-2GB) Check prices 4GB (CMFCF40-4GB) Check prices	We give Corsair's 40X cards the nod over Lexar's Platinum 40X-ers for offering a broader range of capacities, but if you're not in the market for a 2GB or 4GB card, just go for whichever is cheaper.
Lexar Platinum CompactFlash card	40X	256MB (CF256-40-634) Check prices 512MB (CF512-40-634) Check prices 1GB (CF1GB-40-634) Check prices	Lexar's Platinum line is the same as the 40X Professional series, sans Write Acceleration. You might notice a difference between the competition's 50X or 36X speeds, but we kind of doubt it.
Viking CompactFlash High Speed card	36X	128MB (CF128M-HS) Check prices 256MB (CF256M-HS) Check prices 512MB (CF512M-HS) Check prices 1GB (CF1GB-HS) Check prices 2GB (CF2GB-HS) Check prices	Viking's High Speed CompactFlash card isn't especially so, but you probably won't notice much of a difference between it and Lexar's or Corsair's 40X cards.
SimpleTech CompactFlash card (formerly branded as ProX)	33X	32MB (STI-CF/32) Check prices 64MB (STI-CF/64) Check prices 128MB (STI-CF/128) Check prices 256MB (STI-CF/256) Check prices 512MB (STI-CF/512) Check prices 1GB (STI-CF/1024) Check prices 2GB (STI-CF/2GB) Check prices 4GB (STI-CF/4GB) Check prices	Though SimpleTech's 33X CompactFlash card isn't much slower than Viking's 36X offering, neither does it match up quite as well against the higher-end 40X cards. But if you don't mind waiting perhaps an extra half-second for your 8-megapixel image to write to memory, you'll likely save a few bucks at this speed.
SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash card	18.7X	128MB (SDCFH128784) Check prices 256MB (SDCFH256784) Check prices 512MB (SDCFH512784) Check prices	Though Ultra has since given way to the Ultra II, many retailers still sell the first brand, albeit in relatively small capacities. At one time, these fit their "high-speed" branding, but now they lag behind the market.
Lexar 12X CompactFlash card	12X	64MB (CF064-12-251) Check prices 96MB (CF096-12-252) Check prices 128MB (CF128-12-251) Check prices 256MB (CF256-12-251) Check prices 512MB (CF512231) Check prices	As with the 13X Delkin cards, Lexar's old 12X line, which is still around in smaller capacities, should suit anyone shooting with an old 4-megapixel or lower-resolution digital camera.
Viking CompactFlash card	10X	16MB (CF16M) Check prices 32MB (CF32M) Check prices 64MB (CF64M) Check prices 96MB (CF96M) Check prices 128MB (CF128M) Check prices 256MB (CF256M) Check prices 512MB (CF512M) Check prices 1GB (CF1GB) Check prices 2GB (CF2GB) Check prices 4GB (CF4GB) Check prices	If you've got an older, high-resolution or TIFF-shooting camera, Viking's standard offering looks like your best choice: you're not paying for speed you don't need, but it comes in the very high capacities you want for large images.
Kingston CompactFlash card	10X	64MB (CF/64) Check prices 128MB (CF/128) Check prices 256MB (CF/256) Check prices 512MB (CF/512) Check prices 1GB (CF/1024) Check prices	Kingston's stock CompactFlash cards are functionally equivalent to Viking's, assuming they have the capacity you're looking for.
SanDisk CompactFlash card	9.3X (estimated; SanDisk does not release this information)	64MB (SDCFB-64-A10) Check prices 128MB (SDCFB-256-A10) Check prices 256MB (SDCFB-512-A10) Check prices 512MB (SDCFB-1024-A10) Check prices 1GB (SDCFB-2048-A10) Check prices 2GB (SDCFB-4096-A10) Check prices 4GB (CF4GB) Check prices	Like Viking's standard line, SanDisk's vanilla CompactFlash cards are good for older, high-resolution or TIFF-shooting cameras.
Lexar CompactFlash card	4X	32MB (CF032231) Check prices 64MB (CF064231) Check prices 128MB (CF128231) Check prices 256MB (CF256231) Check prices 512MB (CF512231) Check prices 1GB (CF1GB-231) Check prices	Unless you're looking for a dirt-cheap storage solution or you have an old camera, for actual photography you're probably better off with some of the speedier CompactFlash cards listed above.
SanDisk Shoot & Store CompactFlash card	N/A	32MB (SDCFS-32-A10) Check prices 64MB (SDCFS-64-A10) Check prices	Welcome to the bottom of the heap, cards so slow that the company doesn't even bother speccing them. The idea behind the Shoot & Store line: flash memory is so cheap that you can use it for long-term storage. At a price of around 20 cents to 30 cents per megabyte, who are we to argue?