| 1. |
What is a Compact Flash Card? What is a CF Card?
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Compact Flash Card Design:
CompactFlash defines a physical interface which is smaller than, but electrically identical to, the PCMCIA-ATA interface. That is, it appears to the host devices as if it were a hard disk of some defined size and has a tiny IDE controller onboard the CF device itself.
CompactFlash Cards are designed with flash technology, a non-volatile storage solution that does not require a battery to retain data indefinitely. CF storage products are solid state, meaning they contain no moving parts, and provide users with much greater protection of their data than conventional magnetic disk drives. They are five to ten times more rugged and reliable than disk drives including those found in PC Card Type III products. CF cards consume only five percent of the power required by small disk drives.
Compact Flash Card Operation/Voltage:
Aimed towards the professional market, the CF Card was made to meet the extreme demands of photo shoots under severe weather conditions such as heat, cold, wind, rain, and snow. It can perform in the most extreme environments and temperatures from -13 degrees F to 185 degrees F (-25 C to 85 C).
CompactFlash cards support both 3.3V and 5V operation and can be interchanged between 3.3V and 5V systems. This means that any CF card can operate at either voltage. Other small form factor flash cards may be available to operate at 3.3V or 5V, but any single card can operate at only one of the voltages. CF data storage cards are also available using magnetic disk (Microdrive). |
| 2. |
What capacities do Compact Flash/ CF Cards come in?
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Compact Flash Card Capacities and Cost:
CompactFlash provides the lowest cost flash storage solution for capacities of 16MB and above. As of 2006, CompactFlash cards are generally available in capacities from about 32 megabytes to about 32 gigabytes. With the built-in controller, a wide variety of low cost flash technologies can be used. The built-in controller lowers costs further by reducing costs in the host device and allowing defective flash chip cells to be mapped out, thus increasing flash chip yields. Microdrives provide the lowest cost data storage solution for capacities of 340MB and above. When compatibility, interoperability, reliability, cost, and performance count, CF and CompactFlash cards are the ATA-compatible solution that delivers. |
| 3. |
What are the differences between CF type I , CF type II and CF I/O cards?
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CompactFlash has three subdivisions of CF cards, Type I, the slightly thicker Type II cards and the I/O cards.
CF Type I
At 43mm (1.7") x 36mm (1.4") x 3.3mm (0.13"), the CF Type I card's thickness is less than one-half of a current PCMCIA Type II card. It is actually one-fourth the volume of a PCMCIA card. Compared to a 68-pin PCMCIA card, a CF card has 50 pins but still conforms to ATA specs. It can be easily slipped into a passive 68-pin PCMCIA Type II to CF Type I adapter that fully meets PCMCIA electrical and mechanical interface specifications.
CF Type II
At 43mm (1.7") x 36mm (1.4") x 5.5mm (0.19"), the CF Type II card's thickness is equal to that of a current PCMCIA Type II card. It is actually less than one-half the volume of a PCMCIA card. Compared to a 68-pin PCMCIA card, a CF card has 50 pins but still conforms to ATA specs. It can be easily slipped into a passive 68-pin PCMCIA Type II to CF Type II adapter that fully meets PCMCIA electrical and mechanical interface specifications.
CF I/O card
CF I/O cards include modems, Ethernet, serial, BlueTooth wireless, digital phone cards, USB, laser scanners, etc. The connector used with CF and CompactFlash is similar to the PCMCIA Card connector, but with 50 pins. Years of field experience in portable devices have proven the reliability and durability of this connector in applications where frequent insertions and ejections of the card are required. Other small form factor flash cards use connector technology that is not reliable or durable in these applications .
The only difference between CF Type I and CF Type II cards is the card thickness. CF Type I is 3.3 mm thick and CF Type II cards are 5mm thick. A CF Type I card will operate in a CF Type I or CF Type II slot. A CF Type II card will only fit in a CF Type II slot.The electrical interfaces are identical. CompactFlash is available in both CF Type I and CF Type II cards, though redominantly in CF Type I cards. The Microdrive is a CF Type II card. Most CF I/O cards are CF Type I, but there are some CF Type II I/O cards.
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| 4. |
What are the differences between data transfer rates for Compact Flash Cards/CF Cards?
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| COMPACT FLASH TYPE |
DATA TRANSFER SPEED |
| CF+ standard, revision 2.0 |
16 MB/second |
| CF 3.0 and 4.0 standards |
supports up to 66 MB/second |
| CF 4.0 standard supports IDE Ultra DMA 133 |
maximum rate of 133MM/second |
| 5. |
How does the Compact Flash Card compare to other portable storage?
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CompactFlash cards are very robust in terms of durability and remains the primary standard for professional cameras. Key features that continue the popularity of CF Cards are from its relatively low cost per megabyte, greater capacity (than smaller cards), ability for the CF II to use MicroDrive, and the availability of adaptors allowing smaller card formats to be used in a CF slot. Additionally, CF cards can also be used in PC Card slots with very inexpensive plug adaptors.
There are however a few features that Compact Flash cards lack; mechanical write protection switch, no built in DRM or cryptographic features. Although CF cards do not offer write protection and built in DRM/ cryptographics features, they are rarely used on other cards/ USB drives. |
| 6. |
Do I need a driver to use the Compact Flash drive?
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| Compact Flash drives do not require drivers. However, a card reader is used for the CF card, it may be required to have a proper driver for the card reader must. |
| 7. |
How do I use a Compact Flash Card properly in order to protect it from damage of electric shock?
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| According to the Compact Flash Card Association, CompactFlash cards have an operating shock rating of 2,000 Gs, which is equivalent to a 10-foot drop? Furthermore, the CF Association states that with normal usage, a CompactFlash card can be used for more than 100 years with no loss or deterioration of data? |
| 8. |
What are the differences between brand names? Is there a better compact flash brand? Are some compact flash more reliable than others?
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| Basically, the ways of designing compact flash card are similar among the different brands. From the consumer point of view, it is fairly difficult to judge the quality of a Compact Flash Card based on brands (unless you physically dissemble the card and look inside). Many CF brands license their trademark and manufacturing processes, therefore causing variations on quality (materials used, soldering process, etc..). SuperMediaStore.com offers customers a list of high quality CompactFlash Cards and backs it up with a Return Policy. |
